On tour: Meet the authors Jodi Picoult and Samantha van Leer

Friday, 27 July 2012 Books+Publishing

Jodi Picoult and her daughter Samantha van Leer have just wrapped up a tour of Australia and New Zealand. Together they wrote the YA novel Between the Lines (A&U).

What would you put on a shelf-talker for your book?
Both: What if … ‘happily ever after’ … could … change?

What is the silliest question you’ve ever been asked on a book tour?
Jodi: ‘You’ve lost a lot of weight—did you have liposuction?’
Samantha: ‘What are you going to do with all your money?’ That’s supposing I even have any!

And the most profound?
Both: ‘Why do you think we all love fairy tales?’ From an elderly gent at one our Sydney events.

What are you reading right now?
Jodi: The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker (S&S).
Samantha: The Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (Little, Brown).

What was the last book you read and loved?
Jodi: The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian (S&S).
Samantha: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (Penguin).

What was the defining book of your childhood?
Jodi: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.
Samantha: Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.

Which is your favourite bookstore?
Both: Dartmouth bookstore (our local bookshop in Hanover, New Hampshire).

Facebook or Twitter?
Both: Facebook.

If I were a literary character I’d be …
Jodi: Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice.
Samantha: Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter.

In 50 years time books will be …
Jodi: Alive and well.
Samantha: Read.

Category: Features