Friday, August 29, 2014

Interview with Clea Simon

I am thrilled to have interviewed Clea Simon!! So come on and get some coffee or tea. You are in for a huge treat today!! Clea is the author of  the Theda Krakow Series, Pru Marlowe Pet Nior series,  and a Dulcie Schwartz Series!!


Welcome Clea, I am so glad that you can be here with us today!!

Shelley: Tell us about yourself?
Clea Simon: I’m a writer. :)
I have always been a writer, since my earliest days. I loved books and made my own books. Because a journalist because that seemed like a job a writer could have and there were stories to be told. Along the way, I realized I wanted to write my own stories, like I did as a child. Other than that, I’m married with one cat, no kids, and I live in the Boston area. I love to cook and hear live music of all sorts!


Shelley: What inspired you to become a writer?
Clea Simon: I have always been a reader. At times, books were my best friends, so writing came naturally.


Shelley: How did you come up with these great books?
Clea Simon: I don’t plot in advance. I come up with a situation or a character and ask myself, “And then?” The rest follows.(And thank you for the compliment!)


Shelley: Can you tell us a little of what you are working on now?
Clea Simon: I am finishing up Dulcie Schwartz # 10. It has taken me up to about 250 pages to realize what the book is really about - the core of it, if you will - so now I am re-reading and revising, starting at the beginning so that the first part lines up with the second part.


Shelley: What research did you have to do for your books?
Clea Simon: I talk to a lot of animal experts for the Pru Marlowe pet noir mysteries - that’s always fun! And I am currently reading a lot about book conservation for this Dulcie. The techniques conservators use to bring back 200 and 300 (and older) books to life are amazing.


Shelley: When you are not writing what do you love doing?
Clea Simon: I love cooking - making big dinners for family and friends - and going out to hear music. Rock and jazz and Cajun and zydeco and opera. I love opera!


Shelley: What are three things you want your readers to know?
Clea Simon: I try very hard to make my characters consistent and believable - they may not always be smart or self-aware but I try to make them true to themselves.
I will never hurt an animal in any of my books. People yes, animals no.
I don’t plot my books in advance - this means I have to revise a lot, but I hope it also means I avoid cookie-cutter mysteries.


Shelley: If you could have a dinner party with three authors, living or dead, who would you pick and what would you serve as a meal?
Clea Simon: Maurice Sendak, JRR Tolkein, and Madeleine L'Engle because they were all great influences and they all depicted such complete - and completely different - worlds. I would serve a big bowl of chicken and mushrooms, over pasta - cooked in a good red wine - with a lot of wine to drink, to make sure the conversation flowed!


What a fantastic interview and getting to know you more has been a treat!

you can find Clea here:



5 comments:

  1. You can also read excerpts and some short pieces (and more) at my home site: http://www.cleasimon.com

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  2. Nice interview Clea. I can't wait to get together with you again when you're visiting here... I'll assemble the crew and we can all go to Chinatown. LOL

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  3. Great interview! Thank you Shelley and Clea.

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  4. I enjoyed reading this Shelley and Clea <3

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  5. Can I come to dinner? Love the interview. Beautiful cat.

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