Bits 'n Pieces - Julie Crabtree

Julie Crabtree is the author of the wonderful novel, Discovering Pig Magic. It's a great book for any preteen or early teen girl; I myself enjoyed it a lot. :) You can read my review of the book here and visit Julie's website here. Enjoy the interview!

This or that:
Rain or shine? 

Rain. It rains 100 inches a year here in extreme northern California, so I better! I love to hole up, fire roaring, and write when a storm is outside raging.
iPod or mp3 player? 

iPod.
Movies or TV? 

Movies! A good movie is like a good book…it gives you that same escape. I think we all love to live, even for an hour or two, in someone else’s life, and movies take us there. That said, TV-wise, I love Heroes, Ghost Hunters, and Pushing Daisies. My daughters and I save those on the DVR and watch them on the weekends.
City or country? 

Country to live, city for vacations.
Mountains or beaches? 

Hmm. Tough one. I grew up in the mountains, but now live by the ocean. Is it cheating to say both? If so, and I am forced, I’ll choose beaches.
Dots or stripes? 

Dots all the way.
Dogs or cats? 

I have both, love both, don’t make me choose! They are, obviously, fundamentally different animals (almost like they’re different species. Wink wink). My dog is my constant companion, while my cats are like cool friends that breeze in to hang out when it suits them.
Cooking or eating out? 

Cooking. Love cooking – it’s a serious hobby. My next book is all about cooking, and it has tons of recipes I have come up with over the years. Besides, restaurants are boring.
Coffee or tea? 

Both. Coffee in the morning, iced tea all afternoon. I will not deny my fondness for caffeine in all its disguises.
Books or magazines? 

Geez, I feel like such a waffler here, but, again, both! Really! I read both books and magazines regularly. Books are in bed before sleep, on weekend mornings, and while waiting for an appointment, while magazines are for the bath tub and traveling.

Favorites:
Book (s) - 

I read A LOT, so picking one is impossible. I was an English major in college so read all the classic stuff, but I was never a huge fan of Shakespeare and all that. Sorry, I probably just sinned admitting that. Anyway, now days I read every genre (except non-fiction, which I find much too serious and real life-y). How ‘bout I pretend the question is what I just read? Okay! I just read the whole Stephanie Myers Twilight series in about two weeks (and saw the movie last week). Adult book-wise, some that jump to mind from the last year or so (not that they are necessarily new; rather, they fell into my hands recently and I enjoyed them in particular) are Life of Pi, several Jodi Picoults, The Lovely Bones, Atonement, A Fine Balance, The Godmother, The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove and Molly Moon (out loud with my daughter). That was a total stream on consciousness list, based on no organizational structure whatsoever. Suffice it to say I am a contemporary fiction junkie!
Book store- 

Willow Bridge Books in Oakhurst, California (near Yosemite)
Movie- 

I love classic scary movies: Poltergeist, The Shining, The Omen, the original Amityville Horror…you get the idea.
Music artist- 

(Group) Il Divo, currently. I change around a lot, depending on my mood.
Website- 

Pioneerwoman.com is this really funny site by a woman who moved to a huge ranch from the city, and she chronicles the daily pitfalls and joys of this extreme lifestyle. I also have just recently joined Shelfari, and that seems like a really cool site for us bookish types.
Designer- 

Calvin Klein, classic.
Coffee chain- 

Dutch Bros. (it’s a drive-thru chain in Northern California and Oregon). They give my doggie a “cookie” when I buy coffee there, so now when my dog smells coffee, he salivates. Seriously.
Guilty pleasure- 

Really long showers. I feel guilty, but I love deep conditioning my hair, doing a facial mask, and shaving my legs with billows of steam all around me.
Restaurant- 

A little place near my house called Bistro Gardens. The owner uses fresh, local foods, and it is seriously yummy.
Color- 

Can’t you tell? (Blue ☺)

Have you ever:
Lived abroad? 

Yes, In Spain.
Gotten a tattoo? 

No.
Stayed up for the midnight release of a movie or book? No – I am too impatient to stand in line that long.
Disliked your job? 

Yes! I waitressed at a busy Italian place in college…that has got to be the hardest job on earth.
Cried during a movie? 

Many times.
Sang karaoke? 

Nope. I have one of those terrible singing voices that can make dogs howl and small children cry, so I refrain.

Questions:
If you were on a desert island, what 5 things would you bring with you? 

Really good terrain shoes, a wide-brimmed hat, a multi-purpose Swiss tool/knife, a flint, and a large sheet of plastic. I think this list would make Jeff Probst proud!
What’s on the list of things you have to do during your life? 

See my children grow up, travel to every continent, get my diving certification, write lots of books. I hope space travel becomes possible for the average person in my lifetime. If it does, sign me up for that too.
If you could have one super power what would it be? 

Flying!
What’s your perfect music playlist? 

Music has a profound influence on my mood, so my playlists have to rise up to meet the need of the moment. When I am gardening, for example, I like to listen to moody, deep music that makes me feel tuned into myself and nature…old Counting Crows, Train, Indigo Girls, The Eagles, Janis Joplin, and The Frey. When I am working out, I like more beat and less depth…Green Day, Macy Gray, and Eminem. I listen to my daughters’ music with them as well; they are into Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stephani, High School Musical soundtracks, Avril Lavigne, Haley Duff, and Allie and AJ.
What’s the one food you could eat day after day and not get sick of? 

One word: Cheese.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? 

Northern Africa (Egypt in particular).
What moment in history do you wish you could’ve experienced? 

Watching man land on the moon for the first time. Space travel fascinates me, and that moment was the birth of a whole new era in human history. The people who witnessed that event must have felt so hopeful and limitless.
What does your dream library look like? 

Huge, squishy couches made of butter-soft, butterscotch colored leather, oversized plush pillows and chenille throws. A massive fireplace and scented candles all over. A rockin’ stereo system. Books lining the walls floor to ceiling, arranged by genre, accessible with one of those cool sliding ladders.
When you walk into a bookstore, where do you head first? 

It varies. Sometimes I need a certain book, so hunt it down. Other times I go to the children’s section with my kids to get the process of bargaining and haggling over with (they want me to buy them the whole store, I have to make them choose just a couple). If I am alone, I drift into the fiction section and just wander and browse.
If everyone had to read one book, what would you have it be? 

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. It is impossible to read that book and not be changed by it.

Thank you so much Julie! And I have to say that I want that Dutch Bros coffee chain to come to MN. My dogs would love me for it. :P

Also, if you would like to win a signed copy of Discovering Pig Magic, leave a comment here with your answer to "Mountains or Beaches" by the Wednesday after next.