Beyond the Book

“Do your characters tend to have skills that you have yourself? Do you write about people who do things that you wish that you could manage?”

I suppose it’s a little bit of both. I was a teacher for thirty five years, and in that time I had to learn a bit about human nature, mostly that of teenagers. I learned to be mindful of what I said, to think before I spoke and hurt someone’s feelings or made a situation worse. I think I was pretty good at it, and I also think this is helpful for anyone to practice, not just a teacher. 

I’m also fairly dependable. Sometimes things happen, but if I make a commitment I try to honor it. I have a passion for animal welfare so I frequently sign petitions asking for stricter animal cruelty laws. I donate to rescues and always adopt my pets instead of shopping. 

Many of my characters embody these traits with Flood being the most obvious example. In that book my heroine was a vet who eventually breaks up a dog fighting ring. 

I have a whole list of things I wish I could manage. I’d love to learn how to sew, but somehow I don’t have the dexterity to do it. I’d also like to learn how to decorate cakes. I can’t do this either. My flowers always look like blobs. In fact, anything that requires nimble, skillful fingers is pretty much beyond me. I’m a good cook though. I wish I had more motivation to go into the kitchen and turn out good meals, but sadly I’m kind of tired of cooking. I tell my husband that if we ever win the lottery we’ll hire a cook.

In my book A New Dream my heroine Violet is a baker, and in Fortuna my heroine Aimee teaches herself to sew. I can’t do these things, but it’s fun to let my characters do it for me.

What’s your greatest strength? Is there anything you’d love to do that you just don’t have the talent for?