I’d like to welcome my friend, the fabulous Mary Lee Ashford, to the blog for #WriterWednesday!
Hardest thing about being a writer: The actual writing. I so wish it came easier, but it doesn’t.
Easiest thing about being a writer: Story ideas. They are everywhere!
Things you need for your writing sessions: White board, sticky notes, reference books, and my cat.
Things that hamper your writing: Noise, to do lists, my cell phone, and my cat.
Last best thing you ate: A homemade Scotcheroo. So delicious…
Last thing you regret eating: That second Scotcheroo.
Things you always put in your books: Older characters. Just like in real life they have great stories to tell.
Things you never put in your books: Children in jeopardy. Just can’t do it.
Favorite places you’ve been: Scottish Highlands, English Cotswold’s, Hawaii.
Places you never want to go to again: The underground tour in Edinburgh. One and done for me.
The first 8-track, record, cassette, or CD you ever bought:
Carole King’s Tapestry album. To this day I really love singer/songwriters and the genesis of that love was probably that well-played LP.
A type of music that’s not your cup of tea: Rap. I’ve tried. I really have. My kids love it but it just doesn’t speak to me.
Your favorite movie as a child: The Wizard of Oz. Watched it over and over.
A TV show or movie that kept you awake at night as a kid (or as an adult):
The Day the Earth Stood Still. Not scary at all by today’s standards but it totally freaked me out as a kid.
Words that describe you: Caring, upbeat, optimist.
Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: Worrier, overthinker, over-analyzer.
The nicest thing a reader said to you: “Your book helped me through a really rough time.”
The craziest thing a reader said to you: “I read your book to my dog and he loved it.”
Something you’re really good at: Listening. People’s stories fascinate me.
Something you’re really bad at: Meeting new people. I know, I know. It’s hard to hear people’s stories if you don’t meet them first, but it’s that first break-the-ice conversation that I’m bad at.
Things you’d walk a mile for: Definitely a bookstore. I’d walk a mile for a bookstore. And if they had coffee there too, I’d probably walk more than a mile.
Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: Math problems and spiders. Equally to be avoided at all costs.
Some real-life story that made it to one of your books: I worked in the public sector for more than thirty years so there are a few of those scattered throughout my books. Of course, names changed to protect the guilty. In fact, look for a UFO reference in Night of the Living Bread.
Something in your story that readers think is about you, but it’s not: The baking. I’m not the baker in the family. My husband is. But I’m a world-class taste tester…