Interview with Diane Prokop, Book Reviewer - Part II

Here it is, maties! Second half of my interview with Diane Prokop. Enjoy!

Max and Jazz with their human

Tell me about Wordstock. My readers would like to see you in action.

Michael Ondaatje at Wordstock

Wordstock Literary Fest is crazy for me. I have back-to-back readings and interviews for two days. This year I interviewed Anne Enright and Anna Solomon and did event coverage for Michael Ondaatje, Isabel Wilkerson, Barry Lopez, Steve Almond, Peter Mountford, Charles Yu, and others I can’t recall at the moment. Plus, I wanted to get all my first editions signed, so I would do the interview, record the reading, take pics and then rush to the signing area. It was during a signing that I met Jennifer Egan. When she saw my press pass she asked me - with a smile on her face - why I hadn’t asked to interview her. I told her that I didn’t think she would have time. She laughed and gave me her email address and said to contact her, which I will definitely do. Lovely lady! I still haven’t posted all the Wordstock coverage to my site yet.

What was the funniest encounter with an author?

A lot of what gets said in an interview is “off the record.” In other words, until those authors die, I’ll have to keep it to myself. I stand by the journalists code of ethics for the most part. However, it’s amazing to me what an author will share with me “on the record” and later I will listen to it and make a decision not to write about it. I guess I’m trying to protect them from themselves. Some of it is extremely funny, but if they’re trashing their publisher or their readers, that’s something that’s better left off the page. Maybe they’re having a bad day or are letting off some steam. Hopefully, when their next book comes around, they’ll remember my discretion and agree to another interview. Sometimes I think I’m missing an opportunity to make a big splash with a little dirt on a famous author, but in the end, it’s not worth it to me.

What was the most horrifying?

Nothing horrifying has ever happened to me, but I did embarrass myself big time with Richard Price. I am a huge fan of his and have read everything he’s written. When he visited Powell’s, I wasn’t doing my blog yet and was just there as a fan. He seemed very nervous while he was reading. His knuckles were white where they grasped the lectern. He wasn’t happy with some of the audience questions about his books being made into movies either. I should have picked up on all this, but unfortunately I was too excited about meeting him to notice, except in retrospect. When I got to the signing table, he asked me a question, which I thought for some insane reason was, “Are you a writer?” I was like, Wow! He wants to talk about life and the world of writing, so I started rambling. At one point I even said, “I’m a writer and I’m working on a novel but it’s not going very well.” When I finally checked back into reality, I realized he was looking at me with what can only be described as supreme pity and then he said rather curtly, “Could you please just tell me what you want me to write in your book.” All he had wanted was my name so he could inscribe my book. He wrote something and I ran. Later, I saw he had written, “To Diane, You will find a writing job.” If I ever have the chance to meet him again, I

promise to be on my best behavior! Later I read that he was going through a divorce so that would have explained his less than happy mood. It also taught me a lesson as a fan and certainly as a reviewer and that is, “It’s not about me.” When I meet with an author, I try to keep my mouth shut and just listen.

Another time I was at a reading of Joseph O’Neill who wrote Netherland. Sometimes people are too shy to be the first to ask a question so I’ll ask one of the standards to get things going. There were about 150 people in the room, but no one spoke up when he opened it up to questions. He had just been interviewed on stage, so I didn’t have any questions about his book that hadn’t already been asked. Without thinking, I asked him what he was working on and when did he expect it to be published. The on-stage interviewer chimed in and said that he was wondering the same thing. Well, that turned out to be the wrong question because apparently he had been dealing with a severe case of writer’s block for quite some time. I forget exactly what he said in response, but it was something along the lines of “I DON’T WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT!” I remember wanting to crawl under my chair. I’ve since learned never to ask an author when his new book is coming out unless I already know the answer.

What author do you most want to meet? Why?

The author I was most excited about meeting this year was Anne Enright. I’ve been a huge fan of hers since she wrote The Gathering and then fell in love all over again this year with The Forgotten Waltz. She has her finger on the pulse of the times we’re living in and she’s very funny. She’s a completely fearless writer. I approached her publicist about interviewing her and when they said yes, I immediately started to sweat. I listened to every audio clip I could find of her being interviewed and grew more and more nervous. Talk about not suffering fools gladly! I heard her dress down plenty of interviewers on those clips. I was 20 minutes early to the interview and was having heart palpitations by the time she breezed into the room. I could feel her presence before she opened her mouth. Her book is about a woman who cheats on her husband and is totally self-absorbed. The first thing I said to her was, “So this is obviously an autobiography?” For a moment she froze and then she burst out laughing, and it was all good from there. It was an amazing hour that I’ll never forget. I’ll be posting that interview the first part of January.

What advice can you give authors for giving a good reading?

