I’d like to welcome author Ann Borrmann to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday.
Favorite foods:
I love a good fish and chips. And any fresh, seasonal fruit
Things that make you want to gag:
liver
Favorite music or song:
I love classical music. I grew up with this and really enjoy it to this day
Music that drives you crazy:
Country music. Please don't boycott me or my books because of this.
Favorite smell:
lilacs, bread baking
Something that makes you hold your nose:
liver
Things you’d walk a mile for:
Some really good chocolate!
Things that make you want to run screaming from the room:
Country music ( see above!)
Favorite places you’ve been:
British Columbia, and I recently was at Mackinac Island, MI for the first time; that was quite lovely. Off the continent, I enjoyed Germany.
Places you never want to go to again:
Ham radio convention with my husband... that, I think, is self explanatory.
Favorite books (or genre):
I love cosy mysteries. I must have, by now, all of Agatha Christie's books
Books you wouldn’t buy:
Horror ( why would you do that to yourself!?) Erotica, Sci-fi
Favorite things to do:
We love to travel. We have a 36' motor home and have been all through the US and Canada with it. We've also been to several countries in Europe, and Israel in the Middle East ( although not in the motor home)
Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing:
Driving the motorhome! My husband is a mechanic and has 'modified' it to suit him. The dashboard looks like the dash of an airliner! I'd rather eat a bug than drive it. I stand by this.
Most daring thing you’ve ever done:
I zip lined down a New Hampshire mountainside.
Something you chickened out from doing:
My husband ( an accomplished black diamond skier) tried to teach me to ski when I was 40 . Forty is too old to learn a new trick, and while he was very encouraging, as he skied backwards down the bunny hill with his wife shrieking and gesticulating in front of him, when I reached the bottom, I left him to ski and I went and had coffee in a warm and sensible place. One of the best decisions of my life.
Besides writing, what’s the most creative thing you’ve done:
My husband and I built our own home when we were very young ( I was 22 and he was 23) We were our own contractors and my husband who is very handy, and along with my dad and some friends who were electricians and carpenters, did the interior work ourselves. We left the masonary work to professionals, and while it took a year and a half+ to complete, the house is still standing, and in my opinion, "our house, in the middle of our street, is our castle and our keep" ( to borrow from some one else who liked their house) and is a very pretty house.
A project that didn’t quite turn out the way you planned it: I painted a room in our house pepto-bismal pink. I write this as a warning to any who think that that is a good decor choice. It is not.
Some real-life story that made it to one of your books:
My first children's book, The Jolly Bupbup, was actually about my son in law's little row boat which washed away during a very heavy rainstorm. However in the book, the Bupbup actually finds her boat safe. Unfortunately, my son in law never found his boat. Also in the book, the Bupbup collects her cats and sails off to have celebratory tea and cookies ( with jelly in the middle) with some very elusive Twinkles. My son in law did not have tea with Twinkles.
Something in your story that readers think is about you, but it’s not:
My next children's books are about pirates. Some mornings I may look and sound like a pirate - especially to my students, but I am not - and never have been - a pirate.
Hardest thing about being a writer:
Aside from coming up with new story ideas, the hardest thing about being a writer is actually writing the story! People think that writing children's books is easy because they are short and full of pictures. But because they are short, you must make every word count. Delete those unnecessary, superfluous, expressive adjectives!
I do a lot of edits and changes, then I leave it for a while ( 'let it rest') and come back to it later. I get advice from my beta reader, delete some more, and sometimes start over again! And like any genre, you must have a plot, and you must create relatable characters ( lovable or hateable!) In my case, because I write picture books and books for early readers, kids have to relate.
If you are lucky enough to be published in the saturated market, then, like writers of all genres, you also have to deal with bad reviews. For example, I lost a star (so, 4 stars out of 5) on a story because the reviewer did not like the font used. This is something that is completely out of the author's hands, so I have had to learn to develop tough skin, take the good with the bad, and sometimes settle for 4/5 stars. It's all part of it.
Easiest thing about being a writer: I haven't found the easiest thing about being a writer yet!
