Please welcome Gail Cleare, author of The Taste of Air.
Gail Cleare lives on an 18th century farm in Massachusetts with her family and dogs, cats, chickens, black bears, blue herons, rushing streams and wide, windy skies. In addition to writing fiction and poetry, she's into organic gardening and nature photography, and can often be found stalking wild creatures with a 300 mm lens.
Connect with Gail:
Would You Rather...
with Gail Cleare
with Gail Cleare
Chips, chocolate or cheese?
No, yes and yes, please. In general, I like salty over sweet and aim for a local, free range, non-GMO, organic, low fat, low salt diet. Chocolate is my one, nonnegotiable exception and I’m a real snob about buying really good cooking chocolate. We have a huge garden, egg-laying chickens, and grow a lot of our own food. I can it and freeze it to use in the winter. We make our own yoghurt too. It’s fun and delicious!
Bridget Jones, Becky Bloomwood or Carrie Bradshaw?
Bridget Jones. I’m a small town girl, like to eat in bed, not into high fashion (especially the shoes!), and do most of my shopping online.
Wine, beer or vodka?
White wine, if it’s French. Occasionally, 12-year-old scotch. Or really, really good tequila. Basically, I drink water unless the alternative is spectacular.
Camping or spa vacation?
Spa, definintely. My husband and three sons adore camping, but I hate crawling in and out of bed on the forest floor, and there are way too many bugs!
Water or mountains?
Both. Especially if it’s a lake in the mountains. My favorite is Lake Sebago, in Maine. Lake Champlain, in Vermont, is a close second and that’s the area where I set my new book, THE TASTE OF AIR.
Zombies or vampires?
Vampires, definitely. Much more elegant and intellectual. I prefer Lestat over Edward, though.
Dogs or cats?
Both, but if I had to choose one I’d pick my new Golden Retriever puppy, Daisy. She’s a doll.
Coke or Pepsi?
Yuck! Who needs to drink all that sugar? I am a maniac about nutrition and have a very clean organic diet.
Coffee or tea?
Decaf, or herbal tea. Not into caffeine.
Dine out or take away?
Take away. Told you I like to eat in bed, in front of TV. We even had our anniversary lobster dinner in bed, on trays, with lots of paper towels!
High heels, sneakers or flip flops?
Haven’t worn high heels in twenty years, and even then they were low heels. Sneakers or hiking shoes, in some form, I wear every day. I do a lot of gardening and walking on rough ground.
Physical Book or ebook?
Ebook, I regret to say. I love paper books and own hundreds of them. The wonderful scent makes my head spin…so intoxicating! And the pretty covers, yum. But, a few years ago I started reading on my iPad mini. I like to read in bed at night after my husband has gone to sleep, and the sound of pages turning used to annoy him. Also, it’s nice to be able to switch to white letters on black, and turn the light way down, when you’re reading in a dark room.
Paperback or Hardcover?
Paperback. I read lying down and hardcovers are too heavy to hold up for long. I dropped one on my face once and got a black eye!
Pen or pencil?
Pen. Very thin point. Black. Love to draw and doodle.
Mad Men, Downton Abbey or Breaking Bad?
Downton Abbey, for sure. I am also a photographer and the lush visual aspect of that series just knocked me over, even more than the stories.
Drama or comedy?
Usually drama, but sometimes need a comedy to lighten things up.
Twilight or Hunger Games?
I liked the first books of both series, and was disappointed after that.
Lipstick, lipgloss or chapstick?
Lipstick. I’m very pale and need color.
Facebook or Twiter?
Facebook. I like to post photos and it ‘s a better format for that. Tweets are too short and it’s harder to keep up with my friends in little snippets.
Plot your entire novel or fly by the seat of your pants?
Both, but more of a plotter. I always know the rough beginning and ending and make a chapter by chapter plan, but the characters sometimes lead me off in new directions. I rewrote THE TASTE OF AIR three times before the characters decided it was right.
No, yes and yes, please. In general, I like salty over sweet and aim for a local, free range, non-GMO, organic, low fat, low salt diet. Chocolate is my one, nonnegotiable exception and I’m a real snob about buying really good cooking chocolate. We have a huge garden, egg-laying chickens, and grow a lot of our own food. I can it and freeze it to use in the winter. We make our own yoghurt too. It’s fun and delicious!
