“Ya Wanna Do It Here Or Down The Station, Punk?” # 1,004: Sara Paretsky

Yep, it’s rubber-hose time, folks: a rapid-fire Q&A for those shifty-looking usual suspects ...

What crime novel would you most like to have written?
THE POISON ORACLE. Such a sophisticated weaving together of layers of story; Peter Dickinson shows a mastery of linguistics, the Arab world, primate behaviour, and the painful life of his loner protagonist that the book is a tour de force in any genre.
What fictional character would you most like to have been?
Georgia Strangeways (I’m assuming this is in crime fiction).
Who do you read for guilty pleasures?
Delano Ames.
Most satisfying writing moment?
When I got the author copies of my first novel.
The best Irish crime novel is …?
I have to pass on this one because I’m woefully ignorant about Irish crime fiction. I like John Connolly and Ken Bruen very much, but I need to explore some of the other people on Declan’s blog.
What Irish crime novel would make a great movie?
John Connolly’s THE BLACK ANGEL is crying for a film!
Worst / best thing about being a writer?
The worse thing about being a writer: constant anxiety. The best thing: getting to go to work in your underwear (my last job I had to wear pantyhose -- and a skirt).
The pitch for your next book is …?
The search for a missing man leads V.I. Warshawski back to the turbulent days of the Civil Rights Movement in Chicago and forces her to question her beloved father’s role in some of the most despicable acts of the Chicago Police force.
Who are you reading right now?
VANITY FAIR and DEATH OF A FELLOW TRAVELER by Delano Ames.
God appears and says you can only write OR read. Which would it be?
I quit.
The three best words to describe your own writing are …?
Insightful. Witty. Literate.

Sara Paretsky’s BLEEDING KANSAS is published by Hodder & Stoughton.

A hat-tip to the Book Witch for putting us in touch with Sara …