So after this discussion about the Washington Post’s desire to see your red hot romantic boudoir, I have a question for those who read our site who are also writers and published authors of romance: What are some of your most ridiculous press questions, and what did you say?
And readers of romance, though we are not as much in the attentive eye of the media, have you ever been asked a stupid or offensive question? How did you answer?
I’m forever fending off the, “But you’re smart- how come you read Those Books?” question. Depending on the asking party, and whether I have to sit with them several times a year at large family gatherings like Seder or Thanksgiving, I most often say, “Because they’re awesome – what do you like to read?” I turn the question back on the asker because (a) as Valerie Plame noted in an interview, there are few things more wonderously conducive to one-sided conversation than saying, ‘REALLY? Tell me more!’ and (b) it’s kind of funny to watch the asker think hard for a title to mention that isn’t remotely open for criticism and is ubiquitously liked and respected.
But the press? If you’re an author being interviewed, you can’t ask the interviewer’s opinions or preferences. So what would you say?