Thursday, May 3, 2018

Q & A (so many terrific A) With My Friend Molly Campbell


My friend Molly is funny and talented and warm and has the most magnificent laugh. She is a beautiful writer and named the main character in her novel Crossing the Street after my son, so obviously she also has great taste in names. Molly's only distressing feature is that her home in Dayton Ohio is too far away from my home in Southern California. Thank goodness her gorgeous grandchildren live in my time zone so I do get to hang out with her on occasion. I end most of our conversations with the question, When are you moving next door to me? Here are some other questions I asked Molly.

You started a new career with your writing at a time in life that many people are
looking to work less. What was the process that brought you to writing?
There was a multitude of events that brought me to writing. My husband suffered
a massive stroke, and we both had to give up our jobs on the same day. I started
blogging as a way to de-stress. And I entered the Erma Bombeck Writing
Competition and won honorable mentions twice. At the same time, I began a
Twitter stream of funny names and one line descriptions (Loretta Squirrels: she
beats her husband and makes moonshine) that eventually led to my first book of
flash fiction. From there, I met my publisher, Lou Aronica of The Story Plant,
which eventually led to my first two novels. Novel three is in the works.

If you had to pick another era to live in - which would you pick?
This is a tough one, as any other era would not have air conditioning,
dishwashers and vacuum cleaners. And tampons. I don’t think I would switch.

Desert island, only five books. What are they?
Anne of Green Gables, A Death in the Family, The Ginger Tree, The Man in the
Window, and The Poisonwood Bible.

What music do you listen to while you write or do you prefer silence?
I must have silence. I have trained my husband not to speak to me if I am on the
couch with my laptop. This usually works, but not always. He loves to comment
on the weather just as I am amping up a very intriguing dialog…

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A ballerina, but I had no talent. Then I switched to acting. I still am overly
dramatic.

Do you work with an outline when writing a book, or do you prefer to free-write
and see where the story goes?
My publisher has given up trying to get me to storyboard. However, I am getting
much better at preplanning than I have been in the past. However, my stories do
tend to just go off in their own direction. I always know the ending before I begin,
however. And I always have my last line written before I start a book.

In your process of building characters, where do you start?
A name and one salient characteristic. For instance, (winging it here): Esme
Freedman would have cat glasses, white with silver sparkles.

Who is your biggest cheerleader?
My husband, when he is not commenting about the weather.

What's your favorite word?
Magnanimous

Here is an added fun fact: When I was seven, I wanted to change my name to
ANNABRICKS. You are welcome.

You can find Molly at  www.mollydcampbell.com
You can find Molly's novels at  Crossing the Street and Keep the Ends Loose




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