#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Jon Sealy

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I’d like to welcome Jon Sealy to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

Hardest thing about being a writer: You have to wear a lot of hats (author, proofreader, project manager, salesperson, accountant).

Easiest thing about being a writer: You don’t need special equipment, safety training, or nice weather to do it.

Things you need for your writing sessions: A good night’s sleep.

Things that hamper your writing: Noise. Ideally, I’m writing in a carrel by a window in an otherwise empty university library.

Things you always put in your books: Three of my four novels to date have a plotline around stolen cash.

Things you never put in your books: I don’t think I’ve ever written about a wedding, which surprises me now that I think about it.

Favorite places you’ve been: I enjoy the outdoors, so Ireland, the Chattooga River, the Minnesota Boundary Waters, and the Colorado Rockies.

Places you never want to go to again: I don’t think I ever need to go back to Nashville.

Favorite books (or genre): I enjoy detective novels and nonfiction about history, science, or theology.

Books you wouldn’t buy: Although I enjoy crime fiction, I’m not all that keen on true crime nonfiction.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: I had an aunt going through cancer treatments say that one of my novels was a welcome distraction to help her get through it. These days, that might be the only reason I keep writing fiction, the idea that a novel can be a gift to someone going through something.

The craziest thing a reader said to you: “Are you going to write a sequel to The Whiskey Baron?”

Some real-life story that made it to one of your books: My next novel, The Night Hawk, is about a dead roofer. My current house is in a new-construction neighborhood, and a few years ago, I heard this tremendous whoomph from two doors down, followed by a bunch of guys yelling. My stomach dropped because it sounded like a construction worker had fallen off a roof. Thankfully, it was only a pallet of shingles sliding off, but the next time I sat down to write, I reached for the nearest idea: What if a guy had fallen? What if it wasn’t an accident?

Something in your story that readers think is about you, but it’s not: My first novel, The Whiskey Baron, is about a bootlegger in a 1930s cotton-mill village, and I think some people have assumed I had an old bootlegger in the family. I do have some family who worked in the Carolina cotton mills, but the bootlegger came about because I needed a plot.

The first 8-track, record, cassette, or CD you ever bought: My cassette tapes are long gone, but I think the first one I got was one of Garth Brooks’s albums from the early ’90s.

A type of music that’s not your cup of tea: I’ve cycled through enjoying most genres (except polka). These days, I don’t care for music with bad psychic or spiritual energy.

My favorite book as a child: Beverly Cleary’s Dear Mr. Henshaw

A book I’ve read more than once: Richard Ford’s The Sportswriter

Your favorite movie as a child: Maybe The Sandlot

A TV show or movie that kept you awake at night as a kid (or as an adult): Tim Burton’s first Batman gave me nightmares.

 About Jon:

Jon Sealy is a Southern crime novelist, book editor, and communications consultant in Richmond, Virginia. He is the author of four previous novels, including The Whiskey Baron. His next project is the Detective Luke Steele mystery series, starting with The Night Hawk (forthcoming September 2026). To start the series, readers can download a free novella, Chasing Keys, from his website at jonsealy.com/free.

Let’s Be Social:

Free novella: jonsealy.com/free

Substack: jonsealy.substack.com

Facebook: facebook.com/JonSealyBooks

#ThisorThatThursday Interview with Doug Lawrence

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I’d like to welcome Doug Lawrence back to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

Things you need for your writing sessions: Peace and quiet

Things that hamper your writing: Too many distractions

Word that describes you: Loyal

Word that describes you, but you wish it didn’t: Focused

Something you’re really good at: Doing the dishes

Something you’re really bad at: Cooking, but I am getting better at it now – thank God for an air fryer.

Last best thing you ate: Schnitzel

Last thing you regret eating: Liver

The last thing you ordered online: Copies of my book

The last thing you regret buying: A sweater

Things you always put in your books: Lived experiences

Things you never put in your books: References but I am getting better

Favorite places you’ve been: Dubai

Places you never want to go to again: China

Favorite things to do: Going for a long walk

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Bike ride

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: Zip line

Something you chickened out from doing: Bunge jumping

The nicest thing a reader said to you: Reading your book is like sitting on a park bench, and you are there reading to me.\

The craziest thing a reader said to you: I can’t wait to read your next book – not bad for someone who never wrote a book before.

