I’d like to welcome the fabulous Elle Jauffret to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday.

Hardest thing about being a writer: The hardest thing about being a writer is finding the time to write every day, having to persevere when inspiration lacks, and facing the blank page.

Easiest thing about being a writer: The easiest thing about being a writer is creating characters out of thin air (sometimes based on your friends), dropping them into wild situations, and watch their stories unfold. It’s like playing pretend with words on a page.

Things you need for your writing sessions: When I start a new story, I just need a pen and a notebook to write all my ideas down (what I call a “baby first draft” — about 15 pages). When I draft following an outline, I need only a computer. I can write anywhere—in bed, on the couch, or in the car, but I prefer to be at a desk (it’s better for my back).

Things that hamper your writing: Phone calls, texts, or people talking to me mid-thought pull me out of the writing zone, from which re-entry is difficult.

Something you’re really good at: I’m really good at striking up conversations with strangers and turning them into something meaningful. I'm also great at being resourceful—if there’s no door, I’ll create one.

Something you’re really bad at: I’m bad at asking for help. As a military spouse, especially during deployments, I learned to be entirely self-sufficient—because I had to be. Over time, that turned into a habit of taking everything on myself, even when I don’t need to. It’s something I’m still working on.

Last best thing you ate: The freshly harvested berries, cherry tomatoes, and strawberry-guava my husband cultivates in our container garden. There's something truly special about enjoying produce that goes straight from plant to plate.

Last thing you regret eating: One pound of Halloween candy (but I enjoyed every second of it).

The last thing you ordered online: French berets to gift to Malice Domestic*’s attendees and custom bookmarks to distribute at writers conferences and readers conventions. (*Malice Domestic is an annual fan convention that celebrates the Traditional Mystery genre.)

The last thing you regret buying: A non-fiction book about behavior profiling that had more hype than substantive content.

Things you’d walk a mile for: I could walk miles (yes, “miles” with an “s”) for a complimentary five-course meal crafted by innovative and talented chefs.

Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: Heavily cluttered and filthy places stress me out.

Things you always put in your books: I always include one French element or international cuisine in my stories.

Things you never put in your books: Gratuitous violence or shock value for the sake of it. If I ever write about violence, it needs to advance the story.

Things to say to an author: Authors love to hear how much readers love their books or how their books inspired them and changed their lives for the better.

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: The best ways to be killed off in an author’s next book, are to (1) ask them, (2) tell them that their books are trash, or (3) tell them they are wasting their talent writing commercial fiction for the masses; that if life didn’t get in the way, you’d be working on something more meaningful— like a Pulitzer contender.

Favorite places you’ve been: Some of my favorite places are probably ones I haven’t visited yet. So far, I love the Washington DC-Maryland area, Boston, the Kenai Peninsula (Alaska), Yosemite National Park, Kyoto (Japan), Seoul (South Korea), Cornwall (UK), and France (Paris, Normandy, the French Riviera, the Alps). I love places filled with natural beauty and rich in history. And of course, Disney World/Disneyland when the crowds are minimal.

Places you never want to go to again: I would avoid the desert, especially during summertime (though the night sky there is spectacular.)

Favorite books (or genre): I love all genres of books, especially those that teach me something new. Offer me a speculative fiction novel or something with a ghost and I cannot refuse.

Books you wouldn’t buy: I wouldn’t buy a book including gratuitous violence and cruelty, (especially against women and children) and any books written by known racist, xenophobic, or misogynist authors.

Favorite things to do: I love to discover new ideas or new ways of doing things, so anything and everything that opens a new window into the world and/or challenges my understanding of things: chatting (with friends or strangers) about the meaning of life, discussing ideas on how to change the world, listening to people’s experiences; visiting museums; reading books (fiction or non-fiction); watching movies and documentaries; meeting new people different from me; traveling. I also enjoy building things like Lego or puzzles and completing escapes rooms with my family.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Having a 50-hour work week, and having to deal with stubborn, mean-spirited, and narrow-minded people.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: I rejected a Fulbright scholarship (to study law, all expenses paid) and left my native country (France) and everything that was familiar for love. I had never fallen in love before and wanted to investigate that feeling— and yes, we’re still married.

Something you chickened out from doing: I have never chickened out from doing anything. When I refuse to do something, it’s based on rationale rather than fear. Bring it. LOL

The nicest thing a reader said to you: The nicest thing a reader said to me was that they “absolutely loved” my book and “couldn’t wait for the next one.”

The craziest thing a reader said to you: The strangest thing a reader said to me was “it’s weird that you write so well considering you speak with an accent.” I found it ironic since my book literally explores accent perception through a character with Foreign Accent Syndrome. It was like they were living out the exact biases my book examines.

Some real-life story that made it to one of your books: Being an American criminal attorney with a French accent and having people believe I’m just a foreign tourist on vacation.

Something in your story that readers think is about you, but it’s not: That I have Foreign Accent Syndrome—my French accent is real (not the product of a neurological disorder).

The first 8-track, record, cassette, or CD you ever bought: The first recording I bought was either a Bruce Springsteen or Michael Jackson record.

A type of music that’s not your cup of tea: Screamo post-hardcore doesn’t relax or cheer me up.

My favorite book as a child: The Odyssey by Homer was my favorite book until sixth grade, when I discovered The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury. Both books fed my hunger for adventure as a child.

A book I’ve read more than once: On Writing by Stephen King. I regularly listen to the audiobook whenever I need an emotional boost as a writer.

Your favorite movie as a child: I was only allowed to watch “one thing” a week, so I always chose to watch one Twilight Zone rerun a week.

A TV show or movie that kept you awake at night as a kid (or as an adult): The Twilight Zone episode "Time Enough at Last" where a bookish bank teller survives a nuclear apocalypse by being locked in a bank vault during the explosion. At first, he's devastated by the destruction but then becomes ecstatic upon discovering the ruins of a public library with all the books he could ever want to read uninterrupted. Just as he's about to enjoy this solitary paradise, he accidentally breaks his thick glasses, leaving him functionally blind and unable to read anything—a cruel twist of fate that haunted me, especially since I had glasses.

About Elle:

Elle Jauffret is a French-born American lawyer, former criminal attorney for the California Attorney General’s Office, military spouse, Claymore Award finalist, and Agatha Award nominee. New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry described her debut novel, Threads of Deception, as “a powerful, complex, and compelling mystery,” and USA Today bestselling author Hank Phillippi Ryan called Elle “a smart and fresh new voice.” She lives in Southern California with her family, along the coast of San Diego County, which serves as the backdrop for her Suddenly French Mystery series.