Authors In The Media Q&A With Fiona Davis 

I did one of my very early Q&As with New York Times Bestselling Author Fiona Davis which you can read by clicking this link https://booknotions.com/qa-with-fiona-davis/ . In this edition of Authors In The Media Q&A we will talk about Fiona’s journalism career! 

Q: Fiona, you were a journalist before becoming an author. What interested you in journalism writing? 

A: I had been working as an actress in New York for ten years and was tired of never knowing where my next job was coming from. I took a Briggs Myers personality test and the results said that I should either be a cop or a journalist. That made it very easy to decide what to do next, which was to apply to Columbia Journalism School. Luckily, I got in.

Q: In our Q&A two years ago, you wrote Having been a journalist, I quickly learned that if you don’t make your deadline, you don’t get paid. So that’s an incentive to stay in the chair and stick with it. I apply that same maxim to writing fiction.  Would you say that your journalism writing helped with researching and writing your historical fiction novels? 

A: Journalism helped me in terms of shaping and researching each book. I do about four months of serious research before I start writing the first draft, and during that time I’m using all the skills I picked up at journalism school: how to track down and interview experts for whatever angle I’m focused on, how to locate first-hand sources in libraries and collections, and how to stay focused so I don’t go down too many unnecessary rabbit holes.

Q: I love asking journalists this question! Can you give a list of the interesting people you’ve interacted with in your journalism career? 

A: Way back in the day, I worked for a terrific arts program and part of my job was doing pre-interviews with people like photographer Gregory Crewdson and playwright August Wilson. I worked for a theater magazine after that, and especially loved interviewing architect/designer David Rockwell when he was doing the sets for the musical Hairspray.

Q: As a journalist, what important wisdom would you want anyone to know whether they are pursuing a career in journalism or not?

A: That it’s important to get your news from sources that are not afraid to print a correction. That means they’re accountable. If a news source has never printed or aired a retraction/correction, it’s not to be trusted.

Q: What are your favorite shows where the main character is a journalist?

A: I love the movie Broadcast News – Holly Hunter is sublime. Also, Shattered Glass and Spotlight. For TV, I’m into “The Morning Show” – that’s always fun to watch.