Bridget Jones, Becky Bloomwood or Carrie Bradshaw?
Bridget Jones. I’m a small town girl, like to eat in bed, not into high fashion (especially the shoes!), and do most of my shopping online.
Wine, beer or vodka?
White wine, if it’s French. Occasionally, 12-year-old scotch. Or really, really good tequila. Basically, I drink water unless the alternative is spectacular.
Camping or spa vacation?
Spa, definintely. My husband and three sons adore camping, but I hate crawling in and out of bed on the forest floor, and there are way too many bugs!
Water or mountains?
Both. Especially if it’s a lake in the mountains. My favorite is Lake Sebago, in Maine. Lake Champlain, in Vermont, is a close second and that’s the area where I set my new book, THE TASTE OF AIR.
Zombies or vampires?
Vampires, definitely. Much more elegant and intellectual. I prefer Lestat over Edward, though.
Dogs or cats?
Both, but if I had to choose one I’d pick my new Golden Retriever puppy, Daisy. She’s a doll.
Coke or Pepsi?
Yuck! Who needs to drink all that sugar? I am a maniac about nutrition and have a very clean organic diet.
Coffee or tea?
Decaf, or herbal tea. Not into caffeine.
Dine out or take away?
Take away. Told you I like to eat in bed, in front of TV. We even had our anniversary lobster dinner in bed, on trays, with lots of paper towels!
High heels, sneakers or flip flops?
Haven’t worn high heels in twenty years, and even then they were low heels. Sneakers or hiking shoes, in some form, I wear every day. I do a lot of gardening and walking on rough ground.
Physical Book or ebook?
Ebook, I regret to say. I love paper books and own hundreds of them. The wonderful scent makes my head spin…so intoxicating! And the pretty covers, yum. But, a few years ago I started reading on my iPad mini. I like to read in bed at night after my husband has gone to sleep, and the sound of pages turning used to annoy him. Also, it’s nice to be able to switch to white letters on black, and turn the light way down, when you’re reading in a dark room.
Paperback or Hardcover?
Paperback. I read lying down and hardcovers are too heavy to hold up for long. I dropped one on my face once and got a black eye!
Pen or pencil?
Pen. Very thin point. Black. Love to draw and doodle.
Mad Men, Downton Abbey or Breaking Bad?
Downton Abbey, for sure. I am also a photographer and the lush visual aspect of that series just knocked me over, even more than the stories.
Drama or comedy?
Usually drama, but sometimes need a comedy to lighten things up.
Twilight or Hunger Games?
I liked the first books of both series, and was disappointed after that.
Lipstick, lipgloss or chapstick?
Lipstick. I’m very pale and need color.
Facebook or Twiter?
Facebook. I like to post photos and it ‘s a better format for that. Tweets are too short and it’s harder to keep up with my friends in little snippets.
Plot your entire novel or fly by the seat of your pants?
Both, but more of a plotter. I always know the rough beginning and ending and make a chapter by chapter plan, but the characters sometimes lead me off in new directions. I rewrote THE TASTE OF AIR three times before the characters decided it was right.
The Taste of Air
When Mary Reilly turns up in a hospital hundreds of miles from the senior community where she lives, Nell and Bridget discover their mother has been hiding a second life. She has a lakeside cottage in Vermont and a set of complex relationships with people her daughters have never met. The family drama that is revealed involves all three women, the sacrifices they've made and the secrets they carry.
Nell is a carpool mom and corporate trophy wife who yearns for a life of her own. Bridget is a glamorous interior designer who transforms herself for every new man, always attracted to the bad ones. Their mother Mary was an army nurse in the Vietnam War, then married handsome navy pilot Thomas Reilly and lived happily ever after…or did she?
Nell is a carpool mom and corporate trophy wife who yearns for a life of her own. Bridget is a glamorous interior designer who transforms herself for every new man, always attracted to the bad ones. Their mother Mary was an army nurse in the Vietnam War, then married handsome navy pilot Thomas Reilly and lived happily ever after…or did she?