Tuesday 15 January 2013

The (Nearly) Naughty NIne for the week, with Jo Robinson


The (nearly) Naughty Nine with  Jo Robinson

This week our naughty nine have a sci-fi twist

Welcome Jo to Raven's Nine for the Week.

I realize just how busy you are, so I'm really glad you could drop by.

Thanks for having me on your delicious site Raven! What a fun way to start my week.

Q        We'll get this one over first, tell us a little bit about yourself.
A         I live in the wilds of Zimbabwe with my husband Angus, a dog with an odd sense of humour, four birds, and two turkeys.  One of the birds spends most of her time on my head, weaving my hair into dreadlocks that have to be cut out, so every day’s a bad hair day for me.  I’m into karma yoga, don’t eat meat, and plot constantly about how to bring about world peace, but I make up for all that holiness by drinking a lot of wine, often using excessively foul language, and eating too much chocolate and cheese.  I also eat loads of garlic, which is apparently deeply offensive on the spiritual plane.  I spend most of my time hunched over my computer.  This is a good thing though.  Strange things happen in the real world.  I have two novels being given their final polishes, Shadow People to be published in two weeks, and African Me & Satellite TV not too long after that.  I have two short stories on Amazon at the moment, Fly Birdie and The Visitation.

Q        Thanks, now we can probe a bit more.  How do you relax?
A         Probing is good.  I like to watch funny movies and read really silly books.

Q        What is your favorite genre to read, and why?
A         I am fickle with my favourites, and tend to go crazy over one genre or another at different times, but I like humour and sci-fi/fantasy the best.  If the two are combined that’s even better.  Reading about mad wizards on a flat world, balancing on the backs of four elephants in turn standing on a spacegoing turtle is my idea of fun.  I think that this is because totally forgetting about the world around you, and immersing yourself in laughter is better than a day at a spa.  Although…  That would really depend on how good the masseuse was, wouldn’t it?

Q        and of course to write, and why?
A         My writing leans to the dark and heavy, although I mostly like to have happy endings.  Not always.  I actually haven’t been writing for very long.  I suddenly had a story pop into my head a couple of years ago, and out it came.  My lack of skill at the actual writing process has meant that the edit on this has taken far too long, and it will only be published after the sci-fi/fantasy novel which I wrote for the NaNoWriMo event.  This book started as a tongue in cheek joke, because I never thought that I was capable of writing sci-fi.  It turned out so well, and I enjoyed it so much that I never intend to stop.  This book, Shadow People, will be published in the next two weeks.  I write mainstream fiction as Jo Robinson and sci-fi as Jo Cavell, so as not to incur  the wrath of readers who could be made to feel that they have been duped into reading the wrong genre.  My next challenge will be writing something very steamy while still being funny for a science fiction collaborative novel.  I know, I know, I’m a genre slut.

Q        Where do you prefer to read? (or write) What do you wear? And eat? (OK, I know this is cheating as well, but we need all the gen in our naughty nine)
A         I generally hang around on the couch.  This is comfy, cool and quiet, and big enough for my feathered family to busy themselves with chewing the cushions, and leave me to read in peace.  There’s not often reason to dress up here so I generally wear jeans or shorts.  When the occasion does arise, I like very high heels, particularly on boots, and what I tend to think of as stylish outfits.  Having said that, my sister always insisted that I have the dress sense of a high class hooker.  At least she said high class.  Ninety percent of my diet consists of cheese and chocolate.  I’m not very adventurous in the food department, mainly to avoid excessive cooking.  I cook meat for Angus, but I don’t eat it and I’m way too lazy to cook multiple meals.  I generally just have yoghurt for breakfast, salads and cheese related things for lunch, and then just snack on chocolates and corn chips in the afternoon.  I don’t eat supper unless I go out, or have people over.  Am I talking too much now?

Q        So three things you love
A         I love to watch people.  I love people in general, apart from the truly evil ones.  The sweet and funny people in my life make living great.  I love my cyber friends.  I love all animals, especially birds.  I suppose that my incredible affection for chocolate and pink champagne is big enough to call love.  I would have that for breakfast if I could, preferably in bed.

Q        Three you don't
A         Only three?  I don’t like cruelty, pettiness, nastiness.  I really could go one here.  People overly full of self-importance generally just make me laugh, but I really hate those beings on this planet that hurt, abuse and torture whether they do it because they like to, or because they just don’t care.  Leave me alone for a while with people like that, and the planet would quickly have less of them to worry about.
           
Q        Three things you would like to happen in the next three years? Feel free to add to the three things you don't,
A         On a planetary scale, I really wish that nations would try harder to get along.  I wish that governments would start doing something real to combat climate change, instead of just chatting about it, and on a personal level, I would really like to have people like the books that I write.  In three years I hope to write a few.  Oh…and I would like abs of steel without having to work hard at getting them.  Three things I don’t want.  I don’t want people to hate my books.  I don’t want some foolish twit to launch a nuke, and bring on the zombie apocalypse.   I don’t want my abs to get any squishier.
           
Q lastly the quick fire round...
            Favorite Color-          Blue

            Favorite book            The Road Less Travelled by M. Scott Peck.  It’s quite old, and probably best called a “self help book”.  I picked it up one day years ago, and read it only because I was bored, but it was such an eye opener, that I would say that it’s the one book that I wouldn’t like not to have read in my life. 

            Piece of music           Anything by UB40 – Love those guys.


That's it painless eh?            Thanks for dropping by and giving us a peek into your life. Feel free to add any links to blogs websites etc so we can all find out what you are up to.


That was great!  Thanks very much for having me.

I’m on a Google+ community to encourage readers to interact with writers:

I have two Facebook pages:
J C Robinson for my mainstream writing:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/J-C-Robinson/405248799532723
Fly Birdie on Amazon
The Visitation on Amazon


4 comments:

  1. Thank you Raven, for including me here on your fantastic site. I am really VERY naughty - promise. ;)

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  2. A fellow dark writer! Muah-ha-haaa. It's nice to meet you :)

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  3. Nice to meet you, Jo, and a great interview, ladies :-)

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