'The best books, reviewed with insight and charm, but without compromise.'
- author Jackie French

Tuesday, 18 March 2014

12 Curly Questions with author Bill Condon

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.
I worked as a real estate agent for one day. I was sacked when I tried to talk customers out of a sale, because I thought the cost was too high.

2. What is your nickname?
I'm not cool enough to have one.

3. What is your greatest fear?
Questionnaires.

4. Describe your writing style in ten words.
Stumbling. Bumbling. Crumbling. (That's all I could think of - writer's block.)

5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Found that too hard. Here's one positive sentence about me as a writer: I always try to write for at least an hour, before resorting to plagiarism.

6. What book character would you be, and why?
What about comic book characters? Scrooge McDuck and his money bin; Superman's X-ray vision - so much to choose from!

7. If you could time travel, what year would you go to and why?
I'd stay in this year, and make the time go very, very slowly.

8. What would your ten-year-old self say to you now?
This is a fine mess you're going to get me into.

9. Who is your greatest influence?
My wife, Dianne Bates. Without Di's belief in me I'd probably still be working in a milk factory. But she hasn't done it all on her own. The whips and cattle prods have also helped.

10. What/who made you start writing?
Whips and cattle prods.

11. What is your favourite word?
I have two of them - The End.

12. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
That's such a hard question, but it would be something funny; perhaps a short story collection by Woody Allen.


Bill Condon is an Australian author of numerous titles including A Straight Line to my Heart, Confessions of a Liar, Thief and Failed Sex God and the newly released novel for younger readers The Simple Things, published by Allen & Unwin. Read our recent interview with Bill to find our more or visit the Enterprising Words website for more information about Bill and his writing.

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