I've done interviews with authors and bloggers since 2004. I've put a few of my favorites below. You can skip directly to Jeannette Walls, Heather Armstrong, Jason Kottke or Margaret Mason or start at the top and scroll down. My video interviews for Alpha Mom, including one with Arianna Huffington, can be found here. The complete list of interviews can be found on my blog.



Interview with Jeannette Walls, Delivering the Scoop



Jeannette Walls, gossip columnist for MSNBC.com, has exposed her soul in her recent memoir, The Glass Castle, which has spent weeks on the New York Times Best Seller’s List. The details of her growing up years with her two sisters, brother, alcoholic father and emotionally unavailable mother are harrowing in places, comical in others and sometimes so sad you have to remember to have the tissues around.

Once I started reading this book, I literally couldn’t put it down. I carried it with me in my purse and snuck reading time in between everything. Right from the start you know this book is going to be a little different than the usual when on the first few pages you sit in the taxi with Walls, dressed in her finest, trying to decide what to do while watching her mother root through the dumpster.

I read along and followed Jeannette from place to place as her parents decided to skip town every few weeks, and I couldn’t help but compare that to my own childhood where I lived in the same place for 17 years. I don’t know that I could have imagined a life so very different than my own in that regard. Her writing style is so open and candid and honest. You feel like you are a part of the story and it gives you a chance to see the people behind the poor lifestyle which gives you a better understanding and compassion for those living without.

Her story encompasses adventures such as falling out of the moving car and waiting around in the dark, injured, and waiting for someone to notice she was gone, making hot dogs on the stove at age 3, since she was ‘mature for her age’ according to her mother, and the subsequent trip to the hospital when her dress caught on fire and she was burned so severely that she needed skin grafts. Her father then ‘rescued’ her from the hospital a few weeks later, ignoring the outraged hospital staff. During high school, Jeannette goes through the garbage to get enough food to eat. She and her siblings come up with wonderful ways to take care of each other and eventually save enough money to all move away one at a time and start over in New York, leaving behind the tiny shacks and cardboard boxes they’ve been sleeping in.

I was so touched that throughout the book, you never get the sense that Walls is holding anger or resentment towards her parents. In fact, it’s quite the contrary. Her matter-of-fact honesty allows you to feel compassion for them as you realize that they are really doing the best they can for their family. Her father, usually drunk and constantly embarrassing them, still manages to make Jeannette feel special, loved and wanted. Her mother, a master at rationalization who is basically too immature to take care of anyone else, is still able to transfer a sense of confidence to Jeannette that helps her throughout difficult high school years and beyond. In her book, Jeannette makes it possible for us to wish we could reach out and help her and her siblings while not having to hate the people that are putting her through hell. We see the good and the bad. We see that both are tied up in her family relationships. We see that good people are capable of doing things that hurt the ones they love. Which is actually how real life is.

Jeannette called me from Long Island so we could talk about her book.

Leahpeah: When do you remember realizing that your life was different than other kids?

Jeannette Walls: There were hints from very early on. People would stare at my parents and whisper. Going into the city was hard. People would point. Going into a restaurant was hard. Dad would be condescending about the other people and it dawned on me very slowly. I ignored it as long as I could.

You know, our car didn’t have a muffler on it - things like that. People would hold their hands over their ears when we drove by. In Phoenix I think I realized it for real. We were going to a good school and at 8 years old, I knew.

Lp: Why do you think no one stepped in to help you?

JW: No one realized it then, not the school or other parents. I mean the severity of it. But I wouldn’t have wanted anyone to anyway. I didn’t want to think that my parents couldn’t take care of us. The thought of losing my siblings - that thought was horrifying!

Lp: Are your family members supportive of your book?

JW: My mom read it and liked it. My younger sister not so much, which is understandable. My brother thinks it’s great but he remembered some things a little different than me. Everyone has their own experience and he remembered many more details than I did. And my older sister wants to read it, tries to read it, but finds it hard. She’s more sensitive.

Lp: Did it matter to you whether they liked it or not?

