Anyway, naturally mystery writers are a sneaky bunch (read her blog to know more about her adventures!), and I got LInda to submit to my Disreputable History interview:
1. Tell me the sneakiest thing you ever did.
Don't tell my mom… when I was in 9th grade, I climbed out my bedroom window onto the garage roof, down onto the fence and into the waiting car of some boys I met from a neighboring high school. More than once.
2. Tell me the sneakiest thing that happens in your new book.
Aphra tells her dad she's going to visit a friend in South Carolina has that friend cover for her while she goes to Seattle instead.
3. Are you a prankster? Tell me a story.
I'm not by nature a prankster, so when I do pull one, people believe I'm serious. When I was getting married, my husband's friend worked for the printer who was doing our announcements. We had a few fake announcements with some rather… informal verbiage printed up in the same style as the regular ones for some family and friends . When my now-MIL got hers in the mail and saw the other faux information in the announcement and that we had included her middle name (which she hates), she shut herself in her bedroom and wailed, thinking this was our real announcement and that it had gone out to all her friends. My FIL was not amused because it took him a long time to calm her down. *giggle* Oh, I mean, the poor dear.
4. Were you in any clubs or societies in high school? Did any of those club activities make it into your novels?
I overdid clubs in high school, especially my senior year because all my friends had graduated and I really didn't want to be in HS anymore, so I reasoned that if I got reeeeaally involved, it would make the year more palatable. It didn't. So far, none of those clubs have made it into any of my books.
5. Do you consider yourself a feminist? Why, or why not?
Absolutely – if we define feminist as believing in, fighting for and sticking up for equal opportunities for women. I'm not part of any feminist organizations.
6. How does your answer to question 5 show up in your new book?
Both Aphra and her mom are strong female characters and it's them, not the men, who do the majority of the thinking and solving.
7. The club in my book is called The Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds. If you were to found a secret society, what would it be called, and what would its mission be?
My secret society would be called Congregatio Chocolata, dedicated to seeking out and testing the world's finest chocolate.