My favorite book as a child: The Hardy Boys

A book I’ve read more than once: The Hardy Boys

About Doug:

Doug Lawrence is the founder of TalentC® and Co-founder of the International Mentoring Community (IMC).  Doug has achieved the highest level of Mentoring certification – The Certificate of Practice - Journey Mentor (IMC). Currently, he alone holds this certification.

Serving as a Staff Sargent in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) for 25 years, Doug retired in 1999. He is a volunteer mentor with the Sir Richard Branson Entrepreneur Program in the Caribbean and with the American Corporate Partners in the United States working with military personnel in their transition from military life to civilian life.

Doug through research has determined that there is a role for mentoring as a support for those struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). His experience in law enforcement coupled with working with people suffering from PTSD has afforded him a unique view of mentoring and mental health. In addition, Doug’s mentoring practice utilizes Effective Mentoring Processes, his system to help people on their mental health healing journey.

Doug works with people who are struggling with their healing journey. Doug lost his wife, Debra to cancer in 2021 and has since devoted his life to helping others with their healing journey.

Doug began his Mentoring Practice in 2009. He is an international speaker, mentor and international best selling author: The Gift of Mentoring (2014), You Are Not Alone (2022), and has launched The Silent Pandemic in April 2024. He has appeared in over 200 podcasts either as a guest or host to share his message about mentoring, mental health, and grief.

Let’s Be Social:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doug.lawrence.1610/

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/douglawrence-mentor

Twitter: @DougLawrenceJM

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE4YC1GkfHrQtFYgYrf8baQ

Website: https://www.talentc.ca

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Kathleen Kaska

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I’d like to welcome the wonderful Kathleen Kaska to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

Favorite thing to do when you have free time:

I love just hanging around with my husband, watching baseball, reading, and enjoying the outdoors. I love going for a long run, hiking through the forestland, and beachcombing.

The thing you’ll always move to the bottom of your to do list:

Trying to figure out anything on the computer that requires technical support.

Things you need when you’re in your writing cave:

Peace and quiet and a bottle of water.

Things that distract you from writing: Knowing that I have a lot of promoting to do. It’s an unnerving balancing act.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Tying up loose ends before I hit the send button to submit the manuscript to my publisher.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Creating characters. I’m a pantster, and characters just appear when I need them to. It’s like they enter my imagination and tell me their story. All I have to do is listen and write it down.

Favorite snacks: Potato chips

Things that make you want to gag: Cotton candy

Something you’re really good at: Baking scones. I have two secrets to making fabulous scones.

Something you’re really bad at: Resisting eating too many of the scones I bake.

Something you wanted to be when you were a kid:

I wanted to be either a dancer or an artist. Later in life, I actually took art lessons, and now I’m taking Zumba classes, so I guess these dreams have come true on an amateurish level.

Something you do that you never dreamed you’d do:

When I was a kid, I never dreamed of being a writer.

Last best thing you ate: Shrimp and Cheese Grits and Oysters Bienville at Felix Oyster Bar in New Orleans. 

Last thing you regret eating: Pickled herring

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: Scuba diving. Being 80 feet under water took some getting used to.

Something you chickened out of doing: Zip-lining. I’m terribly afraid of heights.

The nicest thing a reader said to you:

After my first mystery, Murder at the Arlington, was released, I received a two-page handwritten letter from a housekeeper who worked at the Arlington Hotel, where the book was set, telling me how wonderful it was.

The craziest thing a reader said to you:

I was selling my book, The Man Who Saved the Whooping Crane: the Robert Porter Allen Story, at The Whooping Crane Festival in Texas. This book took me seven years to write, and it was a labor of love. All my proceeds were (are) donated to various whooping crane conservation groups. A woman picked it up, looked through it, and tossed it back on the table, complaining the print was too small.

Best piece of advice you received from another writer:

The best piece of writing advice I ever received was “just finish the book.”

Something you would tell a younger you about your writing:

It’s not only satisfying and enjoyable but also agonizing and worrisome. And don’t ever assume you know everything about writing because it’s a continuous learning process.

Recommendations for curing writer’s block:

Take a break, go for a walk, and let your mind clear. That’s when I get some of my best ideas. This also helps me figure out how to handle a difficult scene or what to write in the next chapter.

