BBAW: Blogger Interview

It's time for Interview Another Blogger Day! I was matched with Apprentice Writer and I have discovered her wonderful blog. I like humor a lot and she reviews all her books on the funny factor - but does it make you laugh? I really like this feature.


RG: I see your name is Apprentice Writer, what do you write? Have you been published? Who are your influences in writing?

AW: Thanks for asking! I write comedic women’s fiction. I’m currently seeking a publisher for my first completed manuscript, “Cupid and a Toolbelt” which I describe as ‘Brainy Bridget Jones meets House and Garden Television’. I’m influenced by authors across all types of writing genres who do a memorable job of writing funny dialogue, characters, and/or settings: Jasper Fforde, Loretta Chase, Wendy Holden, Nick Hornby, Julia Quinn, Terry Pratchett, Lindsey Davis, Elizabeth Peters…. As you can see, my tastes are eclectic.

RG: Ooh, sounds very good!

RG: What are you 5 most favorite books?

AW: Can I please have two lists?

Non-funny favorites:

1. Life of Pi, by Yann Martel
2. White Oleander, by Janet Fitch
3. The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver
4. Fall on Your Knees, by Anne Marie MacDonald
5. A Suitable Boy, by Vikram Seth

Funny Favorites:

1. Mr. Impossible, by Loretta Chase
2. Crocodile on the Sandbank, by Elizabeth Peters (and rest of Amelia Peabody series)
3. The Silver Pigs, by Lindsey Davis (and rest of Falco series)
4. The Big Over Easy, by Jasper Fforde (and rest of Nursery Crimes series)

And of course,

5. Bridget Jones’ Diary, by Helen Fielding

RG: *scurries off to jot down new titles*

RG: OK, I'm back. How long have you been blogging?

AW: I had to go check on my blog archive, and to my surprise, it’s been two years already.

RG: Do you have other interests beside blogging?

AW: My ‘other interests’ coincide heavily with what I like to call my main writing procrastination excuses: junior apprentice writers #1(age 12), #2 (age 8) and #3(age 2) Blogging is my ‘escape’ from those other interests!

RG: What is your favorite thing about blogging?

AW: I love, love, love being able to connect with someone who ‘gets’ what I’m talking about, even if they’re halfway around the world! Readers understand other readers. Not always their particular TBR choices or favorites-of-all-time, perhaps, but they know without any need for explanation about lusting for an upcoming title, about sacrificing sleep and grooming to get a few more pages in, about that special addiction of turning to page 1….

RG: What is the farthest you have traveled?

AW: Hmmm. In distance, I’d say the furthest I’ve travelled was during my childhood when my family made a trip from northern Ontario, Canada, where we lived at the time to visit my father’s family in Bangalore, India.

In forcing myself to go out of my comfort zone, I’d say the furthest I’ve travelled was during university when I spent four months one summer in a tiny village in central Kenya, teaching middle school as a volunteer. I was the only non-Kenyan for many miles around, there was no running water, electricity, or stores in the village, and I had a wonderful, wonderful time despite all the culture-clash moments.

In learning the most, I’d say the furthest I’ve travelled was when I was 12 and my family moved to Germany for work reasons and I went from a fully English-speaking school to a fully-German speaking one overnight. That was a bit of an eye-opener.

RG: Imagine your perfect day?

AW: At the risk of sounding corny – any day like the Labour day Sunday I just had: spending the day with perfect weather out with my family, doing ordinary things like playing at the park, having a pizza picnic lunch, walking the boardwalk until we find the perfect spot to build sandcastles and play in the waves at the beach (we live in Toronto, which is on Lake Ontario), window-shopping at all the cute little neighborhood stores during a stroll licking ice cream, and then coming home for a BBQ in our back yard. Nothing spectacular, but very fun and fulfilling.

RG: Sounds like a pretty perfect day to me, and the type we have all the time here on PEI.

RG: Favorite movie?

AW: Can’t list just one:

Drama: Gladiator

Caper: Snatch, Bandits

Romantic Comedy: When Harry Met Sally

‘Village’ movie: Waking Ned Devine

Thriller: The Usual Suspects

Based on a Classic: O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Kids: Anything with ‘Wallace and Grommit’ or ‘Sean the Sheep’

Biopic: Elizabeth

Ensemble: Monsoon Wedding, Four Weddings and a Funeral

RG: A book you hated that most people loved?

AW: *ducks rotten tomatos* I wasn’t thrilled with the Lord of the Rings series. The story itself was excellent, but the writing became a chore for me to get through. Felt the same way about the Narnia books.

RG: A blogger you've met in real life?

AW: Interesting question! I’d say, a number of my writing group sisters.

RG: Tell me about your town? (Where are you?)

AW: Mentioned above: Toronto – a wonderful city plagued by too much winter and blessed with lots of stuff to do, such as many street festivals (including in winter, to make it more bearable).

Thank you so much, Apprentice Writer, for sharing yourself with me on my blog. Who would have thought two Canadian girls, with three children each, all under 12, with many similiar favorite movies in common, that aren't fans of Lord of the Rings or Narnia, blogging for two years, and of course, Bridget Jones, could be inhabiting the blogosphere, unaware of each other? Pretty cool.