#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Lorie Lewis Ham
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I would like to welcome the fabulous Lorie Lewis Ham back to the blog for #ThisorThat Thursday!
Favorite thing to do when you have free time: Watch TV with my kids or go to a coffee shop and read.
The thing you’ll always move to the bottom of your to do list: Anything involving calling people. I do not like talking on the phone.
Things you need when you’re in your writing cave: Notebooks and pens for jotting down thoughts that come to me as I write and good coffee!
Things that distract you from writing: Noise, phone calls, and pets wanting to be fed lol.
Hardest thing about being a writer: Waiting for those first reviews hoping readers like your book!
Easiest thing about being a writer: Coming up with the basic ideas for a book usually come pretty easily for me.
Things you will run to the store for at midnight: Pepsi!
Things you never put on your shopping list: Fresh fish. I love eating it but can’t get myself to make it.
The coolest thing you’ve bought online: A replica of Excalibur.
The thing you wished you’d never bought. The second car we bought after we were married. I can’t even remember what it was but it was in the shop all the time!
Favorite snacks: I love Snickerdoodles, Bugles, and pretzels.
Things that make you want to gag: Ketchup on eggs and sweet pickle relish.
Something you’re really good at: Interviewing people.
Something you’re really bad at: Drawing.
Something you wanted to be when you were a kid: I have always wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember.
Something you do that you never dreamed you’d do: Publish my own magazine.
Something you wish you could do: Write for TV.
Something you wish you’d never learned to do: This is really tough—maybe prepare my own taxes? It is a nightmare doing it every year but it’s too expensive to pay someone.
Last best thing you ate: Parmesan/Garlic wings at Wingstop.
Last thing you regret eating: A really spicy chicken wing lol.
Things to say to an author: I really loved your last book and can’t wait for the next one.
Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: You really should have done this in your book (insert some sort of criticism that shows you do not have a clue about this type of book)
Favorite places you’ve been: Santa Cruz, CA—I love the ocean.
Places you never want to go to again: Needles, CA—I hate the desert.
Favorite things to do: Read, travel, watch TV, and hang out in coffee shops.
Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: I hate yardwork!
Most daring thing you’ve ever done: When I was newly married, I had never driven any farther than about an hour away and was kind of nervous about driving. Back then I was traveling and singing (I used to sing gospel music) and at the last minute my ride bailed, and I had to go this city on the coast that required driving over some mountains (I am terrified of heights), and I had no choice but to drive myself. Scared me to death! I still hate driving in the mountains, but I have pretty much driven all over the state now many times.
Something you chickened out from doing: I had the chance to do a phone interview with Rob Bell, who is one of my favorite non-fiction authors and speakers and the combination of hating talking on the phone and being afraid I would just blank since I’m such a fan, I asked if I could do an email interview instead.
The most exciting thing about your writing life: Opening the first box of a brand new book that I have written!
The one thing you wish you could do over in your writing life: Sign a contract with my first publisher—they ended up being a nightmare! I wish I would have kept looking until I found a good one.
The nicest thing a reader said to you: I couldn’t put your book down!
The craziest thing a reader said to you: Your characters eat too much.
Best piece of advice you received from another writer: Never give up.
Something you would tell a younger you about your writing: Write what you want to write, don’t worry about trends or rules because they are always changing.
Recommendations for curing writer’s block: Just sit down and write even if you throw it all out it can help you get going again.
Things you do to avoid writing: I never do anything to avoid writing mysteries, but I am really bad about putting off my non-fiction writing until the last minute lol. Clean, run errands, watch TV.
About Lorie and Her Socials:
Lorie Lewis Ham lives in Reedley, California and has been writing ever since she was a child. Her first song and poem were published when she was 13, and she has gone on to publish many articles, short stories, and poems throughout the years, as well as write for a local newspaper, and publish 7 mystery novels. For the past 14 years, Lorie has been the editor-in-chief and publisher of Kings River Life Magazine, and she produces Mysteryrat’s Maze Podcast, where you can hear an excerpt of her book One of Us, the first in a new series called The Tower District Mysteries. Book 2, One of You, was released in June of 2024. You can learn more about Lorie and her writing on her website mysteryrat.com and find her on Facebook, BookBub, Goodreads, and Instagram @krlmagazine & @lorielewishamauthor.