Things you do to avoid writing:

I don’t necessarily avoid writing, but if I need to get in the mood to write, I organize my desk, make sure my room is straightened up, and everything is in its place, so I’m not distracted by the annoying thing I have to do.

About Kathleen:

Kathleen Kaska writes the award-winning Sydney Lockhart Mystery Series, the Kate Caraway Animal-Rights Mystery Series, and the Mystery Trivia series, which includes The Sherlock Holmes Quiz Book, published by Lyons Press. Her Holmes short story, “The Adventure at Old Basingstoke,” appears in Sherlock Holmes of BAKING Street, a Belanger Books anthology. She founded The Dogs in the Nighttime Sherlock Holmes Society, a scion of The Baker Street Irregulars. Her latest Sydney Lockhart mystery, Murder at the Pontchartrain, winner of the PenCraft Award for best mystery series, is set in New Orleans at the Pontchartrain Hotel. Kathleen is the winner of the Amity Literary Award for her novel, Death Without Dignity, scheduled for release in 2027. A Texan at heart, she remains a Texan, even though she now lives in a small coastal town in the Pacific Northwest, where it’s cooler, and there is no traffic. 

Let’s Be Social:

Website: http://www.kathleenkaska.com

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/www.kathleenkaska.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kathleenkaska

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/KKaskaAuthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathleenkaska/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/search/authors?search=Kathleen%20Kaska

Book Links:

Anamcara Press: https://anamcara-press.com/product/murder-at-the-faust/

Amazon https://shorturl.at/v3bFQ

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/murder-at-the-faust-kathleen-kaska/1149679615?ean=9781960462862

#ThisorThat Author Interview with Rosalie Spielman

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The amazing Rosalie Spielman is my guest today for #ThisorThatThursday. Check out her latest in her fun series!

Favorite thing to do when you have free time: Read and cross stitch, not at the same time.

The thing you’ll always move to the bottom of your to do list: Household chores. (Unless it’s editing time, then my house is sparkling clean!)

Things you need when you’re in your writing cave: Other than the obvious (computer), I need coffee (and my heated coffee coaster) and my white board.

Things that distract you from writing: The internet, phone games.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Overcoming fear and uncertainty to hit “send” on a new manuscript!

Easiest thing about being a writer: Thinking of things to write about. Maybe not things for the current project…but there are always “plot bunnies” hopping around in my head.  

The coolest thing you’ve bought online: A photo frame. I got one for my mom and mother-in-law, and recently my daughter. We can send photos to each other’s frames.

The thing you wished you’d never bought. Shoes and a racket for tennis. As if.

Favorite snacks: Dark chocolate-covered fruits and nuts.

Things that make you want to gag: Eggplant. The texture. *shudder*

Something you wanted to be when you were a kid: A spy.

Something you do that you never dreamed you’d do: Write books!

Last best thing you ate: Cold brew brownie ice cream from a local ice cream shop.

Last thing you regret eating: Cole slaw. For my guts, it’s like eating a Brillo pad.

Things to say to an author: “I loved your book!”

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: “I found your book for free on *insert scam website* and loved it!” (Please, folks, request at your local library instead of stealing.)

The most exciting thing about your writing life: Meeting readers.

The one thing you wish you could do over in your writing life: I wish I had made Welcome Home to Murder my debut.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: “Genius!” about one of my short stories. (I’m looking at you, Susan.)

The craziest thing a reader said to you: “Genius!” about one of my short stories. (I’m still looking at you, Susan.)

Best piece of advice you received from another writer: Don’t compare yourself to other writers. Every writer, every story, is different.

Something you would tell a younger you about your writing: Don’t try to make your writing process fit someone else’s. Do what works for you.

Recommendations for curing writer’s block: Just write. Anything. A character bio and description, a list of cars the characters drive, what they like to eat, what their house looks like, something that happened to them when they were younger… Anything to get you back into or keep you in their world.

Things you do to avoid writing: Doom scrolling. Ugh.

About Rosalie:

Rosalie Spielman is an award-winning author, mother, veteran, and retired military spouse who finds joy in giving people a humorous escape from the real world. In addition to the Hometown Mysteries, she has contributed to the Aloha Lagoon mysteries and several short story anthologies. Rosalie is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Military Writers Society of America, and Women Writing the West. For more information on her books or to subscribe to her newsletter, go to www.rosalie-spielman-author.com Rosalie strives to provide you an escape...one page at a time.

