On my Twitter feed I write that I'm "a blogger, book reviewer, and author interviewer, but above all, a reader." Even if we added in my personal life – wife, mother, sloppy knitter, dreadful correspondent – "above all, a reader" works.
Now a journalist and book reviewer in the D.C. metro area, I began my formal career in publishing as an editor for the now-defunct PAGES magazine, leaving that wonderful job to shepherd the now-defunct AOL Books channel. After that, I became a Contributing Editor at Publishers Weekly, and continued the blog I'd begun at AOL, "The Book Maven." That blog is not defunct! In the new world of digital media, I've found new ways and venues (including this site) to continue talking about books.
I‘ve reviewed for The Washington Post Book World, PEOPLE magazine, and Bookreporter.com, among others. Whenever I tell people what I do, their first reaction is "Wow, you get paid to read for a living!" If only. Let me explain...
It's true that I found a way, through years of different kinds of jobs, freelance gigs, and networking, to make reading pay: any book I read (and I do read many; more on that in a moment) contributes to my work. However, I don't get paid to read; I get paid to write, I get paid to criticize, I get paid to entertain... the reading time is on my own clock. Fortunately, that doesn't matter -- because I'd be reading as fast as I can whether I was working as a blogger and book reviewer and publishing-industry reporter, or not.
Like many of you visiting this site, I discovered reading early in life. The earliest book I can remember owning and loving was one with cloth pages that were sort of waxed or coated so that they were still flexible (does anyone else remember those?); I carried it around constantly -- knowing that I could hand it to my mother and hear her tell me words that connected to the bright illustrations was sheer heaven. I still carry a book with me constantly. As long as I've got one, I've got great company. (Nowadays that book I carry might be on my ereader, of course.)
So, as I got older and began to write professionally, I found that I wanted to talk to the men and women whose creations were keeping my company. I've interviewed scores of today's best authors, from Alexander McCall Smith to Luanne Rice to Julian Barnes to Jan Karon to Art Buchwald to Sue Grafton to Nelson DeMille to Alice Walker to Brad Meltzer to P.D. James to... well, you get the idea.
Here's what I promise you: I'll ask every author different questions, and I always, always read the book (so that those questions are relevant). I'll also guarantee that every author we feature is someone (like those above) who intrigues me -- and I hope their interviews will intrigue you, too.
More stuff, in case you're still reading: I grew up in New York's beautiful Hudson Valley (home to authors like Edith Wharton and Washington Irving) and received my undergraduate degree from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts (home to authors like Tracey Kidder and Eric Carle). Shortly thereafter I earned a master's degree in English from the University of Virginia (home to authors like John Casey, George Garrett, and even a brief student stint by Edgar Allen Poe). I've lived in several different places, including Europe, with my attorney husband "Mr. Bethanne," and our two delightful daughters, the Mini Mavens. Maven Manor now also includes the Hounds (miniature Schnauzers, both rescue dogs).