"What If They Ask Me That Question?"

An author on one of the forums at Readerville.com worried that audiences at her readings would grill her about a particular sex scene in her novel. Katharine Weber (Triangle, The Little Women, etc.) posted the following response, which I think is pertinent to any writer, no matter what genre. The last three sentences are well worth keeping in mind during any interview or public talk.

Sometimes when we go out in the world to talk about our fiction, it is helpful and important to remember that we are not our books. We are going out to talk about the writing, not to talk about ourselves. We are not the characters in our books even if readers think we are, and even if they think our characters have written our books. It is up to us to control how we want to discuss what we have written. If the right questions aren't asked, we can still take the discussion in any direction we choose. There is no question anyone can ask that cannot be answered intelligently with something you want to say about your book or your writing.