Today I have the fabulous Leslie Pugh joining us. She is new to the blogosphere so I want you to be sure to hop over and show her some love. Her blog is "Leslie Pugh: One Word at a Time." You love it already, don't you? I thought so!
I met Leslie at the LDS Storymakers Conference and I instantly fell in love. No - not the creepy kind of love, but the "Oh wow! I think you're totally awesome and I can't wait till we meet again" kind of love.
So here she is answering some of my normal/bizarre questions! ENJOY!
Hi Leslie! First off... it was so awesome to meet you at
Storymakers this year! You're amazing! And I'm so glad you have your blog up
and running! I just had to get you over here for an interview so we could share
your super-woman powers!
Hi Leigh! I'm
thrilled you asked me for an interview! I feel honored! And I am so happy I met
you and lots of other fantastic writers at my first Storymakers conference.
Makes me wish I would have attended years ago.
And thank you for all
the tips and encouragement on starting a writing blog while we were at the
conference. It really helped me take the plunge into the online writing world.
1. Tell us a little about where you currently live.
Sagebrush, dirt,
rocks, Walmart. You said a little, right? Okay, I owe my lovely town more than
that. Ephrata is considered eastern WA but is in the middle of the state, has
7000+ residents, and is a sunny, desert region. It took me a while to get used
to living in a really small town far away from my side of the family and other important
things like Target, Costco and airports. But I love the friendly people in our
town, great schools for my kids, and the fact that my hubby only works minutes
away.
2. In 40 words or less, tell us a little about YOU!
Air Force brat, BYU Art Education grad, wife and stay at home mom of three great kids. Book lover and daily reader. Once in a while knitter, scrapbooker and quilter. Loyal friend, follower of Jesus Christ, happy to be alive!
That's exactly
40!
3. When did you decide you wanted to be a writer and why?
I have wanted to be an author and illustrator probably since the fourth grade when I truly fell in love with storytelling and books. Art and reading/writing have always been my favorite subjects since then. The magical worlds that images and words can pull you into is what drew me to books.
I have wanted to be an author and illustrator probably since the fourth grade when I truly fell in love with storytelling and books. Art and reading/writing have always been my favorite subjects since then. The magical worlds that images and words can pull you into is what drew me to books.
When I went to college I thought briefly about
pursuing writing but it just didn't seem very practical, so I studied Art
Education to be able to teach K-12. I've been fortunate to stay home with my
kids and didn't end up teaching but I still ignored my writing and illustrating
dream for years.
Sometime maybe three
or so years ago while discussing books, I think I finally confided to my sister
Erin that I wanted to create children's books and to my surprise she wanted to
write as well. And I think she had already been writing at that point. I still
wasn't quite ready to commit to myself and actually write. So it took me until
early this year to actually start writing. And now all my years of pent up
writing dreams keep spilling out onto long lists of story ideas!
4. Tell us a little about what you write and a current WIP too, if you want to share!
I am writing a middle grade book about a twelve year old girl and her annoying little brother's adventure when they come across a cursed book of magical fairy tales that changes their lives in a less than happily ever after way.
Okay... now prepare yourself for my "chocolate chip questions." Lets face it... chocolate is divine and these questions are fun little morsels of divine fun!
Chocolate IS
absolutely divine. Especially with caramel. Oooh, or peanut butter. Or mint...
5. Give us your take on why Captain Crunch is the best cereal. I know you have a fetish.
Why yes, yes I do. I
rediscovered PB Capt. Crunch when I was pregnant with my first kid 13+ years
ago. I craved cereal a lot and when I came across that peanut buttery crunchy
goodness, it was love at first bite. I've had other PB cereals but nothing
compares to the perfect blend of sweetness, crunch and just enough peanut
butter flavor found in Capt. Crunch. I have to make myself walk by those
boxes quickly in the cereal aisle just so I won't buy any and eat the entire
box in two days.
6. What secret super powers do you harbor? What super power do you wish you had? I'm wishing I had super metabolism! I could eat whatever I wanted and stay thin! That would ROCK!!! Especially since I'm a chocoholic!
