Interview with Cheryl Malandrinos, Author and Fellow Book Tour Coordinator

It is my pleasure to have Cheryl Malandrinos visit my blog and agree to an interview. 

About Cheryl:

Cheryl C. Malandrinos is a staff member for Writer2Writer. Her articles focus on time management and organization for writers. She has also written articles on everyday life in the 1800’s, gardening, parenting, and women’s health issues. Cheryl is a member of Musing Our Children and a works as a virtual book tour coordinator for Pump Up Your Book Promotion.

And now the interview:

What was the one possession you had that you were miserable without?

I don’t really remember being attached to much of anything; though my Hot Wheels and Matchbox collections were favorites and I couldn’t have survived without books.

What cartoon did you love to watch?

Saturday morning was TV time at our house.  It started with the Krofft Supershow:  Land of the Lost, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, The Lost Saucer, etc. and pretty much went until noon time.  Looney Tunes were my favorites.  I have a Taz shirt and another t-shirt with several of the Looney Tunes characters dressed up in hockey uniforms.

What do you miss most about being a kid?

Having time to be bored.

What was your least favorite age?  Why?

Being a teenager stunk.  My mother died when I was fourteen and my father and I had a very tense relationship.  In addition, while I never really fit in with my peers, being in high school made those differences stand out even more.

What did you always want to be able to do, but were too young?

Anything and everything.  LOL!  I was the youngest of three girls and my mother was very overprotective.  I wasn’t allowed to ride my bike across the street until I was about twelve.  My godmother wanted me to visit her in New Orleans for Mardi Gras one year, but there was no way my mother was putting me on a plane all by myself. 

What did you want to be when you grew up?

I always wanted to be one of two things:  a teacher or a writer.  Luckily I am both.  I’m a freelance writer and my first children’s picture book will be out in late 2010.  A mother is many things, but most of all she’s a teacher.

Did you have any pets?  If so, what did you have?

We have three cats that I am rather allergic too.  Stubby is a Pixie-Bob.  This cat is born with a stubby tale, hence the name.  Killer is a Maine Coon and not only is he overfed, he’s huge.  It’s part of his breed.  The name is very funny because he couldn’t hurt a fly.  We also have an orange and white Tabby who adopted us.  Tiger is a great hunter.  Any critter that crosses our lawn takes its life in its hands.

Do you have siblings?  Did they influence who you are today?

I have two older sisters and two younger brothers from my father’s second marriage.  My sisters taught me how to stick up for myself.  They enjoyed seeing just how many ridiculous things they could make their baby sister do.  Eventually I was bigger than both of them…and you know what they say about pay back.

By the time the boys came along, I was a teenager.  I’ve always been close to the first brother because his mother worked nights and I often babysat him.  I was no longer living at home when my baby brother was born, so while we are close, I don’t have as much of a bond with him. 

What was your favorite class in school?

I love anything about learning, though English was always a strong subject for me.

Who was your hero and why?

I honestly don’t remember having heroes growing up, but I have to admit that I wanted Charles and Caroline Ingalls from Little House on the Prairie to be my parents.

What games did you enjoy playing in your spare time?  Would you still play them today?

We played several Canadian card and dice games—none of whose names I would remember and I certainly couldn’t play them now if I tried.  Sunday afternoons were always big game playing days in our house.  We would come home from church, have dinner, and then play board games until supper.  Life, Monopoly and Boggle were my favorites.  My girls are too young for them, but I’m sure we’ll get them when they are older.

Did you have a curfew?  What was it, and did you break it?

I think it was 10:00 PM on school nights and 12:00 AM on weekends.  I might have broken curfew once or twice, but it was never a good idea to tick Dad off too much.

What was your parents’ punishment of choice?

When my mother was alive she was the disciplinarian.  She wasn’t any better at it than I am.  She would send me to my room and then let me out a few minutes later.  Either I was good kid or she ignored most of my misdeeds because I don’t remember being punished very often.

What is your favorite memory?

All the Saturdays before Easter spent at the Moose Lodge cracking eggs for the big dinner they put on each year.  The elderly couple who lived next door to us were more like parents to me than my own.  I went with them everywhere. 

Uncle Phil and Aunt Jean—though we weren’t related—both belonged to the Moose Lodge.  They invited me along to some of the events and each year I got to help crack the dozens of eggs for the pre-Easter celebration.  And each year, Sonny, who was one of the members, would sneak a raw egg in my pot of hard boiled eggs and I would unknowingly roll it on the counter and he would laugh as it went splat.  The joke never seemed to get old.

What do you wish you could have changed about your childhood (if anything)?

My parents weren’t happy people and that made for a less than happy home.  I didn’t have a lot of friends growing up so I had to spend a lot of time on my own, especially because my sisters were older and weren’t interested in entertaining their baby sister.  It made me socially awkward when I started First Grade.  Luckily, God graced me with a good amount of intelligence, so I excelled at school, which helped to combat some of the other challenges. 

If I had to change anything it wouldn’t be in my childhood, but in my parents’.  They lived tough lives before getting married.  That left them ill-prepared to be in a relationship and to nurture children properly.  I wish things were easier for them growing up because it would have been better for all of us.

 For more information on Cheryl make sure to visit The Book Connection