Let’s Be Social:

new release link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GTN7KZ6Q

FB: Rosalie Spielman author

IG: rosalie.spielman

Website: www.Rosalie-Spielman-author.com

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Sebastian de Castell

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I’d like to welcome Sebastian de Castell to the blog for today’s #ThisorThatThursday!

Hardest thing about being a writer: Writing. It’s really the most difficult thing I’ve ever done, even after nineteen published novels.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Talking about writing. I can expound for hours on the craft techniques and artistic inspirations for writing. If only I could make those work on myself . . .

Things you need for your writing sessions: silence and solitude.

Things that hamper your writing: emails from my publishers wondering when the book is coming.

Favorite music or song: “Fall At Your Feet” by Crowded House

Music that drives you crazy: Speed Metal

Things you always put in your books: friendship and idealism
Things you never put in your books: extended exposition on magic systems

Things to say to an author: “My god, Mister de Castell, your latest book is your best yet!”
Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: “Umm, haven’t read your latest book. Your first one was my favourite, actually.”

Favorite places you’ve been: Cairo, York, Montpelier, Marrakech
Places you never want to go to again: The colonoscopy procedure room at my local hospital.

Favorite books (or genre): heroic fantasy and hardboiled detective novels.
Books you wouldn’t buy: ghostwritten ‘autobiographies’ of billionaires.

Favorite things to do: Travel, perform on stage in bands, hang out with fellow writers.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: cooking and colonoscopies.

The funniest thing to happen to you: After an event in Prague, a young woman came to the stage asking if I would sign her copy of Spellslinger because, apparently, the VIP signing session where I was going to be signing books later was sold out. Like any good Canadian, I jumped down off the stage and signed the book for her and agreed to a selfie. Thirty seconds later, I was literally swarmed with twenty-year-old Czech women and my editor was desperately trying to haul me back onto the stage. This is the sort of experience that would probably be very exciting as a young man, but is distinctly uncomfortable when you’re fifty years old. Also, my wife wasn’t there to see me being mobbed by fans, so I couldn’t even gloat about it!

The most embarrassing thing to happen to you: Afterwards, in the green room, one of the handlers asked if I’d sign a book for a girl outside who was crying because she hadn’t been able to get hers signed. I said sure, of course, and offered to go back out into the hall just to sign for anyone who wanted. My Czech handlers went through a whole routine of getting security ready, and when we finally got out into the hall, pretty much everyone had forgotten about me. I literally experienced my fifteen minutes of fame and then it was gone. Never doubt that the universe has an excellent sense of humour.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: “Your series got me back into reading for pleasure for the first time in many years.”

The craziest thing a reader said to you: “Would you sign my [inappropriate body part]”

Some real-life story that made it to one of your books: Most of the murderous, thieving things Reichis the squirrel cat does in the Spellslinger books are based on my cat, Peloush, who is, amongst other things, a murderer and a thief.

Something in your story that readers think is about you, but it’s not: People often assume Falcio is based on me but I could never be that obsessively heroic.

 My favorite book as a child: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

A book I’ve read more than once: Jhereg by Steven Brust

About Sebastian:

Sebastien de Castell’s acclaimed swashbuckling fantasy series, The Greatcoats was shortlisted for both the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Fantasy and the Gemmell Morningstar Award. His YA fantasy series, Spellslinger, is published in more than a dozen languages. He spends his time writing, travelling, and going on strange adventures.

Let’s Be Social:

website: www.decastell.com

X: @decastell

Instagram: @sebastiendecastell

Facebook: Facebook.com/SebastienDeCastell

 

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Lisa de Nikolits

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I’d like to welcome Lisa de Nikolits to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday.

Hardest thing about being a writer: The constant worry that I’m not marketing and promoting my books in the best possible way. Social media can feel like a black hole, and I always feel like I’m not doing enough – or doing it correctly.

Easiest thing about being a writer: How much fun I have getting lost inside writing a book!

Things you need for your writing sessions: I need to start off neat and tidy, with my pens lined up just so and my desk in order.

