Ask the Author: Sally Franson
Answered Questions (6)
Sally Franson
How any working parents in America without full-time childcare/paid housekeeping manage to keep their kitchen counters clean!!!!!!!!!!
Sally Franson
I'm currently working on a project inspired by the great screwball comedies of the '30s and '40s — Bringing Up Baby, The Philadelphia Story, The Lady Eve. Watching them for research has brought me a lot of joy recently!
Sally Franson
Easy — I want to go to Pippi Longstocking's house, Villa Villekula, and roll out gingerbread cookies with her on the kitchen floor. And then, when the cookies are in the oven, we'll strap sponges to our feet and throw soapy water on the ground and skate around to clean things up.
Sally Franson
The baby cried and cried for hours. When she finally went down, the mother went to the freezer to eat the Thin Mints, ONLY TO DISCOVER THEY WERE GONE.
Sally Franson
This one's easy: I read! Nothing gets me more excited to write than devouring a wonderful book. Sometimes I'll trust reviewers in the NYT, NY Mag, the Read Like the Wind newsletter, or other online media for recs, but I find I get the most inspiration from books my friends recommend. That's how I fell in love with now-favorite authors like Armistead Maupin, Stephen McCauley, Anne Tyler, and others. Friends not only get me: they get my tastes! Sometimes it seems like writing is the only way to combat writers' block, but sometimes not being able to write comes as a result of the tank being empty, or the field being fallow (choose your metaphor). The answer isn't to try to work more, or 'hack' that fallow feeling, but nourish it instead with other people's beautiful work. There's nothing better than the feeling of refreshment that I get after reading: like I can face the world, and my work, again.
Sally Franson
I was inspired to write BIG IN SWEDEN, a novel about a reality TV show in Sweden because...you guessed it...I was ON a reality TV show in Sweden! The show that inspired my book, ALLT FÖR SVERIGE, is all about genealogy, and as a result I became fascinated with the idea of family. How much of who we are is contingent on and defined by those who came before us? How can the concept of "family" evolve to its most capacious and generous form? I also wanted to take readers to Sweden, a country that I adore, and have them fall in love with it as much as I did. And I also, always and forever, wanted to make readers laugh at this crazy world we all find ourselves in.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more