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Featured Author

Julie & Julia

This month our Featured Author, Julie Powell, answers questions from The Simply Read Reading Group from Epsom in Surrey.

Q: How did you feel after you finished 'The Project?' did you find it weird not having a cooking schedule to follow?

A:There was definitely a sense of "Well, now what?" It was an incredible relief to be done, but after a couple of days, Eric and I found ourselves sitting on the couch at night after having eaten at a decent hour, wondering to ourselves what people do at night when they're not whipping up 3-course French meals. It took quite a bit of getting used to; luckily my life started to explode, so that kept me distracted.

Q: It felt like a devastating blow when Julia seemed to snub your hard work, yet you seemed to cope with this brilliantly well in the circumstances; were you really angry with her?

A:I don't think I was ever really angry. Certainly I was hurt; how could I not be, having spent a year of my life doing this thing out of devotion to her, and have her not see it as the tribute it was meant to be. But here's the thing; I admire Julia not because she was a saint, but because she was real - a strong, vibrant, brilliant woman, a woman of determination, opinions, and occasionally, bitchy attitudes. That's as much a part of what I love about her as her boeuf bourguignon. And one of the most important things she taught me was that the person I have to answer and be true to is myself. Of course I wish she'd thought I was the cat's pajamas, but it doesn't have to be a mutual admiration society. I know why I did what I did - and it wasn't to get famous or to get Julia Child to like me. I know that the gratitude and love I have for Julia is genuine and deep, and that's enough.

Q: Do you have a signature dish that your friends always ask you to cook?

A:Oh, not really. Different friends have different wants. Eric demands fried chicken at least once a year, and my friend "Gwen" from the books sometimes gets a yen for sauteed okra, or fried chickpeas. When I throw dinner parties I often go Cajun - gumbo, etouffe, jambalaya.

Q: Does your blog still take up a lot of your time and are you still in touch with any of your 'bleaders'

A:I nowadays consider myself a person who occasionally blogs rather than an actual blogger. Blogging now is a much more intensive process than it was back in 2002, and without a particular project, I don't really feel compelled. When I began the project, no one - myself included - really knew what blogging was or could do as a medium, which was lucky for me because I came into it rather innocent. Now it's a whole new world. Blogs can be a very powerful tool, but people come to them with a much savvier attitude. I don't think I could write another book from a blog; I don't think that it could ever feel as organic to me again. So now I keep my blog mostly to do just exactly what you say; keep up with my readers, let them know when I'm going to be where, in case they want to, say, attend a reading, get a book signed, grab a drink.

Q: We felt your character, which we came to know well through your book, was portrayed very differently in the film - which one is nearer to the truth?

A:Well, of course, I wrote the book, and had relatively little involvement with the movie, so the book comes closer to my voice and reality. When Nora Ephron decided to make a movie that combined my story and Julia's - which she did beautifully, I think - much had to be streamlined. A lot of the rough edges, not to mention almost all of the foul language, had to be trimmed away. Also, I think that it's difficult to convey on screen the process of writing and of finding one's voice as a writer, so the movie necessarily became about Cooking and Blogging, and less about a woman becoming as a writer, which was actually my greatest accomplishment of the year. Also: Amy Adams was lovely in the role, but I have never been that sweet. Nor that wee. And I never was or claimed to have been the editor of a college literary magazine.