I’d like to welcome my friend, Michael Rigg, to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

Hardest thing about being a writer: Marketing, e.g., social media, website upkeep, talking to readers about my books and short stories, business aspects of book sales.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Attending writing conferences and classes.

Things you need for your writing sessions: Time and a relatively quiet space.

Things that hamper your writing: The “other duties as assigned” aspects of writing, e.g., marketing.

Something you’re really good at: Procrastination.

Something you’re really bad at: Organization.

Last best thing you ate: Broiled crabcakes at a restaurant in Smithfield, Virginia.

Last thing you regret eating: An Armour (brand) Potted Meat sandwich.

The last thing you ordered online: Postage Stamps.

The last thing you regret buying: Armour (brand) Potted Meat.

Things you always put in your books: For my stories set in New Orleans, I like to mention the resurrection fern. It’s a plant (but not a parasite) that grows on the live oak trees that are prevalent in New Orleans. Depending on the amount of rain, the resurrection fern will either appear brown and shriveled or lush, thick, and green. In dry weather, the plant shrivels up and appears to be dead. But with rain, the plant seems to come back to life—a resurrection.

Things you never put in your books: Hopelessness. There can be tension, fear, and even tragedy. But in the end, justice and fairness must prevail.

Things to say to an author: I like to comment on a particular aspect of a short story or novel to show that I read and appreciated the author’s work.

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: I couldn’t read your novel past the first three pages.

The funniest thing to happen to you: During the time I was Counsel for the Navy Exchange Service Command, I attended a legal conference in Naples, Italy. Over the weekend before the conference, I volunteered to work at our Navy Exchange retail store during a customer appreciation event. My assignment was to help ring up purchases of high-end sunglasses and jewelry. One of the customers asked me to try on a pair of designer sunglasses because my head was the same shape as his father’s head. Translation? I got to model the sunglasses because I was old and fat, like his dad. I made the sale, though.

The most embarrassing thing to happen to you: I don’t want to go into too much detail, but there was one incident involving a very hot shower in a London hotel where the steam (allegedly) set off a fire alarm, resulting in a rather large desk clerk with a thick Russian accent banging on the door. There may or may not have been threats of arrest, fine, and imprisonment involved.

The coolest person you’ve ever met: David Morrell, the author of First Blood (Rambo).

The celebrity who didn’t look like he/she did in pictures/video: Bette Midler. I saw her outside a Broadway theater, where she had just performed in Hello Dolly! She was tiny. She wasn’t just short and petite, she was “Tinker Bell tiny.”

Besides writing, what’s the most creative thing you’ve done: I built a wooden toolbox in Junior High School shop class.

A project that didn’t quite turn out the way you planned it: The wooden toolbox I built in Junior High School shop class.

Your favorite book as a child: Dr. Doolittle (the series). Dr. Doolittle had an assistant, Tommy Stubbins, who was about my age at the time.

A book I’ve read more than once: A Fly Went By – by Mike McClintock. Beyond that, most of my re-reads are history books or biographies because I want to check out a particular historical fact or event.

Your favorite movie as a child: It’s a tossup between The Wizard of Oz and Goldfinger. The Wizard of Oz had flying monkeys, Munchkins, and they melted a witch! In Goldfinger, the evil-doers killed a guy in his car then put it in a metal crusher, painted a woman gold, and employed a huge Japanese gangster who killed people by throwing his hat at them.

A TV show or movie that kept you awake at night as a kid (or as an adult): When I was a kid (maybe five or six years old), Invaders from Mars (the black-and-white version) scared me “to death.” I saw it as an adult and realized how cheesy it was.

About Michael:

Michael Rigg, an attorney for more than four decades, writes mysteries and thrillers set in two very different locations: Virginia Beach (where he lives) and New Orleans (which he visits as often as possible “for research,” including participation in three Mardi Gras Krewes). He is a retired Navy Judge Advocate and a retired civilian government attorney, formerly working for the Department of the Navy Office of the General Counsel. He is a member of International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and both the Sisters in Crime national organization and its Southeastern Virginia Chapter—Mystery by the Sea.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: www.michaelrigg.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/michael.rigg.author

Twitter/X: Michael Rigg@MDR102030

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/michael-rigg-4567b591