Things that hamper your writing: social media. It’s very easy to think the grass is greener, that other authors are doing much better than I am. I have to push that self-doubt down, get on with my writing and ignore my inner critical voice.

Words that describe you: Determined, productive, prolific, creative, original, disciplined.

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: Perfectionistic, obsessive, outcome orientated.

Something you’re really good at: binge writing. That’s when I have the most fun and am the most productive.

Something you’re really bad at: taking breaks from my desk. If things are going well, I’ll work around the clock, until the early hours, like 2 a.m., sleep for a few hours and then get back at it.

Last best thing you ate: Chocolate! Without fail, chocolate is my favourite thing in the world. That said, I do love cake too. Vanilla sponge cake with lemon filling and buttercream icing.

Last thing you regret eating: Onions. I love them, but I hate onion breath!

Favorite music or song: It’s very hard to just choose one song! I’ll go with the best of the 80’s.

Music that drives you crazy: I just can’t love hip-hop or rap even though I’ve tried.

My favorite book as a child: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. That book inspired me to become a writer.

A book I’ve read more than once: There are so many great books in the world that I don’t usually reread a book. I do reread poetry, T.S. Eliot, for example.

Your favorite movie as a child: The Man from Snowy River, 1982. I guess I wasn’t really a child in 1982 (I was 16) and I was a very romantic teenager, and I loved horses.

A TV show or movie that kept you awake at night as a kid (or as an adult): Foul Play, 1978, starring Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase. I know—who gets terrified by a comedy? The albino terrified me. His face appears in a window at night and for years (even now), I can’t bear to have uncurtained windows at night for fear of “the face in the window.”

The last thing you ordered online: A sofa cover from Shein. It really refreshed the room, and it didn’t break the bank.

The last thing you regret buying: A fancy dragon ear cuff off Instagram. It didn’t fit and was really poor quality.

Favorite places you’ve been: Tasmania, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Shetland, Edinburgh, Long Beach, New York, Nice, Barcelona, Budapest, Namibia, Peru, Vail, Australia, Rome and Milan and all across Canada on a bus (which became West of Wawa). And South Africa of course, my home country.

Places you never want to go to again: I got lost in Cusco, Peru, and it was awful. It was completely my fault. I went on a group tour and the minute we arrived at our hotel; I ran out into the street to explore. And I got horribly lost. The sun was setting, I was jet-lagged, I couldn’t remember the name of the hotel or what street it was on. And some of the streets I wandered down weren’t exactly safe. Thankfully, I found a travel agent, and they helped me back to my hotel. Now the first thing I do is grab a map from the hotel, a business card of the hotel and the name of the hotel manager.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: take the (very precarious) chair lift up to Great Wall of China and climbing down the Stairs of Death on Huayna Picchu mountain in Peru.

Something you chickened out from doing: So far, I’ve done everything I’ve set out to do even if my heart was going to explode from the fear.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: “I loved your book and read it in one go!”

The craziest thing a reader said to you: “You based that book on me, right?” I actually get that quite a lot.

Besides writing, what’s the most creative thing you’ve done: I was a fashion magazine art director for 30 years. I art directed Vogue Australia, Cosmopolitan, marie claire, and many magazines in Canada. The glory days of magazines were very “Devil Wears Prada” and I wouldn’t change a thing

A project that didn’t quite turn out the way you planned it: There have been many! I start off plotting my books carefully but, like the Fleetwood Mac song, they like to go their own way!

About Lisa:

Originally from South Africa, Lisa de Nikolits has lived in Canada since 2000. With a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Philosophy, she is the award-winning author of twelve published novels with her 13th, That Time I Killed You, forthcoming with Level Best Books in 2026. Her work has garnered five-star reviews and a strong international fanbase. Her short fiction and poetry have been published in various international anthologies and journals including the Crime Writers of Canada’s 40th Anniversary anthology (2022). No Fury Like That was published in Italian in 2019 by Edizione Le Assassine under the title Una furia dell’altro mondo. She delights in crafting suspenseful stories with memorable characters and twists that cozy mystery fans can’t resist.

