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Author Revealed

Molly Harper
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Molly Harper

Molly Harper is the author of eight novels, including The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires and Nice Girls Don’t Bite Their Neighbors. She worked for six years as a reporter and humor columnist for The Paducah Sun, covering courts, school board... Read full bio

Author Revealed:
Q. What is your motto or maxim?
A. If you're normal, the crowd will accept you. If you're DERANGED, they'll make you their leader. - Christopher Titus
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Molly Harper: A Self Portrait
Molly Harper Revealed
About Molly Harper
  • What is your birthdate?:
    8/13
  • Previous occupations:
    Newspaper reporter, church secretary.
  • Favorite job:
    I loved newspaper reporting. I loved meeting new people and never knowing where I would end up by the end of the day. But it was also the hardest thing I've ever done. A good portion of your stories involve meeting people at the worst times of their lives, deaths, fires, accidents, storms. But seeing my work every morning when I opened the paper made it worth it. But I left to provide a more a stable schedule for my family and I haven't regretted it. If I was still working for paper, I wouldn't have had the time or energy to write the NICE GIRLS books.
  • High school and/or college:
    Lone Oak High School and Western Kentucky University.
  • Name of your favorite composer or music artist?:
    I'm a huge Queen fan. For the classics, I like Tchaikovsky, mostly his ballet pieces.
  • Favorite movie:
    It depends on the day. Right now, my current favorite is a hilarious, profane British comedy, Death at a Funeral.
  • Favorite television show:
    Currently on TV? The Office. Of all time? Probably Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Revealing Questions
Q. How would you describe your life in only 8 words?
A. One woman, too much snark for one soul.
Q. What is your motto or maxim?
A. If you're normal, the crowd will accept you. If you're DERANGED, they'll make you their leader. - Christopher Titus
Q. How would you describe perfect happiness?
A. I don't think there's such a thing as perfect happiness. There's having what you want and wanting what you have.
Q. What’s your greatest fear?
A. Sharks. Clowns. Sharks dressed as clowns.
Q. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
A. Punta Cana, Domincan Republic. Probably the most beautiful place I've ever been.
Q. What are your most overused words or phrases?
A. "Dang it." It applies to a lot of situations in my life. There are also some more colorful word choices, but I don't want to get banned from the Simon and Schuster site.
Q. What do you regret most?
A. Wasting so much of my time before I had kids. I seriously just laid around the house, accomplishing nothing. Now that I know how much I can get done in a day, I think of all the books I could have written, the projects I could have completed, and kick myself.
Q. If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?
A. Singing. My voice is just embarrassing.
Q. What is your greatest achievement?
A. Would it be wrong to say, becoming a published author?
Q. What’s your greatest flaw?
A. I have a quick temper and bad brain-to-mouth filter, it can lead to social awkwardness and hurt feelings.
Q. What’s your best quality?
A. When someone is down, I will do my absolute best to cheer them up. And if I can't do that, I will humiliate myself in some fashion to make them feel better by comparison.
Q. What trait is most noticeable about you?
A. A weird sense of humor, which seems to emerge at really inappropriate times.
Q. Who is your favorite fictional hero?
A. My favorite lists always make me look a little scatterbrained. Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth Bennet, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Superman, Jane Eyre, Jacob Black, and on and on.
Q. Who is your favorite fictional villain?
A. Lex Luthor, hands down the most awesome criminal genius ever put to paper.
Q. If you could meet any historical character, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?
A. I would really like to meet Shakespeare or Jane Austen. They've created some of the most enduring characters in literature. I think I would just ask them endless questions to try to figure out how their minds worked. Or there's always the standard: Get history's worst dictators and war criminals in one room, kick them in sensitive areas and when they're down on the ground, crying, "Why?" yell, 'You KNOW WHY." And then run away.
Q. What is your biggest pet peeve?
A. People who answer their cell phones in the bathroom. Or at funerals. I was at a funeral once where the nephew of the deceased kept his Bluetooth in his ear for the entire service. SERIOUSLY!? You're expecting a call that could be more important than mourning and burying a loved one?
Q. What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing?
A. I like to cook, but I don't necessarily do it well. I'm a pretty good baker and have some skill as a cake decorator.
Q. What’s your fantasy profession?
A. Author. Or, if that's unavailable, cowboy.
Q. What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
A. A loving heart, a quick smile, a definite sense of right and wrong.
Q. If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?
A. Eventually, even I would get sick of Godiva truffles. So I'm going to go with chicken pot pie. It's the perfect food.
Q. What are your 5 favorite songs?
A. Just the Way You Look Tonight, Apologize, Sway, Sympathy for the Devil, The Beginning is the End is the Beginning
On Books and Writing
Q. Who are your favorite authors?
A. It's sort of a mixed bag, Jane Austen, Stephen King, Nora Roberts, Olivia Goldsmith, Anne Rule.
Q. What are your 5 favorite books of all time?
A. Pride and Prejudice, The Stand, The Three Sisters Trilogy, The Bestseller, Bridget Jones' Diary.
Q. Is there a book you love to reread?
A. The Stand, I have to read it once every year. It's such a chilling, approachable, sweeping piece of storytelling. The best stories are about ordinary people doing strange, amazing things. Every time I read it, I find something new in the story.
Q. Do you have one sentence of advice for new writers?
A. Writers write.
Q. What comment do you hear most often from your readers?
A. Your writing sounds just like you talking! Which I take as a compliment.