Interview with Pam Jenoff author of THE AMBASSADOR​’S DAUGHTER

1. What book has impacted you the most?

Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg. She combines her practice of Zen Buddhism with creative writing that just broke me wide open. Her approach really got me writing in the mid–nineties, which paved the way to my career as a novelist.

2. What are you currently reading?

With three small children, I'm usually reading something that rhymes or has lots of pictures. For myself, I read in spurts, lots at once, then not much when I'm researching. I'm actually between books at the moment, but I just placed a huge order of books and am eager to receive it.

3. Any advice to aspiring writers?

I would tell aspiring writers three things. First, you have to be tenacious. For a long time it didn't look as if The Kommandant's Girl was going to get picked up. But with the help of my agent, I developed the attitude that if this one doesn't sell, the next one will. You just have to keep on knocking at the door until it opens.

Second, you have to be disciplined. Writing takes a lot of time, and I'm not just talking about the first draft. There are the revisions, and then there's the business marketing side of it. You have to make choices in order to consistently carve out the time for your writing, if it is going to be important to you.

Finally, the single biggest skill that has helped me as a writer is having the ability to revise. My books have gone through dozens of rewrites from first draft to publication. Many times I had to take broad, conceptual suggestions from my agent or editor and incorporate them into the work. Often I wasn't sure if I liked or agreed with the changes. Sometimes I would take the leap of faith and see if the changes worked (they almost always did). Other times I would go back to whoever was making the suggestion and say, "Whoa, let's slow down here and revisit" in order to negotiate changes that made the story better without destroying my gut–level instinct about the spirit of the book. But ultimately, I truly believe my ability to integrate those changes made all the difference.

4. If you could pen any previously printed work as your own it would be ––––fill in the blank––––because––––fill in the blank.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. When I was in college, someone read the whole thing aloud to me, bit by bit in the evenings and it was magical.

5. Did you base any of your characters on any real people in your life?

I try not to base my work on real life. I think that real life makes for great setting, but terrible plot. That said, a few characters might remind me of people I know or physically resemble them. And I once had the distinct pleasure of seeing an ex–boyfriend after many years and telling him, "I'm killing you off in my next book. What would you like your name to be?"

Thank you so much for your help and effort and I do hope you enjoyed THE AMBASSADOR'S DAUGHTER.

You are invite to attend the Booktrib.com live chat with Pam Jenoff on February 5 at 3:30PM ET