Next Big Book Thing: Author Interview

What is your least favorite quality about yourself? Procrastination! There’s no job I can’t put off until tomorrow. I live in fear that if my house caught on fire I’d dilly dally about getting out. Thankfully, I live around the corner from a fire station.
What is your favorite color? Green, green like the hills in Ireland green.
What is your favorite food? I pretty much like it all. Right now I’d have to say lobster, because I haven’t had it in forever. Note to self: go out for lobster.
What genre are you most comfortable writing? I write contemporary, mainstream fiction – books about everyday people in less than awesome circumstances.
Who or what influenced your writing once you began? A million different things – I’ve taken classes, gone to writing conferences, gone to readings and book launches, and most importantly I’ve read read read. I take critique partners’ feedback into account, and follow my gut to try to tell the best story I can.
Have you developed a specific writing style? I think so. I think that I have a distinctive voice, although I’m not quite sure I could describe it. I try to anchor my scenes with some descriptive (but not a huge amount of) elements, put my main character in a conundrum, and throw in a laugh or two. I don’t use a huge amount of descriptive elements because I prefer that the reader fills in the blanks. This is the opener from The Sock Wars – it’s a good example of how my voice sounds:
Everything went to hell on a Tuesday.
It was late and I was finishing the day by balancing the checking account shenanigans of some longtime clients, a charming retired couple whose vices are first-class airfare and international cuisine. It’s probably wrong that I covet their itineraries but I can’t help myself. They joke that someday they’ll take me with them, and I pretend to believe it. Next month, they’re going to Hawaii, so these days we’re pretending more than usual.
What is your greatest strength as a writer? I think that writing dialogue is my biggest strength. It is the absolutely only part of writing that comes easily to me.