Simon & Schuster asked me to fill out this questionnaire, which is now posted on my S&S author page. But I thought I’d post them here as well for your smirking eye-rolling oh-man-she’s-so-predictable amusement.
Revealing Questions
Q. How would you describe your life in only 8 words?
A. Love, friendship, beauty, truth, faith, diligence, and laughter.
Q. What is your motto or maxim?
A. Fall down seven times, stand up eight.
Q. How would you describe perfect happiness?
A. A white sand beach, a pina colada, and nowhere else to be.
Q. What’s your greatest fear?
A. Death. Large dogs. And bugs. Pretty much in that order.
Q. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
A. Toronto, my hometown, having dim sum with my family, and then grabbing a Timmy’s with my friends.
Q. Which living person do you most admire?
A. My husband. For putting up with me. Worst-paying job in the world, but he’s great at it!
Q. What are your most overused words or phrases?
A. “Seriously?”, “Interesting!”, and “Oh HELL no.”
Q. What do you regret most?
A. No regrets. Everything in my past brought me to where I am today, and this is a really good place.
Q. If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?
A. The ability to read my cats’ minds. What? Is that weird?
Q. What is your greatest achievement?
A. Marrying Steve. Having the same best friends for over 20 years. And writing CREEP.
Q. What’s your greatest flaw?
A. I overanalyze everything.
Q. What’s your best quality?
A. Loyalty. And I’m a good listener.
Q. If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?
A. Why, a superhero, of course!
Q. What trait is most noticeable about you?
A. I have an easy laugh.
Q. Who is your favorite fictional hero?
A. Jeffery Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme.That dude seriously kicks butt.
Q. Who is your favorite fictional villain?
A. Hannibal Lecter.
Q. What is your biggest pet peeve?
A. Cigarette smoke and wimpy handshakes.
Q. What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing?
A. Reading. Talking to friends. And watching MAD MEN.
Q. What’s your fantasy profession?
A. Opera singer! Too bad I can’t sing.
Q. What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
A. Open-mindedness, honesty, and a sense of humor.
Q. If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?
A. French fries. With ketchup.
Q. What are your 5 favorite songs?
A. “Creep” by Radiohead (of course), “Here, There, and Everywhere” by The Beatles, “Walk” by Foo Fighters, “Empire State of Mind” by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, and “By Your Side” by Sade.
How would you answer some of these questions?
French Fries with ketchup are yum. I have to agree 🙂
Great getting to know you.
Oh you fear large dogs? :O(
Glad I'm not the only one bothered by wimpy handshakes. Seriously – what's up with that?
And I like your motto!
Personally I'm thinking the motto: "Delete seven times, rewrite eight" would work…
Great stuff – that's really funny that they're putting that on your author page. Totally agree with your motto, too!
Really, large dogs? The bigger the better I say. But each to her own. And I love fall down seven, stand up eight. I'm hoping this eigth revision is the last one! great list!
I love your motto! Fall down seven times, get up eight.
Your answers are similar to what mine would be to a scary degree, except pizza rules, I have nothing but regrets, and my greatest fear is not having enough time to "live" so I can look back without regrets.
Wimpy handshakes? I don't understand. Do you mean between women? Because between a man and a woman a handshake is a much different beast than between a man and another man. When I shake the hand of another guy, it's like a death grip that can bend metal!
But when I shake a woman's hand, I do so at only 1/3rd the normal strength. It's still a firm handshake, but not a steel-warping death grip. I don't know, to do otherwise just seems rude to me.
And as for French Fries w/ Ketchup — LOL! There was a time in High School where that was all I ate at lunch time, for like MONTHS! 🙂
there were some cliche answers in there, but pretty entertaining.
A regret of mine would be not getting my Eagle Scout.
Good answers. Could have guessed your favorite song would be "Creep."
I like the motto, too.
Yeah, I use "seriously" way too much. Seriously. I'd love to read cats' minds too, but I think I'm getting better at that one. And, Hannibal Lecter is one of the best fictional victims. Great answers!
Walk by the Foo Fighters is a great song! And I'm pretty sure your cats are thinking that their lazer-beams need recharging. Btw, is it true that everyone in Toronto gets HGTV for free??
Ooooh the beach with nowhere to go sounds UH.MAZING. right now. MMmmmm gimme a minute…
Ah.. okay. Awesome questionnaire! Neat to get to know a bit about you. And also to worry about how I shake your hand one day. 😉
I still haven't gotten round to reading any Deaver.
Thanks for the comments, guys! More specifically:
@Ben & Anne: Yes, it's an unreasonable fear, because I've never had a bad experience with any kind of dog and a lot of my friends have big dogs. I think it's the size of the animal that freaks me out! Which I know doesn't help anything.
@David: Yup, I ate french fries all through ninth grade. I'm pretty sure that's where the addiction started. As for my definition of wimpy handshakes, a wimpy handshake = a "no grip whatsoever" handshake. Like, just fingers touching fingers. I do like your 1/3 rule with women, though. No girl likes her hand crushed.
@Sean: Free HGTV? Maybe! I think it came with our basic cable package, as I don't remember paying extra for it (but this was awhile ago, mind you).
@Colene: Hey, if I actually get to shake your hand one day, I'm sure not gonna complain how you shake it! I'd be too excited to meet you 😉
@Ricky: I love Deaver. Let me know if you need a recommendation!
Excellent Q & A! Not predictable, silly. How great that you're on the S & S author page now. Woot!
Hmmm, great answers. But come on…onion rings beat fries!!!!! And ketchup is good on everything.
My motto is at the bottom of my blog.
A friend will help you move…but a good friend will help you move a body.
I overanalyze everything too! Drives my guy NUTS but he's known for years and he's still with me. Gotta give the guy credit. ; )
And I've had most of my friends for 25-30 years. Wow, I'm old!
Big bugs. 😉
Fun answers.
I like your maxim/motto — Japanese proverb, right? Are you familiar with this one: "Go to sleep eating a cookie, wake up feeling very crummy"?
Q. Which living person do you most admire?
A. My husband. For putting up with me. Worst-paying job in the world, but he's great at it!
Ha ha, you have to pay him, lol.
I love the "fall down seven times, stand up eight." Maybe I'll steal that as my new mantra. 🙂
Q. What is your motto or maxim?
From Alaskan fishing guides who often have to take clients fishing in grizzly bear territory:
"I don't have to out run a grizzly bear, just my slowest clients!"
Ugh, I hate wimpy handshakes! Your answers are hilarious–I love them!
Fun! I overanalyze everything, too. But I have a wimpy handshake, my husband can't stand it.
You guys are hilarious!
Except for GYC. NOT FUNNY.
I'm totally squeeing for you right now because you have a questionnaire with Simon and Schuster. Um, awesome. And love your answers. I totally live by your mantra on no regrets. Our pasts really do lead us to where we are today.
I want to steal your motto, too! It was great!
And as Abby says, YAY you have a S&S QUESTIONNAIRE!! How cool is that? 😀
I would figure out how to work Coffee into the 8 words…without dropping one. Lovecoffee – that can be one word, right? I totally overanalyze EVERYTHING as well. And my laugh is easy, but loud and obnoxious. It's one of the most memorable things about me. I just have to hope it leaves people with a good memory…
I love "fall down seven times get up eight!" I may steal that as my new favorite motto. And Congrats on have an author questionnaire on S&S how very cool!
I seriously love dim sum and want it right now.
Oh, and wimpy handshakes are gross!
I LOVE your motto!
This was fun to read, and it must be even more fun to see it on your author page. Congratulations!
My husband's named Steve too! 🙂 Loved reading your answers and seeing your author page!