1. It’s the zombie apocalypse and writers have got to stick together to survive. Pick 3 authors to be on your zombie apocalypse killing team and tell us why you’d choose them.
JT Sawyer – he can walk into a desert with a knife and thrive. And he writes books about zombies.
.
Jeff Critser – he is military intelligence and can figure out where the pockets of survivors are staying and communicate with them (and he’s probably got a buddy with a big safe boat).
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Stephen Templin – he has SEAL training and is an English professor. So he can blow up the Zombies by day and regale us with stories at night.
How do I not know of these people? And how do you know so many kick-ass dudes? I feel like I've been living in a cave-or upstate NY. I just added these to my TBR list. (sigh - now it's even longer)
Have you read
World War Z? I will never think of a boat as safe during a zombie event again. (insert shudder) But watching the movie doesn't count, it's totally different from the book.
Fiona says:I'm not a zombie fan. I enjoy reading dystopian novels, though. The reason I read authors like JT Sawyer is to learn from them. Sawyer is a military survival trainer in his non-writing life. By reading his work I can understand not just the ideas but how they would be implemented and the thought processes of survival. I use this information not only in my writing but on my own adventures.
2. If Stephen King and J. K. Rowling were drowning in a river, who would you save first? And now you have to tell us why.
Fiona says: Depends, honestly I wouldn’t choose by who was in the water but whom I thought I could successfully save. At the end of the day, with everyone warm and content on shore, I’d prefer Ms. Rowling as a campfire buddy.
Meredith says: J. K. telling stories around the campfire sounds like my kind of time :)
3. We authors are voracious readers. My TBR list is approximately 8 miles long. What are you currently reading?
Fiona says: I’m reading Linda Sands’
THREE WOMEN WALK INTO A BAR and next is Jennifer Skutelski’s GRAVE OF HUMMINGBIRDS
Meredith says: I'm making my way through the Kindle
Scout winners as well!
4. What is the one book that you could read a million times and never get bored with?
Fiona says: Pride and Prejudice – and I mention it in most of my books.
Meredith says: Thank sweet baby Jesus, another re-reader!!!
5. Last year my favorite read was The Martian by Andy Weir. What was your best read of 2014?
Fiona says: Wow, really? I can’t possibly answer that question. I think maybe if I could chose a series instead – I was reading John Gilstrap’s Digger Graves series and have a literary crush on Digger.
Meredith says: A series works. I frequently count an entire series as one body of work.
6. This year my favorite read has been The Dog Stars by Peter Heller. What’s the best book you’ve read so far in 2015?
Fiona says: Again, this question is way too narrow for me. I’ll pick a collection. I have been reading the Kindle Scout winners in 2015 – each book is unique and many of the books take me to a genre that I wouldn’t normally read. I’m really enjoying myself.
7. You’re a writer by day and a superhero by night. (Take off those geeky glasses Superman) What’s your superpower?
Fiona says: Omnipotence! Kidding. I’d like to be invisible, but be able to transport myself anywhere with a blink and a nod.
Meredith says: Nice.
8. I have writing spots all over my house: my desk, my couch, the patio, and my bed. Where’s your favorite spot to write?
Fiona says: My bed. I can manage the house from this location. I have a lovely writing room quiet and serene – just perfect, except that I’m still mom first and that means having an ear to the ground.
Meredith says: Ah, yes, the pitter patter of little feet.
Fiona says: My kids' feet thud. The two who are still in the house tower over me. Instead of pitter patter, I'm listening for the clickety clack of my daughter's alert dog coming to get me so I can right a wrong blood glucose number. If I'm back in the office, I can't yell - I actually have to get up and go find her. If the scene I'm writing is flowing, I don't want to get up.
9. We’re supposed to love all of our children equally, but there are some scenes I’ve written that really stick out in my mind. Tell us your favorite scene from your book WEAKEST LYNX.
Fiona says: In
WEAKEST LYNX I have two scenes that I love. The first is a bathroom scene where my protagonist Lexi accidently walks in on stud-muffin Striker Rheas, poor girl. And the second is the howling scene – I woke up from a deep sleep with that scene fully formed in my mind. I cry every time I read it.
Meredith says: I can't wait to read the bathroom scene ;) Isn't it crazy, waking up with a scene fully formed? I've done that before. It's like the story comes flying out of your soul when you're most vulnerable.
10. Sometimes a little too much of myself slips into my characters. Which one of your characters most resembles you?
Fiona says: Not me but my oldest daughter, she definitely slipped onto the pages of my book. Most of Lexi’s (non-psychic) skillsets are also the skillsets my daughter possesses. My daughter is the same age as Lexi; I even gave Lexi my oldest daughter’s birthday.
11. I’ve always got tunes rocking while I’m writing. Tell us five songs that are on your playlist.
Fiona says: Absolute silence. I don’t like noise when my mind is whirring – my thoughts are enough for me. And since my head is usually hard at work, I rarely play music even in the car. Music is for dancing, and then I’m game for whatever shows up on the playlist.
12. If you could tell an aspiring author one tiny tidbit of information, what would you say?
Fiona says: Trust yourself to take this journey. One foot and then the other. Build your skills over time with persistence.
Meredith says: words of wisdom right there, ladies and gentlemen.
(PS it's a series!)
Connect with Fiona
(I really like the name Fiona)
