| Interview with Judith Gould |
First off, thanks so much for joining us for an up-close and personal interview for TeensReadToo.com! My
name is Jen, and I’ll be your server toda…oh, wait, wrong job! Anyway, thanks so much for taking time out
of your writing schedule—which I’m sure is busy!—and answering a few questions for your readers and
fans.
Let’s get some of the typical interview questions out of the way first. When did you first know that you
wanted to be a writer?
First, I have to confess that two people comprise Judith Gould! Second, those two people are both men! I
hope you don't feel cheated. We think that women can write about men, and the reverse holds true. If
you look at our website, you can find out all about us: www.judithgould.com. But, to your question: we
both feel as if we were born to write. Nick realized it earlier than Rhea did, but even Rhea knew he wanted
to write when he was around eight years old. Another thing we have to tell you is that there is quiet a bit
of explicit sex in Judith Gould novels, and we hope you're not offended. We think that sex can be beautiful
and is a part of virtually every character's life, so we don't give short shrift there, particularly with major
characters.
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
The road to publishing? When we met, we had both been writing individually in New York City . After
Rhea read the novel Nick was working on, he said that he could whip it into shape. Instead, we put our
heads together and came up with a entirely new book. Rhea met a writer at a party and asked about his
agent. She was just starting out and was glad to look at our efforts and took us on. Our first novel, Sins,
was rejected by twenty-five publishers and then accepted for a small advance by one. It went on to
become an international best-seller, and the rest as they say is history.
Tell us a little bit about either your latest or upcoming release. If you could only tell your readers one thing
about the story that had to convince us to buy the book, what would it be?
The Secret Heiress, the latest Judith Gould novel, is about twin sisters, one evil personified and the other
goodness itself. They battle for control of their father's empire. Who wins the battle and a man in the
process?
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
So many writers have influenced us that it's hard to name them, but we both liked the early Harold
Robbins and Sidney Sheldon novels, Robert Ludlam's adventure novels, and Mary Stewart's wonderful
stories. Travel has also been an enormous inspiration.
Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
Nick's family is from Austria (mother) and Germany (father), and he has one older brother. He grew up in
Austria and Germany and moved to the USA when he was eleven. His family lives here now. Rhea's
family is from the south - Tennessee - and has lived there since the early 1700s. So, our backgrounds
and experiences are very different, which we think helps the novels.
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
Greatest comfort food! Nick: crust! Any kind of bread! Rhea: Ben & Jerry's ice cream and lots of it.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
Let the dogs out. Put on coffee. Feed the cat.
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise
me the most?
A seashell collection. Hundreds of thousands of them from all over the world. No kidding. In closets, the
attic, and the basement!
Everyone asks the question about “if you could be a tree, which tree would you be?” so I want to know: If
you could be a color, which color would it be, and why?
Nick: Ruby red. Rhea: pale, icy blue.
Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?
Nick: Tweedy Bird. Rhea: the Roadrunner.
If you could beam yourself to anywhere in the world (“Beam me up, Scotty!”), during any time in history,
where and when would it be—and why?
We'd both want to beamed up to a Greek Island in present day because we love it there so much. The
sun, the sea, the food, etc.
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while
you’re writing?
We both like all kinds of music but usually listen to opera and classical music, especially Maria Callas, or in
the car, music compilations by great DJs. We never listen to music while writing.
Do you have any favorite T.V. shows? Movies you watch over and over again? What was the last movie
you saw at the theater?
Nick almost never watches TV and has no favorites. Rhea likes the very naughty Footballers Wives on
BBC America and soccer. We both watch Visconti movies over and over: The Damned, Ludwig, etc. The
last movie in a theater was Iran in Fragments, a documentary, and the same day, Babel , the new movie
with Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchette.
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
Wow! This is a hard one, but we would say: Always find the time to read, read a great variety, and read a
lot!
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
You'll have to wait and see!
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
name is Jen, and I’ll be your server toda…oh, wait, wrong job! Anyway, thanks so much for taking time out
of your writing schedule—which I’m sure is busy!—and answering a few questions for your readers and
fans.
Let’s get some of the typical interview questions out of the way first. When did you first know that you
wanted to be a writer?
First, I have to confess that two people comprise Judith Gould! Second, those two people are both men! I
hope you don't feel cheated. We think that women can write about men, and the reverse holds true. If
you look at our website, you can find out all about us: www.judithgould.com. But, to your question: we
both feel as if we were born to write. Nick realized it earlier than Rhea did, but even Rhea knew he wanted
to write when he was around eight years old. Another thing we have to tell you is that there is quiet a bit
of explicit sex in Judith Gould novels, and we hope you're not offended. We think that sex can be beautiful
and is a part of virtually every character's life, so we don't give short shrift there, particularly with major
characters.
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
The road to publishing? When we met, we had both been writing individually in New York City . After
Rhea read the novel Nick was working on, he said that he could whip it into shape. Instead, we put our
heads together and came up with a entirely new book. Rhea met a writer at a party and asked about his
agent. She was just starting out and was glad to look at our efforts and took us on. Our first novel, Sins,
was rejected by twenty-five publishers and then accepted for a small advance by one. It went on to
become an international best-seller, and the rest as they say is history.
Tell us a little bit about either your latest or upcoming release. If you could only tell your readers one thing
about the story that had to convince us to buy the book, what would it be?
The Secret Heiress, the latest Judith Gould novel, is about twin sisters, one evil personified and the other
goodness itself. They battle for control of their father's empire. Who wins the battle and a man in the
process?
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
So many writers have influenced us that it's hard to name them, but we both liked the early Harold
Robbins and Sidney Sheldon novels, Robert Ludlam's adventure novels, and Mary Stewart's wonderful
stories. Travel has also been an enormous inspiration.
Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
Nick's family is from Austria (mother) and Germany (father), and he has one older brother. He grew up in
Austria and Germany and moved to the USA when he was eleven. His family lives here now. Rhea's
family is from the south - Tennessee - and has lived there since the early 1700s. So, our backgrounds
and experiences are very different, which we think helps the novels.
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
Greatest comfort food! Nick: crust! Any kind of bread! Rhea: Ben & Jerry's ice cream and lots of it.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
Let the dogs out. Put on coffee. Feed the cat.
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise
me the most?
A seashell collection. Hundreds of thousands of them from all over the world. No kidding. In closets, the
attic, and the basement!
Everyone asks the question about “if you could be a tree, which tree would you be?” so I want to know: If
you could be a color, which color would it be, and why?
Nick: Ruby red. Rhea: pale, icy blue.
Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?
Nick: Tweedy Bird. Rhea: the Roadrunner.
If you could beam yourself to anywhere in the world (“Beam me up, Scotty!”), during any time in history,
where and when would it be—and why?
We'd both want to beamed up to a Greek Island in present day because we love it there so much. The
sun, the sea, the food, etc.
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while
you’re writing?
We both like all kinds of music but usually listen to opera and classical music, especially Maria Callas, or in
the car, music compilations by great DJs. We never listen to music while writing.
Do you have any favorite T.V. shows? Movies you watch over and over again? What was the last movie
you saw at the theater?
Nick almost never watches TV and has no favorites. Rhea likes the very naughty Footballers Wives on
BBC America and soccer. We both watch Visconti movies over and over: The Damned, Ludwig, etc. The
last movie in a theater was Iran in Fragments, a documentary, and the same day, Babel , the new movie
with Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchette.
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
Wow! This is a hard one, but we would say: Always find the time to read, read a great variety, and read a
lot!
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
You'll have to wait and see!
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
