I’d like to welcome author donalee Moulton back to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

The coolest thing you’ve bought online: A catio. It’s a portable mesh enclosure that lets indoor cats safely enjoy the outdoors. Looks a little like a foldable black maze. Wiley Bob thought it was great until the wind picked it up and moved it three feet with him in it. No longer his favorite toy.

The thing you wished you’d never bought. I knew it was a scam when I bought it and still forked out $39.95 for a life-like toy poodle that barks, runs, licks your face. Yeah right. I got a small stuffed toy that somewhat resembled a dog.

Something you’re really good at: I’m going to say yoga. I’m not sure I’m as good at it as I really enjoy it – at least four times a week. I can do shoelace; I can almost do crow; I am nowhere near getting my legs to assume the lotus position. Ironic really. I have a new series out: the Lotus Detective Agency.

Something you’re really bad at: Eating well. Eating healthy. Eating. I’m the world’s slowest eater (along with the three-toed sloth apparently). There are numerous reasons for this. Bottom line: I’m always trying to stuff food in my face to make sure I’m getting lots of calories. That would be cake, not brussels sprouts.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: I’m tempted to say, “Write a book.” I’m going to go with stuffing myself inside a survival suit and being launched into the depths of a training pool. I was writing an article on a company that makes these suits for the offshore oil industry. The trainer suggested I test the suit. In a moment of weakness, I said yes. And still here.

Something you chickened out from doing: The list is long. My general philosophy is that if it can kill me, seriously injure me, or scare the bejesus out of me, then it’s a “no.” So that rules out skiing, bungee jumping, and watching anything directed by John Carpenter.

The funniest thing to happen to you: As a teenager, I often slept in until the last minute then bolted for school. One day I grabbed the jeans at the foot of my bed, thrust legs into the pants and grabbed a sweater. At break, I went to the washroom. Looked down at the bottom of my left leg only to see a blob of brown. I pulled on the blob of brown and kept pulling. It was pantyhose I’d worn the day before. Sadly, I was not alone in the washroom.

The most embarrassing thing to happen to you: I had this lovely jacket with these big bright silver buttons. I often wore it when I was teaching or presenting. One day I was standing before a class and looked down to see a wrinkle in one of the big bright silver buttons. When I touched it all the silver came off the button. Then it came off all the buttons. The silver was actually aluminum foil that had been wrapped around the “real” buttons to protect them before the jacket sold.

The funniest thing that happened to you on vacation: We had this fabulous house rented in Florida for a family vacation. I’m working quietly on my computer early one morning when my son-in-law comes tearing down the stairs and out the deck door. “It’s a giant lizard,” he yelled. I’m on my feet and running out the door with him. It was indeed a giant lizard. A giant ceramic lizard sitting inanimate on the patio table.

The most embarrassing thing that happened to you on a vacation: My husband and I were in Arizona. We dropped my mother at her bridge tournament and decided to go to the zoo. When we got there, we thought something was wrong. There was not a person in sight. There was not an animal in sight. We later learned no one goes out at high noon with the sun blazing and thermostat topping 100 degrees. That included the lions.

Best piece of advice you received from another writer: Ask for feedback. Listen to feedback. Be thankful for feedback. But pay attention to the little voice inside you that says whether you should change your writing as a result.

Something you would tell a younger you about your writing: Yes, you can.

About donalee:

donalee Moulton’s first mystery book Hung out to Die was published in 2023. A historical mystery, Conflagration!, was published in 2024. It won the 2024 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense (Historical Fiction). donalee has two new books out in 2025, Bind and Melt, the first in a new series, the Lotus Detective Agency.

A short story “Swan Song” was one of 21 selected for publication in Cold Canadian Crime. It was shortlisted for an Award of Excellence. Other short stories have been published in numerous anthologies and magazines. donalee’s short story “Troubled Water” was shortlisted for a 2024 Derringer Award and a 2024 Award of Excellence from the Crime Writers of Canada.

donalee is an award-winning freelance journalist. She has written articles for print and online publications across North America including The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, Lawyer’s Daily, National Post, and Canadian Business.

As well, donalee is the author of The Thong Principle: Saying What You Mean and Meaning What You Say and co-authored the book, Celebrity Court Cases: Trials of the Rich and Famous.

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