Moon: How important was reading to you as a young girl and why?

Mindy Klasky: Although I was a relatively late reader (didn't start until kindergarten), I loved the magic of books - the ability to travel anywhere in the world. I read with my parents each night before I went to bed, and I still remember the excitement of turning those pages, never knowing what was going to happen next.

Moon: What authors and/or books impacted you the most?

Mindy Klasky: The first author I remember saying, "Wow!" about was E.L. Konigsberg, with her wonderful chapter books, FROM THE MIXED-UP FILES OF MRS. BASIL E. FRANKWEILER and JENNIFER, HECATE, MACBETH, WILLIAM MCKINLEY, AND ME, ELIZABETH. With both of those books, I identified strongly with the main characters, and I realized that there were stories to be told in daily life around me.
With regard to fantasy writing, my greatest influence was Katherine Kurtz, one of the first authors I read who created human characters in could-be-real situations in her Deryni series.

Moon: When did you first know you wanted to be a writer?

Mindy Klasky: I wrote stories and poems from the very beginning; I still have haikus that I wrote in second grade. I truly dreamed of being a writer, though, in seventh grade. During spring break of that year, my best friend and I started a sequel to the Lord of the Rings. I had a character who was "me", and I loved spinning her melodramatic story.

Moon: You graduated from Princeton University. What was your major? What made you chose to become a lawyer?

Mindy Klasky: I was an English major, with a concentration in American Studies. (I wrote my thesis on the theme of loneliness in the novels of John Steinbeck.) I decided to become a lawyer because I was interested in intellectual property, particularly copyright and computer law. (Plus, I could justify being an English major if I knew I was going on to law school. :-) )

Moon: How did your time working in law affect your writing? Did it help in any way? Hinder it?

Mindy Klasky: My lawyer-work changed my writing style substantially. As a junior associate in a large law firm, I always knew that my work would be edited by senior associates, then junior partners, then senior partners. Therefore, I lost a sense of ownership; I was more willing to edit my own work, and to be flexible in accepting the edits of others. I also learned to write quickly, under time pressure. Both flexibility and speed have served me well as I've balanced my full-time day-job with my writing career.

Moon: You left law to pursue a career as a librarian. What prompted that choice and how has that change impacted your life?

Mindy Klasky: I decided to be a librarian because I was tired of my confrontational work as a librarian. (Also, I didn't have enough time to write on a predictable, regular basis.) I love being a librarian - I'm no longer expected to *know* every answer, but I'm allowed to say, "Let me research the answer to that."

Moon: In your new book "Sorcery and the Single Girl", Jane Madison is a librarian. How does that make her reaction different to the things that happen to her then if she were…I donno…a stage manager or a rabbi. *wink*

Mindy Klasky: ::grin:: A stage manager is expected to control all the situations around her, keeping everything flowing smoothly. A rabbi is expected to calm others, to lead by example, to guide people through good times and bad. A librarian can discover new paths around her constantly, researching different byways and still discovering the true way by the end of the day. If Jane were a stage manager or a rabbi, she'd be far less likely to accept her witchcraft; she'd try to reason it out of existence or manage it into submission.

Moon: You mention on your website that a portion (10 %) of your income from "Sorcery and the Single Life (EDIT: GIRL)" goes to a program called First Book. Tell us more about that program and why helping it means so much to you.

Mindy Klasky: First Book is a national charity that donates books to underprivileged children, so that they can own their very own books. I remember very clearly the excitement of receiving books, all through my childhood. I love the idea that First Book fosters that feeling among millions of children throughout the United States. The fact that they are a well-managed organization is icing on the proverbial cake.

Moon: What would you like to tell us about the other books you have written.

Mindy Klasky: The Witchcraft series grew out of my interest in traditional fantasy novels. My Glasswright series (THE GLASSWRIGHTS' APPRENTICE, THE GLASSWRIGHTS' PROGRESS, THE GLASSWRIGHTS' JOURNEYMAN, THE GLASSWRIGHTS' TEST, and THE GLASSWRIGHTS' MASTER), like my stand-alone novel, SEASON OF SACRIFICE, are set in imaginary medieval worlds, where people are forced to question the roles that society has defined for them, challenging themselves to accomplish more than they every imagined they could do.

Moon: What things inspire your writing the most? What challenges do you face in your writing you'd like to overcome?

Mindy Klasky: I find inspiration in a hundred-and-one daily coincidences - snatches of conversation overheard on the Metro, stunning paintings at art exhibits, other books that I read. I wish that I had more time to write, so that I could experiment more with story-telling technique, generating two or three novels a year instead of the one that I can create while working full-time as a librarian.

Thanks so much for visiting with us today Mindy. If you want to know more about our guest today feel free to drop her a lj comment, and by all means go by and visit her website and blog.

Here is her newly released novel, available TODAY! 

Sorcery and the Single Girl



Those TV witches have got it made....

Wiggle a nose. Dinner's on the table!

Hop on a broom. Next stop, Tahiti!

Unfortunately, nose-wiggling doesn't cut it in real life. So witch or not, Jane Madison must deal with her insane work schedule, best-friend drama and romantic dry spell like everyone else.

But now the exclusive Washington Coven wants Jane to join. This could be a dream come true for the magical misfit, or it could be the most humiliating experience of her life. Either way, the crap's gonna hit the cauldron because Jane is about to be tested in ways she's never imagined - and, pass or fail, nothing will ever be the same.

Sorcery and the Single Girl combines the humor and single-girl angst of Bridget Jones's Diary with the fantasy magic of Harry Potter (for grown-ups!). 

Excerpt