Erin Morgenstern is a writer and a multimedia artist, who describes all her work as “fairy tales in one way or another.” She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two very fluffy cats. Her latest novel is The Night Circus.

1. How would you summarize your book in one sentence?

I would use a vaguely incoherent run-on sentence. It would involve the words “circus,” “nocturnal,” “Victorian,” “magicians,” “black,” “white,” “love,” & “choices” and also the phrase “shades of grey.” It likely wouldn’t do the book as a whole justice, though.

2. How long did it take you to write this book?

It was started as an idea in 2005 though I didn’t start really writing it until 2006 and then worked on it off and on (mostly off) for a few years. All told it took three or four years total.

3. Where is your favorite place to write?

I’m a homebody, really, so I do most of my writing at home in my studio/office space. It’s comfortable and familiar and I don’t have to wear shoes.

4. How do you choose your characters’ names?

It varies, sometimes a name just appears in my mind and it’s the right one, other times I have a feel or a sound or even a single letter to work from and I search through name databases until I find something that fits what I’m looking for. And then some, like Poppet and Widget, result from discussions about good names for cats.

5. How many drafts do you go through?

So many that I lose count, and they tend to overlap and go in stages of construction and deconstruction rather than proper drafts.

6. If there was one book you wish you had written what would it be?

I’m tempted to pick one of my very favorites, like Einstein’s Dreams or The Secret History, but really, if I’d written them I wouldn’t be able to experience reading them, so I don’t actually wish it.

7. If your book were to become a movie, who would you like to see star in it?

I’m trying not to think about this too much since it’s already a possibility and really, I like to leave these things to the professionals, but I did always picture Geoffrey Rush as Prospero so that would be my one solid actor pick. Everyone else I could name multiple possibilities, I’d mostly want actors who bring something distinct to each role.

8. What’s your favourite city in the world?

The ones that are closest to my heart are Boston and New York, but I haven’t visited terribly many so I may have new favorites in the future.

9. If you could talk to any writer living or dead who would it be, and what would you ask?

You know, I could come up with several inspiring writer choices and deep, insightful questions to ask of them and I’d probably learn a great deal but truthfully I’d just want Dashiell Hammett to whisper adverbs in my ear.

10. Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what kind?