Do you have a favorite word? I'd never thought about it until I got these interview questions from Alex South.
I think my favorite word right now is one my ex-husband made up: "Ensnotified". It's what a really rotten cold does to you. I've been fighting ensnotification for over a week now. Snuffle. Snort.
But here's another interview from the archives. This one is from when I visited British horror author Alex South's blog, Seven Stories High in February of 2013
Alex: What got you into writing?
Anne: I can't remember when I didn't write. I used to make up stories to go with the pictures in my coloring books and write words underneath them. Must be in my genes. My parents were both academics who spent lots of time writing. And my mom is a mystery writer, too.
Alex: How do you go about creating a character?
Anne: I'm not sure I'd say I "create" characters. I set up a situation and watch them as they respond to it. They usually seem to come to me fully formed. In my comic thriller, FOOD OF LOVE, I needed a hairdresser for what I thought would be a minor scene. In walked this amazing, six-foot, bald, lesbian Iraq war veteran and she took over the story.
Alex: Writing can be tough. What do you do to stay motivated?
Anne: I started writing seriously later in life, and it was something I always wanted to do. So I was pretty motivated, and that hasn't let up. I don't want to die before I write the stories stacked up in my head.
Alex: When do you get your best ideas?
Anne: When I'm walking. Any time I don't know what happens next, I take a walk down by the bay and the idea comes to me. I'm lucky to live by the beach in California, where walking can be very solitary and inspiring.
Alex: What is your biggest fear/worry when you write?
Anne: It's funny. I've been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, but when I’m writing is one of the times when I have the least anxiety. If I have one fear it’s that I won't reach the readers who will enjoy my work the most.
Alex: What would you like to be better at?
Anne: Driving. I hate to drive. Other drivers terrify me. I don't trust them at all.
Alex: What is your favourite word & why?
Anne: I've never thought about having a favorite. I love them all. Total wordophile. The first one that springs to mind is "luxuriate". Isn’t that a lovely word?
Alex: Outside of writing, what are your other interests?
Anne: I was in the theater—acting and directing for 25 years. And I appeared in some films. I still love acting, but I live in the country now, and I hate the long night driving to get to rehearsals. I also love music, especially roots and world music. I'm lucky to find that closer to home.
Alex: Who is your favourite author and why?
Anne: This is always a tough one for me, because I have so many. I adore Marian Keyes, who I think is one of the most underrated authors around. She gets dismissed as a "chick lit" author, but I think she's the Jane Austen of our era. She's a brilliant observer of human behavior. I'm also a huge fan of Kurt Vonnegut. I think I've read everything he ever wrote. Love his dark humor and brilliant, cryptic prose.
Alex: Give us a sentence or passage from your book that you’re especially proud of and explain why.
Anne: Here are a few that reviewers have mentioned they liked:
FOOD OF LOVE is available in ebook on all the Amazons, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes, Scribd, Barnes and Noble & Page Foundry (Inktera). Also available in audiobook at Audible and iTunes
Alex South writes zombie thrillers. His first in the series, SWARM is FREE on Amazon
"Full to the brim with great characters, and heart-stopping action. I cannot recommend it enough!" Ian Douglas – Author of The Infinity Trap.
Alex: What got you into writing?
Anne: I can't remember when I didn't write. I used to make up stories to go with the pictures in my coloring books and write words underneath them. Must be in my genes. My parents were both academics who spent lots of time writing. And my mom is a mystery writer, too.
Alex: How do you go about creating a character?
Anne: I'm not sure I'd say I "create" characters. I set up a situation and watch them as they respond to it. They usually seem to come to me fully formed. In my comic thriller, FOOD OF LOVE, I needed a hairdresser for what I thought would be a minor scene. In walked this amazing, six-foot, bald, lesbian Iraq war veteran and she took over the story.
Alex: Writing can be tough. What do you do to stay motivated?
Anne: I started writing seriously later in life, and it was something I always wanted to do. So I was pretty motivated, and that hasn't let up. I don't want to die before I write the stories stacked up in my head.
Alex: When do you get your best ideas?
Anne: When I'm walking. Any time I don't know what happens next, I take a walk down by the bay and the idea comes to me. I'm lucky to live by the beach in California, where walking can be very solitary and inspiring.
Alex: What is your biggest fear/worry when you write?
Anne: It's funny. I've been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, but when I’m writing is one of the times when I have the least anxiety. If I have one fear it’s that I won't reach the readers who will enjoy my work the most.
Alex: What would you like to be better at?
Anne: Driving. I hate to drive. Other drivers terrify me. I don't trust them at all.
Alex: What is your favourite word & why?
Anne: I've never thought about having a favorite. I love them all. Total wordophile. The first one that springs to mind is "luxuriate". Isn’t that a lovely word?
Alex: Outside of writing, what are your other interests?
Anne: I was in the theater—acting and directing for 25 years. And I appeared in some films. I still love acting, but I live in the country now, and I hate the long night driving to get to rehearsals. I also love music, especially roots and world music. I'm lucky to find that closer to home.
Alex: Who is your favourite author and why?
Anne: This is always a tough one for me, because I have so many. I adore Marian Keyes, who I think is one of the most underrated authors around. She gets dismissed as a "chick lit" author, but I think she's the Jane Austen of our era. She's a brilliant observer of human behavior. I'm also a huge fan of Kurt Vonnegut. I think I've read everything he ever wrote. Love his dark humor and brilliant, cryptic prose.
Alex: Give us a sentence or passage from your book that you’re especially proud of and explain why.
Anne: Here are a few that reviewers have mentioned they liked:
From THE GATSBY GAME:
"Punch had the kind of pansexual magnetism that comes from good bone structure and an unquestioning sense of one’s own self-worth."
THE GATSBY GAME is available in ebook at all the Amazons, and Barnes and Noble for NOOK. It's also available at Scribd. It's also available in paper on Amazon, and Barnes and Noble
From FOOD OF LOVE:
"Amaretto isn't chocolate, but if close your eyes and think of chocolate-
covered cherries, it can be quite satisfying. Especially by the tumblerful"
"Hollywood celebrity isn’t the celebrity of power. It’s the celebrity of the victim—the virgin about to be tossed into the volcano; the garlanded lamb being led to the altar of a blood-hungry, primitive god."
"Punch had the kind of pansexual magnetism that comes from good bone structure and an unquestioning sense of one’s own self-worth."
THE GATSBY GAME is available in ebook at all the Amazons, and Barnes and Noble for NOOK. It's also available at Scribd. It's also available in paper on Amazon, and Barnes and Noble
From FOOD OF LOVE:
"Amaretto isn't chocolate, but if close your eyes and think of chocolate-
"Hollywood celebrity isn’t the celebrity of power. It’s the celebrity of the victim—the virgin about to be tossed into the volcano; the garlanded lamb being led to the altar of a blood-hungry, primitive god."
FOOD OF LOVE is available in ebook on all the Amazons, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes, Scribd, Barnes and Noble & Page Foundry (Inktera). Also available in audiobook at Audible and iTunes
Thanks, Alex!
What about you, readers? Do you have a favorite word?
Alex South writes zombie thrillers. His first in the series, SWARM is FREE on Amazon
"Full to the brim with great characters, and heart-stopping action. I cannot recommend it enough!" Ian Douglas – Author of The Infinity Trap.
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