A Quick One on The Side - with Christa Faust

Welcome to my new blog series of quickie interviews with well-known writers.

My first guest is the wonderful award-winning author of several novels, Christa Faust. On her Twitter profile it just says 'Writer. Fetishist. Pulp Enthusiast.' Her novel 'Money Shot' was nominated for Edgar, Anthony and Barry awards, and won a Crimespree Award ( Best Paperback original ) and a Spinetingler Award ( Rising Star category ).
Christa grew up in New York City, in the Bronx and Hell's Kitchen. Her biography says that she spent most of her teens on endless subway rides, cutting school and scribbling notes, and she has been making stuff up her whole life. She once worked in Times Square peep booths and later as a professional dominatrix and a fetish model. Christa has also worked in the adult film industry, on both sides of the camera.She is a film noir fanatic, an avid reader of classic hard-boiled pulp novels, a collector of vintage paperbacks, and a tattooed lady. She lives in L.A.
Christa agreed to answer my questions with the caveat that she loves variety and doesn't have one single favourite of anything, so the answers are not really her one and only all time favourites. They popped into her head when I asked her and so they may well be subject to change. So here are Christa's ten quick answers for today.....

Who is your favourite author?
 "Richard S. Prather."
(American mystery writer who created the 'Shell Scott' series)

What would be your favourite book read?
"Sucker Punch" by Ray Banks
(The 2nd Cal Innes novel)

Who is your favourite band?
"Fletcher Henderson. Well, technically he's a band leader, not a band. Does that count?"
(Fletcher Henderson was famous for big band jazz and swing music)

What is your most listened to album?
"I don't really listen to whole albums, just individual songs. But I do like the whole soundtrack for the film 'Crash' by Howard Shore."

What has been the best gig/concert that you have attended?
"Janet Klein and Her Parlor Boys. She's naughty."
(Janet plays 'lovely, naughty and obscure music of the 1910's, 20's and 30's. Check out Janet here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiU2lSOn5WY&feature=related )

What is your favourite food?
"Late night street tacos off an illegal Al Pastor cart down in East Los."
(Al Pastor tacos are probably the best you could ever try. They are hard to find since the recipe is such a secret.)

What would be your favourite holiday destination?
"Someplace I've never been."

What would be the most autographs you've ever signed in one session?
"I've never counted, but I've never had a line around the block or anything like that. I've done big stacks of 200+ pages for limited edition books, but I don't think that's what you mean."

Have you ever been mistaken for someone else?
"No. I'm pretty obviously me. I've tried to pass myself off as Mary Higgins Clark, but no-one believed me."

How often do you get recognised?
"Never on the street but pretty often at writing-related events."

Many thanks to Christa for taking time out to be my first guest on 'A Quick One on The Side'.

You can check out Christa at her website http://www.christafaust.net/ and you can follow her on Twitter (@faustfatale ).

My next guest writer on 'A Quick One on The Side' will be Ian Rankin.