Author Interview - Lara Chapman - Flawless

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

LARA CHAPMAN

FLAWLESS

Look who stopped by today.  It’s Lara Chapman, author of her debut novel, Flawless.  Lara, who is a Texan just like me, has two children and she teaches fifth grade English.  Those kids are so lucky to have an author for a teacher. Here’s what happened when I asked Lara some questions.

What do you consider the most “Flawless” moment of your life?

For me, FLAWLESS is all about the strength of friendship, so the most FLAWLESS moments in my life have been when my best friends did for me what no one else would do.  They tell me the hard truths even when I don’t want to hear them and they remind me how strong I am when I forget. 

Did you have a picture perfect best friend like Sarah when you were a teen?  Did you wish you were her?

I’ve had the same best friends for thirty years, and they’re both about perfect as two women can be.  I suspect we’ve all wanted to be one another at some point, but we are so complete when we’re together, it’s hard to imagine us any other way. 

I hear that you hated the spelling of your name when you were growing up.  Were you careful to avoid that problem when naming your own children?

I really did try, but failed miserably!  My son’s name, Caleb, is pretty basic, but my daughter’s name is less so.  Her name is Laney but she invariably gets called Delaney or Alaney instead and we’ve seen some unique misspellings over the years!

Rumor has it that you love animals, especially dogs.  Any kooky pet names from over the years you would like to share?

My daughter’s dachshund is named Polka Dot because she has a small white spot on her forehead, but she’s always been called Pokey.  When I was a child, I had a cat named Boogabear.  He was such a sweetheart!

I love Judy Blume books too.  What is your favorite Judy Blume book of all time?

“Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” is by far my favorite!  The memory of watching my body go through puberty is so vivid – I remember so well how it felt to wish my body would just change already!  I’ve recently read this with my daughter and she loved it just as much as I did.  

What was the most exciting part of being a private investigator?  That career sounds so intense.

I worked as the secretary for a PI firm… they’d never let me out there to do that job!  I’m way too antsy to sit in a car for hours and hours watching parked car.  I can tell you that some of the situations the investigators witnessed and the stories they told about tracking people down were equal parts hilarious and frightening!

From the past, I would like to meet Cleopatra because she was a strong lady ahead of her time.  From the future, I would like to meet my future husband.  If you could meet anyone in the past or future, who would you meet?

I would love to meet my future husband…. then I’d ask him why he took so long to find me!

Since you are glued to your iPhone and laptop, what would you do if you had to go without them for 24 hours? 

Hyperventilate all 1,440 minutes. 

Thank you for the fun interview Lara!  I know just how you feel.  Sometimes people try to call me Melinda or Melissa rather than Melina.  Thank you to Bloomsbury for setting up this interview.

*photos courtesy of Google Images*