Hey, everybody! After a looong hiatus, during which Baby McNees made her way safely into the world, the author interviews are back! And I have so many wonderful authors and books to tell you about. Today I am very glad to welcome Lois Leveen to the blog. Lois’s debut novel The Secrets of Mary Bowser is a fascinating look at a woman you’ve never heard of who changed the course of history. Mary Bowser was born into slavery and freed as a young woman, when she moved north for an education. Risking her own safety and freedom, Mary then returned to Virginia and posed as a slave in order to spy for the Union and push forward the cause of abolition. It’s a remarkable tale and a lovely debut. Welcome, Lois!
What is your favorite quality in a person?
Humor. It sounds a little shallow when I say it like that, as though cracking jokes is more important than being kind or brave or any of those virtuous characteristics. It’s not! But what gets me through every day is the ability to laugh. To laugh at myself. To laugh at things that are obviously hilarious. To laugh at things that might otherwise seem daunting. We laugh when we’re happy, sometimes happy despite crummy circumstances. So I celebrate people who have the wonderful quality of seeing the humor in a given situation.
What is your least favorite?
Meanness. I cannot abide people who deliberately indulge in petty cruelties. Or in great big cruelties, for that matter.
What is your greatest fear?
Stultification—I need to feel challenged, to know I’m stretching in some way, whether it’s artistically or intellectually or emotionally or physically. Of course, I like a certain amount of routine in my life, and I’m not an adrenalin junkie who loves huge risks, but I need things to push me beyond the familiar and easy, fairly often.
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