Abi Maxwell is the author of the debut novel Lake People (Knopf). Library Journal writes: "Maxwell's writing has a whispery, brooding, atmospheric feel that conveys Alice's fragility while capturing both the lushness of the region and its claustrophobic effect on Alice. Literary fiction readers will be moved by this quiet yet compelling work." Maxwell is reading and signing at the bookstore on Tuesday, March 5th at 7pm. To get a signed copy, click here.
Q: What's on your nightstand right now?
A: Vampires in the Lemon Grove, by Karen Russell. I just love it--and all of her fiction--so much.
Q: How do you write?
A: I write pretty much full time--I begin in the morning, and go for as long as I can. I like silence, and I always write the first draft with paper and pen in order to get the story out. After that I move to the computer and start looking at structure and sound and all of that other stuff.
Q: Name the first time or moment you realized you were a writer.
A: That was the first time I wrote a short story--instead of a children's storybook. I was fourteen, and I could not stop. I worked on it on the school bus, in my bed at night-- everywhere, for every moment I could until it was finished. I was enthralled by every part of the process--I wrote it on lined notebook paper with a cheap Bic pen that I had to press really hard into the paper, and I remember that I just loved the feel of all those indented pages.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: Another book set in a small NH town--this one about two sisters, a barn, old secrets ... we'll see where it goes!
Q: Favorite recent find?
A: I think that would be snowshoes. Winter is my favorite season, and I have finally realized that snowshoeing is such an easy way to just be in the woods in winter.
