I LOVE interviews!
They’re a chance to get to know authors better and see how their minds work. Today I’m interviewing C. Lee McKenzie who wrote Sudden Secrets. You might not know this but I’m pretty sure the C stands for Chariot and the Lee is short for for Leeks, those cute little oniony things that look like mini pompoms. Chariot Leeks. Great name, majestic and helpful.
UNCONVENTIONAL LIBRARIAN: Welcome to our interview! Let’s get started. Do you drink coffee?
C. Lee McKenzie: I absolutely do. It must be freshly ground, dark roasted, preferably from Costa Rica, and sold to me by Tim at the Roasting Company. Other than that, I’m not too fussy.
UL: Oh, Tim. Yeah I like that guy too. Do you like donuts or cookies? Do you dunk?
CLM: We’ll I’d have to resign from the human race if I didn’t like these. However, I seldom eat donuts. When I do, I’m a devoted dunker. Cookies I don’t dunk. I like them crunchy.
UL: Hopefully with sprinkles? Now for the hard stuff, how did your book get started?
CLM: This one has been inside my head for a long time. It started with a story I heard about a recluse. I had a hard time understanding how anyone could lock themselves away and never step outside their house. Then I went to an exhibit of the haute couture of the 40’s-90’s, and somehow these two idead merged. If I understood why, I’d tell you.
UL: Yeah hmmmm that is an interesting concept. What else have you written?
CLM: Sliding on the Edge (Westside Books) was my debut novel, then came The Princess of Las Pulgas (same publisher). Double Negative was my third young adult book and my first one with Evernight Teen. I write realistic-contemporary stories, but when I needed a break, I wrote Alligators Overhead and a sequel, The Great Time Lock Disaster. These are middle grade stories, and there’s very little that’s realistic about either of them.
When I first started writing I wrote a lot of short stories, and I was lucky enough to have several of them published. I hope to pull those together into a collection one of these days. And speaking of collections, I really love being asked to contribute to anthologies, so I do. I have three stories in three different anthologies now: The First Time, Two and Twenty Dark Tales, and most recently, Beware the Little White Rabbit.
UL: Wow. You’ve been really really busy. If you could have any superpower what would it be?
CLM: Flying. Absolutely. I’ve always dreamed of having an eagle’s view of the world.
UL: Ah me too. Kindred spirits! What makes you happy?
CLM: Just about anything. I’m really easy to make happy. Good coffee. Interesting conversation. Quiet writing time. A great hike up a mountain. Pasta.
UL: Pasta! Wrapping up now, anything else you want to tell us?
CLM: It’s always fun to be a guest on blogs that are about writing and writers. I’ve enjoyed visiting yours for a while now, so this “appearance” is very exciting. I’m probably going to go into hibernation come November, so I can finish a book and take a trip, but other than that, I’m planning on staying in touch with my blogging community and connecting with writers and readers as much as possible.
See how wonderful Chariot Leeks McKenzie is? Check out her other works at her blog and find her on Twitter. I’m just gonna tip toe around that alligator tho…