I’d like to welcome author Vivian Lawry to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

A few of your favorite things: Only a few? I love things! But here goes: jewelry, carved wooden Santas, and scarves; dictionaries and creative non-fiction books—most books, actually; gardens; birds, squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, snakes–any fauna in my yard or nearby public park; reclining/swiveling chairs; dogs in the park; weekly conference calls with my daughters…(Actually, I’d prefer a video call, but given that we talk an hour or more, a conference call is more convenient for folding laundry, putting away groceries, etc.)

Things you need to throw out: at least half of my various napkin rings, vases, and scarves, and all of the clothes I’ve “outgrown.”

Things you love about writing: the background research to make sure I “get it right.” I guess it’s a remnant of my academic/scientific career. Plus, I always learn something new—e.g., that gasoline cost ten cents a gallon during the Great Depression.

Things you hate about writing: the mechanics of it! Formatting and complying with the submission guidelines for various publications are pains in the whatsis. Going over the finished product to correct all the errors introduced by autocorrect is a whole other headache.

Things you never want to run out of: books, ice, pepper and salt, fresh herbs, and comfortable shoes.

Things you wish you’d never bought: a Stealth Angel emergency and survival backpack for two people for five days. Realistically, it’s just something I’ll never need!

Favorite foods: My favorite food groups are salt, fat, carbs, and chocolate! And scotch—if that counts.

Things that make me want to gag: in foods, that would be uncooked egg white/albumen, and oysters on the half shell.

Something you’re really good at: administration. I run productive, focused meetings, manage interpersonal relationships well, and promote consensus. I can identify employees’ strengths and weaknesses, motivate them to use the former and overcome the latter.

Something you’re really bad at: trying to master the Appalachian dulcimer. I’ve never been good at practicing a musical instrument, but the dulcimer is the worst.

Something you like to do: gather family for a week at the beach! This year, we were fourteen, including four smart, independent teens who were cheerful, cooperative, got along together, and spent time with adults. Amazing but true!

Something you wish you’d never done: giving not one, not two, but three chances to a man who shall remain nameless.

The last thing you ordered online: sterling silver and abalone earrings, a birthday gift for a friend.

The last thing you regret buying: besides the Stealth Angel survival pack mentioned above, (which was actually the last), A Taste of Life, a vegetarian cookbook that has great recipes but indexes only by recipe title. For example, one can find Baked French Fries but not French Fries. Oh, sigh.

Things you always put in your books: accurate information, whether it’s the census term ”seamstress” for a prostitute’s occupation during the 19th Century or the fact that cockroaches explode in the microwave because they are so fatty. And I like to include some humor.

Things you never put in your books: gratuitous sex or foul language for the purpose of sensationalism.

Favorite places you’ve been: I love to travel! I’ve been so many places it’s tough to choose favorites: Canada, Germany, Norway, Denmark, England, Holland, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic., Slovenia, Poland, Hungary, Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Italy, Greece, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Costa Rica, Commonwealth of the Bahamas, Peru… And then there are the United States (all but Alaska, Hawaii, New Hampshire, and North Dakota)… For sheer variety, I’d have to go with Peru: coastline, mountains (including Machu Picchu), and the Amazon; eating alpaca, guinea pig, and several varieties of potatoes I’d never had before; holding a sloth and a (small) anaconda; seeing floating islands, and learning about local customs. I could go on and on

Places you never want to go to again: Pittsburgh. Nothing against the city itself, but it comes with lots of emotional baggage.

Favorite things to do: reading, of course! Closely followed by writing. But also I enjoy taking nature pictures, playing mahjong and duffer bridge.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: nothing—because that’s a high bar! But I really dislike housecleaning. (Straightening and decluttering aren’t nearly so odious.)

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: going down the Olympic luge run in Lake Placid, New York. I had to sign a release concerning possible injury or death. Parasailing, zip-lining, and white water rafting on the Colorado River were calm by comparison.

Something you chickened out from doing: hang gliding. I’ve never been confident of my upper body strength.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: from an editor, “The tale has a lovely and sensitive perspective, quite evocative of my own impressions of the Tri-state area with which I had a certain sympathy. One thing I could not possibly do is offer you comments or suggestions that would ‘improve’ it.” From a reader at large: “Yours was the best story in the anthology.”

The craziest thing a reader said to you:” Did you ever consider making her a Southern Belle?” This comment was about Clara, my protagonist who is a good natured prostitute during the Civil War, specializing in men with “soft” fetishes.

Thank you, Heather, for inviting me to write this—to reflect on things that seldom come to mind.

About Vivian:

Winner of the Sandra Brown Short Fiction Award for 2004 for her story "Good Works." Formerly a waitress, percussionist, rat-runner, professor, association executive, dean, vice president for academic affairs, and research consultant. Currently a writer.

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