Holly LeCraw is the author of the novel The Swimming Pool.
–Name a childhood hero. 
Anna Pavlova—because apparently she went to her first ballet at age four and knew immediately that she had to be a dancer. And did it, obviously.
–Name a work you wished you’d written.
My next book.
–If you had to order your work by how successfully you completed what you set out to accomplish, what would that list look like?
I’m at the beginning, obviously…and since The Swimming Pool is the only thing I’ve had published (besides a couple of stories), it wins.
–Name a writer in history you would’ve like to have been a contemporary of and why.
I would have liked to be in Paris in the early 50s, with William Styron and George Plimpton and that whole Paris Review crowd–assuming I would have been cool enough for them to talk to me.
–Name a work of yours whose reception you’ve been surprised about and why.
I wrote a story called “August” that was in Post Road, and it was nominated for a Pushcart, which was totally unexpected and cool.
–Correct a misperception about you as a writer in fifty words or less.
My last name is spelled with a capital C in the middle. LeCraw. Yes, it’s French. Sort of.
–Name a trait you deplore in other writers.
Oh, I can think of several…but since I am not perfect I will try to remain snark-free, at least in public.
–Name your five desert island films.
The Year of Living Dangerously
Lawrence of Arabia
Crimes and Misdemeanors (or possibly Manhattan)
Some Hitchcock…probably Rear Window
Pirate Radio—for comic relief—I just saw this the other night and it was hilarious.
–Name a book not your own that you wish everyone would read.
So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell.
–Name a book you suspect most people claim to have read, but haven’t.
Moby Dick. Ulysses. Infinite Jest.
–If you could choose one of your works to rewrite, which would it be and why.
Again, I am still at the beginning of my career…but I can’t imagine looking back. Every book teaches you something, and then you move on.
–Share the greatest literary secret/gossip you know.
Certain people whose names you would recognize are bitchy/crazy. Shocking.
–Name a book you read over and over for inspiration.
To the Lighthouse.
–Name the writing habit you rely on to get you through a first draft.
Don’t think, just write. It doesn’t matter if it sucks. Get out of your own way.
–Name a regret, literary or otherwise.
Resolutely opposed to regrets…probably a form of denial…
–Name your greatest struggle as a writer.
Not getting out of my own way.
–Name a question you get about writing to which there really is no good answer.
Where do you get your ideas?
–Name a question you wish you had been asked.
When’s your launch party? Well, it’s Tuesday, April 6, at 7 o’clock at Union Street Bar and Grill. And you’re invited.
