Smash Lits with Sara Crowley

Read Cheryl Pappas’ nonfiction piece, The World I Will Not Taste

1) How do you take your coffee?

Almond milk and cream, no sugar.

2) What was the last text you sent?

On my way!

3) What is/was your nickname?

Cher.

4) What is the oldest piece of clothing in your wardrobe?

A turquoise sweater poncho from the 1950s, knitted by my Irish great-grandmother.

5) How do you stop procrastinating and get on with writing?

It helps that I have only two hours in the early morning to write. If I waste some time, I waste it. Then I get to work.

6) Have you ever seen a ghost?

No, but I might have seen evidence of one, because things keep falling off shelves in our house (which was built in 1922).

7) Who is your writer crush?

I take it you mean whose writing do I crush on? Jeannette Winterson. If you mean who’s the writer I crush on, I’ll never, ever tell.

8) What’s your favourite sweet?

Dark chocolate with cherries.

9) Favourite-all-time-forever-never-let-you-down song?
“I Ran (So Far Away)” by A Flock Of Seagulls.

10) What was your favourite book as a child?
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. I blame growing up Catholic for that one.

11) Write me a question for the next Smash Lits interview I do.

What’s your favourite tree?

12) Who is your favourite TV detective?
Columbo, of course!

13) What’s your favourite swear?

Fuck all.

14) What cocktail would you make me?

Lillet Rouge with a slice of orange.

15) What word or words make you cringe?

In a marketing context, “join us,” “explore,” and “enjoy.”

16) Recommend me a book?

The novella Duo by Colette. Her observations about people in love are astonishingly precise.

17) Have you ever read someone else’s diary?

I came across my mom’s note to herself once. It was a list of her goals (learn photography, get a better job). She was amazing.

18) How do you organise your bookshelves?
By genre.

19) What two emoji smashed together best encapsulate you?
😍😒

20) What question should I have asked you?

What painting would you like to step into?