Author Interview – P. L. Blair

Question 1: Who are you and what have you written

Good morning! I’m P.L. Blair, and my most recent published book is “Sister Hoods,” available on Amazon. I’ve got two unpublished books – “Unholy Cause,” which is with my publisher at the moment, and “A Plague of Leprechauns,” which is waiting for my publisher to get done with “Cause.” All of my books are urban fantasies/dectective with, in the books starting with “Sister Hoods,” a small twist of romance.

Question 2: If you had to paint a portrait of any author who would it be?

If I could paint decently, which I can’t, I’d choose J.R.R. Tolkien. I love his books!

Wuestion 3: Why did you start writing?

I’m compelled to write. Been doing it since I was 7, when I wrote my first story – something about a witch, I recall – and my teacher encouraged me to read it aloud in front of the class. I was hooked!

Kwestion 4: Where do you write? Do you have a shed like Roald Dahl, or a special room away from the other people in your house. Maybe you write at work when you should be working like that Terry Pratchett did. You should be careful, if your boss catches you you’re done for. Personally I write in my pajamas.

I have an “office area,” basically a dining room that I don’t use as a dining room. I sit at my laptop and plug away. I’m also a reporter for Sheridan Media – a news outlet here in Sheridan, WY, that consists of (so far) 9 radio stations and an online site, so work on my books goes in between interviews and writing news stories.

Question 5: Today a dog untied my shoe laces.

That would be news under the right circumstances!

Question 6: Do you think question 5 needs to be rephrased?

Nah.

Question 7: Forget the last two questions.

Hard to do. The image of the dog is stuck in my mind. I could see at least one of mine (the jack russell “terror,” probably) untying my shoe laces if I wore shoes with laces.

Question 5 (again): What is the most interesting thing you have learned recently? (I just heard about an animal called the Tree Kangaroo that lives in trees regardless of it being utterly inept for that way of life and so often falls out of trees. And they are f**ing adorable).

That’s a hard one for me to answer, because pretty much everything interests me. I’ve been reading a lot lately about exoplanets and evolution – both totally fascinating subjects. I’m always learning something new.

Question 6: Have you experienced what psychologists call “The ultimate experience” ? Which is the frame of mind when you are writing and everything is flowing perfectly and the creative buzz is so great you lose track of time.

I’ve experienced the ultimate experience a time or two, but more than that, I experience that sense of my characters coming alive for me, of writing scenes in my books that roll through my head like scenes from a movie – like I’m watching a movie and just writing down what I see and hear on-screen. I also have the experience of my characters talking to me, telling me what they will – and will not – do. I once tore up about a chapter and a half of writing because, I realized, I was trying to force my characters to do something they absolutely would not do!

Last question: Are you happy as a writer?

I am. Writing is me – a writer is all I ever really wanted to be. A friend of mine once asked if I had any hobbies, and I said yes – Writing! It’s vocation and avocation, and I consider myself blessed that I was able to get into a career – reporting – where I actually get paid to do what I would do even if I made no money at it at all.

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P. L. Blair’s Sister Hoods is available now on Amazon