Let’s Be Social:

Author website:

https://lisawriter.com

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/lisa.denikolits

X/Twitter:

https://x.com/lisadenikolits

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/ireadsomewherethatbylisa/

Amazon.ca
https://tinyurl.com/5bckbbpp

Inanna Publications:
https://inanna.ca/product/mad-dog-and-the-sea-dragon/

Substack:

https://lisadenikolits.substack.com/

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3217413.Lisa_de_Nikolits#

Amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Lisa-De-Nikolits/author/B004JLC3QK

About the Book:

That Time I Killed You

She thought she’d buried the past forever. Now it’s knocking at her door.

Janis Wheeler has the life she always wanted: a loving husband, two children, and a peaceful home in an idyllic beachside town. With the summer holidays about to begin, everything finally feels under control—until a police car pulls up outside her house.

Sixteen years earlier, Janis killed her lover to escape a past that nearly destroyed her. She believed the truth had died with him.

It hasn’t.

As old secrets resurface, Sandpiper Crescent begins to unravel. Neighbours aren’t what they seem, loyalties fracture, and disturbing truths emerge about the people Janis trusts most. To protect her family, she must confront the life she thought she’d left behind—and consider how far she’s willing to go to keep everything she loves.

Darkly funny, fast-paced and sharply observed, That Time I Killed You is a compulsively readable domestic thriller about secrets, survival, and the dangerous cost of a perfect life.

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Beth Mims

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I’d like to welcome Beth Mims to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

Hardest part of being a writer: Marketing and social media. This is so out of my comfort zone.

The easiest thing about being a writer: Writing when the ideas are flowing and the whole house is quiet.

Things I need for writing and things that hamper – What I need to write depends on where I am. If I’m in the car or outside, I will settle for a pencil and notepad. I have used a napkin, and sometimes I use the notes app on my phone when I am desperate. These days, though, I prefer to be at my computer. The words flow more quickly than I can write them by hand.

Interruptions hamper. Distractions hamper, and I can make a distraction out of anything, say a pile of laundry or a pillow out of place. I’m really good at distracting myself. I can also interrupt myself if no one happens to be around to do it for me.

Words that describe me: Words that describe me, but I wish they didn’t. Unfortunately, I’m a perfectionist, and I wish I wasn’t. That is a terrible burden to bear (for everyone).

Favorite Places You’ve Been/Places You Never Want to Go Again Maine, I wish I could live there for a year. Our trip was much too short. But I would also like to revisit British Columbia. There are so many beautiful places in this world.

Disneyworld. I prefer nature over the make believe. We took the children when they were small, and I guess I could go back, but it’s at the very bottom of my list.

Favorite books or genre/Books you wouldn’t buy Bible; Historical fiction; Books with great characters, a little suspense, and a satisfying ending – that covers a lot of territory. I want to feel good when I finish reading a book. There is enough in the world to feel bad about.

I don’t buy horror books or those filled with graphic violence, vulgarity, and misdeeds. Again, there’s enough of that in real life.

Favorite things to do/things you’d run through a fire… I always enjoy spending time with my family. I love a good book or a day fishing with my husband. Days at the coast are always a joy, and I love to just ride and look, especially when the seasons are changing. I piddle around with my plants, and I also wander around taking photographs whenever I get the chance. I love close ups that magnify the little miracles God has created.

If you’re watching sports on television, I’ll choose to read my book or go for a walk, although I do enjoy watching a live baseball game.

The first 8-track, yes I’m old enough to have bought an 8-track, was of a gospel group called the Inspirations. They are still around, although I don’t think it’s the original group.

 I don’t enjoy music that is screechingly (my word) loud or vulgar.

My favorite book as a child is a hard question. There were too many. I loved Island of the Blue Dolphins. I loved The Lion’s Paw. I wasn’t much older when I fell in love with Christy, by Catherine Marshall. I think that book was part of the reason I became a teacher.

My favorite movie had to be The Sound of Music followed closely by Mary Poppins. To this day, I remain a loyal Julie Andrews fan. The best complement I ever received was the day a second-grade student in my class said after listening to a song from Mary Poppins, “Mrs. Mims, she sings just like you.” He was biased, but I have always loved that child.

I could always tell by the opening music of a movie or television show if I would be able to watch the show. The one show that I could never watch was “The Twilight Zone.” I did one time, and it took me several years to forget the black widow spider that crawled slowly down a string of web to fatally bite the poor woman tied in the chair. Maybe I still haven’t forgotten it. At least it doesn’t keep me awake still.

