Answers – Round Two

Even though I only received a luke warm response to my first set of answers, I've decided to go ahead and post the next ten because I don't have my next topic ready quite yet.  All of the remaining ones not answered here on my blog will be responded to via personal e-mail.  Enjoy.

1. Nicole asks - How much of yourself goes into your main characters? Probably too much! One of the MC’s in both my books is named Lee (my middle name) and there’s a lot of me in him. I enjoy writing stories involving ordinary people being put into extraordinary situations, and I’m about as ordinary as they come. Of course Lee’s blessed with a quicker wit and definitely more heroic, this is fiction after all. But I’d like to believe that under similar circumstances, I would act the same. I can always edit out the urine stains later.

4. LTM asks - Which super power and why? Invisible or flying? Definitely flying! I already spend enough time being invisible.

8. Emily asks - If you were doomed to only ever eat one kind of donut again, what kind would it be? A Krispy Kreme, regular glazed donut, never gets old! They melt in your mouth!

9. Sarah (Falen) asks - If you knew you were going to die...what would you eat as your last meal and why? The sky's the limit. Chicken puffs. It’s a meal my wife makes for me on special occasions. My mouth is watering just thinking about those luscious pockets of ground poultry covered in Alfredo sauce, but that’s not why I’d request them. If this was going to be my final meal, then I’d want something lovingly prepared and held meaning only to me.

12. Aspiring_x asks - If you HAD to eat/drink one which would it be: toe jams or the contents of the mayo jar (you know which one)? Toe jams…with a side of Cole slaw! 

17. Stephanie asks - What celebs were your teen crushes!! Well…I had the mandatory Farah Fawcett and Cheryl Tieg posters up on my walls. A couple others that were a tad off the beaten path…Chris Evert and Olivia Newton-John.

20. Amparo asks - What's the most awesome piece of writing advice that's rocked your world? :) Something written with a dull pencil is a struggle to read. Keep your pencil sharp!

23. Elle & Kristin asks - What kind of books do you write? Why mysteries? I combined two questions into one here so I could answer both with a single response. So, as you can tell by one of the questions, my novels are classified as mystery/suspense, but I experiment with other genres through my short stories. Why mysteries? I had to ponder that one for a while. I guess my answer is that I really enjoy leading my readers through a brain twister, sprinkling in just as many red herrings as clues along the way, challenging them to figure out the end before I decide to reveal it. But the real kicker is to build the puzzle while at the same time inducing the m to become emotionally attached to my MC’s, thus merging my efforts seamlessly.

26. Jemi asks - Star Wars or Star Trek? I love both, but I’m a definite lean towards Star Trek. I’ve watched the series since its first run on TV (another reminder of how old I am), through all its iterations (Generations, Deep Space Nine, Voyager), and all the movies (The Wrath of Kahn was my favorite until this latest JJ Abrams version). The enjoyment quotient for Star Trek just plain exceeds Star Wars.

31. Kelly asks - Bruce Springsteen decides to retire. He will give a single farewell concert in a venue that seats one hundred people. Tickets aren't to be purchased, but earned through the most creative expression of fan appreciation. How will you convince the Boss to let you past the velvet rope? Here’s the thing, I wouldn’t want to attend. Why? Bruce is best appreciated in a crowded stadium or concert hall jammed with his adoring fans, not an intimate setting of a 100 people. The energy given off by a large crowd like that just about equals what takes place on that stage, and it’s in that atmosphere Bruce’s last concert should take place.