#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Grace Topping
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I’d like to welcome my friend, the wonderful Grace Topping, to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!
Things you never want to run out of: My husband is from England, so he panics if we get low on milk for his tea. So I never want to run out of milk and have him going out in bad weather for milk.
Things you wish you’d never bought: I’m notorious for buying clothes on sale and then not liking them after I get home. I am frequently persuaded by the price and not the fit and appearance. They hang in my closet with the tags on them until I finally donate them.
Hardest thing about being a writer: Talk to most writers and they will tell you that the hardest thing about being a writer is not the writing—it’s promoting what they’ve written.
Easiest thing about being a writer: Is there anything easy about being a writer? I haven’t found it yet.
Things you need for your writing sessions: I’m not always successful at it, but I like to be in a position where I’m not stressed about other things that need to be done. I don’t have any rituals like having special treats around, music, etc. Occasionally, I’ll clear off my very paper-covered desk, which always helps me make progress in my writing.
Things that hamper your writing: Music playing. I need quiet to focus on what I’m writing.
Words that describe you: Committed. It took me ten years before my first book was published. I refused to give up.
Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: Chunky. The problem with writing is that I do a lot of sitting, which doesn’t help me stay in the shape I’d like to be.
Favorite foods: Anything that I can sprinkle Pecorino-Romano cheese on. Love it.
Things that make you want to gag: The idea of eating octopus. It is such an intelligent creature that I can’t bear to see it on a menu.
Favorite music or song: I’m a fan of both rock music from the 60s and 70s and classical music. Play “Proud Mary” by Credence Clearwater Revival and I could hop out of a sick bed and dance.
Music that drives you crazy: I’m not a fan of country or rap.
Favorite smell: Natural fragrances like lavender and sandalwood.
Something that makes you hold your nose: Heavy perfumes.
Last best thing you ate: Leftovers from an Indian restaurant. I love Indian food but only if it isn’t too spicy.
Last thing you regret eating: A bowl of chocolate ice cream. I loved it, but I regret that it added to my waistline.
The last thing you ordered online: Doll baby furniture for my two-year-old granddaughter’s birthday.
The last thing you regret buying: The carton of chocolate ice cream mentioned above.
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’d like to write a book. How hard can it be?
Favorite places you’ve been: My husband and I have had the good fortune to travel around a good portion of the world. Among my favorites are remote places that I never thought I would get to in a million years, such as Easter Island, Petra, Cape Horn, and Pitcairn.
Places you never want to go to again: I’m just not a beach person, so I can safely say that if I never went to the beach again, I wouldn’t be disappointed.
Favorite books (or genre): I write cozy mysteries, and I read a lot of them. But my favorite genre is historical mysteries. I like being taken into a different time period, especially ones that modern technology doesn’t interfere with the plot. For example, in a contemporary mystery, it is difficult to get a character into a situation without readers thinking, why doesn’t she pull out her cell phone and call for help.
Books you wouldn’t buy: I’m not a fan of sci-fi, so I probably wouldn’t buy books in that genre. I definitely wouldn’t buy erotica.
About Grace:
USA Today bestselling author and Agatha Award finalist, Grace Topping is the author of the Laura Bishop Mystery Series. She is the former vice president of the Chesapeake Chapter of SINC, a steering committee member of the SINC Guppies, and member of MWA. She lives with her husband in Northern Virginia.
Grace Topping, a USA Today bestselling author and Agatha Award Finalist, is the author of the Laura Bishop Mystery Series. A recovering technical writer, she is now creating murder mysteries and killing off characters who remind her of some of the people she dealt with during her career. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, the Chessie Chapter of Sisters in Crime, and the SINC Guppies, where she serves on the steering committee.
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