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AUGUST 6, 2012
Getting to Know the Authors: an interview with Nancy Atherton

Nancy Atherton is the New York Times bestselling author of the Aunt Dimity mysteries, and currently lives in Colorado Springs.  Her books are filled with fun characters, recipes, and lively plots that keep you guessing as you read along.

We recently conducted an email with Nancy to get to know her better:

JCPL: What do you do when you aren't writing?
NA: When I'm not writing, I do the same things everyone else does:  I do the laundry, shop for groceries, run errands, clean the house, mow the lawn, etc. etc.  Not very glamorous, is it?  Necessary, though, since I don't have an army of servants to cater to my every whim.  When I'm not doing all of the above, I love to hike in the mountains, go to the theater (to see plays as well as films), attend figure skating competitions, explore small towns, wander through cemeteries, visit museums, play with my cats, spend time with my friends, travel, and many other things that have nothing (and everything) to do with writing, by which I mean that my non-writing activities refresh my brain and prepare me for the next writing vortex.     
 
JCPL: What does your writing space look like?  Are you clean or cluttered?  Organized or disorganized?
NA: Prepare yourself for a total lack of glamor.  My office is a very small former bedroom with two desks, one on each long wall.  The desks are, in fact, two doors held up by four two-drawer filing cabinets.  At the far end of the room (which isn't very far) is a tall, rustic wooden cupboard filled to the brim with office supplies.  A Mac sits on each desk.  I use one Mac exclusively for writing (the modem isn't even hooked up) and the other Mac for everything else.  The rest of the desk space is extremely cluttered but fairly organized.  The walls are covered with framed pictures, posters, and two bulletin boards that are in turn covered with just about anything that can be stuck into cork with a pin.  My work space hasn't changed significantly since I began writing twenty years ago.  I like having a clutter of familiar things around me when I write.

JCPL: Which of your books is your favorite?  Why?
NA: My favorite book will always be my first book, Aunt Dimity's Death, because it introduced me to a world I love beyond reason. 

JCPL: Is there anything else you would like our readers to know?
NA: If you would like to question me directly, you can always click on Contact Us on my website.  I should warn you, however, that I'm about a hundred emails behind in my replies, so you may not receive an instant answer.  But you will receive an answer . . . eventually!

Above all, I'd like you to know how grateful I am to all of you for reading (and enjoying) my stories.  Thank you!
 


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