I first met Sandra Antonelli on Twitter in 2009 where we were both taking part in the #badsongFriday posts. We bonded over our mutual love for glitter, glam and a sprinkle of kitsch. We then discovered that we had sooooo much more in common. We both loved romance fiction. We both love Mike Brady. We think poop and fart jokes are funny. And we are both married to men called John. And we both have a love for mini-foxies with Sandra influencing me to buy one through her fabulous loving tales of the late Budman. We live in cities far far away from each other so it is a total treat when we get to catch up in person. Sandra is one of my favouritest people ever. However, we will never agree on the topic of hatchback cars. We have been debating their sexiness (or lack thereof) online for many years and her answer today signifies that the debate will continue. Feel free to join in the argument! And yes – Question 10 in my Sharing the Shallows was put there for Sandra’s benefit.
Sandra Antonelli
Author
Can you describe yourself?
Reader, writer, movie-lover, coffee drinker, Dr. Sandra Antonelli is passionate about the portrayals of older women in the media and fiction. Her masters and doctoral work focused on the viability of mature aged-women as protagonists in romance fiction. Her research includes creative writing, popular culture representations of older women in the media, representations of age, and age marginalization in fiction publishing. She engages in public discourse on her scholarly and fictional work on a variety of social media platforms. Sandra likes fart humour and poop jokes, and is basically a 12-year-old boy trapped in a middle-aged woman’s body. She is the author of A Basic Renovation, For Your Eyes Only, Driving in Neutral and Next to You, romance novels that all position women over 40 as romance heroines. She is currently writing the In Service series, a romantic thriller-comedy featuring a middle-aged female butler and the spy who loves her. You can find her on Facebook, Twitter: @SandrAntonelli, and sandraantonelli.com.
What is your main reading medium (books, blogs, games, news, etc) and how much time do you spend reading a week?
Books, online news, a few blogs such as Shallowreader, Book Thingo, Line of Selvage, Heroes & Heartbreakers, Ainslie Paton’s Mum Missives, IKEA flat pack instructions, teletext on the TV– I’m always reading something
What or who is your joyful reading (guilty or otherwise) pleasure?
I love Jo Goodman, even her early 90s stuff with the glittery hologram covers that are SUCH a turn off. I Love Elmore Leonard. I have a huge soft spot for Ian Fleming’s James Bond books. I love reading non-fiction books about the history of crime investigation. I adore Susan Elizabeth Phillips and big, fat, meaty romance fiction over category romance. I’m vegetarian, but I like a big juicy meaty book where lots of stuff goes on, like SEP and Jo Goodman.
Do you have a favourite storyline or plot? And do you have one you will not read?
I hate love at first bonk stories and I’m not a fan of secret babies either, but I do adore a good hate to love tale and theoccasional marriage of convenience plot.
Why do you/don’t you use a public library?
My local public library is closed for renovation. When they were open, they had a very small selection of books to choose from that it is disappointing and disheartening. I grew up with access to libraries with massive collections, so I have an expectation that ALL libraries ought to have massive collections, have something for everyone. Except the libraries in my community do not.
Do you RUI*. If so, what?
Um since I don’t drink booze I’d have to say no to RUI.
Do you have a favourite reading spot?
I have a chintz-covered comfy chair I plant my butt in, yet I also like to read while I am on my treadmill and while I stand at the kitchen bench.
Toilet reading:
c) Anything goes – library books, friends books, cornflake packets. In my house the W/C is referred to as “theLibrary”
Romance fiction of the Happily Ever After (not the love tragedy) kind – are you a Lover or a Hater and why?
I’m gonna prickle some skin here. I like the HEA, but I also dig the HFN, and don’t mind the ambiguous ending because for me the whole story comes down to the journey of the two leads take to falling in love. I can accept a ‘love story ending,’ meaning if someone dies (yanno, like when one person sacrifices their life for the other) ending if thejourney to love hits all the marks, but I do prefer the HFN/HEA.
What would you give up reading for**?
Now why would I give up reading?
Can a romance/crime/super/etc hero be the driver of a hatchback?
I know you put this question here especially FOR ME because we have this ongoing feud regarding the very UNHOT Hatch. Look, the hero can drive the hatch but he sure as hell WOULD NOT OWN the hatch. Hatches are not hot; they are shopping trolleys, a step down from a station wagon, which is a bigger version a shopping trolley. Ever notice how SO MANY hatchback have after-market spoilers added on to the rear, and pop-off valves, and low profile wheels? IT’s ALL LIPSTICK, BABY! It’s all cosmetic stuff done in an attempt to make the car to make it look…nicer. Young boys who can’t afford the insurance on a better car (a non-hatch) drive these things. Those boys have the spoiler attached to the back of the hatch, those boys put on those noisy pop-off valves that go TSRCHURRRR when they change gears, those boys put on wheels that set the car lower to the ground. It’s so sad. You CANNOT make a hatch look hot. This is because the hatch looks too bubbly, too fishbowl-ish, and I play on this in the next book I have floating out there in the world of agents, editors and publishers. Yes, I included a bit about hatches in that book JUST FOR YOU.
