Elizabeth Chats With…Anne Cater
I first came across this week’s guest through her wonderful Facebook group, Book Connectors. Currently composed of nearly 5000 members, it’s a place where authors and bloggers can connect, and talk about the thing we all love: books. She runs the group with a velvet glove, within which one suspects might be a hand of iron if needed, and it’s a great place to hang out. From there, I discovered her fittingly-named website: Random Things Through My Letterbox. Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of meeting her in the flesh when she talked about blog tours at the Self-Publishing Conference in Leicester. I’m delighted to be hosting Anne Cater to my own blog today.
Good morning, Anne and welcome. Let’s start back in your childhood. What is your earliest memory – and how old were you at the time?
This is something that I’ve never even thought about before! I think it’s probably the day that my Mum brought my new baby brother home from the hospital. I was 4 years old and he is now 48! In those days women stayed in hospital after the birth and Mum had been away for well over a week. I’d been staying with my Nana, around the corner and remember getting home from nursery school, and there was Mum, and a new brother!
What was your favourite subject at school – and which was the lesson you always wanted to avoid.
I’ve always loved English. I loved writing stories at Primary School and enjoyed learning about our language at secondary school. English Language and English Literature were two separate subjects in those days.
Apart from PE and any sports, which I hated and always did my best to avoid, I detested Maths. I hated it, didn’t understand it at all.
If you had to escape from a fire, what three things would you take with you?
Well, assuming that my husband is OK, it would be my cat, my Filofax and my purse
Talking about yourself, how would you finish the sentence “not a lot of people know ….
…that I have only 9 inches of small intestine. My bowel died inside me and developed gangrene when I was 22. I spent over a week on life-support.
Where is your favourite place on earth – and why?
My home is where my heart is. It’s not big, or fancy, but it’s where I’m safe and happy. My husband is there, my cat is there and my books are there!
How do you relax?
I do a Yoga class once per week and I love it. It is the only thing that relaxes me, other than a holiday abroad.
I also enjoy Social Media; I’ve made loads of friends online and it’s good to catch up with them.
Book Connectors; a Facebook group for authors and bloggers is a place that I created some years ago. There’s always someone there to chat to.
If you knew you only had 24 hours left, how would you spend them?
With my family, eating fish and chips … I’d probably smoke a whole packet of cigarettes too.
What is an average day like for you?
I work 16 hours per week at our local Hospice, so leave the house at 7.45am Monday to Thursday, but I’m home again at just after 12 noon. After a quick lunch, I make a start on my Blog Tour Organising – I’m self-employed freelance; organising Blog Tours for publishers and authors. I often work until midnight, but will break off to cook a meal in the evening. Some evenings I finish early and will read or watch TV – I’m a huge fan of The Handmaid’s Tale and Masterchef!
Weekends are different though, and whilst I do usually do a few hours work, we tend to plan to do something at the weekend, even if it’s only going for lunch at a local garden centre.
Anne, thank you for finding time in your busy schedule to chat to me. Readers, you can find out more about Anne and what she gets up to on her blog; via her own Facebook page; on Twitter; or on Instagram. If you are an author or a blogger, do check out Book Connectors on Facebook too.
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