Friday 20 January 2012

The One-Link Lowdown on...Anne E. Johnson


Writer Anne E. Johnson is my guest today. Author of both children's' and YA fiction as well as novels for adults, Anne has a long list of credits to her name. Along with her fiction writing, Anne - who has degrees in classical languages and musicology - has also published academic works in her specialist areas. Her next fiction publication will be the middle-grade paranormal mystery novel Ebenezer’s Locker, which is due out in June from MuseItUp. I for one will be following up her work soon.

Please join me in welcoming her to the One-Link Lowdown. Anne - the stage is yours. Let's take it from the top!

If you could retrieve one thing from your childhood, what would it be?

I’d retrieve my iridescent blue tricycle with purple streamers on the handlebars. I would love to pedal that around my neighbourhood in Brooklyn.

Those childhood toys! I love them. Anne, tell me - what’s the worst job you've ever had?

I’ve had two jobs that required cold calling, something that utterly terrifies me. One had me calling doctors all over the world to solicit review of medical articles. That was bad, but the worse one was calling people during dinnertime to solicit donations for a university. I lasted two weeks at that. Ironically, I’ve been told many times that I have a wonderful telephone manner. Nobody would pledge money to me, though.

What’s on your bedside table/nightstand?

A stuffed owl wearing a cap and gown and holding a diploma. When you press her stomach, her cap shoots upward like she’s surprised. My husband bought her for me when I passed my driver’s exam and finished a two-year writing course in the same week. I named her Ursula, after a character in one of my novels.

What’s your favourite piece of music?

Igor Stravinsky’s ballet, Petrouchka. This has been true since I was about twelve. I was kind of a strange kid.

I can go along with that. I remember seeing a production of Petrouchka on television and being both spooked and fascinated by it - I do love Stravinsky's music too. On to more prosaic matters! What is your favourite sandwich, and where in the world is the best place to eat it?

Waiter, bring me a ciabatta with fresh, unsalted mozzarella, fresh basil and sliced tomato with a little olive oil. And I’ll eat that on a bench next to the Model Boat Pond in Central Park in New York, please.

Order two - that's my favourite as well! On the subject of food, who would you invite to your ultimate fantasy dinner party?

Although this is a fantasy, I’ll force myself to stick to living people (so that this doesn’t take all day): Rufus Wainwright, Ursula LeGuin, Imogen Heap, Nelson Mandela, Frank Cottrell Boyce, Gustavo Dudamel, John Hurt, Bob Dylan, Guillermo del Toro, Annie Lennox... This list could seriously go on forever. How big is the dining room?

I'll lay in extra chairs! Anne, what drives you seriously nuts?

The trend toward turning verbs into nouns. It’s pure laziness. The most painful example (and one quite popular now in the publishing industry) is the use of “reveal” as a noun synonymous with “unveiling” or “revelation.”

Yup. 'Ask' is another, as in 'a big ask.' Grr. Let's get away from all that for a moment as I lend you my time travel machine! Where would you go, and why?

I did graduate work in medieval music, and teach music history. I would go back and see what this music really sounded like, since we’re just guessing. I’d start in Paris in 1200, when there were all sorts of interesting changes happening in composition and performance.

What's your guilty pleasure?

On weeknights, after a long day of work (especially on a teaching day), I’ve been known to watch dopey TV dramas like Hawaii Five-0. It gives my brain a rest.

Gotta love that dopey TV! Finally, tell me - what single invention would change your life for the better?

Affordable, high-quality, well-maintained housing in New York City. (Oh, I do love science fiction!)

Sure - and yet sometimes it comes true, so fingers crossed! Anne, thanks so much for being my guest today. Friends, if you'd like to know more about Anne and her books, please go along and visit her website here. Good luck with all your future projects, Anne!

16 comments:

  1. Good morning ladies - I'm an early bird since I'm in Scotland! Loved the interview - the quirky questions and great answers. I love all things medieval, Anne, but studied the Renaissance (along with other periods). Your music history sounds wonderful.

    Looking forward to your tween novel!

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  2. Hi Rosemary, how nice not to be the only one up! I agree with you - Anne's mix of interests and experience fascinates me too. I'd love to sit you both around a table and listen to chatting!
    Great to see you,

    Jane x

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  3. Good morning. Up bright and early in Brooklyn. Thanks for hosting me, Jane. Thanks for stopping by, Rosemary. A fellow history-lover! We'll have tea sometime and talk about the good old millennia.

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  4. Wonderful interview Jane and Anne,
    I love all things medieval, too. I'd join you in Paris in 1200 Anne. I'd like to hear real monks singing in the new Notre Dame cathedral.(I had monks singing in my book and in my mind they sounded magnificient).

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  5. Thanks, Wendy. You're welcome in my time machine. Not sure baguettes were invented yet in 1200, but we'll have fun just the same.

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  6. Ha, wonderful interview! I loved the sandwich order--made my hungry. :D

    Adriana

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  7. Thanks, Adriana. I know what I'm having for lunch!

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  8. Hi Wendy, I love the idea of your medieval monks! Thanks for coming over to visit Anne, nice to see you. :)

    Jane x

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  9. LOL Adriana and Anne, I have to confess I bought all the ingredients for THAT sarnie when I went shopping today! Thanks for coming by, Adriana!

    Jane x

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  10. I've really enjoyed this interview. The sandwich is making me hungry and imagining sitting beside Bob Dylan and Annie Lennox at a dinner party is sending a slight swelling in my chest. (What will we talk about? Possibilities. Possibilities ...)

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  11. By all means, Claudine, pull up a chair right between Bobby and Annie!

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  12. I enjoyed your interview. I miss my big wheel with the brake bar. You get your bike and I'll get my big wheel and we'll make a few laps around the neighborhood. :)

    Thanks for sharing,

    Michelle
    www.Michelle-Pickett.com

    Author of Concilium, available July 2012
    Concilium: The Departure, November 2012
    PODs, available June 2013

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  13. Great questions AND answers! Love catching a glimpse of a big city dweller's way of life. Slap a hunk of chicken or turkey on that sandwich and I think Central Park would be a delightful place to spend an afternoon. Best wishes on your new release!

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  14. Anne--so glad to meet you. I loved your answers. Jane's One-Link-Lowdown is one of the best blogs going. Her questions are designed very well to really get a peek of the guest. I'd love that sandwich, too...order three. See you in the part. Oh, how I wish.
    Good wishes for you and your books.

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  15. Thank you everyone, for coming over to visit Anne! It's great to see you all. :)

    Jane x

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