Web of Angels

Author Q&A

20 Writerly Questions for Lilian Nattel


1. How would you summarize your book in one sentence?
Mom with multiple personalities discovers a despicable crime in her neighborhood and sets out to right the wrongs.
 
2. How long did it take you to write this book?
It didn’t take an eternity though it came close: eight years.
 
3. Where is your favorite place to write?
I write in a corner of my bedroom next to an east facing window where I can look out at trees and the squirrels who sometimes decide to pop in for a visit.
 
4. How do you choose your characters’ names?
My characters are often unusual or striking in some way, so I want ordinary names to ground them. To that end, I search online for the top baby names of the decade in which my characters were born.
 
5. How many drafts do you go through?
Web of Angels went through ten drafts and two nervous breakdowns—but they were minor ones.
 
6. If there was one book you wish you had written what would it be?
The Complete Works of Shakespeare or any book by Terry Pratchett. He has more marbles after losing a few to early onset Alzheimer’s than most people ever have in a lifetime.
 
7. If your book were to become a movie, who would you like to see star in it?
Jodie Foster can star and direct: she’s smart, versatile and brave.
 
8. What’s your favourite city in the world?
Charlottetown—it has the cutest airport and parliament.
 
9. If you could talk to any writer living or dead who would it be, and what would you ask?
I’d like to talk to the author of the bible. I would ask if it’s true that the word “elohim” for God, which is plural as in (literal translation) “And Gods said, let us make humans in our image” means that God has multiple personalities. 
 
10. When do you write best, morning or night?
I have two kids—at night I’m a zombie.
 
11. Who is the first person who gets to you read your manuscript?
My husband is the only one I trust to read my terrible first drafts.
 
12. Do you have a guilty pleasure read?
There’s nothing so relaxing as curling up with one of the books in Terry Pratchett’s discworld series, and I don’t feel the least bit guilty about it. The good get rewarded and the wicked get theirs with just enough realism in that fantasy world to make it believable. 
 
13. What’s on your nightstand right now?
Do you mean my collection of stuffies? Oh probably not. But I always keep Teach Only Love by Gerald G. Jampolsky close by.
 
14. What is the first book you remember reading?
The Three Billy Goats Gruff.
 
15. Did you always want to be a writer?
Not always—you see until I was ten, I thought all authors were dead. Once I discovered they were a living breed, I knew I wanted to be one.
 
16. What do you drink or eat while you write?
I drink coffee and eat oatmeal. I like my oatmeal with apple, raisins and peanut butter.
 
17. Typewriter, laptop, or pen & paper?
Laptop—I can type as fast as I think.
 
18. What do you wear when you write?
Ancient grey sweatpants, a tank top, and a knee-length bathrobe.
 
19. How do you decide which narrative point of view to write from?
The story tells me the point of view—and usually several because that is so much more interesting than just one.
 
20. What is the best gift someone could give a writer?
Time—every writer craves time to write and think. Next to time, faith and a home cooked meal.