Philippa Gregory, Author of "The White Queen" (INTERVIEW) Edit

Philippa Gregory is an intriguing author who is also an established historian. Best known for her novel, “The Other Boleyn Girl,” which was made into a TV series as well as a major motion film, Philippa Gregory has currently released her newest book called “The White Queen.”

It is clear that Philippa Gregory’s love for history is wonderfully intertwined into her novels, as they skyrocket in popularity.

13 Questions With Philippa Gregory

1. How do you keep your work on the cutting edge?
I write exactly as I please without compromise, and without much advice. That way I follow my own development and not that of others.

2. How do you reset yourself to become creative? Do you have any rituals?

I walk in the country in silence, I listen to myself.

3. What is an example of a time where you have thrown away an existing idea to force yourself to find something new?
I once had an idea for a time-shift novel and became more interested in the (18th time than the modern time, and that novel became the book (and then the TV drama) A Respectable Trade.

4. How did you get involved in writing and what motivates you to continue?
I love writing; it is an art that I am drawn to, daily, almost naturally.

5. How significant are the topics of cool hunting and trend spotting in the world of writing?

Personally, I think they are a contradiction to the individual nature of making a work of art. People who try to write like someone else are not consulting their own inner voice.

6. How do you define a trend?

A new movement, a fashion.

7. How do you define cool?

I use the word to mean something that takes my fancy and strikes me as unusual and attractive. I also have a sense of its pejorative use as in too cool for school—pretentious.

8. Do you need a culture of innovation to create something that is cool?

I don’t think so. I think you need to have confidence in your own ability to be innovative.

9. What is the best way to create an infectious idea, product or service?
Again, for me it would be to follow your own judgment.

10. What is the key to innovation?

Confronting the current reality and responding to it.

11. What are the most important trends you see in the writing industry?

I have certainly seen crime writing, and now I think historical fiction, rise from the description of genre to be regarded as a worthwhile literary form.

12. Professionally, what do you want to be doing or studying in 10 years?

I want to be researching and writing novels, like now only with 10 years more practice and thus better.

13. What are your most important hobbies?

I keep ducks and love them, I ride my horse, and I walk my dog—I like to be connected to the natural world.