Today we bring you a special edition of our beloved showcase: Inside the Writer’s Studio. Sela Carsen’s new book, Not Quite Dead, just released yesterday. Hooray for Sela! Now on with the in-depth probing questions:
1. What is your favorite word?
“Amphibian.” I hate frogs, toads, etc, but I like that word. I also like “Kankakee.” And “roust.” But not roast. Roast isn’t funny. Roust is.
2. What is your least favorite word?
Fart. Gah. I could barely bring myself to type it. It’s just horrible. Inelegant, unamusing, coarse. Yech.
3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
Listening to an interesting debate about philosophy of any kind. It gets my mind moving. I spend a lot of time with my brain in neutral, frankly. Having it actively engaged like that gets all my cylinders firing. Now, I can’t stand people pontificating. That’s wretched. But listening to two people genuinely enjoy discussing a really esoteric topic? That’s awesome.
4. What turns you off?
Stupid people. Politics. Mind games. I haven’t got the patience for any of it.
5. What is your favorite curse word?
The one I say in front of my kids? “Swear words.” Seriously. The one I say in my head is really vile, though. And really long. And really blasphemous. And uses the F-word. And if any of my friends heard me say it, they’d be very surprised and possibly offended.
6. If you could live in any time period other than this one, who would you sleep with in that time and why?
The good girl in me says, “My husband, of course!” The bad girl in me says I could have been a very successful courtesan, so — Whoever had the money and power. *gg* Hey, a girl’s gotta live, right?
7. If you were stranded on a deserted island, what three books would you like to have with you?
That’s just cruel. Three? Not three truckloads? Let’s see. “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee because I could read that book over and over and learn something new every time. “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte because I’ve had a thing for Mr. Rochester since he first rode down that icy lane.
“The Gulag Archipelago” by Alexander Solzhenitsyn because it’s really long and I can use the pages as fuel for my fire. Dreadful. I read it on a plane and had to stop because I started having fantasies about opening the hatch and jumping out, just to escape from that awful, horrible book.
8. What is the ugliest rejection you have ever gotten from a publisher/editor/agent?
You’re going to hate me. I’ve never gotten an ugly one. Every rejection I’ve recieved has been professional, polite and they’ve all had comments and encouragement. I think it’s given me a bit of a rose colored view of the publishing industry.
9. What sound or noise do you love?
The back door opening in the evening and the sound of keys dropping into a drawer. It means my husband is home. Or my daughter opening the door and going, “Mom, I’m home!” Or if I leave the kids with dh while I go out grocery shopping, my son yells out “I love you!” as I’m closing the door. I guess I like door sounds.
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
It took you long enough!
Book Pimpage Info:
Not Quite Dead
Samhain Publishing
Available August 15th
Paranormal romantic comedy
11. Describe the premise of your book in three sentences or less.
Sabine Harper’s night started out badly–a dead man jumped out of his grave, she was chased by a vampire and now she has an uninvited guest. Willem Breaux has only three days to avenge his murder, but upon awakening more than a century into the future, he discovers that he needs Sabine’s help more than he could have imagined. Can Willem and Sabine find love–and a little laughter–in spite of time, death, and an evil that’s waited a century to make its move?
12. Your website or blog.
