I’m so excited to have author, C. A. Rowland, as my guest today for #ThisorThatThursday.

Things you need for your writing sessions: A quiet place where I can outside or if I am writing something atmospheric, music that fits the mood. That and my computer.

Things that hamper your writing: Interruptions and paying too much attention to what is going in the world so that I am distracted.

Favorite foods: I grew up in Texas and love having a cheesy plate of enchiladas.

Things that make you want to gag: I have never liked licorice.

Favorite smell: I love the smell of the ocean – the saltiness and the spray. Between that and the motion of the waves, it is so relaxing and soothing.

Something that makes you hold your nose: The smell of oil rigs in Texas. I never got used to that smell. Something you like to do: I love sitting down to a meal with family and friends. The luxury of being able to just listen and talk is something I wish I did more often.

Something you wish you’d never done: My cousins and I have a competition where when we visit we try to outdo each other for extravagance. The last one was a huge plate of ten scoops ice cream, toppings and whipped cream, where you received a t-shirt and your picture on the wall if you could eat it all. It took several days to recover from that, but I got my t-shirt.

Things you always put in your books: I love cats. They all have their own personality and they can really show not only their character but their owner’s.

Things you never put in your books: I don’t know that I could ever write a really gruesome death scene. I think the reason I gravitate to amateur sleuth and cozy mysteries is that I just don’t like all the gore and what it takes for someone to commit such a crime.

Favorite places you’ve been: This has to be Easter Island. It is the most wonderful place. So unique with the Moai statutes. The people are wonderful. And the food was excellent. I had fish that had been caught in the morning, the boat brought it to the dock and they walked it across the street to the restaurant for the noon meal.

Places you never want to go to again: I love Mexico and the Mayan ruins but there is so much turmoil that I don’t know I will ever go back. I met so many wonderful people when I was there but now I would think twice.

Favorite books (or genre): I love books that manage to pull me into a new world and let me experience it. It can be mysteries, fantasy and science fiction.

Books you wouldn’t buy: I don’t buy a lot of non-fiction. If I am interested, I’ll usually borrow it from the library rather than own it. Except for books that I use as reference for my writing.

People you’d like to invite to dinner (living): Ruth Bader Ginsberg. She’s had such an amazing life. I’d love to just sit and talk.

People you’d cancel dinner on: A serial killer. I can’t imagine ever wanting to spend any time with someone who values other people so little.

Favorite things to do: I love to scuba dive. There is something about being under the water and seeing the fish as the swim by or being in a lava tube or seeing a tiny seahorse holding onto an undersea plant. The quiet is amazing and having to concentrate on breathing makes you leave all the other stress behind.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: I hate dusting. That was my chore growing up and now I’d rather eat bugs than have to do it.

Things that make you happy: Watching my cat chase her tail. Knowing the rescue kitty has a good home now.

Things that drive you crazy: Traffic on I-95 heading into the District of Columbia.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: I am afraid of heights to the most daring thing was jumping out of a plane. I didn’t manage to do it the first time, so I chickened out on this as well. It took me a week to get my anxiety under control, but then I went back and jumped. It was one of the most amazing and scariest things I’ve ever done.

Something you chickened out from doing: Parachuting the first time after my class.

About C.A.:

C.A. Rowland’s novel, The Meter’s Always Running, is the first in the Haunted City Mystery series. She has always loved traveling and exploring new places, from neighborhood empty houses to foreign lands with rich histories that draw her. She comes by her interest in ghosts, myths and legends and the paranormal naturally, having spent hours in cemeteries with her grandmother. Her work can also be seen in several upcoming volumes of Fiction River, Pulphouse Magazine and other short story anthologies.

Let’s Be Social:

website: www.carowland.com

FB Author Page: https://bit.ly/carowlandFB

Twitter: @carowlandauthor

Amazon page: https://bit.ly/themeter