Authors > Sandra Gulland > Author Revealed

Sandra Gulland
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Sandra Gulland

Sandra Gulland is the author of Mistress of the Sun; The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.; Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe; and The Last Great Dance on Earth. She lives in Killaloe, Ontario, and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

Author Revealed:
Q. What is your motto or maxim?
A. "Overnight success takes twenty-five years."
Learn more about Sandra Gulland
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Sandra Gulland: A Self Portrait
Sandra Gulland Revealed
About Sandra Gulland
  • What is your birthdate?:
    11/3
  • Previous occupations:
    Elevator operator, type-setter, teacher, editor.
  • Favorite job:
    Being a novelist.
  • High school and/or college:
    I went to Berkeley High School in Berkeley, California, followed by San Francisco State, University of California at Berkeley, and Roosevelt University in Chicago.
  • Name of your favorite composer or music artist?:
    I love Willie & Lobo.
Revealing Questions
Q. How would you describe your life in only 8 words?
A. Healthy, happy, lucky.
Q. What is your motto or maxim?
A. "Overnight success takes twenty-five years."
Q. How would you describe perfect happiness?
A. A day of leisure with stacks of good books to read.
Q. What’s your greatest fear?
A. Being trapped for a long time without anything to read.
Q. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
A. Right where I am right now: at my computer.
Q. If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?
A. I'd love to have a talent for foreign languages.
Q. What is your greatest achievement?
A. I think writing a novel -- any novel -- is an impossibly difficult achievement.
Q. What’s your best quality?
A. Perseverance.
Q. If you could meet any historical character, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?
A. I would love to meet all my characters: Louise, Louis XIV, Josephine and Napoleon.
Q. What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing?
A. Reading.
Q. What’s your fantasy profession?
A. I believe I'm living it now: novelist.
Q. What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
A. Humor, honesty, generosity.
Q. If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?
A. Cheese cake!
On Books and Writing
Q. Who are your favorite authors?
A. Usually the author of the book I'm reading at the moment. There are so many!
Q. What are your 5 favorite books of all time?
A. My favorite books of ALL time? Oh dear! Well, let's start with Winnie the Pooh. (Who doesn't love Winnie?) And then I'd be hard pressed to choose. A Walk with Love and Death. Year of Wonders. Music & Silence. Anything by Carol Shields, Kate Atkinson. I was just swept away by Atonement.
Q. Is there a book you love to reread?
A. A Walk with Love and Death, by Hans Koning.
Q. Do you have one sentence of advice for new writers?
A. Never give up.
Q. What comment do you hear most often from your readers?
A. "I couldn't put it down." (I love that.)