Catherine Gilbert Murdok is the author of Dairy Queen (Houghton Mifflin books for Children) a 2007-2008 Lone Star and Tayshas Reading List selection. She will be speaking on the Shine On: Lone Star Reading List Authors panel from 8-9:20 on Thursday.
1. Have you attended TLA before? If so, what advice do you have for new authors?
No, this is my first time, and my only second trip to Texas. Very excited about both!
2. The theme for TLA 2008 is "Books, Bytes and Beyond". How would you describe yourself in 4 words?
3. What is your preferred method of writing and why -- laptop, longhand, typewriter?
Laptop definitely gets first prize, though in a pinch I can write longhand. It’s depressing, though, to see how little I’ve written once I type it up. Longhand is best for revisions, and thank you notes.
4. What are you reading right now?
Both Unwind and Alfred Kropp are on my bedside table, but I’m really saving them for the plane – book tours are a delicious time to get all my overdue reading in. To be honest what I’m devouring is William Cullina’s Native Trees, Shrubs and Vines. I read it last spring and marked it with approximately 150 post-it notes. Now I’m trying to figure out what the different colors mean. So far I’ve determined yellow = “of general interest.” Beyond that I’m flying blind, but happily so.
5. Movie you've loved in the past year
Just saw Leatherheads Saturday night with the family, and couldn’t have adored it more. I wrote my dissertation on Prohibition, so it was nice to see the era brought so deliciously to the big screen. Plus there were all these little Prohibition jokes that probably no one got but me. I also loved Michael Clayton and Enchanted, though not at the same time.
6. The perfect vacation is...
A quiet corner (which means most of it) of Virgin Gorda, one of the British Virgin Islands. Stay as far away as you can from “the Baths,” which should be renamed “Grand Central Station at Rush Hour,” and you’ll have the loveliest, most relaxing experience of your life.
7. Which do you prefer? Zombies or Vampires?
Ewww! Neither, thanks. You want to freak me out, just send a house centipede my way. I’m normally pretty good with insects – adore cicadas, for example – but those things give me the dry heaves.
8. Do you have a blog or website that you would like to share with us?
Why yes (see question #2 ) – it’s catherinemurdock.com.