JW: Yes! It mattered a great deal! It is one thing to share your own secrets, things about you, and it’s another to do it to the people you care most about. I tried to not whitewash or be too generous about anything I wrote about. I wanted it to be honest. But I also didn’t want to embarrass anyone, either. You know, my family is great. Things were hard, life was hard, but they are great. I have no desire to hurt my mother or change her defense mechanisms. After all, they have worked for her for so long.

Lp: How did you find a process for healing your self and your life?

JW: After my father died, the book started really forming. It took about five years to write. I tried over and over again every so often since about the age of 19 but it just wasn’t right. The timing, I mean. I was too removed or too detached from the story. I eventually ended up writing it from the perspective of a child so it would be emotional and vulnerable and true to those feelings.

Lp: How does speaking your truth affect how you feel about your life now? Has it changed you?

JW: It has changed how I feel hugely and immensely. I feel emancipated. I was so worried that people wouldn’t like me or my story. But people have responded in such a positive way. It’s taken me this long to realize that people could be astoundingly kind to me. People share back their stories with me. Everywhere I go, someone talks to me on this deep and loving level. Everyone has embarrassing things in their past. Mine might be ‘more’ but it hasn’t mattered. People have this huge capacity for understanding each other. You know, it’s like the clouds have cleared. We’ll have these heart-to-hearts and I’m enjoying every moment of it. It’s amazing what people carry around with them.

Lp: How do you balance your past, present and future?

JW: My life is not just about the past. That is the main focus right now and it’s odd as a journalist to focus on myself. I think every journalist should go through this, where the tables are turned and suddenly it’s them under close scrutiny. It’s exhilarating and I’m sure I’ll also be glad when it dies down a bit.

Lp: How would you classify your parent’s behavior? Do you think their might be an element of a mental illness?

JW: Mental illness. Hmm. I don’t know. Maybe. Bipolar or something? Maybe they had conditions of some kind. Mom is utterly brilliant in some ways and then won’t know how old I am or where I work. Maybe that is some kind of syndrome? My father was definitely an alcoholic. We know that.

That is a good question. They were never diagnosed with anything. My mom functions in certain ways so well - She’s happy, optimistic, and has way more friends than me. (Laughs) Yet, she gravitates towards chaos. I don’t know if that adds up to a condition.

Everything in life is gray, you know? My brother sees things in black and white but I see only shades of grays. That’s how life is. That’s how people are, too. No one is completely sane. If my dad could have stopped drinking - would things have been different? Maybe. Probably. But what good does it do anyone at this point to dwell on those kinds of things? People ask me if I have or will be able to forgive my parents for what they’ve done. I tell them, it’s not about forgiveness - its acceptance. My parents - they did the best they could. I’m very happy and have a good life. Why focus on the bad or negative?

I wanted to thank my mom. I told her I wanted to get her something. Something big! I was thinking a car or something. Or something that could really help her in some way. She told me a bit later that she had found what she wanted. It was an amber bracelet with filigree around it. (Laughs) Who am I to say that is not what she needed? She knows herself better than I know her. This is a lifestyle choice on her part. Mom has many wonderful qualities. You know, everyone is dealt a certain hand. I was so much luckier than some kids. We were poor but we were never made to feel bad about ourselves. I knew some kids who got such mixed messages from their parents, who would pull strings for them, confuse them and make them feel so bad about themselves. I never had any question that my parents loved me. I had a real sense of self confidence. I knew I could do anything. I knew I could get into the best schools. I walked right in there and never even thought I wouldn’t get in! I think about that now and I marvel at my audacity! (Laughs) But my parents instilled that confidence in me.

Lp: The part of your story where you talk about making your own braces I think is my favorite part.

JW: Really? You’d be surprised how many people have done things like that. I actually met someone else that did almost the same thing!

Lp: Your book is just wonderful, Jeannette. I think it will do many people a lot of good.

JW: People use this book for their own agenda. That’s just the way it is and its human nature. And that’s a good thing! I just found out that my book is assigned reading in a Westhampton school. 9th grade English! I hope it helps them understand poor people so they can be kinder to them. If that happens, it would make me so happy. We don’t realize the things that happen to someone else. We’re so focused on our own lives. We don’t see the connections. It’s nice to know that you can take down the barriers and see how connected we all are.

