Sunday, January 15, 2012

Welcome The One, The Only, BarbaraE (Ehrentreu)


This is a personal treat for me. Barbara was a real pal in Montreal, shuffling my cousin, Grace, and I around almost all the time in her rental car. We had a lot of laughs that weekend. BarbaraE is a talented, fun woman and it is my pleasure to have her on This and That. Without further ado - whatever that is - here's BarbaraE answering a few questions:

1. What is your favorite book?
That is really hard to choose. Alice in Wonderland is one of my favorites, The Dresden Files series, any book by Dennis Lehane, Emma, the first book of The Dark Tower series.

2. Who is your favorite writer?
Again, I find it hard to choose, because I like so many. They would be: Jim Butcher, Dennis Lehane, Jane Austin, Barbara Kingsolver and Stephen King.

3. If the answers to 1 & 2 are different, why?
I left out Lewis Carroll, because I’ve only read one book of his.

4. How old were you when you were first published?
A poem of mine was published in the School District Newsletter when I was eight in third grade.

5. What writing style do you most abhor?
I don’t like endless paragraphs describing things with very little dialogue. When I was younger I would skip over those in novels like Moby Dick.

6. What is your favorite writing cliché?

That’s a hard one. I guess the whole girl meets boy cute and then falls in love.

7. What is your favorite word?
serendipity

8. When and how do you write? (typewriter, Mac, in a café, for four hours each morning, etc?)
I write at my desk whenever I can on my Mac laptop.

9. What is your greatest fear when you first turn in a manuscript?The obvious one. Will it be accepted? Will they like it?

10. In what era do you wish you’d been born?
I like the era in which I was born and wouldn’t change it.:)

11. Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
I use the word, so a lot and that.

12. Which talent would you most like to have?
I’d like to be able to dance. I’ve always loved dancing.

13. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Besides my children, my novel, If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor.

14. Who is your favorite hero of fiction?H
Harry Dresden of The Dresden Files.


15. How would you like to die?
Probably in my sleep after I had done everything I wanted to do.

To read a chapter of BarbaraE's wonderful and popular book, If I could Be Like Jennifer Taylor, visit this website:
http://barbaraehrentreu.blogspot.com/p/if-i-could-be-like-jennifer-taylor-free.html

8 comments:

gail roughton branan said...

Hey Barbara! Don't you love these interviews where they pull all these little known facts about us out! Mornin' Heather!

Sara Durham Writer ~ Author said...

Hi Ladies,
From one of Barbara's 'other' appreciative passengers:) Fun questions and answers, great to
see both of you in the same place!

Hugs, Sara

Heather Haven said...

Comments given by two of my favorite ladies, Gail and Sara. Wish you had been with us in that car, Gail! Grace, Sara, her daughter Michelle, and I had a great time with BarbaraE

Barbara Ehrentreu said...

Heather, thank you so much for having me as your guest. We did have a great time in Montreal, but you were a big part of it and so was Sara. Grace is such a sweetheart it was wonderful meeting her.

Gail, I guess when you are asked those questions it's hard to know what to say. I tend to leave out so many people when I answer them, but seeing the answers here, I think I hit the main ones.:)

Sara, as I said to Heather, it was so much fun being with you and your daughter too!

Pat Dale said...

Hi, Barb. Answering these questions is hard, isn't it? Especially about writers and their books. I know I have so many, it's hard to choose. Sounds like you and Heather had a great time last autumn.

Hi, Heather!
PD

J.Q. Rose said...

It is so interesting to see how authors answer the questions. Succinct like yours and to the point or others who write paragraphs to answer. I wonder if how they reply tell us alot about their writing styles. Enjoyed the questions and the answers, Ladies.

Unknown said...

Darling Barbara....so sorry I'm late. Loved the answers and after getting to know you in Montreal, I can just see you replying as if I was there.

Love serendipity. Fab word. Love you two.

Hugs!

Pat McDermott said...

Wonderful interview, ladies. Neat and to the point. I enjoyed learning about your fave books and authors, Barbara. I wish you continued success with your own wonderful book.