Lidia Yuknavitch

Josh Ritter

Author events are unnatural. Authors need training and advice to make that important connection with the audience. I always say, “Be humble and self-deprecating. Talk a little bit about the genesis of your book. Read from your book for five minutes - ten, if you must. Take questions for 30 minutes and play the guitar, if possible.” I’m kidding about the guitar, sort of. One of the best readings I went to was for Josh Ritter’s book, Bright’s Passage. Because of the bubble I live in, I was the only one in a room of 300 that didn’t know he was a famous musician. He stood a couple feet from me and between reading passages from his book, he played his guitar and sang. It was fantastic! Afterwards, he talked to me, gave me a hug and told me to let him know when my review was up. Sure, I thought. I contacted him via Twitter when I put up my post, and he gave me the ultimate nod when he re-tweeted that info to seventeen thousand of his fans. He also gave me permission to post my bootleg audio clips of the songs he played. Needless to say, I had a lot of hits for that stuff and still do. Powell’s sold every copy of his book that night. Patti Smith and Rosanne Cash were the same format, but at a paid author event, and it worked really well, but I didn’t get to meet them because I hadn’t started my blog yet. The Chronology of Water author, Lidia Yuknavitch, gave a riveting reading in which she stripped down to a Speedo swimsuit and pretty much cried throughout the entire thing. The audience adored her. So I would say be creative, be your most authentic self, and always expect the unexpected.

Charles Frazier

For instance, it’s raining and this is your debut novel. Three people show up. Treat them like royalty. Instead of standing at the front of the room, sit down with them and chat. At a reading not too long ago, a fan had a seizure and the author had to ask if there was a doctor in the audience - there was. Several readings have brought out some interesting fans. Turn of Mind, the mystery by Alice LaPlante about a doctor with Alzheimer’s, had several people with varying degrees of Alzheimer’s in the audience - great questions! At another reading, someone blurted out a question while the author was in the middle of his opening. When he asked her, in the nicest way possible, to hang on for a bit and he would get back to her, the fan got up and walked out. Several times in the signing line, I’ve been manhandled by impatient fans. The last time was at Charles Frazier’s reading, and I barely missed being thrown to the floor by someone who said that since she had been the first one to the store that day, she should be the first in line. One night a woman in the back of a room crowded with hundreds of people asked if her son could get his book signed first because it was past his bedtime. It was 8:30 and the “boy” turned out to be 14 years old, but everyone was gracious and let him go first. He was humiliated and just kept saying, “I hate my mother.” People will ask you anything that pops into their heads, so be prepared to say no to some questions. Sometimes the audience has no questions at all, so have a story or two on hand to tell. Finally, most people do not go out on a work night in the driving rain to give you a hard time. They are there because they like your work. Be kind and generous.

What about readers? Some online reviewers are actually paid by the author or publisher to write reviews for them.

I personally don’t know any reviewers who are paid by the author or publisher. I know that some publications do sponsor book reviews, which means they pay a reviewer to read it. That’s not something I would ever do.

What did you read as a teenager?

I remember my life changing in high school when I read James Baldwin and Jack Kerouac. It shifted again in college, when I took workshops with beat poets Gary Snyder and Allen Ginsberg. I was very much a child of the sixties even though I actually graduated high school in the 70s. The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Rights In Conflict, Soul on Ice - well, you get the picture. My junior year in high school I read the dictionary from cover to cover. Can’t remember why. Maybe because I heard that every book ever written was contained in there.

Can you describe your taste in novels?

I like reading about the human condition, so I would say literary fiction, memoir, essays, travel and humor. Once in awhile I’ll break from those genres as I did recently for Stephen King’s 11/22/63, which I loved.

What is your quirkiest attribute as a reviewer?

My quirkiest attribute would have to be how much work I put into promoting an author I like. I’ve even picked them up at their hotels and driven them to their readings. Like I said, it’s personal with me.

If you were transported into the body of one fictional character, who would it be?

Even though I don’t read much sci-fi, I’ve always been fascinated with time travel. So any character who travels through time. That’s probably a result of being a two-time cancer survivor. Who wouldn’t want to travel back before you realized you were mortal.

What question have you never been asked that you’ve always wanted to be asked? And what’s the answer?

No one ever asks me anything about why I do what I do, so Val, I want to thank you for being the first and one and only. If there were just one question I always thought should be asked, it would be this: Is every book reviewer a frustrated novelist?

The answer is, of course, a resounding yes! I’ve been hard at work on my novel, “Nod,” for a few years now.

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(FYI: Diane reviews primarily lit fiction, memoir, travel, and some humor. She doesn't read YA, romance, vampire, and rarely science fiction. You can get a flavor of her reading tastes by going to her site.)