Thank you so much, Jeannette!

Her book is available on Amazon: The Glass Castle

More about Jeannette Walls:





Interview with Heather Armstrong / Dooce



Heather lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, is married to Jon, has at least one pet dog and a daughter. But most importantly, she has a troubled intestinal tract along with a hearty sense of humor, which you most certainly need when you have the former. Her daily posts are peppered with bits of what it’s like to be in her world of kids, husbands and people of the faith when you have a slightly off-kilter body and mind. On her FAQ page, you’ll find how to pronounce her name and that in Utah even the Post Office has a changing table to encourage more breeding. Her photo of the day sometimes makes me want to cry for no apparent reason other than that I like the feeling in them. Please, enjoy with me, the life and wit of Heather Armstrong.

When is your Blog Birthday?

February 27, 2001

Why do you blog?

Feels good to write. I approach it as therapy.

What do you usually talk about?

I talk a lot about my family, my dog, my experiences as a first-time mother, my life as a former-Mormon living among Mormons. My website is very much about me and I suppose it's very selfish that way. But it's also very personal and real and honest. I really try to be up front about everything.

What don't you talk about? Why?

I don't talk a lot about politics, although some of my political views poke through what I write. There are many more people out there who can talk about politics better than I could, so I don't even attempt it.

What is the worst experience regarding something you wrote in your blog?

Um, yeah. There was that one time I got fired for my website. I don't know if I have ever told the Internet this, but I cried in my exit interview. My boss who served as the subject of some of my more vicious posts sat across the table from me unable to look me in the face she was so hurt. I had never felt like such a horrible human being, even though in my mind I thought that I was just being creative and funny. But I hurt someone else and I could barely breathe in that moment.

Is the story of getting fired on your site?

Yes it is. It's all explained under the "Dooced" category.

What is the best thing about living where you live?

I love living so close to the mountains. Utah is so much more beautiful than people know, and I'm constantly stunned at the beauty of the scenery outside of my house. However, the liquor laws here are medieval, and local politics are insanely, fanatically conservative. Sometimes I'm afraid that raising my daughter here will make her think that the entire world is white. There is simply no diversity here.

What would you do if you were president of the US?

I would never want that job. Plus, there is so much about my bottom system published on the Internet that I could never win an election.

What actor would play you in the movie of your life?

When my hair is short people say that I look like Sharon Stone. When my hair is longer people say that I resemble Cameron Diaz. My mother looks exactly like Meryl Streep. But in real life I could be Carrie-Anne Moss's twin sister, with blonde hair. When I see her on screen it freaks me out sometimes, we have the same jawline and mouth.

What is your favorite color?

Hazel, or the color of my husband's eyes when he wears a green shirt. It's spectacular.

What is your favorite food?

Doritos.

What flavor?

Nacho Cheese, of course!

What do you wish you could change?

All those years I wasted wanting bigger boobs. I finally got the bigger boobs when I was breastfeeding, and they were awful! Smaller boobs are just so much more manageable.

Are you still a mormon and do you wear funny underwear and go to the huge church that no one else is allowed to go in and how many wives does your husband have?

I have never had my name officially removed from the records of the church, but I no longer practice Mormonism. I never went and did the special ceremonies at the temple after which I would be required to wear the Special Heavenly Underwear. Both my brother and sister were married in the temple and I wasn't allowed to attend either ceremony because I wasn't yet old enough to do those certain ceremonies. Jon has seven wives, the other six live in the basement and are hand-cuffed to the radiator. I occasionally go down there and kick them.

What gets on your nerves?

Women who spend more time styling the back side of their hair than the front side. That just doesn't seem right.

When you were 10, what did you want to do when you grew up?

I wanted to be a teacher. I always wanted to be a teacher, but then I grew up and realized that I had to pay bills, and that dream was dashed.

What are your hobbies?