Sign me up for that super metabolism! Just thinking about PB Capt. Crunch now is making my pants tighter! Hmm, super powers, eh? Does being a top notch kitchen cupboard organizer count? That's about all I can think of on my list of current super abilities. As for a power I wish I had - I'd love to transport myself in a flash to anywhere in the world! I'd flash over to hang out with you for a couple of hours, zip over to my mom's for dinner, then maybe flash over to the beach in Hawaii... Like I said, I live hours from the airport so travel at the speed of light sounds mighty fine right now.
7. You're hosting dinner at your place... I'm invited. :) What 3 famous authors would you want me to bring and why? (Do you like how I invite myself?)
You are always invited! Heck, anyone that's willing to drive to our house in the sticks can come to dinner anytime. Three famous authors I would want you to bring most at this moment are Shannon Hale, Lois Lowry, and J.K. Rowling. Those three are master storytellers that have books that young kids love as well as adults. They are some of the few authors that have books I want to read more than once and have.
8. What's your favorite thought or quote?
That's
a tough one. There are so many that I love but the one that comes back to me
over and over is, "No other success can compensate for failure in the home." By David O. McKay. It helps my hubby
and I keep our goals focused on our family.
Ah! She's awesome, right?! And I love that quote Leslie. It's wonderful and so true. You guys can also find Leslie in the following places:
Thanks again for sharing with us today Leslie! You totally rock! Now everyone show her some comment love! I know you rock at this!
Posts
38 comments:
LOVING the sounds of Leslie's WIP, I would so read that!
This was such fun - love all the great questions, Leigh! I notice food seems to come u a lot -YUM! I want to know if Leslie is writing picture books too?
My hubby grew up in eastern Oregon. So not too far from you, Leslie. I'd like to come to that dinner too. You picked awesome authors!
Peanut Butter Captain Crunch does rock! Nice to meet you, Leslie.
that's an awesome awesome quote :)
Leslie is good people. And I'm not just saying that because she's a Washingtonian (pronounced Warsh-ing-tonian).
Thanks for the interview, Leigh!
Great interview! That's so fun you got to meet in person. I'll have to make it to Storymakers one day...
Stories that have a fresh take on fairytales are always fun. I'm glad you took the plunge into writing, Leslie. I spent years dithering over taking it seriously but now I don't look back! I'll go and have a nosy at your blog.
Thanks so much, Leigh for this opportunity! And thanks to all of you for your kind comments. I've been so happy to find out how supportive and encouraging the online writing and blogging community are.
super sweet interview! great to help a new blogger, you are!
i am glad to know more about leslie =)
Great interview you two! I would totally take Leslie's super power. Does it extend to linen closets?
Leslie is awesome. I had such a blast rooming with her at Storymakers!
(And I'm totally impressed that she got it right on 40 words.)
Fun interview! And I love Leslie. She's so cute and fun and always very sweet! :)
Leslie knows how to have fun, that's for sure. She's beautiful inside and out. She's got this light in her eyes that really shines. I absolutely loved spending so much time with her at Storymakers. I'm definitely Team Leslie!!!
I think we can all agree here that LESLIE IS AWESOME!! I'm so glad she's getting so much love from the writing community, because she deserves it!
Leslie, your book sounds really cool. And I'm jealous of your long lists of story ideas. I cling desperately to the handful I have :)
Great interview. I'm sorry I didn't get to meet Leslie (and a whole lot of other people) at the conference. Well, maybe next year.
Leslie is only 5 hours away, I mapped it. LOL. She is so cute, and I love her book idea. It sounds fabulous.
Great interview ladies.
Great interview! Thanks to you both.
Wooooo to BYU! Much luck on your book, it sounds like a good one. ;)
(And I thought I was moving to a small town... only 7,000? Wow.)
Oh this is such a great interview! Way to go Leslie. she is my sister and i feel so proud.
What an awesome idea about cursed fairy tales! Great interview. :)
It's funny, Leslie! Ephrata sounds a lot like Wyoming! It must be the Walmart. :)
Lovely interview!
