A. J. Banner
Author Interview - A.J. Banner
Author I draw inspiration from: I draw inspiration from many authors and from different authors at different times. Recently, I was inspired by ALL THE NAMES THEY USED FOR GOD by Anjali Sachdeva. Lauren Groff’s short story collection, FLORIDA, is pushing me to pay attention to every sentence. I’m also re-reading THE HANDMAID’S TALE by Margaret Atwood.
Author Interview - A.J. Banner
Favorite place to read a book: In bed, propped against pillows, using my trusty reading light.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with: I would probably be focused on getting out of the elevator. However, if I could be stuck in an elevator with a fictional character, again, I can’t pick just one. Perhaps Charlotte, the spider from CHARLOTTE’S WEB, or Aslan from the Chronicles of Narnia, or maybe Eddie, a shiny green bug with a personality in THE TINY HERO OF FERNY CREEK LIBRARY.
Author Interview - A.J. Banner
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author: There was no exact moment, but many moments over a lifetime, maybe starting with the first time I picked up a crayon, or when I received my first toy typewriter at the age of eleven, or earlier, when I kept a journal in India at the age of eight and wrote about a lost dog on the beach. I can’t say for sure.
Hardback, paperback, eBook or audiobook: All of the above. I’m listening to DEEP WORK by Cal Newport – absolutely life-changing – as an audiobook. I’m reading THE EMOTIONAL CRAFT OF FICTION – also amazing! – by Donald Maass on my Kindle app on my iPhone, and I’m reading the riveting memoir, INTO THE PLANET, by cave diver Jill Heinerth in hardcover. LAYOVER, a thriller by David Bell, is on its way to me in paperback. I love everything David has ever written.
Author Interview - A.J. Banner
The last book I read: ALL THE NAMES THEY USED FOR GOD, the debut short story collection by Anjali Sachdeva, beyond stunning.
Author Interview - A.J. Banner
Pen & paper or computer: Oh, I love this question!! I keep a handwritten journal in a lined notebook. I use a Dell XPS 13 laptop computer for manuscript revision, and I own two typewriters for typing scenes for first drafts: a 1956 Hermes Rocket and a 1968 Olivetti lettera 32. I absolutely love typewriters and want to buy another one!
Book character I think I’d be best friends with: Pretty much any character who loves animals and values the natural world. Fern Arable in CHARLOTTE’S WEB comes to mind.
Author Interview - A.J. Banner
If I wasn’t an author, I’d be a: depressed, inconsolable individual wandering aimlessly. Or maybe an amateur photographer.
Favorite decade in fashion history: Since I’m a writer, I’m not much into fashion. I spend most of my time in comfortable, baggy cotton clothing typing in solitude!
Place I’d most like to travel: At this moment, if I could hop on a plane anywhere in the world, I would visit Scotland. And then a bunch of other places.
My signature drink: Peet’s coffee in the morning.
Favorite artist: Too many to name.
Find more from A.J. Banner here:
Author Interview - A.J. Banner
