Gail Bowen

This morning I did an interview about Raven’s new Rapid Reading series for “Quill and Quire”.  The interviewer’s name was Sarah, and her questions were thoughtful and perceptive.  She had read my blog – a pleasant surprise because I didn’t think anybody read my blog.  At any rate, Sarah not only had read my blog but as we talked she referred to what I’d written in some of the entries.   When the interview was finished, I told her it had a pleasure, and I meant what I said.

 I’ve been writing professionally for twenty years, and there have been many interviews.  Peter Gzowski was the best interviewer I ever met. His secret was simple:  he was always prepared and he knew how to listen.  My friend Maggie Siggins told me about being interviewed in studio by Peter.  He had a copy of her book in hand and she said the pages were dense with his notes.  I had many lovely moments on air with Peter Gzowski.  Being interviewed by him was like being led on the dance floor by a very good dancer.  If he felt you were stumbling, he steadied you until you’d regained your footing and felt confident enough to try a daring step or two.  Once I used the word ‘lugubrious’ in an interview.  He told me later he gave me five extra minutes because in all his years on radio, no one had ever used the word ‘lugubrious’ when they were talking with him. 

I always have fun talking to Shelagh Rogers.  She has a way of making you feel as if she loves your books as much as you love them.  Interviews with Shelagh are always punctuated by her wonderful, musical, infectious, dirty laugh. Being interviewed by her is like being at a great pyjama party where the parents are gone for the evening; there’s beer in the fridge, and there may be boys dropping by later.

Bill Richardson is the master of the unexpected question.  On a book tour, it’s easy for a writer to go on automatic pilot, but Bill Richardson keeps you honest.  He and I once spent most of a very long interview talking about my relationship with the Anglican Church and my involvement with Integrity, the organization within our church that is committed to welcoming gays and lesbians to the congregation.  He also told me that the author photo on the back of my book looked as if it had been taken when I was sitting fully clothed in a sauna.

So far, my starred interviewers have all been from CBC.  John Gormley works on private radio and he is heard daily by almost everyone in our province (although not everyone admits to listening to him.)  The topics on John’s show are wide-ranging, and his knowledge of a wide range of subjects is impressive.  He is a lawyer and he was a Tory MP.  He has an ex-politician’s ability to sniff out spin and a trial lawyer’s delight in closing in for the kill.  Interviews with him make my pulse race, but they’re always fun and fittingly for someone in private radio, John honours the fact that a writer is on his show to sell a product, and he makes certain the title and calibre of your new book is mentioned loud and often.