Wednesday, February 4

Interview with a Girl Goddess {Introduction}



As is quite obvious, the primary source of inspiration and magic in my life is the work of Francesca Lia Block.

Weetzie Bat makes me want to find magic in every moment of my life
Echo drives me to explore and appreciate those around me
The Hanged Man reminds me to stay strong through conflict
Ecstasia whispers that I need to dance
Baby Be-Bop wraps its arms around me and tells me to love more
Primavera reminds me that I am loved, even when I forget
a chunk of my FLB library
Missing Angel Juan sends me on a journey to find myself when I'm lost and lonely
Necklace of Kisses reminds me that love is alive, even as time goes by
Teen Spirit helps me let go of loss and look ahead
Love in a Time of Global Warming feeds my sense of adventure
Roses & Bones shines the magic of fairy tales into real life
I Was A Teenage Fairy pushes me to live my own life, through its struggles and pain, and find beauty and love
The Elementals brings me back to my self, reminding me of my longing for magic and my need to hold on to reality, and to meld the two internal desires
...and... honestly... there's so much more!

So when the idea of interviewing the Girl Goddess herself became a sudden and unexpected possibility, I kind of freaked out.
And then it actually happened.
Our exchange was via email, so she couldn't see me fangirl-ing out like crazy, which is probably a good thing.

What's kind of extra neat is that this quickly became an exercise in understanding my appreciation of another person.
What do you ask a writer you've read and adored for fifteen years? With every book I've finished and poem I've devoured, what thoughts jumped out at me that I need to ask about?
It's actually a really hard thing to do...
Do you ask questions that might make them laugh? Questions about their writing (doesn't everyone do that?) or their process? Hard-hitting questions about the meaning of life? Their favorite color? How do you choose?
I tried to do research ahead of time, checking out as many previous interviews from sites and magazines. The last thing I wanted to do was ask the same questions other people ask over and over!

A lot of interviews I found seemed to focus on the themes of her books and how they came about, so I tried to focus more on her self, her life, and her outlook on the world around her.
via google search
I think I still ended up with a few cliche questions, but, as a whole... I can't even describe how excited this has made me. It's... kind of amazing.
Especially since she was extremely understanding and nice about the whole thing. Despite my degree, I'm a terrible journalist and get really flustered when I talk to people I see as famous/important/awesome and get really nervous. She was really nice and also seemed down-to-earth, and it made my day to read her emails.

So! Please continue on and read my Q & A with the girl goddess, dangerous angel herself, Francesca Lia Block!



3 comments: