#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Paula Charles

I’d like to welcome my friend, Paula Charles, back to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

Favorite thing to do when you have free time: Reading. I devour books like their sustenance!

The thing you’ll always move to the bottom of your to do list: Dusting. When I was growing up, my sisters and I had to dust the house every weekend. Now I do it so rarely it’s embarrassing.

Things you will run to the store for at midnight: Coffee, cottage cheese, and ice cream!

Things you never put on your shopping list: Mangos! I know that’s strange, but I can’t stand the taste of them!

The coolest thing you’ve bought online: Probably my personal neck fan. It’s literally cooling and perfect for me since I don’t tolerate heat well.

The thing you wished you’d never bought: I once ordered a pair of shoes online that we’re supposed to be Earth brand shoes. They took MONTHS to come and when I finally got them, they were definitely not Earth brand, and smelled like chemicals so badly that I took them right out to the garbage.

Something you’re really good at: Really good might be a stretch, but I’m a decent baker. Being gluten-free with a ton of food allergies makes it a bit more challenging, but most people are shocked my stuff is gluten-free when they try it.

Something you’re really bad at: Singing. Believe me, you don’t want me joining your local choir.

Something you wanted to be when you were a kid: I loved books about horses when I was a kid—fiction, nonfiction. It didn’t matter. I always dreamed that I was going to have a ranch in Kentucky raising racehorses. All the fields would be surrounded in white fencing.

Something you do that you never dreamed you’d do: Write books! I’ve always been a voracious reader, but never thought I would actually be someone writing the books!

Last best thing you ate: Those yummy twice baked potatoes my husband made on New Year’s Eve.

Last thing you regret eating: That delicious prime rib he made, as well. It was really good but my stomach is still rebelling at the red meat!

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: We used to white water raft all the time. Had our own rafts and floated rivers in Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, and Idaho. Super fun and what makes it daring for me is that I can’t swim!

Something you chickened out from doing: Jumping off the cliff into the river when everyone else was doing it.

The most exciting thing about your writing life: There’s a whole lot of exciting about this writing gig, but one of the best things is seeing and hearing readers talking and posting about how much they enjoyed my books. It just seems so crazy to me that people willing spend some of their precious time reading my books!

The one thing you wish you could do over in your writing life: Just get started sooner and not spend so many years thinking about it but not doing it.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: “I loved your book so much that I bought a copy for my sister for Christmas!”

The craziest thing a reader said to you: “I really enjoyed your books, and I usually don’t like women writers.” (I think I said this the last time I visited, but it still remains the craziest thing a reader has said to me – and it was my father-in-law! LOL)

Recommendations for curing writer’s block: Get up from your desk and go for a walk. Just get outside or go somewhere you can people watch and get a new perspective. Once I put the book out of my mind, the solution to whatever is blocking the flow of words usually presents itself.

Things you do to avoid writing: House chores – sweep, vacuum, laundry, dishes, etc. And of course, get distracted scrolling through social media!

About Paula:

When Paula Charles isn’t writing, you can find her reading and contemplating murder under the towering trees of the Pacific Northwest. She is the author of the Hometown Hardware Mysteries, as well as the Zen Goat Mysteries written as Janna Rollins. Paula is a member of Sisters in Crime, the national chapter, the Guppies, and the Columbia River chapter. Her debut novel, Hammers and Homicide, was featured in Woman’s World. She lives in Washington state with her extremely patient husband and a gaggle of furry and feathered creatures.

Let’s Be Social:

Website – www.paulacharles.com

Facebook - Facebook

Instagram - Instagram

BookBub - Paula Charles Books - BookBub

#WriterWednesday with Janna Rollins

I’d like to welcome the fabulous Janna Rollins, who also writes as Paula Charles, to the blog!

Favorite thing to do when you have free time: Read! There’s so many books and so little time!

The thing you’ll always move to the bottom of your to do list: Dusting. Those cobwebs will make great decorations when October rolls around.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Slogging my way through that first draft on days when the words aren’t coming easy.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Being able to truthfully say, “I’m having so much fun,” when someone asks me if I like what I’m doing.

Something you wanted to be when you were a kid: For years, I dreamed of owning a horse ranch in Kentucky surrounded by white fences. The book My Friend Flicka is to blame!

Something you do that you never dreamed you’d do: Write books! I never thought I had enough words in my head, but it turns out I do!

Something you wish you could do: Sing! I’m the world’s worst singer. My high school choir teacher actually told me I needed to pick a different elective.

Something you wish you’d never learned to do: Honestly, I can’t think of a thing.

Last best thing you ate: Chicken taquitos from Michael’s Tacos in Cody, Wyoming. Delicious!

Last thing you regret eating: Those breaded French fries from Bogarts in Red Lodge, Montana. I knew better than to eat gluten but did it anyway and ended up with a mouth full of canker sores. Bad choice!

Favorite things to do: Hit the road with my husband and explore a new place. I love getting to know how the air smells in a place I’ve never been before, what the wind feels like. There’s nothing like soaking in a new environment.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Getting dental work done. Bring on those fire ants!

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: River rafting through some big rapids when I don’t know how to swim. My husband was already a “river rat” when we met. For a handful of summers, we went rafting at least once a week, though I never did learn how to swim.

Something you chickened out from doing: Jumping off a cliff into the river.

