Conversations with American Women Writers

I bought this book because I am in a bookgroup and thought it might be interesting for us to read, since many of the writers we've read are in it. It's also given us great ideas about other books to read. Now we try to do a book and an interview each month, and it's amazing how much it has changed our discussions! I especially like that the book only has women writers, since our group, and most book groups I know, are women, and so we usually relate to the author in more ways than just her writing. I thought this book was incredibly interesting and would recommend it highly, especially for any book group.

This book is for anyone who's ever struggled with his or her own writing and wants to learn from some of today's critically-acclaimed writers. But it's also for everyone who's interested in knowing how fiction is wrestled from the ether to the ground, from the opening sentence to the conclusion. While the collection of interviews singles out women writers, it focuses on gender-less problems and issues inherent in literary writing. There's no "loftinesss" either in the advice that's given. It's as if these writers were bound and determined to give only the straight talk concerning their failures and successes.

Ms. Johnson has written an amazing book of interviews with 17 of the foremost and upcoming women fiction writers today. I couldn't put it down! It was like being in the living room talking to my favorite writers like Sue Miller and Amy Bloom about how they write, what they think, how they create such incredible stories. There were writers I didn't know, and it made me WANT to read those writers. I belong to a book club and now we are ALL reading this book and discussing which new books to choose. Every fiction lover must read this book.