Erin Healy, co-author of Ted Dekker's latest thriller, Kiss, dropped in with some fabulous answers to the Dreaded Dregs questions. Thanks, Erin. Scroll down to catch part one where you can get a sneak peek at the first chapter of Kiss.
If you could change something in any novel, what would you change about it and why?
Old Dan and Little Ann would not die in Where the Red Fern Grows … because when my daughter gets around to reading that book, she’s going to be inconsolable for days.
Favorite turn of phrase or word picture, in literature or movie.
You rush a miracle man, you get rotten miracles. –Miracle Max, The
Princess Bride
What period of history intrigues you the most?
Early American, because the first novels I read as an elementary schooler
that captivated me were set in the period, and because Sarah Vowell has a… uh … perspective on that era like no other.
What would you write if there were no rules or barriers?
I probably wouldn’t write! I’m needy that way. I need rules like a need a
map. They give me a place to start, a direction, and more openness to
being surprised along the way.
What makes you feel alive?
Three diet Pepsis before nine in the morning.
Book, music, person, food you would take with you on a very long trip?
We’re going to Ireland, right? With a name like Erin McMahan Healy I
really need to go to Ireland … My Kindle. (I’m such a cheater, I know. But ONE book?) Loreena McKennitt. My sister. Power bars.
Favorite season and why?
Winter, because curling up in a blanket next to the fireplace with a book
and a stainless travel mug full of coffee is most uncomfortable in summer. I love the snow. The rain. Sigh. I really need to go to Ireland.
What would you do if you had only one week to live?
I would cry and ask God for more time. If he said no, I’d write letters to
my husband and children telling them my love and hopes for them, then I’d turn off the computer, walk away, and spend the rest of my waking moments holding their hands and listening, touching, talking.
What is your favorite word?
Discombobulated.
Superhero you most admire and why?
Mr. Incredible. Because it’s never too late to be who you were made to be.
Grammatical pet peeve:
I’m an editor. I have a lot of them. Most irritating, though, is when
writers announce they “just don’t like” a grammar rule and so claim the
right to ignore it. It’s not creative license. It’s stubbornness.
Pick one of the “story starters” below and give us a sample of your voice.
A crack broke the stillness as Terry tugged on the frozen door.
The editor half of me, whom I try to lock away in a broom closet while I
write, is talking loudly and demanding to know what motivation anyone can have for depositing a door in a meat locker.
