“Somebody who’s a terrific writer who’s been very, very successful is Jodi Picoult” - Stephen King, in USA Today, 2/09
Up close an interview with Jodi Describe a typical day.
I get up at 5:30 a.m. and walk three miles with my friend Joan — that’s the only time of day I have to exercise, but I really do it for the gossip. By 7 a.m. I’m back home, helping to get the kids ready for school. They’re 17, 15, and 13, now. My husband, who is half antiques dealer/ half stay-at-home-dad, is fully responsible for making my life run smoothly, whether that means carpooling the kids, packing their lunches, or being the sole parent when I’m off for months at a time on tour. Oh, and he brings me coffee and lunch and is gorgeous. I answer my e-mails for about one hour in the morning. Then I write, research, or edit until around 4 p.m.
What’s the best part of the job?
The fans. Who wouldn’t want to wake up to daily e-mails telling you how fantastic your writing is? Also, the fact that I do what I absolutely love to do. I don’t think many people can say that about their jobs.
What’s the worst part of the job?
The actual world of publishing. Mergers between companies, tightfisted marketing departments, and a bizarre fascination with Hollywood make the publishing world a very difficult place to forge a career. For reasons that are still a mystery to me, companies will throw promotional dollars at books that aren’t selling (they say it’s a last ditch effort), but they will ignore some wonderful books by writers who are just starting out and could use the boost.
What was your worst pre-novelist job?
I worked at a two-person ad agency. I was the second person.
If you could invite five people, living or dead, to a dinner party, who would they be?
Ernest Hemingway, Alice Hoffman, William Shakespeare, Johnny Depp, and Rachel Ray, because someone’s got to cook!
What would you take with you to a deserted island?
My husband Tim. He’s great company, he’s really cute, and he could keep us alive with nothing more than a shoelace and a coconut.
What are you incapable of living without? My children. And my Blackberry.
What do you drive? An enormous Toyota Sequoia.
What do you consider your greatest literary accomplishment?
I have literally worn the letters off two consecutive computer keyboards.
and personal:
“Picoult is a skilled wordsmith, and she beautifully creates situations that not only provoke the mind but touch the flawed souls in all of us.” - Boston Globe