Interview with Linda Mahkovec, Author of The Notebooks of Honora Gorman

What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write The Notebooks of Honora Gorman: Fairytales, Whimsy, and Wonder?

Of all the books I’ve written, this had the longest gestation. It combines two story ideas that I worked on for many years. One is the life of a NYC writer, and the other is based on short pieces that I wrote over the years. I don’t know why it took me so long to realize that these two narratives belonged together.

What’s your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?

Women’s Fiction – historical, literary, contemporary – which is the genre I write in. But I like to mix it up and read a mystery now and then, or nonfiction, or a good old Victorian novel (I’m in the mood for some Dickens).

What books are on your TBR pile right now?

I just bought “Starry Messenger” by Neil deGrasse Tyson and am so looking forward to being lifted into that cosmic perspective for a while that changes all perceptions.

“100 Poems” by Seamus Heaney, which I recently bought at The Center for Fiction in Brooklyn. I was meeting a friend for a tour of the Center and then dinner. She surprised me with a few souvenirs from her trip to Paris – a book bag from Shakespeare and Company and a Boticelli bookmark. So besides being a gem in itself, the book of poems is now associated with dreams (of Paris) and beauty (Boticelli).

And as usual, I have several books lined up in my Kindle queue – a mix of established and indie authors.

What scene in your book was your favorite to write?

I suppose the end, which is where it was headed all along, and the idea that it is never too late to live the life you want.

Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)

A room with a view (usually, from my kitchen table).

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

It’s never too late…Don’t give up…Just keep trying…(etc., etc., etc.)

If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?

To believe in your dreams and to weave in a little of that dream stuff into your every day. To seek out that which uplifts and inspires you.

Linda Mahkovec is the author of the new book The Notebooks of Honora Gorman: Fairytales, Whimsy, and Wonder

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