Elyse P asked Maggie Shipstead:

Were any of the characters in "Astonish Me" based on any ballet dancers/teachers you knew or worked with? If the book is adapted for film, who would you imagine playing Joan, Jacob, Harry, and Arslan?

Maggie Shipstead Inescapably, Arslan has some commonalities with Mikhail Baryshnikov, although I used elements of Rudolf Nureyev, too, like his Tatar background. The mechanism of Arslan's defection is essentially identical to Baryshnikov's, which I chose partly because I knew it worked and partly because I wanted Arslan to suggest not so much Baryshnikov the person but the IDEA of him, the power of his charisma. Mr. K is meant to suggest George Balanchine (known as Mr. B) because he's this towering artistic figure, although Mr. K is bisexual and Balanchine wasn't. The female dancers aren't inspired by anyone specifically, really, although Ludmilla Yedemskaya's method of defection and trademark headscarf were borrowed from Natalia Makarova, though not Ludmilla's nasty personality.

I think this book would be impossible to translate to film (maybe I shouldn't say that--filmmakers, you are welcome to try!) so I haven't though much about that . . . I don't know! I think they'd have to be dancers, anyway.

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Maggie, I adored Astonish Me. I practically devoured it in one sitting! Your depection of the culture and neuroses of the professional dance world was spot on. Did you dance professionally as a young adult? If not, what type of research did you do?

Rose asked Maggie Shipstead:

Who was the hardest character to write? Is it easier or harder to write for a character you relate to?

Kim asked Maggie Shipstead:

As a reader, I can get awfully wrapped up a book and its characters and sometimes find it difficult to let them go when the story ends. (That happened to me when I read Seating Arrangements.) As a writer, do you have this same difficulty? Some authors seem to explore a similar theme in a very different storyline but is it the theme or certain character traits the author wants to revisit?

All answers from Maggie Shipstead…

Maggie Shipstead

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Were any of the characters in "Astonish Me" based on any ballet dancers/teachers you knew or worked with? If the book is adapted for film, who would you imagine playing Joan, Jacob, Harry, and Arslan?

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Maggie, I adored Astonish Me. I practically devoured it in one sitting! Your depection of the culture and neuroses of the professional dance world was spot on. Did you dance professionally as a young adult? If not, what type of research did you do?

Who was the hardest character to write? Is it easier or harder to write for a character you relate to?

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