… Georgia Beers

1. What’s the time of the day when you feel most like yourself?

I am definitely a morning person. I wake up pretty early. I write best first thing, so I’d say I probably feel most like myself in the morning. But I like the whole day! All the parts!

2. What’s your coffee order? 

I guess I just have to say it. I don’t like coffee. I want to like it. I try to like it. (And I should get points for both those things…) But I do not like it. Here’s the only way I can drink coffee: with lots and lots of milk and lots and lots of sugar. Creamy and sweet, like dessert, that’s the only way I can drink it. I think it’s a bitterness thing, because I don’t like beer either. I drink tea in the morning. Please don’t hate me.

3. How would you describe yourself in three words?

Introverted, funny, tenderhearted.

4. What do you think of garden gnomes?

Is this a trick question of some sort? Will I be judged by my answer by the society of gnome lovers or something? I think they’re kind of creepy, if I’m being honest. I feel like they probably come alive at night and wreak havoc on the neighborhood and then dogs and children get blamed for their destruction…

5. What’s the most ridiculous piece of advice you’ve ever received and why did it work for you? 

Probably that, when you’re stuck on your story, make a list of ten things that could possibly happen next. They can be totally ridiculous. You can say a giant sinkhole opens and swallows the neighborhood. You can say aliens land and kidnap your main character. Whatever. But damn if, in that list of ten things, I don’t always hit on something that works. It’s crazy, but I’ve used it more than once.

6. What makes you smile?

Oh, soooo many things! Animals. I love cute animal videos. I love when my dog or cat does something adorable. Kindness. Any act of kindness makes me smile because lately, it feels like there’s so little of it. Watching my grandbaby get bigger every day. Something as simple as her kicking her little 6-month old legs in the bathtub can keep me grinning for hours. Really great food. Just tasting something delicious makes me so happy to be alive.

7. Do you believe in soulmates?

I used to. Is that sad? I don’t mean it to be. I do think there are soulmates for some people. But I do get to write about them and that’s pretty amazing.

8. What is the assumption people make about you often but that is completely wrong? 

That I’m shy. I think lots of people confuse being an introvert with being shy. I’m not shy at all, but I do prefer to be alone much of the time, and I think that’s where the assumption comes from. I can talk up a total stranger at the airport or a restaurant. I make friends easily. I enjoy speaking in front of people and I’m good at it. I’m not shy. But I am an introvert, and that simply means I need alone time to recharge after I’ve been around a lot of people or have been “on” for a long stretch of time.

9. What makes you cry?

Cruelty to animals. I follow way too many sanctuaries on Instagram and even when I know a video is going to have a happy ending, I still cry while watching. I can’t fathom the kind of lack of humanity it takes to be cruel and heartless to a living being that can’t defend itself against you. It breaks my heart.

10. What’s your best feature?

You mean, like, physically? Oh, I don’t know. I’m terrible at answering this kind of thing about myself. Let me think… I have decent legs, I guess… (now I’m shrugging and shaking my head)

11.  What’s your favorite drink?

Alcoholic drink? It’s a toss-up between a really well-made Old Fashioned, an extra, extra dirty Martini, and a glass of fabulous wine. Depends on my mood.

12. Who’d play you if Hollywood made a movie about your life?

I’ve been told Sandra Bullock, and I am totally okay with this casting!

13. In a crowded room, what makes you notice a woman?

Her overall aura, how she carries herself, her presence, her confidence, if that makes sense. Then, up close, I always look at hands. I have no idea why, but it’s the first thing I notice on any person. Smile and eyes are tied for third.

