Heather Aimee O'Neill

Poetry and upmarket fiction. My background in poetry has influenced my prose in many ways. I think of each scene in a chapter as a kind of poem, and I'm always paying attention to the language and sound of the writing.

I grew up in Huntington, Long Island, and the location continues to influence my work. Even though I've lived in Brooklyn most of my adult life, the sounds and smells of the water from my childhood still feel like home.

I had a reading disability as a kid, but once I got the help I needed, I absolutely loved to read. I devoured Shel Silverstein’s poetry, especially Where the Sidewalk Ends, and The Baby-Sitters Club series and Calvin and Hobbes comics. I also rode horses, so Black Beauty and The Black Stallion were particular favorites.

The Irish Goodbye.

Sarah Waters, Alice McDermott, Elizabeth Strout, John Williams, Mary Oliver.

Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke.

I honestly can't just pick one--all my characters have a little bit of me in their story!

Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, Vermont. My family had a ski house there when I was a kid, and my dad would take us to the Northshire and let us get as many books as we could hold in our hands. It's a beautiful store.

I usually write at either the desk in my bedroom—a small, cozy space—or at a table by the front window in our kitchen, which looks down onto a busy Brooklyn street full of people and life. For me, the most important part of any writing space is quiet.

Anywhere at all, if my wife is reading to me.