The funniest thing to happen to you: I’m not sure about it being the funniest thing EVER, but the first thing that came to mind was when my friend Annie McEwen and I were trying to navigate the DC Metro on our way to our first Malice Domestic. We were jabbering away and got off the subway at the Bethesda stop, navigated our way a mile or so to the Marriott we could see in the distance only to find we were at the wrong one. Back to the Metro station we went, continuing our journey to the North Bethesda stop. Instead of the hour it should have taken us to get from the airport to the convention, it took us three. We’re still laughing about our ridiculousness.

The most embarrassing thing to happen to you: When I was a teenager, I was showing a pig in a FFA livestock show. The zipper on my pants broke and I nearly lost my britches before the competition was over.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: I really loved your book. Is the next one coming out soon? (Then later, this man’s wife told me in all the years they’ve been married, her husband has only read about six novels, and two of them have been mine!)

The craziest thing a reader said to you: I really enjoyed your book, and I don’t usually like woman writers.

Best piece of advice you received from another writer: Don’t compare your writing path to that of others. Everyone has their own pace.

Something you would tell a younger you about your writing: Get started. You can do this!

About Janna:

When Janna Rollins isn’t writing, she likes to thumb through New England based magazines and drool over the pictures. She has a love for red barns, goats, and genealogy. Janna can be found showing her socially awkward side on Facebook or sharing photos of her tiny one-acre farm on Instagram. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, and also writes the Hometown Hardware Mystery series as Paula Charles. Janna lives in Southwestern Washington with her patient husband and a gaggle of furry and feathered creatures.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: www.paulacharles.com

Facebook: Rainy Day Mysteries

Instagram: @rainy_day_mysteries

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Paula Charles

I’d like to welcome the fabulous Paula Charles to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

Things you need for your writing sessions:

A big glass of water and a tube of hand lotion

Things that hamper your writing:

I can’t listen to music when I’m writing. My little brain gets distracted too easily.

Favorite music or song:

I was raised on country music and even though I listen to a wide variety of music, older country is still my favorite.

Music that drives you crazy:

“Bro country.” You can keep it and give me some Alabama and George Strait any day.

Favorite smell:

Baking bread. Yum!

Something that makes you hold your nose:

Cinnamon! Don’t get me wrong, it smells wonderful but I’m super allergic. It makes it hard to go shopping during the holiday season because the scent of cinnamon is everywhere!

Last best thing you ate:

I made a cherry cranberry pie last weekend, and it was delicious!

Last thing you regret eating:

A bag of microwave popcorn. It was good in the moment but is haunting me today.

Things you’d walk a mile for:

A good cup of coffee. (Has anybody else noticed a bunch of my answers revolve around food?)

Things that make you want to run screaming from the room:

Spiders and yellow jackets!

Things you always put in your books:

Easter eggs such as family names and funny moments that my family will recognize.

Things you never put in your books:

Open door, bodice ripping romance.

Things to say to an author:

I preordered your book! Can’t wait to read it!

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book:

Still got your head in that book? (Usually said when person doesn’t believe you’re really writing a book.)

Favorite places you’ve been:

Ireland! It was pure magic and felt like going home to a place I’d never been before.

Places you never want to go to again:

Las Vegas. It’s not like I hated it, just don’t necessarily need to go again.

Besides writing, what’s the most creative thing you’ve done:

Probably knitting. I’ve done a lot of crafty type things, but knitting is probably the one I’m best at.

A project that didn’t quite turn out the way you planned it:

Well, except for a blanket I knit for my son. I knit and knit and knit and the darn thing ended up long and narrow. It was about six feet long and two feet wide.

Some real-life story that made it to one of your books:

The basics of my main character, Dawna, in Hammers and Homicide are based off of my grandmother. She ran a hardware store in my hometown and lived in the house I used as inspiration in the book. Dawna quickly became her own person, though, and shares very little traits with my grandmother.

Something in your story that readers think is about you, but it’s not:

Probably the fact that Dawna is a terrible cook. I actually enjoy cooking and am pretty darn good at it, if I do say so myself!

About Paula:

When Paula Charles isn’t writing under the towering trees of the Pacific Northwest, she can be found in the garden with her hands in the dirt or sitting on her front porch with a good book and a glass of iced tea. She has a love for small towns, ghost stories, and pie. During her childhood, she grew up in a town suspiciously resembling the fictional Pine Bluff, Oregon where she trailed behind her grandmother in the family’s hardware store until her grandmother would get fed up and put her to work counting nails. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, and also writes cozy mysteries under the pen name of Janna Rollins. Paula lives on a small farm in Southwestern Washington with her husband and an entire menagerie of furry and feathered creatures. 

 When Paula Charles isn’t writing under the towering trees of the Pacific Northwest, she can be found in the garden with her hands in the dirt or sitting on her front porch with a good book and a glass of iced tea. She has a love for small towns, ghost stories, and pie. During her childhood, she grew up in a town suspiciously resembling the fictional Pine Bluff, Oregon where she trailed behind her grandmother in the family’s hardware store until her grandmother would get fed up and put her to work counting nails. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, and also writes cozy mysteries under the pen name of Janna Rollins. Paula lives on a small farm in Southwestern Washington with her husband and an entire menagerie of furry and feathered creatures. 

 Let’s Be Social:

Website: Cozy Mystery Writer | Paula Charles Cozy Mystery Author

Facebook: Paula Charles & Janna Rollins, Author

Instagram:  paulacharles_jannarollins

Website: Cozy Mystery Writer | Paula Charles Cozy Mystery Author

Facebook: Paula Charles & Janna Rollins, Author

Instagram:  paulacharles_jannarollins