Apart from being the author of the New York Times best-selling novel, The Piano Teacher , Janice is, like me, the mother of four little darlings, including twins. We met through mutual friends in Hong Kong several years ago, and I liked Janice immediately for her ability to simultaneously carry on (and elevate) a conversation, while keeping her humor, chasing four kids and apparently scripting brilliant prose in her mind. For someone with such enormous gifts, accomplishments and a lot on her plate, she exudes a calm and understated charm, and I always leave her feeling enriched and inspired.
KOTUR: What’s in your make-up bag?
JANICE: Vedi Vici sunscreen (a Korean brand that is super-light and non-sticky); chapstick; pressed powder for a shiny nose, something I abhor; Band-Aids; and Neosporin for boo boo’s.
KOTUR: Name your desert island essentials?
JANICE: Yoga mat, fully loaded Ipad, flares.
KOTUR: What do you wear on a fat day?
JANICE: Yoga clothes to hold me in. They are surprisingly effective.
KOTUR: Hot date night with your husband, what do you wear?
JANICE: Black pants, some sort of Marni or YSL complicated top.
KOTUR: When home alone, what do you wear?
JANICE: Cathay Pacific pajamas.
KOTUR: How old is too old for a mini?
JANICE: For me 30, but I know 40 and 50 somethings who can pull it off.
KOTUR: Have you ever worn anything you are now embarrassed by?
JANICE: Too many to count! An animal print jumpsuit from the 1980s is one. What was my mother thinking letting me out of the house?
KOTUR: What is your most recent purchase?
JANICE: A Dries Van Noten camel sweater.
KOTUR: Can you judge a book by its cover?
JANICE: Most of the time, yes.
KOTUR: What’s your greatest extravagance?
JANICE: Fresh flowers every week.
KOTUR: Do you have a cheap thrill?
JANICE: Foot massages.
KOTUR: What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
JANICE: Be kind. So simple yet so hard!
KOTUR: What’s your favorite smell?
JANICE: Metal by Paco Rabanne, which I discovered in Paris as a teenager. It was discontinued in the early 90s and I have since amassed every last bottle I could find. I have enough to last a lifetime!
KOTUR: What are you most proud of?
JANICE: My children.
KOTUR: What are you least proud of?
JANICE: My inability to let it go.
KOTUR: What would you eat for your last supper?
JANICE: Linguine Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino from Sant Ambroeus.
KOTUR: Yes or no to a nip and a tuck?
JANICE: Never say never.
KOTUR: What part of your body would you like to change?
JANICE: I wish my feet were pretty.
KOTUR: How would you like to be remembered?
JANICE: As a great friend.
KOTUR: Which of the various KOTUR bags you own is your favorite?
JANICE: I love my bronze D’Abo Marguerite minaudiere.
KOTUR: On a scale of one-to-10, how good looking are you?
JANICE: What a wicked question! I refuse to answer.