I don't have a lot of time for hobbies, not with a cranky baby. I spend a lot of time on the Internet reading other blogs. I have a really short attention span and blogs are perfect for that and for time between naps and bottle feedings. I like to hike and bike when I get the chance, but that seems so long ago! When the world didn't involve changing diapers and waking up super early to care for the every need of another human being. Honestly, when I read this question, I thought to myself, hobbies? Oh, that's right, people have hobbies! Someday I'd like to learn how to sew.

What is it like being a mom?

Being a mom is the hardest thing I have ever done. And it is hard every day, and gets harder every day. Of course it is wonderful and that kid smiles and looks up at me and my heart melts, but raising kids is manual labor. I have never been so exhausted in my life. It's the biggest challenge of my life, and it's wanting to conquer that challenge and her giggles that keep me going every day.

Next goal/aspiration?

I'd like to write a book. HA! I know, get in line.

What would your book be about?

Probably pregnancy and postpartum depression. Eventually I'd love to write a memoir, but I don't know if my family is ready for that.

What do you want to tell other bloggers?

Don't write about work on your website.

What is more cowbell, anyway?

It's a skit on SNL with Christopher Walken making fun of the Blue Oyster Cult. He keeps asking for more cowbell, and Will Ferrell keeps giving him more cowbell.

Fascinating facts about you?

I collected all of my dog's baby teeth and have them stashed away in a ziploc bag so that when he's older I can show them to him and say, "Remember these? Those were fun times."

I drink a gallon of water every day.

Will you save your baby's baby teeth as well as your dogs? How will you know who's is who's? And what about yours when you turn eighty?

I'll Let Leta decide if she wants to keep her teeth. That's the difference between raising kids and animals: sometimes you have to give kids choices. The dog has no say in how and where I will humiliate him next. I will of course keep my teeth when I get old and lose them, and I will have them covered in platinum and strung around my neck.

How many times do you have to pee when you drink that much water?

Not nearly as much as you would think! not nearly as much as when I was pregnant, that's for sure.

Thank you, Heather!

p.s. The reader might notice that in this interview I have taken a huge amount of leeway in goading the writer about her history and religion. This is because we have very similar backgrounds and should not be interpreted as ill humor towards Heather Armstrong. So, just back off or I’ll kick you in the cowbell.



Interview with Jason Kottke / kottke.org



I’m a busy girl and there aren’t many sites that I click over to read more than once a day but Jason Kottke’s site is frequently updated with lots of link yummy-ness that I can’t stay away from. If you blog or get on the internet much, chances are, you know who Jason is. He's well known for so many things that it might take more room/time than I have to list them. The short list: a year of micro-patron supported blogging, an interview with Newsweek's Brian Braiker on msnbc.com, his live web-cam (which appears to have ended in Dec. 2005), a connoisseur of fonts including Silkscreen, which he created, B-Swing, a Senior Fellowship in the R&D Labs, the Kottke Diary at Valleywag.com which includes The Meg and Jason Courtship in the New Yorker and Wedding Story, and the Matrix Revolutions post. A lot of people want to be him or be like him. I was very happy just to get to interview him.

Blog Birthday:

March 14, 1998. I had a bloggish site in 1997 called Quick where I posted a photo, a link, and a snippet of text every day, but it only ran for a few months and is now offline and on a Zip disk in my closet somewhere. I should dig it out at some point and get it back online.

Why do you blog?

At this point, inertia.

What do you talk about?

Basically anything that interests me...it's all over the place, which makes it a impossible read for some and a favorite of others. Favorite subjects include movies, science, design, New York City, photography, food, technology, Apple, and sports.

What don't you talk about? Why?

Politics (not a fan). My private life, which is circularly defined as that part of my life which I choose to keep private. When I first started putting my thoughts online in the mid-90s, there was little about my life that I wouldn't put online, but now it's almost the opposite situation.

Favorite/worst thing about living where you live?

I'm a curious person by nature and -- like the Web -- New York City is a never ending source of amusement, stimulation, fascination, and interesting people to work & play with. Worst thing? Expensive and wasteful...those two things generally go hand in hand.

If you were president of the US:

I would resign and look for a new job. I do not envy any of the people who have held that office; it's a fantastically difficult job.

What is interesting to you right now?

