Meet Me Monday! Ten Classic and Cozy Questions for Sofie Couch

<<This is a new feature running the 3rd Monday of every month and will give you a chance to get to know our contributing authors on a more personal level.  Sofie Couch is the impetus behind the Classic and Cozy blog, so we put her on the hot seat first. >>

Okay, inquiring minds want to know why a writer? Certainly not for the fame and fortune or maybe it is?

I love story. I love storytelling. I love words as an artistic medium, which all sounds very fancy, but is really just an excuse to talk to people, whether through a book, (very one-sided), or in-person. I love wrapping myself up in words like a big ol' burrito and wallowing in the cheesey, beany, yumminess of it.

When did you first put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) to create the your classic and cozy characters?

1987. I was living in Scotland - far from home. And while I had a permit to work in Scotland, it turns out that if they have two applicants for the same job and one of them is Scottish, they have to employ the citizen first. (Understandably so.) And as it turned out, if it was a job that no Scottish citizen wanted, it was probably one that I didn't want either. So I decided to do what I loved instead. I love reading, so I thought I might love writing. And Wah-Lah, a writer was born. (And no, those first manuscripts that were created in Scotland and printed out on A-4 dot matrix printer paper will NEVER see the light of day.

Do you have a set writing schedule?

Sure! Make coffee. Walk the dog. Write. Get interrupted. Shower. Drink more coffee. Run an errand. Write. Cook. Clean a toilet, write... :) Basically every second that's not consumed with other life essentials.

Is there a certain routine, food/drink, or location that summons forth the muses for you?

The afore mentioned coffee is a must. And I need either absolute quiet or a lot of white noise. I prefer working in the room adjacent to where my son is working. We're a good team and interrupt one another infrequently, yet we can both come up for air, knowing there's someone we love right in the next room to fire ideas off of.

What do you do when not writing?

The family owns an antique mini-mall, so I've just converted my space into a used bookshop. (I LOVE it!) I also dabble in property. I love a good renovation project and have several on-going, but once they are renovated, I rent them out. Here's the little Writer's Retreat that I rent through Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/487795 . It's a short-term rental, so when it's not rented, I can use it for mini writing retreat vacations. (Especially convenient because it's in my back yard.)

I imagine you’ve been reading all of your life (all great writers have.)  What was your favorite book as a child?

SUMMER OF MY GERMAN SOLDIER. It has a rather bleak ending, but as you know, that's not really an issue for romance writers. We just change the endings in our heads, so, s'all good!

Do you re-read books?  If so, which one have you re-read the most?

Definitely. And I REALLY love to read the books before, after and during the movie re-makes. For example, all of the different productions of Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, (don't miss out on Bride and Prejudice - hilarious!), Bleak House, Harry Potter - all of them, Sherlock Holmes and the series, SHERLOCK, SWEETLAND and the short story it's based on, "Gravestone of Wheat" by Will Weaver... Check them out! They're fabulous!

But there is more to life than reading, writing (and most  definitely arithmetic) what is your most memorable adventure in your life? (Follow on  Q--is there a reality show pitch in that?  :) )

I suppose the thing I've done that I'll have to tell the grandchildren about, (the grandchildren that I don't have - yet), would have to be Bodyguard Training School. Yes, you read that right. My older brother and I packed our bags, drove from east coast to west coast to California and took a month-long course on bodyguard training. We shot weapons at targets from moving vehicles, learned to do a boot-leg turn in a car, (and nearly drove off of a cliff), participated in some real-life bodyguard practice, etc. I think we could safely say there is a reality show pitch in that.

If you were on American Idol, what song would you sing to WOW! the judges?

Funny you should ask. Okay, it's not American Idol, but I will be playing banjo and singing at one of the local Farmers' Markets in the next month. I don't know about "wowing" anyone, but hopefully no one will run away when we play/sing: CRAZY (by Willie Nelson), WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN, WILDWOOD FLOWER, among others. It'll be three hours of ... well, intense pain for some, but I'll be joyously oblivious and just having fun with my guitar pickin' buddy.

 

Last question--movie rights. Who will play your two main characters when Hollywood comes knocking on your door? 

In the current Work-in-Progress? I'm going to go with Gerard Depardieux, and Andi McDowell.

Well, that was fun!  Thanks Sofie!

You can read more about Sofie Couch and her published works at www.sofiecouch.com