Today we have a VERY exciting interview with the author of Vincent and Theo, Deborah Heiligman. As you may remember from last week, Vincent and Theo is a favorite of mine! Learn a bit about here down below, and enjoy the interview!

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1) Was there a particular book/series/author that inspired you to start writing? How did you decide to start writing these non-fiction based novels, especially in such a creative style? 

I have always loved to read fiction. When I was young, I read both fiction and nonfiction, but as I grew older I read only fiction for pleasure. I still–mostly–do. But I love to write nonfiction, because I love doing research and putting together the pieces using mostly primary sources. But the thing I love most is telling a story–because that’s what I love to read. So I write nonfiction books to read like novels, because those are the kinds of books I want to read. And really, at base, a writer writes for herself.

2) Vincent and Theo is, for many people, their first proper introduction to Van Gogh and his history. How does it feel to know you’re making history so readily available for those (especially teens) who may not learn about it otherwise?

 It feels amazing. I hope that Vincent and Theo inspires readers to learn more about Van Gogh and other artists. To quote my friend Barbara Kerley, who recently said this about her books, I would like to think of this book as a door that readers open onto a whole new world.

 3) If you could live anywhere (any time, era, and place (real, or otherwise)), where would it be? 

I think I would go back just a short while, to the years that Obama was President, and we were seeing all kinds of positive social change. I was so full of hope then, and am so full of despair now, that I would like to go back and appreciate that feeling of hope more.  

4) If you had 24 hours to do ANYTHING you wanted, what would you do? 

I’m sticking my very first strong reaction: I would spend those 24 hours with my parents and grandparents, who have been gone for a long time. There is so much I want to ask them and tell them. If I could, I would bring along my sons and my husband. It would be AMAZING. I would hug them the whole time, and I hope we would laugh a lot. It would probably really hard to say good-bye, but it would be worth it, I think. 

Thank you, Deborah, for the ownderful interview! It was an honor to have you on the blog, and to learn more about you as an author and a person! I can’t wait to see what you write next. 🙂

Maddie