Your Infrequently Asked Questions

I'm at the RT Booklovers Convention (#RT15) this week, so I've scheduled this post ahead of time. Which means that, as I write this, I'm not really at RT at all, but at home, doing All The Things to get ready to go. A funky kind of time travel...

At any rate, the topic for this week in my future, your present, is Your Infrequently Asked Questions.

. . .

Yeah.

I was coming up blank so I did what any reasonable person does - I threw the topic out to the Twitter Hive Mind. (I also posted to FaceBook, but that's less of a Hive Mind than a slow-moving coliseum of people mostly gawking at funny videos and arguing about politics.)

Some suggested questions - and my answers!

Are you an alien?

Doubtful. Though there IS the time-travel thing! When I was a kid, I thought so. I was convinced that my true people had abandoned me and would return for me someday. Does every kid think this at some point? So interesting how this crosses over with the concept of changelings. (Which comes out in my various stories a great deal.)

When is your next courtroom thriller coming out?

I'm actually working on a courtroom thriller/fantasy romance. Fae lawyers and wizard serial killers. The ultimate cross-genre mashup!

(You know, I wrote that as a joke and now the idea is percolating - it *would* be kind of cool! Also, this is why my agent hates me.)

Do you ever wish you had fewer hats?

Only when my teetering hat pile falls off the shelf where I keep them. What I really need is one of those room-sized walk-in closets where each hat rests on a little model head. I am trying not to buy too many more new hats. Nora Roberts was auctioning off her Kentucky Derby hats and I was watching the auction on eBay, seriously tempted to bid. I probably would have, but then I forgot to look on the last day and missed out. I'm calling that fate.

How is your big hat fetish reflected in your writing?

"Fetish." PLEASE! It's barely an obsession! Interestingly, I don't know that it is. I rarely have my characters wear headgear. Except crowns and circlets. Those figure heavily in THE TALON OF THE HAWK and THE PAGES OF THE MIND.

Are your cats muses, familiars, or ghostwriters?

Yes. Okay, actually I think they're mostly familiars. They keep me company and remind me that a good life includes relaxing in the sun, lots of affection and regular meals. Really, they don't inspire much as they find me tapping at the keyboard a waste of attention. Occasionally they attempt to ghostwrite, but their spelling is terrible and I always find them out.