Listen to Podcast

A: Well, that's hard to say, in a way. Certainly I look at issues and feelings I want to explore, but where they come from is sometimes a mystery. I mean that sometimes the characters create emotions in me rather than the other way around. I like to start a novel with something I want to explore in a general way and then let the book teach me what it wants to--in the way that it wants to.

Q: Deep character study is one of the hallmarks of your novels. Are your characters based on individuals from your past experiences or are they composites? Who is your favorite character in litarary fiction apart from your own fictional characters?

A: No one in my novels is ever anyone I knew in real life. The characters are totally made up or composite characters whose "real life" qualities are mixed with outright fiction. That said, I think it's true that fiction always tells the strongest emotional truths.

Q: If you were giving a fledging author some advice, what would it be?

A: Honor your own voice and your own instincts. Never try to sound like someone else. We need more original voices, so don't sabotage your own! Don't focus on selling your material; focus on the joy in writing it. Try to keep yourself free and open to subconscious suggestions when you write, and above all, try to have fun!

Q: If you had not become so successful a writer, what would have been your second (or third) career choice?

A: I worked as a registered nurse for ten years, so I might have stayed in nursing--I loved it. Now I have a burning desire to do two things: open some stores, and put together a get-away retreat for women. If I could, I would open a cookware store called Good Looking Cooking; a fabric store called Sew and Sew, and pie shop called Vi's Pies. Also a restaurant with no menu--you just eat what's put in front of you. (And dogs are allowed and they get marrow bones.) A fantasy that is very close to coming true is my retreat for women. I really might do this. I want to find a BEAUTIFUL 2-bedroom condo in the best neighborhood in Chicago and outfit it with the most outrageously beautiful furniture and fabric and bedsheets, etc. All kinds of beautiful dishes and copper pots and pans, billions of things for the bath. All girl books and movies. Vintage hankies sitting in baskets for the tear-jerker movies. It would be a place for women to get away with their girlfriends. NO MEN, even though we like them most of the time. My catchphrase will be: Elizabeth Berg Retreats, where the seat is always down. A friend suggested I call it "Friends Away." I really am looking into this most seriously. I'd start in Chicago and if that worked I'd do it in other cities.

Q: What other challenges do you see on the horizon for yourself in the coming months?

A: Oh man, first I think I need a rest. This was a very long tour. But then I want to write a really fine novel based on a woman a fan told me about--her mother, actually. And I want to write a collection of funny stories, the lead story (and title) being THE DAY I ATE WHATEVER I #&)%$*&@ WANTED

Q: You have written some nonfiction books. Do you foresee another in the near future, and if so, can you tell us the theme? Which is more difficult for you to write, fiction or nonfiction?

A: I may do a non-fiction book, but the idea is not well formulated enough to tell you about. For me, there's not a lot of difference between writing fiction and non-fiction. In both cases, you need an eye for detail, an ability to know what's interesting and what's not, how to mix humor and pathos, etc. There is a dreamier quality to writing fiction, but if you get lost inside a non-fiction piece, you can feel that kind of dreaminess, too. Okay, that's all your questions. Thanks for inviting me to your book club. Thanks for reading my books and making it possible for me to do what I love best for a living. I appreciate it every single day.

Interview Date: June 2004
Profile and questions compiled by Rosanne L., Matthews Branch Library