Welcome to my worlds…
For those of you who want to know more about moi?
The rambling version:
Since navel gazing drives me to distraction, I dipped into questions from other sources going for silly, yet honest. To exclude bias, I printed out likely choices, folded each into intricate origami, then randomly picked 19—not. In fact I do like prime numbers and disdain surveys composed of multiples of 5. Welcome to my world.
If you were an animal, what kind would you be?
Since myth and legend figure hugely in my perceptions—and world building’s my game—a chimeric critter suits me best, say, Pegasus combined with cheetah.
If you were a tree, what kind would you be?
I tend toward ponderosa pine combined with redwoods, majestic and lasting with yummy scents of vanilla and resins. Also this hybrid might be more adaptable and resistant to beetles.
If you were a Star Trek® character, who would it be?
Three parts Captain Kathryn Janeway, one part Seven of Nine.
What’s your favorite color?
My preferred hues range along the blue spectrum, shading from green to purple. Electric blue’s my go-to color, especially accessorized with lapis lazuli in gold settings. Thank you, Istanbul.
Why are manhole covers round?
So many reasons: a square requires more accuracy to replace, round has fewer nonhuman angles and won’t fall through the hole, plus as floods recede you can toss round ones to skim along the water…if you have arms like the Hulk.
What’s your favorite drink?
Hibiscus tea in Egypt and Morocco, lime juice and iced white coffee in Malaysia and Singapore. For celebrations I choose Canadian Silver Sage Winery’s Sunset, a rich raspberry and cranberry rosé blend.
What would I find in your refrigerator right now?
Fresh vegetables batch-processed into ready-to-eat salad bowls along with seasonal fresh fruits. Just finished cherry and watermelon seasons, then crossed into the realm of honey crisp apples, pears, and cantaloupes. Unsweetened soy, almond and coconut milks (really, milk?) fill that shelf alongside plain Greek yogurt by the quart with fun condiments like mango peach salsa, Italian dressing, cherry preserves, hummus and Dijon mustard. Protein choices include hardboiled eggs, roasted chicken and turkey breasts, smoked salmon and low fat sharp cheddar.
What’re the last books you read?
Finished my library loans of Welch’s WINTER IN THE BLOOD, Harbach’s THE ART OF FIELDING, and Harkness’ THE BOOK OF LIFE. I’m gleefully eyeing my series cubbyhole with Sagara’s CHRONICLES OF ELANTRA and Ward’s BLACK DAGGER BROTHERHOOD. Nearly daily I dive into poetry like Oliver’s DOG SONGS and Ono no Komachi’s THE INK DARK MOON, as translated by Jane Hirshfield.
What was the last favorite movie you went to see?
Because of where I live, I haven’t gone to a theater for years. The last enthralling theater movie was AVATAR. My choice of cable series right now is THE OUTLANDER, adapted from Diana Gabaldon’s series. Preferred movie series? LORD OF THE RINGS, which resides on my DVD shelf in Blu-Ray for periodic bliss. Hello, Aragorn.
If aliens landed and in exchange for anything you desire, offered you any positions on their planet, what would you want?
Final arbiter for resource use, wealth distribution and social justice. Oh, and official dark chocolate taster.
If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to play the lead role?
Either Helen Mirren or Meryl Streep, since both are thinking women’s actors. Plus friends have compared my appearance to both of these amazing women at different times—often after a glass or two of wine.
If you were a car, what kind would you be?
Audi R10 TDI Racer for its great engineering, biofuel use, elegance, and speed.
You’re a new addition to the crayon box, what color would you be?
Visualize me as crayons with swirls of complementary colors like lime with raspberry, teal with coral, and plum with lemony yellow.
Have you ever been on a boat?
Many. I used to row a dory along Puget Sound to fish for cod, flounder and halibut, then tested Naval systems and equipment. In that field, surface vessels like aircraft carriers and landing craft equate with “ships” and submarines with “boats”. And yes, I even got seasick on city-sized carriers—transdermal patches got me through sea trials.
Say you lived in that fabulous house in Tuscany, with untold wealth, a gorgeous, adoring mate, and a full staff of servants…then what?
Don’t judge me, but I already feel that I do—and the idea of servants creep me out. Although a great chef preparing my meals? Okay, I’d go for that.
What’s in your zombie bag?
This refers to a bug-out bag, but post-apocalyptic gear’s more fun. So, in that bag: kukri knife, wind/waterproof firestarter kit, machete and sharpening stone, gas mask, Surviving the Zombie Outbreak Field Manual, tomahawk, 1st aid kit, paracord, lock picks, MRE’s (meals ready-to-eat), hammock, surgical field set, water filtration device and hydration pack.
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?
At my most recent alma mater, they offered an annual insect banquet. Ingredients for mushroom risotto: ½ pound wild mushrooms, garlic, butter, thyme, 12 grasshoppers with legs and wings removed, and 2/3 cup of buffalo worms, salt and pepper to taste. Beyond grilled camel ribs in Egypt and pigeon pie in Morocco, here’re a few more: Greece’s ahinosalata, sea urchin salad; Turkey’s kokoreç, fried sheep intestines; Malaysia’s century eggs nestled amid prepared offal like pig brains and intestines, sheep’s stomach, and paru (goat lungs).
Which letter of the alphabet describes you best?
M due to its voluptuous symmetry, because I’m “‘all about the bass, ’bout the bass, no treble’.”
Which body part would you choose to get tattooed?
Not a body part actually, but places where scars accumulate: formerly scraped knees, post-pregnancy stretch marks, and sun-damaged skin. Then I learned that ink doesn’t do well on scar tissue.
Bonus info: These contests and publications discovered something of value in my work:
♥ Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards (ABNA),
♥ Next Generation Indie Awards,
♥ Pacific Northwest Writers Awards—twice,
♥ Writers’ Weekend, and
♥ New Rivers Press.
Janine Donoho 