To follow Diane, click on any of these links:
Diane's Book Blog
Diane on Twitter 
Diane on Facebook 
Diane on Goodreads 
 

Thank you, Diane, for such a forthright and informative interview! And to thank you, readers and fellow pirates, I will select five questions from you to present to Diane and will post her answers in a future blog. Here's your opportunity to ask those burning questions (or the ones I forgot to ask!) and hear what she has to say. So send your questions to me ValinParis (at) earthlink (dot) net and I'll post them with the answers. Until then ...

Stay dry and keep readin'! It's our only defense against ignorance.

Your Captain, Author and Book Lover,

Captain Val 

Coming Up!

Who knows? Stay tuned!

Interview with Diane Prokop, Book Reviewer - Part I

Years ago, Diane Prokop and I met while working in similar positions at a community college, but lost track of each other until just recently, when books brought us back together. 

We vowed to have coffee or lunch at the 2011 Wordstock Festival in Portland, but we had to settle for two minutes in between author readings and signings. Our love of writing and reading clearly dictates that we will  have a nice long leisurely catch-up lunch soon, but until then, I was too curious about her new passion—book reviewing. As a great follower of Maureen Corrigan and her crisply enunciated NPR reviews, I was eager to find someone other than the highbrow NYT Michiko Kakutani print reviews to follow. I appreciate Maureen’s combination of heart and critical analysis of craft and wanted to find someone similar to read, and now I have.

On her review site, Diane revels in her love of reading and her admiration for writers. I’m reading three books she’s recommended and am now a fan. After doing the following interview, I’m even a bigger fan. She has heart, she doesn’t box herself in, she’s honest, and she’s funny. So without further ado, here’s the first part of the interview with part two coming next week. Enjoy, maties!

Tell us a little about yourself.

Born and raised in Chicagoland - it will always be home. Won my first writing contest in grade school for a poem called “The Lighthouse.” Freelance writer for magazines. Public relations specialist at community college. Life-long student with degree in anthropology. Have taken years and years of art classes but am still just average. Certified computer programmer. Certified cabinetmaker. Earned First Aid card. Best memories - two years spent backpacking though Europe. Still friends with people I knew in grade school and high school. Am curious about everything. Always on the lookout for new authors and budding musicians. Love my dogs. Live in Portland, Oregon - home of Powell’s Books, food carts and rain.

Diane with Max and Jazz

What made you decide to become a book reviewer? How did you get started?

I started keeping bibliodiaries many years ago when I got tired of saying, “Oh yeah, I loved that book or I hated that book,” but couldn’t remember why. Also, I wanted a record of all the books I’d read to see where it was leading me, if anywhere. The journals also contain notes about interesting books I want to read someday and music that I want to check out. One day I decided it would be fun to put it online. At first, I thought only my friends and family would read it. It turns out, though, that my friends and family aren’t big readers, so they check it once every few months just to see if I’ve mentioned them or embarrassed myself. On the other hand, I’ve become really good friends with some of the people who follow my blog. I call them my imaginary friends and would like to meet them someday.

In addition to my blog, last summer I began writing occasionally for the Portland Book Review. It’s where most of my author interviews are posted because I can reach a wider audience. Publishers are more apt to approach me when they see me at multiple sites because it translates into more readers. I hope that eventually my reputation will allow me to write solely for my blog, but in the meantime, it’s working out really well.

You worked in public relations at a community college before moving to Portland, Oregon. How did that help?

Diane at her desk

That job really honed my writing skills. Besides writing press releases, editing copy, writing speeches and talking to TV, radio and print media, I had to produce a daily newsletter that was read by hundreds of academia. Some days it felt like their sole purpose in life was to find my punctuation and spelling errors, or worse. It was humbling. I also developed interviewing skills because of the profiles I did for educational journals, etc. I found that I really enjoyed listening to people tell me their stories. I got excited about what they were excited about. When I started interviewing authors, all those skills kicked in.

Why did you decide to make your book blog a “snark-free” zone as you call it, and why do you only review five-star books?

I have three, four and five-star books on my site, although you can’t see the actual star rating unless you visit me atGoodreads.com. There are several reasons for keeping it snark free, but the main one is that I do this out of love. To me, the most significant action I can take when I don’t like a book is to ignore it. When I get together with other book people, I do trash-talk books. In fact, I can get as emotional about books that disappoint me as I do about books that transcend my expectations. But since I rarely finish a book I don’t like, there’s really no way I can review it. One recent exception was The Help. I kept reading it in spite of the fact that with every page I read, I detested it more and more. Since I had heard so many great things about it, I expected to have an epiphany at some point. I never did. I still don’t know what all the fuss was about.

What’s the difference between you and other reviewers online? What makes you different?

