Story title: "The Race."
1. How did you hear about Blood Is Thicker, and what convinced you to spend days (weeks? months?) crafting a story about the attempted murder of a character by a member of their family on leap day?
I first read about the anthology on the Facebook page of Adrienne Kerr. She’d edited a novel for me and I have enormous respect for her, so I jumped on the opportunity. My inspiration came from my large family where five of us were teenagers at the same time. Once, in a fit of temper inspired by raging hormones, I threw a pot at my sister’s head. Fortunately, she ducked. In spite of that, we were very close.
2. What was the writing process like? Did your story come out with a bang, or did you struggle to make something of the premise?
I couldn’t imagine plotting a family member’s demise. I answered the challenge by having my protagonist’s immediate family be very loving and the extended family dangerously competitive.
3. How long have you been writing, and what are some of your writing goals and/or successes so far?
I’ve been writing for eighteen years. I’ve got eight novels under my belt, have self-published two and I’m currently querying the third. The blessing of the nanowrimo.org challenge is that I write a first draft every year. The curse of it is, I don’t always follow through with the editing process.
4. What’s your favourite line or passage in your submission, and why?
"It’s been four years since we stumbled across the Leap Year finish line, completely wet, shaking with cold and fatigue, and barely making it in time."
This sentence is in the second paragraph, and hints at what’s to come. Without spelling it out, I think it gives just enough away.
5. What’s your writing routine?
I like to write in the morning when my brain feels the most engaged. I read when I’m taking a break, because other authors inspire me without influencing my work, but TV turns my brain to mush.
6. What do you do for a living (or if you’re retired, what did you do), and what do you do for fun?
I retired from my online and wholesale business selling a baby carrier I designed and patented, called the BabyTrekker. Now I’m writing exclusively.
7. If you could have a lunch date with any person living or dead, who would it be and why?
Author David Sedaris, but he’d have to bring his partner, Hugh. I own every one of his books because I can’t write if I’m feeling down. He’ll have me laughing after just a couple pages.
8. What’s a favourite book that you’ve read in the past five years? Notice we didn’t ask you to name your ultimate favourite. We’re not monsters!
I recently read Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace. Every word sings, and the book was impossible to put down. I also loved the Red Rising trilogy by Pierce Brown.
9. What else should readers know about you?
The best cure for a bad day is sharing all the details of it with the world in an online blog at judithpettersen.com. It also allows me to celebrate my small-town life.