The immensely talented ER Brown asked me to participate in this blog hop - where each person 'tagged' answers questions and then 'tags' other writers to answer the same questions - and since (a) I like him, (b) I like his work, and (c) he's Canadian*, I said yes.
ER's debut novel of last year - ALMOST CRIMINAL - was a finalist for the Edgar award for best paperback original and the Arthur Ellis award for best first novel. His wonderful blog post is here, where among other things, he pays me the supreme compliment: "A former Ottawa resident, her Canadians are spot on."
Because the questions for this particular blog hop are ones I have trouble answering, I've put my answers at the bottom. Up top I'm putting what's far more interesting, my friends whom I'm tagging :
Rachel, Teresa, and Quinn, all of whom I'm proud to call my friends - and whose books I love:
First is Rachel Devenish Ford, a wonderful lyrical writer, author of THE EVE TREE and a new novel set in India, which she's currently editing. She lives in Thailand. She's Canadian, and she and her family are on a long-awaited trip back home at the moment, so likely won't have time to do these blog questions. But do yourself a favor and check out her blog, or one of her books, THE EVE TREE, or one of her compilations of blog writing.
ER's debut novel of last year - ALMOST CRIMINAL - was a finalist for the Edgar award for best paperback original and the Arthur Ellis award for best first novel. His wonderful blog post is here, where among other things, he pays me the supreme compliment: "A former Ottawa resident, her Canadians are spot on."
Because the questions for this particular blog hop are ones I have trouble answering, I've put my answers at the bottom. Up top I'm putting what's far more interesting, my friends whom I'm tagging :
Rachel, Teresa, and Quinn, all of whom I'm proud to call my friends - and whose books I love:
First is Rachel Devenish Ford, a wonderful lyrical writer, author of THE EVE TREE and a new novel set in India, which she's currently editing. She lives in Thailand. She's Canadian, and she and her family are on a long-awaited trip back home at the moment, so likely won't have time to do these blog questions. But do yourself a favor and check out her blog, or one of her books, THE EVE TREE, or one of her compilations of blog writing.
 The Fords: Rachel, her husband Chinau, and their astoundingly adorable children. |  |
Teresa J. Rhyne, who wrote the wonderful NY Times bestseller THE DOG LIVED (AND SO WILL I) - the story of battling cancer on behalf of her dog, and then herself, and somehow along the way falling in love with a great fellow who used to not like dogs ... and the follow-up, due out in October and available for pre-order now, THE DOGS WERE RESCUED (AND SO WAS I). Teresa is hands-down one of the loveliest people I have ever met - and a marvelous treat on Facebook - she's a queen of Facebook posts.
Quinn Cummings, wonderful author and former actress (a Academy award nomination when she was a child), whose most recent, delightful book is PET SOUNDS, which she describes as "about the animals who have been the boss of me" - she donates part of the sale of each book to Sante D'Or, an animal shelter. Her two previous books are THE YEAR OF LEARNING DANGEROUSLY, about her explorations into home schooling, and NOTES FROM THE UNDERWIRE, both also excellent. You can find her on Facebook, but your best best is following her on Twitter, where she takes 140-character writing to a high art.
Quinn Cummings, wonderful author and former actress (a Academy award nomination when she was a child), whose most recent, delightful book is PET SOUNDS, which she describes as "about the animals who have been the boss of me" - she donates part of the sale of each book to Sante D'Or, an animal shelter. Her two previous books are THE YEAR OF LEARNING DANGEROUSLY, about her explorations into home schooling, and NOTES FROM THE UNDERWIRE, both also excellent. You can find her on Facebook, but your best best is following her on Twitter, where she takes 140-character writing to a high art.
Quinn Cummings, left, and Teresa J. Rhyne, at a recent dog festival, with their books.
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Now for the questions that I'm not particularly good at:
1) What am I working on?
The problem here is that I don't like to talk about my work while I'm writing. I write and rewrite and polish and rewrite again ... but I don't talk about it until it's done. Let's just say my third novel is a stand-alone, in the third person, unlike my first two novels. And I have a couple of other books cooking as well.
2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I've never thought my work fit cleanly into any specific genre - I call the first two suspense novels, which covers a lot of territory. And I find it almost impossible to try to point out 'differences' without sounding self-laudatory. So, I strike out again.
3) Why do I write what I do?
It's what comes into my head. It's what wants to be written. It' the story or stories that won't let go.
4) How does my writing process work?
I do my creative work either early in the morning or late at night - and that while I compose on a computer, I do a lot of hand editing. I print many drafts, and revise and edit a lot. And I read most of the book aloud, some chapters multiple times.
But please do check out these wonderful authors: Rachel and ER write fiction; Quinn and Teresa write non-fiction, and all are very talented.
*I lived and worked in Canada for several years, set my books partly there, and have a degree from a Canadian university.
1) What am I working on?
The problem here is that I don't like to talk about my work while I'm writing. I write and rewrite and polish and rewrite again ... but I don't talk about it until it's done. Let's just say my third novel is a stand-alone, in the third person, unlike my first two novels. And I have a couple of other books cooking as well.
2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I've never thought my work fit cleanly into any specific genre - I call the first two suspense novels, which covers a lot of territory. And I find it almost impossible to try to point out 'differences' without sounding self-laudatory. So, I strike out again.
3) Why do I write what I do?
It's what comes into my head. It's what wants to be written. It' the story or stories that won't let go.
4) How does my writing process work?
I do my creative work either early in the morning or late at night - and that while I compose on a computer, I do a lot of hand editing. I print many drafts, and revise and edit a lot. And I read most of the book aloud, some chapters multiple times.
But please do check out these wonderful authors: Rachel and ER write fiction; Quinn and Teresa write non-fiction, and all are very talented.
*I lived and worked in Canada for several years, set my books partly there, and have a degree from a Canadian university.
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