From The Booking Desk:
Aubrey Hamilton and I met because of Malice Domestic. As regular attendees of that annual convention, among others, we chatting and talked often. Since then we have gotten together outside of the convention setting, gone scouring in used bookstores, and connect on social media. I see Aubrey at the local Chessie Chapter of Sisters in Crime meetings, local book/author events, and of course, the aforementioned conventions. I am always impressed with Aubrey dedication to our genre and her help getting our favorite authors – and myself – in touch with local libraries so that we can host events. Let’s see how Aubrey tackles our weekly questionnaire.
Name: Aubrey Hamilton
Location: Virginia
This person from my personal life is such an inspiration:
I have been fortunate enough to be able to trace several generations of my ancestors back into the 1700s. When I look at the historical events that served as the backdrop of their lives and the hard physical labor that was required to earn a living and the conditions under which they raised a family, I am always in awe. No email! No grocery stores! No antibiotics! Somehow after thinking about all that, whining about heavy traffic seems really irrelevant.
One of the people I admire most in the crime fiction community is:
Lesa Holstine, who used her job as a librarian to create a popular and successful blog and reviewing forum. Public libraries are poorly funded and the staff never knows how long they will be able to stay employed. This is the main reason I moved on to less complicated ways of getting a paycheck. But Lesa displayed far more perseverance than I did and along the way started reviewing books to entertain herself. Her achievements have grown significantly and now she reviews for the Library Journal and the Mystery Readers Journal. While in Arizona she partnered with Poison Pen Bookstore to bring a steady stream of authors to area. It is an honor to call her friend.
STALKER ALERT! If this fictional character were real, they would likely need to get a restraining order against me:
Interesting question! The reality of course is that I am far too indolent to stalk anyone. However, I am deeply impressed by the badassery of Victoria Trumbull, the 92-year-old resident of Martha’s Vineyard, who displays some of the infirmities expected of that age but who writes poetry, teaches college classes, and solves murders anyway in the long-running series by Cynthia Riggs.
Lena Jones from the Desert series by Betty Webb is also a character that I admire, although from afar, as I expect she would be a challenging friend. Lena has compartmentalized her traumatic childhood such that she is able to set aside her own personal demons to use her considerable intelligence to help other people in trouble, sometimes a lot of trouble.
People are always surprised that I am a fan of this individual (singer, actor, or artist):
??????????????? I will have to pass on this one.
My personal catch phrase is (or should be):
“Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky,
My pile of books is a mile high.
How I love them! How I need them!
I’ll have a long beard by the time I read them.”
— Arnold Lobel (May 22, 1933 – December 4, 1987)
It’s so great to see Aubrey here! She does so much for the Chessie Chapter of Sisters in Crime. She is one hard worker. I loved reading more about her!
Thanks for stopping by – as always – Sherry.
It was fun reading more about you, Aubrey. Thanks for all you do for SINC and mystery readers and writers.
Thanks for stopping by Grace.
Lovely interview and especially great quote. I’ll be long dead before I could get through all my unread books!
I think that is the case for all of us, Barb. Certainly worse problems to have. Thanks for visiting.
Such a fun interview—and I love that Arnold Lobel quote too!
It is a good one! Thanks for stopping by.
Great interview, Aubrey and Kristopher. I love your catch phrase and thanks for the author suggestions, Aubrey.
Thanks for stopping by Maya.
Aubrey has done so much to get local writers into libraries and book festivals. She is innovative and seemingly tireless and just plain fun to be with!
Completely agree, Sujata.
How nice to see the spotlight on you, Aubrey – I’m in awe when I see (from afar) all the events you set up for the Chessie Chapter. It’s not easy to wrangle librarians.
And what a treat to see that Arnold Lobel quote!
Thanks for stopping by, Shari.
Awesome interview and wonderful woman!!!
Thanks Jessie, I agree.
I love Victoria Trumbull too!