My friend Ed Battistella is a popular author, writer, linguist, dean at Southern Oregon University, and an exceptional interviewer. He writes a blog called “Literary Ashland,” where he posts his interviews, and he knows how to ask good questions. He recently sent me a list of questions about the process of writing my book, An Uncommon Cancer Journey. Here’s an example: “It seems that there are four main characters in the book: you and Jack, your marriage and his cancer. Which was the hardest character to write and which was the easiest?” And later, “You have also written technical materials and poetry. How is memoir writing different?” The result was a very thought provoking exercise. The interview is at Literary Ashland so you can take a look.

You might also want to check out Ed’s latest book, Sorry About That: The Language of Public Apology, a beautifully written expose of some of the more famous attempts to make amends, along with some classic ways to wiggle out.