(Please note there will be no interview this Thursday, but interviews will resume as scheduled on Tuesday, September 2nd.)
Greetings, all! Welcome back to Clockwork Conversations.
I'm your host, February Grace, and today's guest is author Lisa Fernow!
Let's start by learning a bit about her...
~*~
Lisa Fernow grew up on the classic mysteries of Ngaio Marsh and Elizabeth Peters.
Dead on Her Feet is the first book in a planned series set in the tango world. Her short story,
Death of a Tango Dancer, was featured in King County Library System’s
Take Time to Read program in 2010.
Lisa
has danced Argentine tango since 1996, studying with such legendary
masters as Cacho Dante, Susana Miller, and Brigitta Winkler, and other
inspiring instructors in Atlanta, Seattle, and Portland.
Lisa
holds a BA in English and Theatre from Cornell University and a
certificate in commercial fiction writing from the University of
Washington. As a former Time Warner and PepsiCo global marketing
executive, Lisa bowled with Michael Jordan, got sweat on by Cindy
Crawford, taught capitalism to Hungarians and helped launch Scooby Doo
merchandise into 150 countries.
Now living in Seattle, she runs a
consulting practice focused on innovation, and loves toggling between
business and fiction writing, as both require creativity and strong
storytelling.
~*~
Q1: When you travel, do you like to plan every detail in advance, or are you more spontaneous and go where the days take you?
LF: I
love to travel to out of the way places - and I am very lucky to have
friends who adore planning treks to the Thai hill country, photo safaris
at Kruger National Park, dancing tango in Buenos Aires - you get the
idea - so I go wherever I am invited and am happy to fold into their
plans. But on my own I am likely to plan my hotel and transportation
then leave the rest to whim. The only thing I absolutely insist on is
getting great food, and I have been known to research restaurants well
in advance and build entire itineraries around them. Once on the
ground, I am what the French would call a flaneur, someone who is happy
to bum around the streets without any particular goal, and I love to
discover what the locals are up to. One of my favorite experiences was
in Salvador, Brazil - a friend and I were wandering around the
neighborhood and came across a bar where the locals were watching
soccer. They invited us in and made us feel right at home.
Q2: Do you enjoy any sports? (Watching or playing.)
LF: I
love going to live baseball games for all the wrong reasons: the hot
dogs, the beer, the warm breezes, watching all those cute baseball
players in their old fashioned uniforms. I have no idea what's going on
and I don't care.
Q3: What is your favorite space/room in your home?
LF: Right
this minute I am in my armchair looking out over Lake Washington. On a
clear day I can see Mount Rainier. I am supposed to be working when I
sit here but a lot of the time I just gaze out the window and think
about how lucky I am to live where I do.
Q4: What three items are always in your kitchen/refrigerator?
Q5: *bonus question for everyone* Do you collect anything? If so, why?
LF: I
used to collect early editions of golden age mystery writers like Ngaio
Marsh. I love their old fashioned language and world views. A great
example from the 1930's is E. Phillips Oppenheim, author of The Dumb Gods Speak. Here is the first sentence from Chapter 1: “At 10:43 on a morning when the deep blue sea of the Mediterranean
was flecked with whitecaps and the clear outline of the Esterels
suggested a mistral, Mr. Jonson stepped from his compartment in the Train Bleu
and, with a suitcase in either hand, alighted upon the platform at
Nice.” My early edition includes a letter from the author to Lady
Gosford, on Cunard stationary, inviting him to dine on board the
Brittanic. Apparently he was too ill to accept her invitation. Books
like this connect me to another time.
~*~
What a fantastic interview! Thank you again for joining me today, Lisa!
See you all next week!
~bru
