Sonal: What kind of music do you like and can you tell us who your favourite writers are?

Katrina: When people ask what music I like, I'm always at a loss. Just like my reading, my listening tastes are varied. I listen to everything. I guess the easiest answer is to give a sample. At this moment, the cd holder in my car contains: Sarah McLachlan, Brave Old World (klezmer music), The Brian Setzer Orchestra, The Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense, The Squirrel Nut Zippers, the soundtrack to Out of Africa, and Yo Yo Ma performing the Bach Cello Suites. I never have music on when I'm writing, but I love to have music surround me when I drive or when I home and not working.

My list of favorite writers is just as varied, I think. I read mostly contemporary writers, since so much of my training and my high school teaching focused on the classics. My very favorite writer is Barbara Kingsolver. I reread her novels every year or so hoping to absorb her ability to create memorable characters that embed themselves in your heart. I've learned more from reading her novels than from any class I've ever taken! I also love John Irving - A Prayer for Owen Meany may be my all time favorite book - and Michael Cunningham, Jane Hamilton and Anna Quindlen. I tend to go through these phases where I'll read a new book I like and then I try to read everything ever written by that author. I'm doing that now with Alice Hoffman and enjoying every minute of it.