Interview - Judy Larsen, author of All the Numbers

Today's "5 Q&A" is with Judy Larsen

author of All the Numbers.

1.) Who are you?

I taught high school English for 15 years in Wisconsin and Missouri before leaving the classroom in June 2006 to write full-time. I'm a mom to two boys, a stepmom to two girls and one boy all between the ages of 14 and 22--kind of like the Brady Bunch without Alice. I moved all across the country growing up, but consider myself a midwestern girl.

2.) As the mother of 1 daughter and 3 sons, I cried through many scenes in this book. Did you cry when you wrote the toughest parts?

Most definitely. And there are still scenes that make me tear up even though I wrote them. I know there are some pages I will never be able to read aloud.

3.) What are your most frightening fears?

Losing my children. I think as a mother that's just the most primal, basic fear. When they were younger I was also scared of me dying and leaving them, but now that they are so much more out on their own, it's the thought of what could happen to them that keeps me awake at night. That and snakes.

4.) Wine plays a large part in the book. What is your favorite vintage?

I guess Ellen does come off as sort of a lush at times, doesn't she? I do like wine, but I'm not knowledgable enough to be very picky about it or have a taste for the real expensive ones--although after my husband and I take our first trip to Napa later this month that might change! In the summer, I love a buttery chardonnay and when it's cooler out I like pinot noir and caberbet sauvignon.

5.) What's next?

I'm deep into what I hope will be my next novel. Through two different narrative lines, one set in the present and the other set between 1958-1971 it explores how women are too often defined by others’ expectations and judgments, rather than by themselves and their dreams.

Thank you so much, Judy!

All the Numbers is available at bookstores online. If you'd like to know more about the story behind the book, feel free to visit Judy's website at www.judymerrilllarsen.com.