#ThisorThatThursday Interview with Ellen Byron
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I’d like to welcome one of my favorite mystery authors, Ellen Bryon, to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!
A few of your favorite things: Books, my needlepoint projects, my doggy.
Things you need to throw out: So much I can’t even list it all! Our house could be on an episode of Hoarders.
Things you need for your writing sessions: my computer – desk or laptop; a printout of my notes; a Papermate Sharpwriter pencil.
Things that hamper your writing: the internet.
Things you love about writing: coming up with a great plot twist, a wonderful image, or a clever joke. Things you hate about writing: those moments or hours when none of the things mentioned above are coming to me.
Hardest thing about being a writer: Just doing it.
Easiest thing about being a writer: Pretending that “research” counts as writing!
Things you never want to run out of: Ideas.
Things you wish you’d never bought: Any item of clothing that didn’t fit when I bought it, but I bought anyway because it would fit when I “lost weight.”
Words that describe you: driven, generous, creative, funny.
Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: stubborn, obsessive, impatient, competitive.
Favorite foods: Pizza, spaghetti, sushi, cake, See’s chocolate.
Things that make you want to gag: Cilantro and anything coffee-flavored. Even See’s. If I bite into a piece of chocolate and it’s coffee-flavored, I not only spit it out, I rinse my mouth. I even hate coffee ice cream, which even non-coffee lovers seem to like.
Favorite music or song: “Get Down Tonight,” by KC and the Sunshine Band. I think it’s the best pop song ever written and no one will ever convince me otherwise. I live for all songs KC! My favorite band EVER. Music that drives you crazy: Slide guitar. It’s like nails on a chalk board to me.
Favorite beverage: Tea.
Something that gives you a sour face: Root beer. Blecch. And have I mentioned I hate coffee?
Favorite smell: roses.
Something that makes you hold your nose: garlic.
Something you wish you could do: go en pointe in ballet. Not having achieved this is one of my biggest regrets.
Something you wish you’d never learned to do: Needlepoint. It’s a very pricey hobby. But I do love it and it relaxes me.
Things you always put in your books: recipes, even though I’m not much of a cook.
Things you never put in your books: dead children or animals.
Favorite things to do: Write, dance, read, and needlepoint.
Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Clean. Some people clean to procrastinate from writing. I write to procrastinate from cleaning!
Most embarrassing moment: In high school, I played Duke Vincentio in an all-female production of Measure for Measure. The kid doing a costume change for me forgot to put out the pants for my costume, so I had to go onstage in just my tights. Thank God I at least had those on!
Proudest moment: Winning the Agatha Award for Mardi Gras Murder.
Best thing you’ve ever done: Have our daughter. Although there are days when both of us might not agree about this!
Biggest mistake: Turning down an overall deal from a studio that would have forced my then-TV writing partner and I to work on a show we didn’t like. In the end, we should have sucked it up and worked on the show because the deal would have had better long-term effects on our career.
The coolest person you’ve ever met: Martha Stewart, who I worked for as a cater-waiter when she was just starting out. You’ll find me standing next to Martha in a photo on page 29 of early editions of her first book, Entertaining.
The celebrity who didn’t look like he/she did in pictures/video: I’ve either written for or interviewed a ton of celebrities and honestly, they all looked like their photos. Sometimes they even look better, as in the case of a certain actress with the initials LL who was caught up in the college admissions scandal. I met with her on a possible project years ago and she was even prettier in person.
About Ellen:
Ellen’s Cajun Country Mysteries have won the Agatha award for Best Contemporary Novel and multiple Lefty awards for Best Humorous Mystery. Her new Catering Hall Mystery series, written as Maria DiRico, launched with Here Comes the Body, and was inspired by her real life. Her pen name was the maiden name of her late nonna, Maria DiVirgilio, a long-time Astoria resident. Ellen is an award-winning playwright, and non-award-winning TV writer of comedies like WINGS, JUST SHOOT ME, and FAIRLY ODD PARENTS. She has written over two hundred articles for national magazines but considers her most impressive credit working as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart.
Let’s be Social:
Facebook - Catering Hall Mysteries
https://www.instagram.com/ellenbyronmariadirico/
Buy links https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/647531/murder-in-the-bayou-boneyard-by-ellen-byron/