Pre-Columbian America. I read Charles Mann's 1491 on my honeymoon and it was a fascinating companion to our exploration of the Yucatan in Mexico.

What actor would play you in the movie of your life?

Ewan McGregor, circa Trainspotting. Renton and I have the same hair.

I know you get asked lots of questions by people like me who are nosy. What is the most frequently asked question and what do you tell them?

The most common question I get via email is, "how did your site get so popular?" I don't really have a good answer to this, but if you're looking to make something that other people might be interested in checking out, I'd advise you to do what you love, be enthusiastic, be curious, build a network, get sued for copyright infringement, and just keep at it.

What do you do to stay sane and healthy?

My wife is into food, so we have a lot of nice meals, both at home and out...it's one of my favorite things we do together. I also like to have time on my own, just to goof around and do nothing in particular. NYC can be overwhelming at times, as can being online all day, and I need that alone time to recharge.

Favorite food:

I will eat a good sandwich at almost any opportunity. I like soup. A few years ago, I had a bowl of plain vanilla ice cream drizzled with aged balsamic vinegar, which was sublime in an undescribable way.

When you were 10, what did you want to do when you grew up?

I was never one of those kids who had a ready answer for what they wanted to be when they grew up. I recall that most of my friends wanted to be nurses or doctors or fireman, but I was such a serious little kid that I thought, "I don't have any idea what it's actually like to do any of those things, why would I want to?" But my dad was a pilot and he used to take me flying with him, so I may have wanted to do that because I was at least more familiar with what was involved.

You link to lots of people/sites on a daily basis. Does anyone ever get mad?

Not that I know of. I've gotten pretty selective as to what I link to. I don't link to videos on sites that look like they might not be able to handle the bandwidth...I don't want to be responsible for anyone's monster end-of-the-month bandwidth bill. The denizens of Slashdot are gleeful about taking down people's servers; I am not. I also don't link to anything that seems like it's not intended by the author to be widely public. If someone posts some photos on their blog of their birthday party for their friends to see (thinking that no one but their friends reads their blog), it's their own fault if that gets out. But I know that if I link to it (because it contains a particularly funny photo of someone dancing oddly), it could turn into a meme and be potentially embarrassing or upsetting for the blogger in question. People should still be given their privacy in public places.

Do you read anyone obsessively?

I will seek out anything new by Malcolm Gladwell, David Foster Wallace, and Steven Johnson. This being the age of weblogs, I also get to read my friends obsessively, which is great.

Astounding facts about you:

I have never seen Jaws. (I don't consider this particularly astounding, but a recent post of mine mentioned this fact in passing and several people wrote in, stunned that I'd not seen it.)

Are you Windows or Mac? Why?

Mac. I love their hardware and software. It's not a religious thing like with some other people (I've used Windows in the past), but for right now, the Mac gives me what I need. What is your favorite place that you’ve traveled to? Why?

Paris. I've been there 4 times, for about two months total. I love the food and the scale of the city; it's a beautiful place.

Do you cook?

I do not, although I should learn at some point. My wife enjoys cooking so much that she's happy to take care of most of the meals, way happier than I am to take care of the dishes.

In your opinion, what is the best application/widget/program or helpful-bit-o-code to come out over the past year?

I've just discovered the latest version of TextMate, which is an OS X text editor. I'd tried it when it first came out awhile ago and it didn't take, but they've improved it extensively since then and it's an amazing little piece of software. Newsfire is underrated as a newsreader; I find it much faster and easier to use than NetNewsWire.

You were born after me by 2 years and grew up in a totally different part of the country. Were the Osmonds as much a part of your life as they were mine?

Haha, I don't think so, although I vaguely remember seeing them on TV when I was a kid.

What are you working on right now?

I just finished redesigning Megnut, my wife's new food site. It needs some tweaking, but I'm mostly happy with the end result. I've got a couple other projects in the works for kottke.org, one typographical in nature, a mapping project, and I'm working on a little blogging widget with a friend. I also just signed on as design advisor for a company a friend is starting. It's going to be a busy summer.

Your own favorite post or your highest hit entry of all time?

