Axolotl asked Jeff Strand:

Do you subscribe to the notion of writing "lowbrow" but reading "highbrow"? Please choose one (or all) of the following words or phrases to work into your answer: Somewhat, slightly, sometimes, infrequently, just a little, smoking, seldom, often, each Wednesday, bicycle chain.

Jeff Strand What's somewhat funny is that when people ask me to read their books for blurbs, they tend to be more about killer slugs than about people contemplating our place in the universe. So my "assigned" reading tends to be pulpy stuff, and my "pleasure" reading is more literary.

Generally, I think that authors should read what they enjoy. I don't think a romance novelist needs to be a Tolstoy fangirl. That said, reading outside of your chosen genre can definitely provide a boost to your creativity, and reading a truly great novel is a far greater inspiration to me than saying "Wow, I can do way better than THIS crap."

Each Wednesday, when I'm not smoking, I'll take a bicycle chain, drape it around my neck, and dance just a little. Often I'll be wearing a tuxedo when I do it, but sometimes I'll just go with a dress shirt and tie. I infrequently make videos of this dance, and when I do, I seldom post them to YouTube, because they're slightly creepy.

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