Julie Ann Sipos

Tell us a little bit about yourself, your hobbies and interests.

I split my time between Southern California and Central Florida, where I'm restoring a 1925 Craftsman bungalow and a 1952 Dodge pickup alongside my trusty wiener dog Fur Elise. We are in the process of adopting a boy wiener, Ludwig Von Bacon.

When and why did you start writing books?

I started making up stories in my head before I knew how to put words together and write them down. This meant you had to sit and listen until I got to the end, before I forgot what happened and had to start over. I didn’t often get to the end. I needed new beginnings and better listeners. I suppose that's why I eventually went to film school, and now I teach writing to college students with little choice but sit and listen. Win win.

What made you decide to tackle writing as a career?

My parents objected to my majoring in theater, but somehow "English major" had a nobler ring to their ears. I didn't ask questions. Probably I should have.

Which one of your books or characters is your favourite?

Whatever I'm writing now. It's not that I choose to live in the moment, it's more that until I get it out on the page I tend not to sleep or eat much. I don't actually stand up that much and plan to buy a really expensive chair by some Swedish guy whose name I can't pronounce the moment I hit #1 on the bestseller list.

Which one of your books was the hardest to write and stretched you the most as a writer?

While I've written a number of travel books, a volume of poems and songs, and two novel companions, I've only written the first of five novels planned in The Jaycee Grayson Series. I would liken that process to spinning plates and plan to invest in a better set for the sequel.

Who is your favourite author and book?

The book that inspired me to write fiction is "The World According to Garp" by John Irving. He was a feminist before his time, exploring themes like transgenderism and sexual violence in this breezy voice bouncing improbably between the comedic and tragedic. I'm not sure he's ever described as a satirist (or as any one thing) but he has a way of making unvarnished authenticity look so easy that trying to emulate it in any small way feels like a contradiction in terms.

What book are you reading right now?

"Deadpan" by Richard Walter, a longtime mentor, who ran the MFA Screenwriting program at UCLA. It's a hilarious take on fame and anti-semitism in the current zeitgeist offering a bold send-up of inappropriate Jewish humor. I'm struggling to finish it so he won't sound smarter than me in a Livestream we are doing together next week on the role of satire and comedy in chaotic times.

Where do you get your inspiration for your books?

Satire and comedy in chaotic times.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

My spare what?

Do you have any new books in the works?

I'm writing the next novel in the Jaycee Grayson series, which is actually a prequel to "Horrible Women, Wonderful Girls," turning back the clock to Y2K L.A. It's loosely based on the 1950 Agatha Christie novel "A Murder Is Announced" and opens at a murder mystery engagement party gone wrong for Jaycee's sister Meredith.