Five Minutes with Rainbow Rowell

Posted on 16 November 2015

What kind of books did you enjoy when you were growing up?

I never stopped reading picture books. So I’d go the the library and get stacks of them, even after I’d started reading chapter books. Beverly Cleary was my favourite author for a really long time. I’m still inspired by her Ramona books – the way she tells real, sometimes heart-breaking, stories that are laugh-out-loud funny. When I was a teenager, my reading was all over the place. It never occurred to me stay in one genre. I got really into John Irving. I read tons of classics. I loved science-fiction short stories.

What’s your favourite book of all time?

I don’t have just one. I have a favourites shelf. I’m looking over at it now – Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, Among Others by Jo Walton, The Magicians by Lev Grossman, Sue Townsend’s The Adrian Mole Diaries.

What made you want to be a writer?

I started writing really early – because it was the thing that I always got the most attention for from teachers. So I edited my high school newspaper and went on to major in journalism, advertising, and English. (There was one semester when I was studying advanced newswriting, advanced copywriting, poetry writing, and fiction writing.) When I graduated from college, I went to work at a newspaper and was a columnist for about ten years. Then I worked in advertising…

I didn’t really write fiction – or anything for mysel – until my late twenties, early thirties. And that felt like such a risk. I didn’t want to find out I was terrible.

Do you have a favourite place to write?

I write at home – now. I wrote my first four books at a specific Starbucks in Omaha, where I live. But we recently moved into a house that has enough room for me to write at home. I have an old-fashioned wood-paneled office, probably built for the man of the house in 1945. I’ve put up some pink wallpaper.

What helps you write?

I make playlists for each book as I write it. All my book playlists are on my public Spotify profile. I choose songs that fit the mood of the scene and the vibe of the characters. And I drink so much tea.

What are you writing at the moment?

I’ve got a fantasy novel about Simon Snow [out now] – Carry On. Then I’m eager to start working on a graphic novel with Canadian artist Faith Erin Hicks.

Do you have any writing tips for any aspiring writers out there?

I guess my advice would be: Read, read, read. And: write, write, write. Reading is so important, because it’s how you figure out what good writing is. You get an ear for it. And writing is important, because it’s how you figure out what you sound like. You get an ear for what good writing sounds like in your voice.

Carry On is out now. Buy your copy today!