R.L. Maizes

R.L. Maizes is the author of the novel Other People’s Pets (on sale July 14, 2020) and the short story collection We Love Anderson Cooper (paperback on sale July 14, 2020), both from Celadon Books (Macmillan). Her writing has aired on National Public Radio and has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, and elsewhere.

Twitter: @RL_Maizes    

Instagram: @r.l._maizes

What’s the oddest thing a reader has ever asked you?

A reader once asked during a Q&A if my marriage was okay. Now in my fiction many of the marriages are troubled. But if I only wrote fiction about things that were true in my own life, I’d have a terribly small universe of things to write about. She seemed apologetic asking the question, as if she knew better.

Not all books are for all readers… when you start a book and you just don’t like it, how long do you read until you bail?

What usually attracts me to a book is the voice, and I can tell pretty quickly if a particular voice captivates me. It takes a few paragraphs at most. I might give up on the book later if it fails to deliver in other ways. But if the voice doesn’t grab me immediately, it’s not the right time for me to read that book.

Vacation druthers…city or rural destination? Why?

Both! I love visiting cities for the people watching, the museums, the parks, the theater. But in a big city, after a few days, I get tired of the noise, the crowding, and the pollution. I turn into a cranky old man at that point. That’s when I’m ready for the countryside: natural landscapes, wildlife, and most of all, quiet.

What do you worry about?

I’m a champion worrier. In fact, very few people can out-worry me. I used to be a lawyer, i.e., a professional worrier. Here are three random worries out of many, many more: I worry that the spirit that possessed me, allowing me to write my first novel, Other People’s Pets, won’t return as I try to write my next book. I worry that readers who would really enjoy the novel might not find it because of the many good choices readers have. I worry that my dog, Rosie, is prematurely gray, and that, like her mama, she worries too much.

What’s the difference (at least for you) between being a writer and an author? How do you shift gears between the two?

Authors are people who worry about book sales. Writers are people who worry about plot holes. They both worry but the object of their worry differs. I try to worry about plot holes in the morning, when I’m freshest, and because I enjoy worrying about art more than commerce. But eventually I have to shift to worrying about commerce in the afternoon if I want the opportunity to worry about art again.