Q and A with Lisa Tucker, Author of The Promised World

Please help me in welcoming Lisa Tucker to Serendipitous Readings and thank her for allowing me to do a quick Q and A with her on her book promotional tour.  Thanks Lisa!

What do you consider the most overrated virtue? patience

Which words or phrases do you most overuse? “actually” “of course” “very.”  (Of course I’m actually very careful not to.)

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? losing someone you love

What is it that you most dislike? cruelty, especially if the person being cruel believes/claims his or her behavior is entirely justified

Which talent would you most like to have?(Besides Writing) Playing the cello

When writing your current novel, what was it that you wanted to convey most about the story, characters? I don’t think in terms of conveying something while I’m writing the novel.  My only goal is to be faithful to the characters’ voices and to tell their story as honestly as I can.

What was it about mathematics that made you want to pursue a degree in it? In a way, it’s like elegant writing: clean, orderly, beautiful.  It’s the most perfect symbol system we have.  It was such a relief to study mathematics while I was raising a young child, since motherhood is so messy and ambiguous.

If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be? If I came back as a person, I hope I could be a writer again.  If I was forced to be a thing, I hope it wouldn’t be orange.  I have an intense dislike of that color.

Who are your favorite writers? Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, Toni Morrison, Russell Banks, James Baldwin, Mona Simpson, Larry Brown, and at least a hundred others.  There are so many good writers and good books; I’ll be lucky if I have time to read half the things I want to.

Who are your heroes in real life? I admire all kinds of people: many in my life and many I read about who do wonderful things.  But I don’t think I really have heroes.  I believe all of us have our heroic side; we just have to live up to our best instincts.