Stuff
Karen Quinn Revealed
About Karen Quinn
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What is your birthdate?:12/11
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Previous occupations:lawyer, educational consultant, marketing executive
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Favorite job:VP of global marketing training for American Express - lots of great travel and I could hire any brilliant expert to teach me (and my co-workers) anything!
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High school and/or college:Alamo Heights HS, McCallum HS, Anderson HS, University of Colorado, Denver University Law School
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Name of your favorite composer or music artist?:Joni Mitchell
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Favorite movie:Roman Holiday, Sabrina, Charade, Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail (I can't pick one)
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Favorite television show:Sesame Street
Revealing Questions
- Q. How would you describe your life in only 8 words?
- A. Adorable, Sassy, Fun, sleep-deprived Bestselling Authoress
- Q. What is your motto or maxim?
- A. What seems like life’s worst disasters usually offer its greatest gifts. It is only through time that you can see the perfection in the stinky pile of crap the universe throws your way.
- Q. How would you describe perfect happiness?
- A. I find perfect happiness in many different places, all of them small...
- Chatting away with my husband and children at dinner
- Seeing my dogs, Olive and Bronco, first thing in the morning when they are so thrilled to see me
- Drinking a glass of my favorite wine
- The end of a hard workout
- Looking out my window at the beach below
- Hearing my mothers voice on the telephone
- Reading someone's thought provoking blog post
- Seeing something I've created brought to life
- Talking to a child
- I could go on and on but I think I'd bore you. It takes very little to make me happy, and it is the little things that bring me perfect happiness.
- Reading a great book - Q. What’s your greatest fear?
- A. Getting sidelined by some terrible disease and not being able to finish what I started.
- Q. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
- A. New York City
- Q. With whom in history do you most identify?
- A. My grandmother because she was so talented and worked her butt off, but she had a mean streak so I don't identify with her in that way.
- Q. Which living person do you most admire?
- A. Nora Ephron - she's such a talented comedy writer
- Q. What are your most overused words or phrases?
- A. Apparently I say "ahhh" a lot when I'm filming videos
- Q. What do you regret most?
- A. That I eat too much whenever I'm in creation mode which forces me to go on a big diet every time I accomplish something worthwhile
- Q. If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?
- A. Eating healthy. I have a movie star friend who eats so healthy. I don't envy her talent, beauty or fame. I envy that she genuinely loves salad.
- Q. What is your greatest achievement?
- A. Bringing up two children - that's the hardest job I ever had. I'm so proud of my kids and I adore them, but I could never do it again. Who are these men who have second families? You notice you never seeing women doing that that, do you?
- Q. What’s your greatest flaw?
- A. That would have to be my complete and utter devotion to sugar, animal fat, and white bread
- Q. What’s your best quality?
- A. My sense of humor
- Q. If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?
- A. Now why would anyone want to be a thing? What, a beautiful dress someone sweats in? Does anyone ever choose to be a thing here?
- Q. What trait is most noticeable about you?
- A. I'm short and adorable. Always have been, always will be.
- Q. Who is your favorite fictional hero?
- A. Molly Brown - I like the idea of her unsinkableness
- Q. Who is your favorite fictional villain?
- A. The Wicked Witch of the West
- Q. If you could meet any historical character, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?
- A. I'd like to meet Christa McAuliffe. I think it's great that she was so brave and that she wanted to be the first teacher in space. But I'd tell her to pass on the opportunity.
- Q. What is your biggest pet peeve?
- A. People who drive while talking on the phone or texting
- Q. What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing?
- A. Painting pictures
- Q. What’s your fantasy profession?
- A. Artist
- Q. What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
- A. honesty, humor, warmth
- Q. If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?
- A. toll house chocolate chip cookies
- Q. What are your 5 favorite songs?
- A. Over the Rainbow, Still The One (Orleans), Coat of Many Colors, Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain, Both Sides Now
On Books and Writing
- Q. Who are your favorite authors?
- A. Nora Ephron
Ken Follett
Amanda Filipacchi
Wendy Wasserstein
Jack Finney - Q. What are your 5 favorite books of all time?
- A. Time and Again
The Pillars of the Earth
Gone With the Wind
I Feel Bad About My Neck
Love Creeps - Q. Is there a book you love to reread?
- A. Time and Again
- Q. Do you have one sentence of advice for new writers?
- A. Just start to write and keep at it every day. Begin with a subject you know and love. It makes it easier.
- Q. What comment do you hear most often from your readers?
- A. Your books make me laugh out loud. No, really, they do.
- Q. How did you come to write Holly Would Dream?
- A. I wanted to combine three things I loved into a modern day fairy tale - fashion history, old movies, and travel. Holly Would Dream is about fashion historian, Holly Ross. More than anything, she wishes her life was like an Audrey Hepburn movie. After a series of events, she finds herself on a luxurious Mediterranean cruise romancing her own Cary Grant while tracking down a trunk full of stolen priceless Hepburn gowns. Writing Holly Would Dream was a labor of love.