I make it personal. When I read a book, I develop a relationship with the story and, in a way, with the author. Reviewing the book is an analysis of that relationship as opposed to literary criticism. As in life, when I fall in love with a book, I’m head over heels. My readers can see how much I love the book. I don’t hold back at all. In fact, I gush. I become a huge advocate for the author. I tweet them, FaceBook them, and cheerlead them so that they’ll garner a wider fan base. That’s where my PR experience comes in handy. It’s also why, in spite of the fact that social media is not my favorite thing, I am on Twitter and Facebook. I want to spread the word and that is how it’s spread these days.

Tell me about your process in selecting the books you review or feature. You don’t have a review policy on your blog, so I’m guessing you don’t take unsolicited books for review. Do you receive books from publishers? How else do you find them?

I don’t have a review policy, as such, because I never got around to it. I find books by reading Publishers Weekly, Shelf Awareness, Poets & Writers, the NYT and subscribing to e-newsletters from small presses that let me know when new books are coming out. Twitter and FB help me pick up on buzz, too. I don’t like to receive “unsolicited” books from authors and publishers, but I get them from time to time. I do ask for and receive a lot of books from publishers and a few from authors. Some weeks, a dozen books will arrive by mail, UPS and FedEx. I buy a lot of books, of course. I’m a huge first edition addict and belong to a couple of first edition book clubs.

I picture you with stacks of books everywhere in your house, and you have to read each one or at least read the beginning to see if you’re interested. How do you manage that?

Diane's First Editions

Every room in my house is a shrine to books. I have a first edition room, art book room, advance reader copy room, music, photo and film book room, books I will never read but were given to me by a well-intentioned friend room, and then several stacks by my bedside. Since I moved twice in the last ten years, I had to divest myself of a lot of books which was very painful. I’m trying to make up for that now. I need lots of books around me. I usually give each book the 40-page test and then make a decision on whether to continue. If I don’t like it, but I think some other reviewer might, I pass it along.

Can you give us a “picture” of what it’s like to do what you do, say, for a day or week when you’re working on your blog entry? I know you attend Powell’s Bookstore events (and for clarification, I know you do not work for them). How do you rustle up authors?

On average, I spend about four to five hours a day reading, reviewing, researching, posting, tweeting, FBing, and emailing. The spring and fall are my busiest times because that is when most books are released. Book events are scheduled every day of the week during those months. A typical week will have one or two author events that I’m interested in, usually at Powell’s, but at other venues, too. If I am interviewing the author, I read their book twice and prepare a list of questions. I spend at least one-half hour to an hour with the author. I also record their reading and Q&A and take pics. I like to synthesize the event into a few paragraphs for my blog to give my readers a sense of who the author is and what the event was like. If they tell a funny story or say something really interesting, I’ll make a short audio clip for my site and for YouTube. (My YouTube account is called buksr4u). If I interview the author, I get my books autographed at that time. If not, I stand in line to get them signed at the end of the event. The next day, I transcribe the interviews and readings and then write my posts. As far as rustling up authors, usually a publicist will ask me to interview their author. Once in awhile, I’ll reach out to the publicist. A few authors have contacted me and asked to be interviewed. If it’s someone I want to meet, I say yes.

How are the authors, especially the “famous” authors, to work with?

Diane with Sebastian Barry, Irish playwright, novelist and poet

It’s amazing to me how gracious most of the authors are. Alexandra Fuller, Jennifer Egan, Jonathan Franzen, Bret Easton Ellis, Anne Enright, Andre Dubus III, Richard Russo, for instance, have all been very, very nice. A few others were a little peculiar, but not nasty. Some of the debut authors seemed dazed and confused, and I feel a little sorry for them. Quite a few authors live in a bubble so they don’t understand what bloggers do. I’m fairly certain there was one author who thought I was a stalker. Another author questioned me at length as to why I had an ARC. I don’t know if she thought I stole it or what exactly the problem was, but she was not happy. I think publishers need to explain to authors that, because book reviewers have been let go from print publications, bloggers are filling a much-needed gap in the publicity package. If a blogger has your ARC, that means your publisher thought they should have it. I’ve also had a couple of authors refuse to sign an ARC. Both relented when they saw I had first editions of their books, as well, but that was uncomfortable.

Some authors pick up their pen and don’t look up from the signing table until the last person has left the room. They have no desire to interact with their fans. It’s a little disappointing from the fan’s point of view, but for these authors the tour is one hundred times harder than writing the book. I’ve had authors confide in me that they spent the hour before the reading throwing up in the bathroom. I feel for them - that would be me.

(To be continued! More stories next week about Diane and her adventures with famous authors, her funniest moment, her most horrifying moment, and what advice she has for author readings and readers attending readings.)

Anne Enright

To follow Diane, click on any of these links:
Diane's Book Blog
Diane on Twitter 
Diane on Facebook 
Diane on Goodreads 



Diane's interview with Anne Enright is now up on her blog. Read it here!

Until then, keep reading and writing!

Your Shipmate in Life’s Adventures,

Captain Val