Kaori Fujimoto

What was your favorite book as a child?

In addition to the Arsene Lupin novels in the essay, an abridged version of Robinson Crusoe in Japanese translation for children. I loved the story so much I haven't dared to read the original.

Do you remember the original reason or motivation why you started writing creatively?

A pure desire to write as beautifully as Carson McCullers. The Ballad of the Sad Cafe was one of the first books I read in English. The story is an appalling tragedy, but how beautifully it is narrated jolted me toward creative writing so that I would someday write something beautiful in English myself.

What was the most adventurous or thrilling thing you ever did/experienced?

In my late twenties, I relocated from Hawaii, where I had jobs and friends, to New Mexico, where I hadn't visited, I knew no one, and had no job prospects, with only limited savings in the bank. That was only because my intuition told me to do so. And everything so magically worked out once I flew into the Southwest that I didn't think the move was adventurous, while people around me did. This experience taught me that following my heart would always lead me to the right place.

Do you listen to music while reading or writing?

I don't. I read and write in silence, though I wouldn't mind some noises or chirps of birds wafting from outside. Besides, I like to listen to live music.