Jaqui Asks

A couple of weeks ago, my dear friend Jaqui asked me a few questions about myself, and I was intrigued, because she didn't want to know about the AUTHOR but the PERSON Mariam. 
It felt different, and actually quite liberating, to answer these. And I'm glad to tell her everything she wants to know!

Right then - here are my very random questions!!!  I hope you think they're okay.  I seem to have asked one or more questions in some of them!!!  But I literally wrote whatever popped in my head.

 

1. Do you enjoy being interviewed?
   
   
   Sometimes. Actually, yes. I love talking to people, love to learn about them, and tell them about myself. I'm not shy! I've made many friends via Facebook and Twitter, met quite a number of them in person, and that wouldn't have happened if I didn't like to talk to people.
   
   
2. What was your favourite lesson at school?
   
   
   English. No two ways about it. We speak English at my parents' house, but I soon developed a kind of obsession for the language. It took me to university where I studied American Literature, to learn as much as I could. As you know, it turned me into a writer! I'm a native German, but I write in English, and I publish in the USA. I'm very proud of that. I'm proud of being good enough to be successful in a different language!
   
   
3. What was the last book you read?
   
   
   That was NOT my own, during editing? That would be Sam Hilliard's "The Last Track". I'm not a great fan of crime, but that book really caught me. Do you want to hear a secret? 
   I LOVE Science Fiction. That's my favorite reading genre. Lately I've even been thinking of writing some. But not yet... there are still too many other projects.
   
   
4. Would you write an autobiography?
   
   
   One word: NO. 
   My family's story is... let me say, not fun. 
   But some small details do crop up in my novels. I've picked settings for the "Stone Trilogy" that I've actually visited, and my own feelings about them spill over into the books. 
   
   
   A real autobiography, though - never.
   
   
5. What's your favourite food and do you treat yourself to anything in particular when you're writing?
   
   
   When I'm writing, I don't eat anything, and often enough I even forget to drink enough water. That's because I hate to get up and interrupt myself, once the thoughts are flowing. I've forgotten to put on socks or make lunch, let in the cat or keep appointments.
   
   
   My favorite food... homemade, that would be chicken soup. With asparagus, peas, and fresh noodles. Yummy! My mouth is watering even now!
   If someone else buys me lunch or dinner, it would have to be Thai. I ADORE Thai cooking! Green Thai curry with beef... *drool*!
   
   
   
   
6. You obviously love music. Do you have something fave that you listen to when you're writing?
   
   
   Yes, I do. For every book, I put together a playlist with about eighty or so songs, that I listen to while I write. There are songs for every scene, every chapter, and when I listen to them, I recreate the atmosphere of that particular setting. It works!
   
   
   Oh, do you mean PARTICULAR songs, lol? That's a secret!
   
   
   
   
7. Are you good at saying 'The End' or do you find yourself going back and wanting to add more or change stuff? If you do – how do you stop yourself?
   
   
   No, I'm good at saying "The End". There is a natural point for ending a story, when it comes full circle. It's easy to let go, then. You can feel it coming on, after the climax of the tale, when reason returns and solutions are in sight, one way or the other. Like a river, the story runs to its end. Then, I go back and read the whole thing. Once, two times, three times, and edit and polish until I think it's good enough to send to the publisher. 
   A finished novel feels like an egg, somehow. I don't know how else to say it. When I send it off, when I put it into that attachment and hand it over, it feels like a shiny, smooth egg. Something that rests well in my hand.
   
   
   
   
8. Who in your family has read The Distant Shore? What did they think?
   
   
   My Mom, would you believe it, and she loved it! I was SO embarrassed when she told me she had ordered it, and I didn't even want to think about her reading the "steamier" scenes, but she loved it! She told me she felt like she was there, as if she was inside the scenes. I think that's a great compliment, and I'm very happy about it. 
   No one else here has read it, and I don't think anyone will. I'm surrounded by guys, and I can't see them reading "The Distant Shore" or any other of my books.
   It's okay. I'm fine with it. They are a huge support, and they are proud of me. That's good enough for me!
   
   
   
   
9. Are they very impressed and proud of you? (I AM!) 
   
   
   Impressed? I don't know. If they are, they don't let on. My teenage son is WAY too cool to admit that he is proud of me, or impressed. My hubby tells me he's proud. I think he really is. But he's also not very surprised. It's a bit deflating if all you hear is, "I TOLD you so!" Honestly.
   Same with my older son. For them, it was a matter of fact that I'd sooner or later be a published author. I know. They are nuts. But they are also right, so who cares!
   
   
10. Do you have an outfit planned in your head for your first tv interview?
    
    
    But I had my first TV interview already! That was last summer, in Lynchburg VA in the US. My friend Bunny is a TV producer, and she arranged it for me. I was in a very nice embroidered, red shirt and a white skirt. Not that anything really looks REALLY good on me, I'm too much out of shape for that, but I looked neat enough. 
    Of course, had you asked me for the outfit I'll wear once "Distant Shore" is a Hollywood movie and I'm at the Oscars when it is nominated... totally different story! :)