An Alternative Author Interview:

TCL’s Countdown Questions.

This week I’m featuring author
Andrea Bobotis.

Andrea Bobotis’ debut novel “The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt” just blew me away, I loved it THAT much (and as of this writing, it is still my favorite book of 2019)! I’m now following (hopefully not to the level of stalking) her across social media and I really hope that this book skyrockets her career, because I think she’s got what it takes. That’s why I asked her to answer my questions, and here they are…

• If you could visit five (5) places you’ve never been, where would you go and why?

Galapagos Islands. I’m a total Darwin nerd.

Haworth, England. I’d love to see where the Brontë sisters wrote most of their novels.

Glacier National Park. My family and I have started the tradition of taking a road trip to a new national park each summer.

The Greek Islands. I’ve been to mainland Greece (my father immigrated to America from Greece when he was in his twenties), but I’ve never been to the islands.

South Korea. We have friends we’ve always wanted to visit there, and I love the cuisine.

• Name four (4) foods or dishes that you enjoy so much that they’ve practically become part of your personality.

My husband Jason’s asparagus pizza. I’m lucky to have a husband who is also an excellent cook!

Gyoza. I crave these Japanese dumplings on a weekly basis.

Dark chocolate. Bonus points for heath, toffee, or fruit additions.

Peaches from a roadside stand. This takes me back to my childhood in South Carolina.

• There is the past, the present, and the future – if you could choose, which of these three (3) would you prefer to live in, and why?

The present. While it would be fascinating to take a peek at Victorian England, or catch glimpses of just how apocalyptic the future will be, I’m perfectly content with the present. What’s more, along with being a writer and a creative writing teacher for youth, I’m also a yoga instructor (for adults), so part of my job description is to remind people to bring their awareness back to the present moment!

• Best and worst – you choose which – name two (2) of either your best moments of your life, worst moments of your life, or one of each.

Two best moments:

First, when I visited my father’s hometown near Sparta, Greece. The people of the village recognized my likeness to the generations of my family before me. That was amazing!

Second, a childhood moment: when I would sit in my maternal grandmother’s lap and watch the opera singer Luciano Pavarotti on television with her. He was one of her favorites, and her willingness to share those moments with me was an act of trust.

• Name one (1) book you’ve read in the past year (or so) that you wish you had written, and why.

I was a latecomer to Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad, which is both magnificent and devastating. I haven’t yet figured out all the nuance of the narrative voice in that novel. It feels both choral and intimate. I can tell Colson’s novel will go on the short list of novels that I re-read over and over, alongside works by George Eliot, Charles Dickens, Marilynne Robinson, and Elizabeth Strout (TCL: Ah… I’ve read “My Name is Lucy Barton and her “Anything is Possible“).

Thanks Andrea! (Smart woman to like DARK chocolate, and thank you again for “Judith Kratt”!)

Andrea Bobotis (pronounced with two long o’s) is the author of the debut novel The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt. A native of South Carolina, she holds a Ph.D. in English literature from the University of Virginia. Her fiction has received runner-up awards from the Raymond Carver Short Story Contest and the James Jones First Novel Fellowship, and her essays on Irish writers have appeared in academic journals such as Victorian Studies and the Irish University Review. She lives with her family in Denver, Colorado, where she teaches creative writing to youth at Lighthouse Writers Workshop. She also teaches yoga and is a national parks geek.