Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion

Hey guys, I'm really proud and happy about my first author interview with Reno Charlton. If you want you can go check it out and tell me what you think. Some feedback would be nice to hone my interviewing skills. www.bookmark-reviews.blogspot.com

Looks fine to me Nic!

The questions you asked are pretty much the standard ones that get asked. There is nothing wrong with that of course, but consider asking the occasional unconventional question as well:

Do you spend more money on socks or pants?
Would you rather grow your hair down to your knees or shave it all off?
Tea or coffee? If you prefer tea, would you consider switching to coffee if it was free for the rest of your life?

Darn it Michael, can I send an addition to your interview?

I forgot some questions, ;) J/k :D

Sneaky stuff there Martha.

Very sneaky.

Thanks Micheal, I tried to be as relevant is I could for my first Interview, I didn't want to go too off course since I've never experienced anything like it. I'll try to improve in the near future

i think its kinda short.

Is that sarcasm or not? xD The Internet can confuse us.

It's a questionnaire, technically, not an interview. An interview features interplay between the person asking the questions and the respondent, and is obviously more flexible with respect to using their answers to generate new questions and insight. That's why interviews are substantially more valuable than sending them questions.

As this format goes, it's a good start, Nic. I'd echo Michael's suggestion and add that by exploring the contextual relationship between the writer's stated bio info and their plot lines/character development, you can get writers to open up about a lot of interesting personal detail. Everyone puts a little of themselves in their work, after all.

Nic,
The interview was a good first run at it. Personally, I am not much into the silly question approach. Who is really interested in whether someone wears boxers or briefs or prefers chocolate ice cream over pistachio?

However, I do agree that the interplay of a discussion interview is better than the question/answer approach. Pursuing a line of questioning when something interesting comes up during the interview, has a more fluid, original feel to it. I don't know how you provided the questions to the author, but starting off letting him or her know that you're going to start with some "set up" questions which will be followed by more focused questions, would leave it open for you to pursue those curious points that come up.

For example, she mentioned her popular children's book, The Sceptre of Zanafiar, stating that it has some real life issues. You might ask if she has specific types of real life issues that she feels are especially important for children's literature.
Elldee

L. wrote: "Nic,
The interview was a good first run at it. Personally, I am not much into the silly question approach. Who is really interested in whether someone wears boxers or briefs or prefers chocolate ic..."

Thank you L, as this was my first interview, I wasn't too sure on how to go about on getting answers and sending those questions out. I'm thinking on taking your idea in mind and sending a draft of questions, to break the ice and then go om from there and elaborate on everything to nothing. I think my big mistake was the fact that I sent a sample questions out and I used that as the interview instead of using those to ask more questions.

Nic,
We learn as we go. That is all that can be asked and all we can do. You have a great start.
Elldee

Thanks Ellde. I'm really looking forward on increasing my blogs popularity and posting more and more as my summer vacation is aprocahing. It's good to here from you. Thank you for your great advise.
-Nic