#go crazy with your books!! they're yours!! the experience of reading is what counts!! embrace the story however you feel is right!!

[the-eclectic-wonderer]

I'll play! 😁

4. What’s a word that makes you go absolutely feral?

15. Do you write in the margins of your books? Dog-ear your pages? Read in the bath? Why or why not? Do you judge people who do these things? Can we still be friends?

25. What is a weird, hyper-specific detail you know about one of your characters that is completely irrelevant to the story?

27. Who is the most stressful character you’ve ever written? Why?

35. What’s your favorite writing rule to smash into smithereens?

Hello and thanks for playing!! :)

4. What's a word that makes you go absolutely feral?

I know this is meant to make me talk about words I really love, but I'm afraid what you will get instead is a little rant on the expression never mind.

Why is it made of two words. Why. It looks so nice together. Here, look: nevermind. See? Doesn't that look much nicer to you than never mind? People even say it as one word when they say it out loud. Every time I write it down as a singular word and every time the red scrungly line appears to call me an idiot, but the truth is that I'm right. It looks better as a single word and they will never silence me on this.

... Okay, I also think the English really went off with tender. Also beloved. Also fluffy. And most of all darling. The word darling is the one and only reason I'd like to have an English-speaking girlfriend, so I can call her darling. It's the pet name to end all pet names.

15. Do you write in the margins of your books? Dog-ear your pages? Read in the bath? Why or why not? Do you judge people who do these things? Can we still be friends?

I do not! I'm the type of person who leaves her books completely immaculate. The most I do is press flowers into them! I'm not sure there's a specific reason, I just never got into the habit (although it might have to do with the fact that I tend to read a lot while traveling, in bed, or generally in situations where I can't really write). If I want to analyze or highlight a passage I use an app specifically for that.

Some 10 years ago I would have judged you hard if you did any of the above 😂 but I've gotten much more reasonable over the years! Now I think that if writing in margins, dog-earing the pages, or reading in the bath brings you joy -- you should do exactly that! Reading is a personal, wonderful experience, and everyone should get to enjoy it in the way they like best.

25. What is a weird, hyper-specific detail you know about one of your characters that is completely irrelevant to the story?

Dorothy drives stick shift. I haven't been able to fit this into any of my works so far, but it's important to me that you know it.

Just to add some details: she knows how to drive an automatic car, she just learned to drive on a stick shift car and she prefers to drive stick shift. This is only because she's Italian in origin, and Italians (me included) drive stick shift. And also I think of her driving like I do, one hand on the wheel and the other on the shift, and I literally see stars, so there's that.

27. Who is the most stressful character you’ve ever written? Why?

Answered this one here.

35. What’s your favorite writing rule to smash into smithereens?

Ooh, fun! I enjoy smashing each and every rule when the time is appropriate, but I think my favourite one (if only by virtue of frequency) has got to be 'never begin a sentence with a conjunction'. This was drilled into me in school, but there's times when beginning a sentence with 'and', or with 'or', or with 'but', is simply more effective -- and effectiveness comes way above grammatical correctness in my list of writing priorities. Take that, grammar!