Was Aspen Anders the military brat who was lonely from so many moves that she had her own two friends, an imaginary pair named Beeton and Batton, who came to dinner and sat with her on the porch at night to watch the sun set every evening until darkness and stars took over the night skies?
Is she the little girl who played in the salty water at the tide gate at Willanch Slough surrounded by harmless sharks and fish during an era when most children were kept indoors because of the fear of polio?
Did she scare the bejesus out of her teachers during field trips when she took her own side trips to climb over and under fences to visit huge longhorn bulls who did not particularly like the swinging skirts of little girls and also to wade in waters that became roaring waterfalls within a matter of only a few yards?
Was she the young woman infuriated by a group of hoodlums she found intimidating a girl on crutches in a New York subway and who not only rescued her but convinced her to testify in court and, between the two of them, the hoodlums were brought to justice?
If you really want to know, I suggest you find her yourself. She could be taking lessons in Zen or Yoga from the Masters in Nepal, or lying on her back in Central Park watching cloud formations and butterflies. Perhaps she is teaching babies to swim, or emptying bedpans in nursing homes.
She likes to read, contemporary to classics. Mark Twain is a personal favorite. Look for her in Hannibal, MO…she owns a place there and loves the leaves changing. She has a place to watch the fruit trees bloom in Hood River, Oregon, and heads to Kona for every storm. If you are an avid reader, she might, just might, remind you of someone else.
In the meantime, how do I know so much about her? Well, I am Aspen Anders.
Q: How many books have you written?
A: Well, honestly, this is my first published novel. My bottom drawer has several in all stages of completion, from just begun to missing only a re-write. I am simply not happy with them and liking my books is very important to me. After all, if I don't like them, how can I expect my readers to?
Q: Favorite books?
A: None better than Gone with the Wind. That lady did more with a pencil and pile of paper than anyone since. The child in me has loved every Harry Potter book and movie as well. And Shakespeare…even if no one admits anymore to reading him.
Q: Do you watch TV often?
A: Actually not. I loved every minute of Lost and never missed an episode. I wish I had written it. Also I admit to enjoying Survivor, not so much for the drama, but for the humor of the contestants. Sometimes I wonder how any group of people can be so inane. No offense meant. I loved a few of them (Rupert of the tie-dye shirt and most recently Ozzie and Colby the gentleman).
Q: What do you do for entertainment?
A: Besides reading, I like to walk. We travel every summer and I try to write then too, but there is always too much to see and do that takes precedence over all else. Sometimes we Workkamp and that has taught us that Wisconsin does have incredible cheeses, Oklahoma has snakes, snakes, snakes and fishing forever, Oregon's coast is beauty beyond belief, Florida’s winters make it one of the best places to live in the US, and Utah is a rainbow on earth. I could go on and on about every state, but it is more fun to discover it all on your own.
Q: Do you have a bucket list?
A: Oh, most certainly, and the Taj Mahal is on the top of it. Great Wall of China. Cruise the Amazon River. Yes, sightseeing is my intimate hobby. So, if enough of you wonderful people buy my books, maybe…just maybe I can do one or two of these things.
Q: Future plans?
A: I would like to take a Caribbean Cruise. I am working on a second novel…Orchid Island, full of beautiful people, exotic and erotic places, and maybe some murder and mayhem tossed in for the icing on the cake. How does that sound?
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