14. What's the most obscure thing you were/are into?

Well, I don't know if it can be considered obscure, but I have a supply of shower gels and lotions from Bath & Body Works that might have the people from the show Hoarders knocking on my door and offering me psychological help. I have no fewer than six different scents in my shower as I type this. And then my linen closet has probably 15-20 more bottles. Scent and smell are big deals for me; scent is definitely my strongest and most important sense, and I like to change up my scents with the seasons. So for the summer, it's been lighter, fruitier or more flowery scents. With fall approaching (my absolutely favorite season), I'll switch over to warmer, more comforting scents like Marshmallow Pumpkin Latte (one of my all-time favorites). Today, I used Cinnamon Donut Swirl. I tend to gravitate toward the scents that smell like food, I've noticed. So, yeah, I have a ridiculous supply. A friend was here recently and needed some ibuprofen, so I told her there was a bottle in the linen closet. I heard her open the door and go, "Oh my God." I think I might have a problem...

15. What is one memory you'd give anything to relive?

This question is so timely because I was *just* telling somebody this story recently and it warms my heart every time. Years ago, when my then-partner and I had just moved back to New York after living in another state for two years, we moved in with my grandma for six months. She was living alone in a big house and getting up there in years. She was all about us living with her and I was happy that she'd have us around in case she needed anything. My grandma was one of the most wonderful women I've ever known (this is likely why I tend to write strong relationships in my books between my characters and their grandparents). And she never had any pets of her own, she was always too busy, but she LOVED our Finley. For those who don't know, Finley was our miniature Australian shepherd and one of the great loves of my life. Anyway, one morning, I got ready for work and was coming down the stairs. The kitchen was just to the right of the stairway and as I approached, I heard my grandma say, "Do you want some toast?" I knew my partner was still upstairs and she could only be talking to Finley. And right there, my grandma proceeded to make Finley his very own slice of toast, BUTTER IT for him while he waited patiently, then sit down and feed it to him. She loved him so much and he loved her right back. They'd sit on the front porch together during the day on Grandma's glider and just watch the world go by, her hand in his fur, so I hope they're somewhere together now, keeping each other company. I'd give anything to come down those stairs again, just to hear her talking to him.

16. If you could have an evening-long conversation with one author, who would it be and what would you talk about?

Oh, that's an easy one for me. Ann Patchett. I adore everything about her writing. It's genius. She's the only author who makes me stop and read her work OUT LOUD because the way she strings a sentence together is magical. I wish I had half her writing talent. I've heard her speak more than once and I've met her a few times and she is just *fun*. In every way. She's supremely intelligent, but witty as hell, and every conversation I've had with her has been memorable and funny. I'd love to talk writing and dogs and life with her. She's been a writer her entire adult life. She's spent lots of time in Provincetown. She loves her dog with her whole heart. I don't think we'd have any trouble keeping the conversation going.

17. Gloves or mittens?

Mittens.

18. What’s in your fridge right now?

Lots and lots of veggies. I’m plant-based, so there’s lettuce and kale and peppers and cucumbers and celery and tofu, soy milk, Archie’s dog food, strawberries, and also a bottle of champagne I need to pop because I just turned in a book.

19. If you could choose one song to be played every time you enter a room, what song would that be and why? 

I am so used to people singing “Georgia on my Mind” to me, that I’d kind of expect it if we all had theme songs. The version by Ray Charles is my favorite.

20. What’s the one book you read that you wish you’d have written?

I have two.

I'm going to use Ann Patchett again because she's incredible. The Magician's Assistant was the first book of hers I read and it still tracks as one of my all-time favorites. As I said in an earlier question, she’s the only author who makes me stop while reading her work and read it out loud to somebody else, just to be able to share the way she constructs a sentence, the way she strings words together in the most vivid, poetic way. Her writing makes me swoon and I wish I'd written The Magician's Assistant.

Second, And Playing the Role of Herself by KE Lane. That book is a master class in how to write chemistry between your leads (I was actually struggling with writing chemistry once and I went back and reread that book, just to experience that chemistry again). Any time I sit on a panel and the panelists (or, hell, even the audience) are asked about a memorable sapphic book, that one is inevitably brought by somebody. I feel like it stayed with a lot of people and I’d love to write a book with that kind of staying power.

Georgia Beers’ latest release, Cherry On Top, can be found here: https://mybook.to/GeorgiaBeersCherry