The interview runs under the headline “The act of writing is, fundamentally, an act of seduction”. Orlean, 70, is the author of bestselling books including “The Orchid Thief”, which was made into the Academy Award-winning film “Adaptation”, and “The Library Book”. Her latest book is the memoir “Joyride”.
In the money segment, Orlean said she grew up upper middle-class, with parents who lived through the Depression and were very conscious of money, waste and conspicuous consumption. They were, she said, “extremely unsettled” by her desire to become a writer, and she acknowledged their fears were justified: “I was so determined to be a writer that I blocked out those very legitimate worries. It’s like a tightrope: if you look down and see how far you could fall, you might lose your nerve.”
Asked what she would do for money if she were not a writer, Orlean said she often found other people’s professions appealing, telling Law she would think, “It would be so cool to do this; maybe this is what I really want to do!” She added that there are times when she wants work that is less emotionally taxing than writing, spoke of the vulnerability of putting yourself out there, and said she loves design and the visual world, having renovated a number of houses.