Hi Molly! How fun to chat with you today!
Thanks for inviting
me!
Let’s start with an
easy one--how long have you been writing?
Writing fiction,
about thirty years. Writing fiction seriously, twenty six years. Getting paid
for writing fiction, twenty four years.
What inspired you
to pick up the pen (or sit down at the computer) one day and create characters
that capture the imagination?
Stories are magic
and I’ve always wanted to be a magician.
Are you a fiber and
needle artist? If so, which of the needle crafts do you like best?
If I had more spare
time, I’d be more of a fiber and needle artist than I am. Years ago I did a lot
of cross stitch. These days I’m more interested in knitting and needle felting
and someday I want to make a whole zoo of little tiny felted and knitted
animals.
Most people
envision an author’s life as being really glamorous. What’s your take on this?
Well, it’s more
glamorous than working in a towel factory or behind the counter at a
delicatessen, both of which I’ve done. And if by glamorous they mean getting up
at five every morning and writing until it’s time to go to my fulltime day job,
writing on my lunch hour, going back to work, then coming home to make supper
and write again until it’s time for bed, then yes – my life as an author is
extremely glamorous! The real glamour
clincher, though, is that I get to set my own dress code while writing. Blue
jeans? Yep. Pajamas with little Scotties all over them? Why not? Not a bad job
at all.
Are Larry and
Maggie, the kitties from LAST WOOL AND TESTAMENT based on any kitties in your
life?
That’s an interesting
question. Larry, yes; Maggie, no. I’ve never met a cat that treated me the way
Maggie treats Kath. In fact, that was hard to write because I felt so sorry for
Kath. Larry is a combination of three kitties, though. 1) Blackie, who appeared
on our back steps half dead and looking as though he’d stuck his paw in an
electrical outlet, poor guy. We took him in and he turned into a very handsome,
sweet guy. 2) A charming stray gentleman cat we met in California who walked up
to me, leapt into my arms, and purred up a storm. Larry gets his moustache from
him. My husband snapped a picture and that’s the happy guy in my author photo. 3)
Neko, who is sitting in my lap right now. He’s orange, like Larry. He was being
“raised” by a fraternity down the street from us. When he decided to relocate
to our house he was skin and bones. It took months of cosseting before he could
meow. He’s leading a very pampered life now.
You managed an
independent book store. What was the
best part of managing and working in a book store?
Being surrounded by
books and people who love them.
I for one wish the
trend would change and there would be more independents.
Me too. I keep
hearing they might have a place again in the coming years. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?
What is the most
glamorous thing you’ve done as an author?
I’ve won a couple
of awards for my writing and received them at banquets. That kind of thing
blows my mind to the point where I know I don’t look glamorous – more like
dorky and stunned – but the occasion and the surroundings feel glamorous.
If you could be one
of the members of “the posse” who would it be and why?
I kind of like being
the one who gets to play around with their lives! But if you’re making me
choose, I think I’ll have to say Kath – provided she gets her life her life
settled down a bit. Do you think that’s likely to happen?
Looking over the
past year, what has been the best moment for you in your writing career?
Hearing from
readers who like the book. That is so amazing to me. So very nice.
What do you enjoy
doing with your spare time, your non-writing time?
Try new recipes. I
love to cook.
If you could invite
any famous person, dead or alive, for lunch, who would it be and what would you
eat?
I would invite P.G.
Wodehouse and we would have Moroccan sweet potato salad for lunch with
gooseberry pie for dessert.
What are you
working on now? Can you tell us a little about it?
I just finished the
edits for Dyeing Wishes, the sequel to Last Wool and Testament. It has sheep in
it and dyeing and, of course, dying. It comes out in July. And now I’m heavily
into writing the third book in the series. It’s called (tentatively) Spinning
in Her Grave. It takes place during Blue Plum Preserves, which is the town’s
heritage festival. In each of the books, Kath learns more about Geneva and there’s
a bit of romance developing. With who? Hmm, you’ll have to wait for that
answer.
Is there anything
you’d like to add?
If you’ve never
been to upper east Tennessee, where the series is set, you should go. It’s a
gorgeous corner of the world and a great place to visit.
Thank you for
taking some time with us today!
Thank you for
having me. Good questions!
The Boston Globe says Molly MacRae writes “murder with a dose of
drollery.” Molly is the author of Last
Wool and Testament, first book in the new Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries from
Penguin/NAL, which won the 2013 Lovey Award for Best Paranormal, Sci-fi, or
Horror Novel. Dyeing Wishes, second
in the series, comes out in July 2013. Molly is also the author Lawn Order and Wilder Rumors, mystery novels set, like the Haunted Yarn Shop
Mysteries, in the upper east corner of Tennessee. Molly’s short stories have
appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery
Magazine since 1990. She won the Sherwood Anderson Award for Short Fiction
in 2000. Molly has been the director of a history museum in Jonesborough,
Tennessee’s oldest town, and the manager of an independent bookstore. After
twenty years in the beautiful hills and hollows of Tennessee, Molly and her
family live in Champaign, Illinois, where you can find her in the children’s
department of the public library. You can also find her at Vintage Cookbooks & Crafts on the first
Monday each month, at Killer
Characters on the 23rd of each month, on Facebook and Pinterest, or at www.mollymacrae.com.
Miss Missy recently interviewed Maggie and Larry, two kitties from the Haunted Yarn Shop Mystery series and Larry is running a contest for a copy of Molly's July release Dyeing Wishes. Stop by and leave a Haiku for Larry and be entered to win!
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