Kristin Bair
Author Interview - Kristin Bair
Author of AGATHA ARCH IS AFRAID OF EVERYTHING
Agatha Arch’s life shatters when she discovers her husband in their backyard shed, in flagrante delicto with the local dog walker. Suddenly, Agatha finds herself face to face with everything that frightens her…and that’s a loooooong list.
Agatha keeps those she loves close. Everyone else, she keeps as far away as possible. So she’s a mystery to nearly everyone in her New England town. To her husband, she’s a saucy, no-B.S. writer. To her Facebook Moms group, she’s a provocateur. To her neighbor, she’s a standoffish pain in the arse. To her sons, she’s chocolate pudding with marshmallows. And to her shrink, she’s a bundle of nerves on the brink of a cataclysmic implosion.
Defying her abundant assortment of anxieties, Agatha dons her “spy pants”–a pair of khakis whose many pockets she crams with binoculars, fishing line, scissors, flashlight, a Leatherman Super Tool 300 EOD, candy, and other espionage essentials–and sets out to spy on her husband and the dog walker. Along the way, she finds another intriguing target to follow: a mysterious young woman who’s panhandling on the busiest street in town.
It’s all a bit much for timorous Agatha. But with the help of her Bear Grylls bobblehead, a trio of goats, and a dog named Balderdash, Agatha may just find the courage to build a better life.
Author Interview - Kristin Bair
Author I draw inspiration from: Friends would say I'm just a wee bit obsessed with MILKMAN by Anna Burns. The voice, the pacing, the language, the intensity—it's incredible. If you haven't read it, wait no longer.
Author Interview - Kristin Bair
Favorite place to read a book: It has been a while (way too long!), but I absolutely love reading a book in a bar. All by myself with a margarita and just enough light.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with: Any one of Haruki Murakami's characters...
Author Interview - Kristin Bair
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author: I wrote my first poem when I was seven or eight years old. I was in my bedroom, and my mom was on our back patio drinking a cup of coffee. When she realized I was hunkered down in my bedroom on a lovely summer evening instead of playing freeze tag in the back yard with my sisters, she called through the window, “Kristin, what are you doing in there?”
Irritated at being interrupted in the middle of my creative process, I said, “Mom, I’m writing a poem. I am a poet, you know.”
“You are?” she said. This was the first she’d heard about it. I hadn’t yet shared the fact that I’d discovered my soul’s true nature.
That first poem was called “The Hummingbird.” I’ve been writing like crazy ever since.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook: When I lived in China, I read mostly on a Kindle, but since moving back to the United States, I'm once again a happy reader of paperbacks. I love breaking the spine of a book and folding down the corners of pages, writing in the margins and on the inside covers. You can always tell how much I cared for a book by how worn and written in it is when I'm done.
The last book I read: SEPARATION ANXIETY by Laura Zigman (loved it!)
Author Interview - Kristin Bair
Pen & paper or computer: I usually start writing in my journal with a pen, then move to the computer once a story starts gathering energy. After that, I jump back and forth between the two.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with: Henry DeTamble in Audrey Niffenegger's THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE
Author Interview - Kristin Bair
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a: primatologist working with gorillas
Favorite decade in fashion history: I'm a gown girl. A floor-length gown from any decade makes me happy, from the Keira Knightley gowns in "Pride & Prejudice" (2005) to the Grace Kelly gowns in "Rear Window" (1954) to the Constance Wu gowns in "Crazy Rich Asians" (2018).
Place I’d most like to travel: I've traveled a good bit in Asia and Europe, but I haven't yet made it to Australia or New Zealand. I'd love to go to both places.
My signature drink: margarita on the rocks, please, no salt
Favorite artist: I'm very interested in Andy Goldsworthy's collaborations with nature (twigs, rocks, seaweed, etc.). Transformation, impermanence, and time captivate me as a writer.
Number one on my bucket list: I'd love to see gorillas in the wild.
Anything else you'd like to add: I’m obsessed with things lost and things found. It's what I'm always chasing in my work.
Find more from the author:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kbairokeeffe
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kbairokeeffe/
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/KristinBairOKeeffeAuthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51653435-agatha-arch-is-afraid-of-everything?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=X03LxtH1Q4&rank=1
Author Bio: Kristin Bair’s new novel, Agatha Arch Is Afraid of Everything, received a starred review in Publishers Weekly. Booklist called it “hilarious.” As Kristin Bair O’Keeffe, she has published two novels, The Art of Floating and Thirsty. Her words have appeared in the Gettysburg Review, Flyway: Journal of Writing and Environment, Writers Digest, and other fine publications. As a writing instructor, her peripatetic nature has landed her in classrooms and conferences around the world. A native Pittsburgher, Kristin now lives north of Boston with her husband and two kiddos.
