Make sure you drop by Carol’s site to find out more about her and her and to read the first chapter of her books, Manderly Prep and Rich Girl.

1) What’s on your CD player?
Broadway tunes. I’m a big fan of musicals, especially Oklahoma!, The Fantasticks, Into the Woods and South Pacific. I listen in the car and sing along. But I can’t listen to music when I write, it’s too distracting.

2) Do you use an outline when writing or just let it flow and write as fast as you can?
I have a brief synopsis, but after I start writing I seldom look at it. If I know what’s going to happen I get bored, so I try to surprise myself.

3) What’s the riskiest thing you’ve ever done and how did it work out for you?
I took a job on a hospital ship when I was 28, where I was hired to sail to Africa for a year and translate for the doctors and nurses from French to English and vice-versa. I had no idea what I was getting in for, but it was the most amazing experience of my life. The country was colorful, exotic and exciting and the people were fascinating. (see my web site, carolculver.com for a photo of me in Guinea).

4) Do you eat right, get exercise, sleep eight hours or sit in front of a computer all day?
I am too restless to sit for very long. I write fast, get up and stretch or bake something or take a walk then reluctantly go back to the computer. I eat (sort of) right, sleep 8 hours a night and get plenty of exercise. In the summer I swim every day. Can’t wait!

5) Where do you see yourself in ten years?
I want a second house in a warm climate so I can swim every day. I see myself writing in the mornings, soaking up Vitamin D in the afternoons at the beach or pool. I’d like to have a cook in the kitchen whipping up delicious and nutritious meals from local ingredients including the fish caught off our pier. How’s that for a dream?