Project Chickens before the Eggs – Lesson 78 – Good Egg Interview with Chris Bohjalian

Good Egg Interview – Chris Bohjalian

Knowing that we would be getting a new batch of chicks this spring, I contacted a few people and asked them if they would answer some interview questions. In return I told them, I would christen one of our new baby chicks after them. Just imagine, having a chicken named after you living in southern New Hampshire.
Who could resist right?

Chris Bohjalian (pronounced Bow (as in the ribbon) — jail – yen – NYT bestselling author) was actually the very first good egg who gamely stepped forward to answer my questions.

I had interviewed Chris for an article last year (he spent about 2 hours on the phone with me on a holiday morning – now there’s a good egg!) and since then, I’ve corresponded with him a few times. When I approached him regarding my chicken naming project, my finger had hardly risen from clicking the send button when I had a response. Always a good sport, he stepped up to the plate and delivered.

So in eternal gratitude, here you go, behold our “Chris-Bohjalian” chick. She is a Golden Comet and will be a mid-sized bird. Golden Comets chicks are color sexed; females are red and white and males are white. Alas, if you’ve followed our rooster debacle you know that there will be no more male chicks for us but not to worry, our red and white “Chris Bohjalian” bird is a plucky little chick who looks out for her other tiny siblings and is already proving to be an asset to the flock. She sports an interesting striped pattern on her head (unlike her plain headed sisters) and when she is ready she’ll be producing beautiful brown eggs.

Behold, our beautiful "Chris-Bohjalian" chick

As you can see, she also clearly has an early predilection for good literature.

Good Egg Chris Bohjalian’s interview

1. What is the best advice an older relative or family member gave you?

One good turn. . .gets most of the covers.

2. If you were given one wish to use anyway you wanted, what would you wish for?

If I could have one wish, it would be a cure for all cancer. If I could have two wishes, the second would be for a sugar free Red Bull without Aspartame.

3. If you were allowed the use of a large billboard over a well-traveled road, what would you put on the billboard?

The last sentence of THE GREAT GATSBY.

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

4. What’s the passion that drives you to get up every morning?

Writing my novels.

5. What is your ideal dinner? What would you eat and with whom would you share it?

Bruschetta; a good chianti; fettucini alfredo; a chocolate pot de creme. I would dine with my wife and daughter.

6. Do you have any chicken stories or memories?

I know a person who claims that as a small girl she was dragged a few feet by a chicken after it had been beheaded.

Thanks for being such a good egg, Chris.

About Chris Bohjalian

Chris Bohjalian is the author of thirteen books, including his brand new novel, Secrets of Eden — which arrived on February 2 and debuted at # 6 on both the New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists.

His other novels include the New York Times bestsellers, Skeletons at the Feast, The Double Bind, Before You Know Kindness, The Law of Similars, and Midwives.

Chris won the New England Book Award in 2002, and his novel, Midwives, was a number one New York Times bestseller, a selection of Oprah’s Book Club, a Publishers Weekly “Best Book,” and a New England Booksellers Association Discovery pick. His work has been translated into over 25 languages and twice become movies (“Midwives” and “Past the Bleachers”).
He has written for a wide variety of magazines, including Cosmopolitan, Reader’s Digest, and the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, and has been a Sunday columnist for Gannett’s Burlington Free Press since 1992. Chris graduated from Amherst College, and lives in Vermont with his wife and daughter.

Personal note: I reviewed Chris’ book Secrets of Eden for the Nashua Telegraph. Loved it. It’s one of those books that keeps living on in your head long after you’ve finished the book.