Aww, I love Leslie even more! Fun interview, ladies. :)
LOL. Leigh, you're TOO FUNNY. Leslie seems AWESOME. And she's one of us lovely Utahns??? Must. Go. Follow. Her.
Fun interview!
It's great meeting new and awesome writers at conferences. Loved the interview Leslie and Leigh.
Oh, and chocolate too. Lots and lots of chocolate.
Joanna – I’m not writing picture books, yet. I have another list of ideas for books I want to write and a few half completed manuscripts for picture books but nothing truly finished. But one day!
S.P. you are invited for sure! Anyone that wants to mosey into my side of the country is more than welcome!
Nick – dithering is what I was really great at for years. But no more like you said. Reformed ditherers unite!
Peggy – Is it too braggy to say I have some made linen closet skills? One of these days I’ll trade you closet help for some of those cookies that keep popping up at your blog.
Jenny – only 5 hours means we’re pretty much meant to be writing bffs, right? One of these days we shall have to meet!
Lara – we small town gals have to stick together. And hang out at Walmart late one night. You can find me in the magazine aisle with Rolos and PB cereal in my cart.
***And all the rest of you lovely, new wonderful writer friends and my awesome sis – thank you for all the support and kind words and for stopping by to support Leigh and me!
Joanna – I’m not writing picture books, yet. I have another list of ideas for books I want to write and a few half completed manuscripts for picture books but nothing truly finished. But one day!
S.P. you are invited for sure! Anyone that wants to mosey into my side of the country is more than welcome!
Nick – dithering is what I was really great at for years. But no more like you said. Reformed ditherers unite!
Peggy – Is it too braggy to say I have some made linen closet skills? One of these days I’ll trade you closet help for some of those cookies that keep popping up at your blog.
Jenny – only 5 hours means we’re pretty much meant to be writing bffs, right? One of these days we shall have to meet!
Lara – we small town gals have to stick together. And hang out at Walmart late one night. You can find me in the magazine aisle with Rolos and PB cereal in my cart.
***And all the rest of you lovely, new wonderful writer friends and my awesome sis – thank you for all the support and kind words and for stopping by to support Leigh and me!
NIce to meet you, Leslie. Great name by the way. Your book sounds delish. I've met some awesome peeps at conferences.
Aww, I loved reading this and getting to know Leslie better. I'm sorry that I missed out on meeting you in person at the conference (I'm sure I saw you in passing) but I'm so glad we have "met" on the internet. I'm excited to read your book!
Oh, I love your quote. That is such a good reminder. I think I'll tape it to my fridge. And these questions are outstanding, Leigh.
Leslie's awesome. It was so fun to sit with her at dinner before Storymaker.
Good choice on author dinner guests. Can I come?
Great interview! Your small town sounds like my kind of place, since I still dream about someday living in a small, out of the way place and having my own small or mid-sized hobby farm, without big city distractions. Your town seems like a metropolis in comparison to some of the tiny towns in the area I used to live in in Southwestern Pennsylvania. I think the smallest is Peanut, which you basically see the sign for, drive into, and almost immediately drive out of!
Great interview--I love the premise of her story. It sounds like I would read :)
Fabulous interview! Leslie, your WIP sounds amazing! Good luck with it.
Leigh, nice to meet you. I found you by way of Leslie. Fun the way the bloggy universe works, right? : )
Love this interview, Leslie and Leigh.
Leslie, that quote really packs a punch: "No other success can compensate for failure in the home."
Thanks.
What a fun interview! Will definitely give her a follow!!
:)
Wonderful interview as usual Leigh :) And Leslie, I'm a cereal addict as well! Love most kinds, but I leave the Captain Crunch for my kids and my husband--the Peanut Butter one is his favorite too!
Great interview ladies. I enjoyed learning about Leslie. Would love to see some of her illustrations. But it sounds like she's focused mostly on writing MG. Cool.
Sorry, I'm late to the game. Have been on vacation for two weeks and am trying to catch up.
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