Elizabeth Brownrigg writes novels, short stories, essays, reviews, and articles. Her work has been published in The Sun, Evergreen Chronicles, Sojourner, The Independent Weekly, Our State, Wildlife in North Carolina, and many other publications. Her first novel, Falling to Earth, published by Firebrand Books in 1998, was a Lambda Literary Award finalist. Her second novel, The Woman Who Loved War, was published in May of 2005. She teaches writing classes in the Duke University Short Courses Program. In her job as a technical writer, she writes about computer software. She received her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College.

Can you identify a moment when you realised that you wanted to be a writer?
I remember walking down the street of the little town where I grew up and seeing books displayed in the window of a bookstore. I imagined my name on the cover of a book, and of course the obligatory intellectual author photo.

My writing started as long letters to friends. I still think of a novel as a letter to the outside world.

Which authors have had the biggest influence on your own work?
P. Travers (Mary Poppins, the book, not the movie), E. Nesbit (Five Children and It), Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (Cross Creek), and Ernest Hemingway (Hills Like White Elephants). Later on in life, I discovered most of my favorite children's book authors (Travers, Nesbit) were lesbian. Go figure.

Did you ever go through a phase where you found yourself trying to emulate a favourite author, whether subconsciously or not?
Well, if it was subconscious, I didn't know about it. ;-) My favourite authors have a spare style that speaks volumes. That's what I try for, without having a particular author in mind.

What are you currently working on?
A book of interviews on the subject of failure: everyone's experienced it, but no one wants to talk about it.

Can you remember the first piece you ever sold?
"Days of Good Light," a short story published in Plainswoman magazine, based in Grand Forks, North Dakota (USA).

What do you enjoy about writing fiction and non-fiction respectively?
Fiction is constructing a story without the safety net of facts; nonfiction creates a story from mere facts.

Tell us about your writing environment – what are the essentials you need to immerse yourself in that creative mood?
Opera on the earphones, mocha latte grande in hand, sunlight shining through the window. And a room of one's own.

How long did it take you to write your first novel-length book, Falling To Earth?
Three years.

Can you recall what the exact inspiration was that set off the spark that would eventually become the full-length story?
I was painting the side of my house, and a line came into my head: "I sold my soul to the angels." I had no idea what it meant and it actually never made it into the novel, but that's how the story started. The deeper story is that I was exploring what it means to be an artist.

What has been some of your favourite books of 2007 thus far?
Well.... I’m not sure I've read any books published in 2007 yet, but I loved A Field Guide to Getting Lost, by Rebecca Solnit.

What else is still in your reading pile?
Lots of readings on Buddhism, the best of which is Wake Up to Your Life, by Ken Mcleod.

What do you find most satisfying about teaching writing classes?
The connection with the students' lives. In a beginning novel class, most students come in with a personal story to tell. It means to much to them to be able to create a story from their sometimes painful pasts.

What do you find most frustrating?
Students who don't/won't change.

If you were a book, what would be your title?
A Compendium of Miscellaneous Facts and Bizarre Outcomes.

What’s the one thing you can’t get through a day without?
Two cups of tea.

Tell us something about Elizabeth Brownrigg no one else knows…
I'll never tell.

Which aspect or elements of writing do you find the most challenging?
Figuring out what happens next.

What are the fundamentals of good storytelling?
The arc of the story: the reader must be propelled forward by curiosity. The story must have forward momentum.

What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Give it a shot, risk all.

A happy writer is…
Is there such a person?