J. Else
asked
Intisar Khanani:
What was your favorite book as a child? Has that book in any way influenced your writing today?
Intisar Khanani
As a child and young adult, I was an inveterate bookworm. It's hard to say what books I loved a kid--I'm pretty sure I read the first few Little House books repeatedly, as well as "Ralph S. Mouse" and "The Mouse and the Motorcycle," but those were very much in my elementary years and I suspect just fed my love of good stories.
In sixth grade I discovered Robin McKinley's "The Hero and The Crown" and "The Blue Sword" in my school's library (in Saudi Arabia, no less). This was definitely a pivotal time for me--awesome girls wielding swords and magic and saving the day? Sign me up! I quickly found the only other such books in our library--Tamora Pierce's Lioness Quartet and a smattering of works by Anne McCaffery. Between those three authors, my love of fantasy was born. While I read widely in our little library, I came back to McKinley many times. This timeframe also saw my first stories written as well--all, curiously enough, featuring strong girls, magic, and (ha!) dragons. I've gotten slightly less dragon-obsessed as I've aged, but the remaining two aspects of my writing have remained unchanged...
In sixth grade I discovered Robin McKinley's "The Hero and The Crown" and "The Blue Sword" in my school's library (in Saudi Arabia, no less). This was definitely a pivotal time for me--awesome girls wielding swords and magic and saving the day? Sign me up! I quickly found the only other such books in our library--Tamora Pierce's Lioness Quartet and a smattering of works by Anne McCaffery. Between those three authors, my love of fantasy was born. While I read widely in our little library, I came back to McKinley many times. This timeframe also saw my first stories written as well--all, curiously enough, featuring strong girls, magic, and (ha!) dragons. I've gotten slightly less dragon-obsessed as I've aged, but the remaining two aspects of my writing have remained unchanged...
More Answered Questions
Nancy
asked
Intisar Khanani:
I was completely delighted with the ending of Thorn...l loved the way the characters were left grappling with the actual effects of their decisions instead of being tied up in a charming bow, with all loose ends clipped! I know you have said you will not revisit Alyrra, but l feel like the Sorceress has legs. Possible she will appear in future novels? PS, oops! Misspelled your name in my review, now corrected!
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more