#WriterWednesday Interview with Annie McEwen
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I’d like to welcome my friend, the amazing Annie McEwen, to the blog today for #WriterWednesday.
Favorite thing to do when you have free time: I love to read, work in my gardens, go thrifting for cheap treasure ( I love a good bargain & a project!), and hang out with my family.
The thing you’ll always move to the bottom of your to do list: I don’t know why, but I always procrastinate putting laundry away.
Things you need when you’re in your writing cave: I need lots of different colors of pens, dry-erase markers, and Sharpies. Notecards for plotting scenes and suspects, my corkboard/murder board, and my whiteboard are also a must. Of course, my laptop and caffeine in any way, shape, or form!
Things that distract you from writing: How much room do we have? LOL! My phone is a biggie— keeping up with my author social media, texts/calls from my family. We have three dogs and one cat, so they tend to be a bit needy. My husband recently retired after almost thirty years as a police officer, and now works partly from home... bless his heart, he likes to pop in my office to chat a lot. But, he does make a great cup of coffee!
Favorite snacks: My daughter has a bakery business and makes THE most delicious cookies. I love to freeze them, then zap them in the microwave for a bit... makes that chocolate ooey-gooey!
Things that make you want to gag: I’m not super-picky, but I despise avocados and raw onions. I can only tolerate onions if they’re cooked with an inch of their life (or battered and deep-fried at the fair!)
Something you’re really good at: I am one awesome grandma (or Gigi, as my little grandsons call me!) My forts are pretty great, I can rock a superhero cape, and my Play-Doh donuts are second to none. But besides all that, I’m fortunate to be able to babysit them, go on preschool field trips, and cuddle and snuggle my little guys all the time. It’s the absolute best!
Something you’re really bad at: I am NOT athletic. I’ve tried, but I am totally uncoordinated. Guess who was always picked last in gym class?
Something you wanted to be when you were a kid: I wanted to be an AUTHOR!
Something you do that you never dreamed you’d do: My bill-paying job is a Radiologic Technologist (aka I take X-rays). I never dreamed I’d be doing that. In fact, I didn’t go back to college for it until my late thirties.
Something you wish you could do: I want to learn how to play the guitar. I taught myself to play the piano by ear when I was a kid, and I can read music a bit. So I’m determined to do the same with the guitar... in my “spare” time.
Something you wish you’d never learned to do: Hmm... I honestly can’t think of anything, unless it’s how to properly clean barn stalls. Growing up on a farm, there was a lot of that!
Last best thing you ate: Oooo... lobster risotto from one of my favorite restaurants. It’s a special place my hubby and I go to only a few times a year.
Last thing you regret eating: This one crushes me, but original Doritos. I ended up with terrible heartburn.
Things to say to an author: “Your book made me laugh so hard!” “I can’t wait for your next book!”
Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: “So, you just get to sit around and make up stories? I think I could do that.” “Your main character is so unrealistic.” (Paraphrased from an actual review!)
The most exciting thing about your writing life: It’s hard to choose, but seeing my name on the cover of a book I actually wrote as I held it in my hands... There were happy tears!
The one thing you wish you could do over in your writing life: I wish I had started sooner. But, honestly, I feel like everything has happened in my life when it was supposed to, so I don’t really regret it.
Recommendations for curing writer’s block: Get up and move. Read and get inspired. Eat that cookie you’ve been saving!
Things you do to avoid writing: I clean or organize. My pantry and closets are always in tip-top shape when I don’t feel like hitting my word count.
About Annie:
Annie McEwen writes the best-selling Northwoods Mysteries series, inspired by the pine forests and sparkling lakes of northern Wisconsin, where she spent childhood vacations and still visits family today.
A former farm kid, Annie now lives in rural Indiana with her husband. Their children and young grandsons live nearby, making grandparenting her favorite role. Their home also includes four fur babies—some of whom insist on appearing in her books.
Annie is a member of Sisters in Crime and one of the hosts of the Facebook group, Murder, They Write. She also writes a monthly column for Fresh Fiction called “Where Everybody Knows Your... Alibi.” When she isn’t writing, Annie enjoys trash-to-treasure projects, gardening, working as a radiological technologist, and connecting with readers and fellow authors.
Books:
Resort to Murder
Dead, White, and Blue
Snow Time to Die
Yule Regret It
Let’s Be Social:
Website: www.anniemcewenauthor.com
