Five on Friday - Meg Gardiner

Happy Friday and Happy April all! I hope you've had a great week and are looking forward to some fun this weekend. Got good books on tap for your reading pleasure? I have to admit, I'm not ready for July to be over. This means we're now on the downswing of summer and I hate that thought! But anyway...positive thoughts, positive thoughts!

They tell me my post about Longmire Days at Criminal Element is faring quite well. If you haven't had a chance to check it out, you can do so here (there's also some rather hot prizes involved in a sweepstakes if you comment there). Next week I'll have some more posts that are a little more detailed about specific events, like the "So You Want to Write a Mystery" session at the Johnson County Library and the Q&A session held at the movie theater. Yes, there will be more pictures, too!

Last night I met Ben H. Winters. Have y'all read him, yet?  He presented here in NE Ohio at the North Royalton Library and he is fabulous! He's energetic and enthusiastic and smart and funny and well, yes, it was a great event. I'll share more with you about that later, but suffice it to say, I'm recruiting him to come to the blog, and if you get the chance to meet him in person, don't pass up that opportunity!

O.k. I haven't mentioned contests in awhile. Of course the one at C.E. is at the link above. They also have  a sweepstakes to win a copy of The Great Abraham Lincoln Pocketwatch Conspiracy. You'll have to read about that one yourself, I'm not up on that book.

Friday Reads has a trio of Andrew Vachss novels.

And finally, remember to stop over at Lesa's and see what fun loot she's giving away this week. 

Now on to the fun stuff. Today I'm thrilled to pieces to have Edgar-award-winning author Meg Gardiner back on the blog. Her spirit and humor and generous nature make her a fun person to know. Her skill wielding crimes makes her a fun author to read. She's the creator of the Jo Beckett series and the Evan Delaney series, as well as three stand alone novels, the most recent of which is Phantom Instinct, which came out in July (officially last month now--*sob*).

Before I get tears on the keyboard, I'll turn things over to Meg!

1. The most bizarre question I was ever asked in an interview was: At a bookstore event, an audience member approached me. “I want to write a bestseller,” he said. “But I hear that to be an author, you need to be mentally unstable. Are you?” While I was gaping at that, my husband walked up. The man turned to him and asked, “Is your wife crazy?” I think I said something like, “Only on the full moon.” The man didn’t buy any books.

2. My five favorite movies of all time are: Casablanca. Dr. Strangelove. The Terminator. Aliens. The Princess Bride.

3. If I could swap lives with anyone in the world for 24 hours, I would choose: The Commander of the International Space Station. Because: space. And because I doubt that in 24 hours I would accidentally destroy the ISS, Armageddon-style.

4. The most beautiful place I’ve ever visited is: Victoria Falls, Zambia/Zimbabwe. The falls cascade over the edge of a basalt gorge a mile wide, where the blue Zambezi River erupts into white lather and noise. In the Lozi language, the falls are called Mosi oa Tunya: the smoke that thunders. You can hear the roar and see the mist rising a mile away. The entire landscape seems to tilt toward the falls, the entire continent, a vast plain of red earth spread with Baobabs and Acacia trees under an arching blue sky. To stand on the edge of the gorge with my kids, getting soaked, while rainbows spun all around us, was breathtaking.

5. The #1 item on my bucket list right now is: zip lining through the Brazilian rainforest with a high school friend.

That's funny, I always heard if you want to write a bestseller you have to...write a good book. Maybe I'm not in the loop and don't know all the REAL secrets. Is mental stability a question on the publisher application?

And I guess after experiencing Victoria Falls, space has to be the next great adventure! So fun to have Meg here. Be sure to check her out on Twitter. She's one of my favorite tweeps out there in the Twitter-verse. You can also catch up with her on her website or Facebook. Thanks Meg!!

Have a super weekend, my friends! Happy reading.