The most well-received post on kottke.org was one of the very few not written by me: Bear with me on this

Greg Knauss wrote it while babysitting kottke.org when I was at SXSW in March, 2000 (this was before everyone had laptops and there was wifi everywhere at conferences). It's tough when the best post on your site wasn't even written by you, but then again, I've never thought of myself as that much of a writer.

Thanks, Jason!



Interview with Margaret Berry / Mighty Girl



Margaret, a freelance editor and writer, lives in the San Francisco area. She is a contributing writer for The Morning News. Her online blog, Mighty Girl, has a tagline that charmed me from the first time I read it: 'Famous among dozens.' I thought to myself, 'Here is a person with no fake ideals of grandeur.' Although she could. Her writing style is by far one of the best you'll find online. She is witty and direct. She puts small slices of her day up for the world to view. Reading her is like slipping into your favorite novel where you can get lost and forget all real life problems...and it only takes 30 seconds to get in and out. It's a breath of fresh air in my stuffy, tired day.

When is your Blog Birthday?

7.5.00 Why do you blog?

I can only think in tiny little spurts. And mostly I think about things I read on Metafilter or what I like to have for lunch, so blogs are a good fit.

What do you usually talk about?

Idiosyncrasies. People are so weird. I love them. The most recurring subject matter is what I overhear or see while I'm riding the bus. My bus line is brilliant, it's teeming with crazy people.

What don't you talk about? Why?

I used to try not to be crass, but then I printed up "I fuck like a girl" T-shirts as site merchandise, so that's out the window.

I do avoid mean-spirited posts. You can get a laugh by being overtly critical, but then you collect a readership of people who respond to negativity. Why put all that energy into attracting nits?

What is the best experience regarding something you wrote in your blog?

Oh! This is a great story. About a year ago, I had someone steal some potted herbs I had just put out in front of my apartment. I posted about it, how upset I was. A reader I had never met or corresponded with sent me all new herbs from a mail-order nursery. I have guilt now because I don't remember her name, and I never properly expressed how much it meant to me. I hope she's reading this. Random stranger, you rock it.

What is the best thing about living where you live?

San Francisco is almost fictitiously good. The food is fresh; the wine is cheap; the sky is bright. If you could get a house for under half a mil', I'd say everyone should pack up and come on over.

What would you do if you were president of the US?

Education is the great equalizer; investing our resources in teachers and schools produces exponentially more valuable benefits for our society. Kids are so easily influenced, for good or bad, and we're not giving them a purpose. We're not giving them equal access to the good life.

Also, Pizza Party U.S.A.

What actor would play you in the movie of your life?

Tina Fey. That crap about guys not digging glasses is bunk.

What is your favorite color?

Red, yellow.

What is your favorite food?

Cherries.

(This should totally come with a Tiger Beat foldout of me in a tank top with no bra.)

What are your hobbies?

Seriously? I'm into lindy hop, which is a kind of swing dancing. I know that's a lot like admitting you're into Renn Faire at this point, but there it is.

I'm also surprisingly domestic. I enjoy baking and glue-gun-oriented activities. I have a pretty solid apron collection going.

How many and do you give any of them preferential treatment?

I was being silly about the aprons. I do have quite a few, but they don't hold a special place in my heart or anything. Now my Kitchen Aid mixer, that's another story. I call her Dora.

What do you want to tell other bloggers?

Your readers can tell when you're thinking too hard about what they want. Self-conscious posting is the kiss of death. Also, it's no fun.

What is your next aspiration or goal?

I'm working on a book about charm.

Fascinating facts about you:

I own three red bridesmaid dresses.
I make my own jewelry.
I still have a baby tooth.
I'm taller than you'd expect.

Is the baby tooth still attached in your head or is it like in a jar or something?

The baby tooth is still in my head, right up front. A dentist told me it was about to fall out when I was eleven, and every dentist since has said the same thing. Everyone keeps wanting to pull it, but I'm partial to it. About a year ago, I had the adult tooth removed. (It never grew in, it was just hanging out below some other teeth.) The baby tooth has held its ground; I'm waiting to see how long it can hold on.

Thank you, Maggie!