Frequently Asked Interview Questions

What are your favorite books and why?

• Murder on the Orient Express (Agatha Christie): Careful setup with a twist solution that doesn't disappoint.
• Macbeth (William Shakespeare): Cunning plot twists.
• Bulfinch's Mythology (Thomas Bulfinch): The plots and lessons of classic Greek and Roman stories show up in many modern tales, and I also enjoy reading books that offer insights to other cultures, such as Ramayana, 1001 Arabian Nights, and The Tale of Genji.
• Harry Potter (J. K. Rowling): Not only has Rowling created an entire world within her imagination and shown how teen characters can learn and grow over the course of her series, but she has also inspired an entire generation to read for pleasure.
• The Goal (Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox ): Required reading for MBAs and operations managers, the book is a clever and entertaining mix of fictional plot—a man in despair surrounded by dissolving family and problems at work—and substantial textbook knowledge. Even non-business-minded readers might accidentally learn how to maximize throughput.
• The Winter Queen (Boris Akunin): Magnificent word choices—even in the English translation—paired with concepts from a “foreign” time and place but presented so they are still seductive to a modern reader.

What are your favorite movies?

• The NeverEnding Story: Beautiful story, imaginative setting, emotional soundtrack, and deep meaning.
• The Princess Bride: Genres can be mixed, and this is the perfect example.
• Henry V (as directed by Kenneth Branagh): The movie is a strict interpretation of Shakespeare’s play, but with the added bonus of Branagh’s understanding and modernization of how the Shakespearean narrator would interact with the audience.
• Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels: The coordination of intersecting plotlines works to shift the story in unexpected directions without the introduction of unrealistic events.
• Clue: Just plain hilarious.
• Mulan: Strong female protagonist who uses her brain, not her looks, and is willing to sacrifice her personal happiness to protect the people and country she loves.

What are your favorite television shows?

• Coupling (British version): Layers of double or triple meaning show clever dialogue writing at its wittiest.
• Desperate Housewives: Funny, funny, funny. This is another good example of genre mixing.
• The Daily Show with John Stewart: Quick wit always impresses me, and they manage to find a humorous take on even the most serious subjects.
• Monk, Murder She Wrote, and Diagnosis Murder: All three family-friendly shows present easy-to-solve mysteries with enjoyable characters.
• CSI: No matter how much is realistic, it has brought areas of science and a sense of criminal investigations to the general public. Hopefully this will inspire a new generation into these fields, yielding more high-quality scientific research and a safer world.
• Ally McBeal: Not so much for the quirky characters as for the quirky writing and directing.

What type of music do you like?

If I can dance to it, I play it, particularly if it allows me to tango. Mixed tapes recorded by old friends are still my favorites – Jesus Jones, Chicago, Def Leppard, and the soundtrack of Dirty Dancing.

If you have time to read, what are you reading?

Whenever a friend recommends a book, it goes on my reading list, and I make great use of our local library. Recently I’ve enjoyed Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety, The Turkish Gambit, and Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America.

Who are your favorite writers?

William Shakespeare and Agatha Christie were my favorites growing up. For modern writers, I’m intrigued with Boris Akunin (Grigori Chkhartishvili is his real name). I have also had the pleasure of meeting many fine writers through writers’ groups, and I hope to see all of them published so their works can be shared.

What are you working on now?

I tend to work on several projects at once, which helps me pause and think about one project while making productive use of that time on another. Aside from my editing, I am currently focused on a memoir of my three and a half years as the Princeton tiger mascot, stories which have inspired me to also script a movie based on my many odd misadventures. I am also assembling a cookbook to benefit two nonprofits dear to my heart – New Hope Housing homeless shelters in Alexandria, Virginia, and Loaves and Fishes food bank in Pensacola, Florida.

Give us three odd facts about you.

1. I was not a typical “star English class student.” I’m positively abominable at spelling – which helps me in editing because I’m more willing to question and double check things. I wasn’t quiet in class. A friend read that some of Emily Dickinson’s poetry had the same meter as Amazing Grace and the theme to Gilligan’s Island, so given the chance to read aloud in class, I sung one of Dickinson’s poems to the tune of Gilligan’s Island, simultaneously amusing and annoying my teacher who later wrote me excellent college recommendation letters.
2. I’ve always been a “child magnet.” I taught the preschool Sunday school at my church while I was a high schooler. In college, kids followed me everywhere, even into the fountain, when I was wearing the tiger mascot costume. When I worked retail, somehow lost children seemed to find me, and they’d cling to me rather than be deposited with store security, so I once took a little guy to our weekly staff meeting. Ultimately, I think it was the Strausburgers – Justin, Hilary, and Taylor, who are all in college or older now – who encouraged me to tell stories, when I babysat them over a decade ago.
3. I’m really curious to learn new things: languages, concepts, how things work, etc. So, I ask a ton of questions.

What are your hobbies and activities outside of editing and writing?

I read that picking up new hobbies and learning new skills as an adult stimulates the brain cells, so I try new things quite a bit. In the past few years I've learned or reintroduced myself to tangrams, sign language, cooking Indian cuisine and chocolate truffles, gardening, chess, and sewing.

I try to provide regular community service. I recently retired from volunteering as a Fairfax County election officer, but I hope to return in a few years.  For two and a half years I assisted in the kitchen at a local homeless family sheler on Friday mornings.  Now my community service efforts are mostly contained to serving on the board of the Friends of Kingstowne Library.