Lori Rohda
Author Interview - Lori Rohda
Author I draw inspiration from: Maeve Binchy and Louise Penny. The first time I read Evening Class by Maeve Binchy I was transported to an Irish world of delightful, unforgettable characters and couldn’t stop until I’d read all her books. Her death was a loss.
Louise Penny’s crime fiction series with Chief Inspector Armand Gamache as its central character is equally masterful. Despite the unanticipated twists and turns of every crime investigation, which challenge the Inspector as well as the reader, the tiny, magical village of Three Pines, Gamache’s sanctuary, is inhabited by a collection of equally quirky, secretive residents, each wounded by some past event.
Both women are master storytellers who, with warmth and humor and an amazingly deep understanding of human behavior, weave the lives of their multiple, disparate, and diabolical characters into complex, colourful, tapestries that you can't put down. As a psychologist, I appreciate those skills.
Author Interview - Lori Rohda
Favorite place to read a book: Depends on the season. In winter, wrapped in an embarrassingly old red comforter, sitting in my recliner next to our stone fireplace which is almost always lit. In summer, with a mug of iced coffee in hand, sitting under a huge, yellow umbrella on the upper deck, overlooking a silent mountain range as old as the planet.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with: Chief Inspector Gamache. He's incredibly street-smart, soft- spoken, and powerful man who eschews the limelight. He’s kind and generous both with his time and his praise. But his understanding of the roots of deviant behavior and the criminal psyche is unsurpassed, which is why he’s so successful. All this and he’s a gourmand as well!
Author Interview - Lori Rohda
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author: I can't recall such a moment. I simply started to write a story to remember and honor the incredible woman who raised me. I don’t know exactly how, but more than once, her story seemed to pull me in an unanticipated direction because sometimes something happens – you meet someone, you learn something – and your life can never be the same again because truth doesn’t always set you free.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook: I’ve been around books all my life and I love the feel of them in my hands – doesn’t matter if they are hardback or paperback. Because I used to travel a lot for work, books-on-tape were perfect although I had to remember to pack a tape recorder but now, with a kindle, I can carry a dozen books and fit them all in a small purse. For me, every book, regardless of its form, is a chance to hear a wonderful new story or to be carried away on an incredible adventure. I have to admit, though, the smell and feel of a new hardbound book in my hand…wow!
The last book I read: The Choice: Embrace the Possible by Dr. Edith Eger. As an Auschwitz’s survivor, pulled from a heap of dead bodies minutes after the camp was liberated, she reminds us again and again what courage is and how healing is a choice.
Author Interview - Lori Rohda
Pen & paper or computer: Usually, I prefer using the computer because it’s faster and I can erase, edit or spell check quickly as I go. But when I’m stuck, I grab a small notebook and pencil and head out to somewhere in nature. Sometimes, I take the gondola to the top of the mountain, buy a vanilla latte in the café, find a chair on the patio away from everyone and just stare at the incredible beauty all around me. Regardless of whether or not I finally come up with an idea, I always leave feeling grateful to be living in such grandeur.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with: Nora O’Donoghue - the patient and courageous school teacher who teaches Italian to a difficult bunch of Irish school kids.
Author Interview - Lori Rohda
If I wasn’t an author, I’d be a: Sommelier
Favorite decade in fashion history: Definitely, women’s evening fashion before WWI. The designs were so intricate and the fabrics so exquisite: seductively draped silks the color of jewels, with glamorous beading, rhinestones or sequins. Impractical but gorgeous!
During the war, women worked, many for the first time, in factories, in the military and even flying planes and, as a result, they needed clothing that would support them in those activities.
After the war, women were not eager to return to their homes. The demand for practical, more comfortable but still stylish clothing increased. Waistlines dropped, hemlines rose and corsets and bustles became obsolete. Ah, the freedom!
Place I’d most like to travel: The island of Santorini.
My signature drink: Southern Comfort Manhattan on the rocks
Favorite artist: K. C. Smith
Number one on my bucket list: It’s a tie! Learn Tai Chi and try paddle boarding.
Author Bio: The author is a Psychologist, a former Assistant Dean of Students at Boston University and a Management Consultant to Fortune 500 companies. Since retiring, she divides her time between Boston, Massachusetts and Whistler, British Columbia. Loves skiing, hiking, landscape design, reading and traveling. Her debut novel, The Mill of Lost Dreams, publishes August 11th from She Writes Press.
Author Interview - Lori Rohda
