In my last blog post I wrote about “13 Things About Me” which was more personal stuff–now in this post I’ve listed 13 Things About Me–the Literary Version. Enjoy!

1.     What was your favorite book as a child?

Animal Farm by George Orwell—I read it when I was 9 years old and I loved its utter (or udder) simplicity.

2.     If you weren’t a writer, what kind of job would you like to have?

Hollywood casting director not because I’d have the power to make/break careers, but because I love seeing actors in the right role.

3.     What’s one piece of advice no one gave you when you were starting out, that you wished they had?

As a new writer, don’t enter your work into contests that ask for money—you’ll lose a lot of money

4.     Any memorable rejections?

You want just one? This is more of a compilation: working really long and hard on a creative project and then after the presentation having the decision maker not take notice or be dismissive.

5.     Hemingway wrote standing up; Truman Capote wrote lying down. What posture do you write in?

Slouching in one of my formal dining room chairs

6.     In your opinion, what has been the best book-to-screen adaptation?

Atonement by Ian McEwan. It was perfectly cast!

7.     Why do you feel it’s important for writers to attend conferences such as the NCWN Fall Conference?

To meet other writers in the state, to know what’s going on in the local, regional and national publishing/writing markets and to feel a part of something greater than yourself.

8.     Do you have pet peeves as a reader? As a writer? As an entrepreneur?

As a reader, authors who telegraph everything to the reader because they’re afraid the reader isn’t smart enough to get it the first time.

As a writer I get frustrated by people who think writing is going to bring them immediate fame and fortune. Ha, ha.

And another pet peeve of mine is when I get an urgent email asking about creative writing resources in the area and I quickly reply, I don’t get a response or even a “thank you for your time.”

9. Are you scheduled in the time you set aside to write, or is your writing time more flexible than that?

I write by deadlines and I set aside days of the week where I’m in my office all day to write

10. Do you write to discover, or do you write point-to-point (for example, from an outline)?

I definitely write by the seat of my pants after I have a title or theme in mind or an emotion I need to convey.

11. What was the first thing you ever published?

A newsletter in the 4^th grade and I had a robin, cardinal, parrot and goldfinch representing the different sections like book reviews, tips and events. Funny, because I now live with two parakeets and a cockatiel and I write a monthly newsletter!

12.  What is the working title of your next book?

Heroes Without Capes  

13. And where did the idea come from for the book?

I’m a poet and a person who is fascinated with death. And I’m not talking physical death all of the time. There’s death of a relationship, a career or of an idea. Take my death fascination and pair it up with my love of the characters of pop culture. What are they thinking about when they are facing a deep moment of personal crises? When they are facing a death? Remember, death is life’s change agent and an important part of an author’s tool kit. Death makes the plot much more exciting!

Heroes Without Capes will be my first full-length poetry collection. Featuring mostly persona poems and a few odes, the theme is pop culture, historical figures and celebrities—sort of like a Jeopardy! Board. Predator, Darth Vader, Bruce the Shark, Kathy Griffin, the Devil, Hamburger Helper, Captain Bligh, and the Road Runner will all be making cameos. My characters reflect on their issues in these poems usually after a stressful episode in their life. We’ll also meet Nolan, the Split Foyer house who has insecurity issues and Dina the Jet who is a snarky fashionista. As you can probably guess, there’ll be a lot of humor in this book. I love dissecting ironies and exploring socio-economic class issues through my poems.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read more about me!