Author Christopher Paolini, center, with Kidsday reporters Mason Culbreath, left,...

Author Christopher Paolini, center, with Kidsday reporters Mason Culbreath, left, Benson Tang, Stamatina Antzoulis and Rina Lin, at the Barnes & Noble Store Union Square in Manhattan Credit: Newsday/Pat Mullooly

We went to the Barnes & Noble in Union Square, Manhattan, to interview Christopher Paolini.

Christopher is an American author and is well-known for his first book, “Eragon,” which was turned into a movie. That book was part of the Inheritance Cycle, which also had the books: “Eldest,” “Brisingr” and “Inheritance.”

We read Christopher’s newest book, “Fork, the Witch, and the Worm: Tales from Alagaësia”  (Random House Children's Books). This is a young adult fantasy novel. It consists of three short stories. The first short story is titled, “The Fork.” The second short story is “The Witch,” and is written by and based on Angela, Christopher’s sister. The character based on her is known as, “Angela the Herbalist.” The final short story is titled “The Worm.” Just like journalists do, we prepared several questions prior to meeting with Christopher. Here are a few of the questions we asked:                                

Rina asked, Who was the first person to acknowledge that you were actually a writer? Christopher said he was the first person to tell himself that he was a writer. He also said that if you want to be an author then you have to be the first person to tell yourself that you could become a writer.

Mason asked what an average day looks like when he is writing. Christopher said that he wakes up, then he tries to read the entire internet, failing every single time, then he eats breakfast. After that he writes until about 4 p.m. Then he goes to the gym to get his blood circulating again because he sits to write for a very long time. Then he writes some more, and afterward, he spends time with his family and eats dinner. After that, he writes again for an hour or two, and then finally he goes to sleep. Christopher says that this is his routine every day, even the holidays and his birthday, except for when he is on a book tour.

Stamatina asked what advice he had for young writers. He answered: Read everything, write every day, plot your story beforehand, find someone who can help you edit, and write about something you are very passionate about and love.

Benson asked if this book had any connection to Christopher's life. Christopher said all of his books are about his life. Christopher says that even though there aren’t mystical creatures in his backyard, the deeper meanings in this book are what he thinks and believes about.    

After all of the questions, Christopher was kind enough to take some pictures with us and autographed our copies of his book. He also offered us seats in the front of the audience when he made his presentation at Barnes & Noble, where he talked in more detail about his newest book.

The interview was an amazing experience and we will cherish this memory forever. It was a great honor to meet such an incredible and inspiring author.

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