Something you’re really good at/bad at I am a great organizer. I enjoy putting things in their places and keeping things in their places, sometimes to the dismay of other people.

I’m really, unfortunately, bad at building/putting things together. Ask my family. If something arrives in pieces, I call for support. I can do it, but it takes me forever, and I usually have to redo it several times to get it right. And then there are the pieces that are left over.

About Beth:

Beth Mims is a career educator with over four decades of experience. She holds degrees in Elementary, Early Childhood Education and Educational Leadership. A native of the Florida Panhandle, she has lived in multiple states across the southeast, but she always seems to land back in the fertile soil close to the salt marshes of the gulf. 

While Beth often refers to herself as a haphazard gardener, her writing reflects her love of the outdoors, the soil, and her family. She and her husband of forty-six years have two beautiful daughters and five brilliant grandchildren. Whether fishing, cutting trees, or traveling, they stay close. Faith is the anchor that holds their busy, challenging life together.

A lover of words, Beth weaves her words to tell of The Word. Her greatest joy is writing and speaking of the grace of Jesus Christ. Beth is an active member of Word Weavers, International and has previously published poems in “A Time of Singing Poetry Journal”, “Cantos, A Literary and Arts Journal”, and devotions in ChristianDevotions.us. Wrapped in Grace, her first book, was released in February 2026.

Let’s Be Social:

You can contact her at www.bethmims.com.

#ThisorThatThursday Interview with A. L. Jensen

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A.L. Jensen is my guest today for #ThisorThatThursday!

Hardest thing about being a writer: Sitting down to write.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Having written. That part is so lovely.

Things you need for your writing sessions: A cup of coffee, even if it gets cold or I don’t drink it.

Things that hamper your writing: A messy space or something on my agenda that requires my attention. Both pull me away from the story.

Words that describe you: Aries traits! I’m independent, honest, and loyal.

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: Other Aries traits, like impulsive and impatient!

Something you’re really good at: I’m really good at listening to others. I’m highly empathetic.

Something you’re really bad at: Waiting. I always want things done yesterday. Patience is a skill I’m learning.

The last thing you ordered online: The last thing I ordered online was a proof copy of my next cozy mystery.

The last thing you regret buying: I can’t think of a particular thing I regret, but I often regret being impulsive with purchases and later thinking I should really take more time to make decisions. In general, I’m not disappointed with the purchase, just my decision-making methods.

Things you always put in your books: I always include characters, items or ideas that nod to my Finnish and Nordic heritage.

Things you never put in your books: I don’t write anything spicey.

Things to say to an author: I loved your book!

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: I noticed a missing period on page 231.

Favorite places you’ve been: I lived in New Zealand for 18 months, and I loved it so much.

Places you never want to go to again: I have travelled widely and found something to love everywhere I went. Never say never.

Favorite books (or genre): I love historical fiction, mysteries, thrillers, and women’s fiction.

Books you wouldn’t buy: I don’t read erotica, although lots of folks love them.

Besides writing, what’s the most creative thing you’ve done: I’ve been a rhythmic gymnastics coach since I was sixteen years old. Choreographing routines is a highly creative act.

A project that didn’t quite turn out the way you planned it: I once decided to sew a dress for an event I was going to. The pattern and fabric were perfect, but my sewing skills were not up to the challenge.

My favorite book as a child: As a child, I loved reading Nacy Drew.

A book I’ve read more than once: I’ve read Little Women many, many times and see something new and relevant every time.

Your favorite movie as a child: I loved The Sound of Music and watched it every year. It wasn’t until years later that I learned the movie didn’t end when Maria got married.

A TV show or movie that kept you awake at night as a kid (or as an adult): The Shining still haunts me. Every few years, I watch it again and it’s still as disturbing as the first time I saw it as a kid.

About A. L.:

 

Bio: A. L. Jensen

A. L. Jensen is a Finnish Canadian author and certified book coach. An empty nester, she lives with her husband Michael on a serene lake in the small town of Naughton in Greater Sudbury, Ontario. When she's not writing and sipping chai lattes at her local coffee shop, you'll find her reading in her gazebo, or walking nearby trails with her mini GoldenDoodle Emmy, while dreaming of her next travel adventure. She is inspired by her Finnish heritage and the northern landscape she calls home.