If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be? Again a mother, wife, and child and again and again a writer. What do you consider your greatest achievement? Mothering my daughter and being part of a multigenerational family. I know from firsthand experience what a challenging vocation it is to raise food and tend the land. Which words or phrases do you most overuse? “Oh, dear.” I know this because my toddler repeats it.īesides writing, which talent would you most like to have? I would love to be a skillful and intuitive farmer or gardener. On what occasion do you lie? By omission when under duress. What do you consider the most overrated virtue? Perfection. What is your current state of mind? Apprehensive. And yet, I don’t want to stop buying them. I can’t look at the receipts without flinching. What is your greatest extravagance? Books! My house overflows with them. LeGuin though she passed on recently, I feel her spirit is still here. Which living person do you most admire? Ursula K. Also, cruelty to animals and people, and mindless destruction of ecosystems.

What is the trait you most deplore in others? Cruelty in the name of ideological purity-and totalitarianism in general. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? My inability to stick with being a vegetarian. What is your greatest fear? Something terrible happening to someone I love.

What is your idea of perfect happiness? A day in a spring or autumn garden with my family and many birds. In the hot seat today: Kaela Noel, author of the debut middle-grade novel COO (Greenwillow/HarperCollins, 2020). The Proust Questionnaire, popularized by the French essayist and novelist Marcel Proust, is said to reveal a person’s true nature through a series of probing, soul-searching questions.

Kaela noel