I’d like to welcome Sandra Rathbone to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

Hardest thing about being a writer: Not giving into self-doubt. The Imposter Syndrome is a such a real thing. Marketing your book is also a challenge.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Coming up with great characters. It’s my favorite part about writing.

Something you’re really good at: Drawing cartoons and playing the violin.

Something you’re really bad at: Anything athletic. I love watching baseball and the Olympics. I’m lucky to be able to walk and do a bit of yoga.

Last best thing you ate: I had a plate of corned beef, bratwurst, knockwurst, sauerkraut, pickled slaw and German potato salad at the German Festhaus at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA.

Last thing you regret eating: I had a cheese chili hotdog at a ballgame in Asheville. It was so messy. Good, but messy.

Favorite music or song: Fascination Street by The Cure

Music that drives you crazy: I am not a fan of bluegrass music, which is funny since I’m from Asheville, NC. Bluegrass is huge there.

Favorite places you’ve been: Savannah, GA (Love Leopold’s ice cream, the town squares throughout the city, and the riverwalk); Charleston, SC (Love the City Market, the houses on the East Battery, and dessert at the Peninsula Grill; Burnsville, NC (My grandparents are from there.)

Places you never want to go to again: Going south on Highway 17 to Wilmington. We were driving from the Outer Banks to Wilmington. We stopped at a gas station somewhere in between. I entered that place and felt so unwelcomed there. It was the way the locals looked at me as I made a beeline for the bathroom and made another beeline back to our car.

Favorite books (or genre): I still love to read Young Adult and Middle Grade books. There are so many wonderful authors, especially where I live which is the Piedmont Triad of NC. I’m currently reading a YA book from a North Carolina author, Elizabeth Mowery: The Unforgettable Tales of Adeline Bigsby, Book 1: Whispers in the Forest. She, too, writes about visiting other worlds and like Skelee Boy in my books, the main character Adeline (Addie) tries to fit in and make her life work going between the two worlds.

Books you wouldn’t buy: I am not a fan of romance novels. I have tried. Just not for me.

Favorite things to do: I love to watch Classic movies. I am a huge fan of Film Noir from the ‘40s and ‘50s. I love the Sam Spade and Phillip Marlowe characters, especially.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Yardwork. I absolutely hate it. My mom would be ashamed to hear me admit this. She is such an avid gardener.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: I conducted the NC Western Regional All-State Repertory Orchestra. One of the pieces I conducted was the “Overture to Rienzi” by Richard Wagner. I was told by other Orchestra directors not to do it. I did it. The students sounded amazing. I would do it all over again if could.

Something you chickened out from doing: I was asked to play a violin gig. The music was so difficult. When the gig came up, I had gotten the flu. Most musicians will play while they are sick. I just couldn’t do it. I had to turn it down during the first rehearsal. I wasn’t asked to play for that group again.

The funniest thing to happen to you: My students played a joke on me. I was trying to tune them, but their instruments just wouldn’t stay in tune. I couldn’t figure out what was going on. The room wasn’t cold (a nightmare for string instruments.) Well, it was April 1. The kids were laughing this whole time. I figured it out. Little stinkers would detune their instruments behind my back after I had tuned them.

The most embarrassing thing to happen to you: I was playing violin at a recital in college. I showed up on time. Knew the piece well. Our group wasn’t performing until later. I went to the restroom. Lost track of time. Made a fashionably late entrance as the musicians were waiting for me to join them. My college mates still give me flack about that one.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: Don’t stop writing. Please don’t. This is something you need to keep doing.

The craziest thing a reader said to you: This wasn’t a reader, but I was at a festival where I was selling my books. A woman told me that she didn’t allow her kids to read scary books. She said her kids were scared of everything.

Besides writing, what’s the most creative thing you’ve done: I used to write comic strips. The Skelee Boy character came from the comic strips I created.

A project that didn’t quite turn out the way you planned it: Originally, Skelee Boy was just going to be comic book series. A friend of mine thought he would do well as a novel. The rest is history.

My favorite book as a child: Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

A book I’ve read more than once: Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy. Loved that story in high school. Still love it now.

About Sandra:

Sandra's tastes in literature and music can best be described as eclectic. She writes middle grade and young adult horror fiction and enjoys reading rock musician biographies. She is also an avid fan of rock and classical music.

Sandra is an award-winning author of “Skelee Boy: A Skelee Boy Book” and “Skelee Boy and the Demon King.” She also is an Orchestra Director in the state of North Carolina.

Sandra lives in NC with her husband and their "tortie" cat, Charley. When she's not writing you can find Sandra playing her violin and viola as a free-lance musician.

Skelee Boy: Two Worlds is the third book of the “Skelee Boy” book series.

Let’s Be Social:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skeleeboybooks

Website: www.sandrarathbone.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stories/skeleeboybooks1/

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