Pauline Baird Jones is Accused of…

…being an optimist! Gasp! Shock! Horror! How can this happen? I’ve read her books, you say, she’s dark, a bit twisted. Please say it isn’t so!

I know, it seems an odd mix, because I definitely do have a dark sense of humor. I think that’s what keeps me from being an annoying Pollyanna (or that is my hope LOL).

I can’t say I thought that much about whether I was or wasn’t. I just kind of tooled through my days, doing my thing, committing my fictional mayhem…if I could whistle decently (which I can’t) I’d have whistled while I worked. If I were a dwarf, I’d probably be Happy.

Even when I’d get depressed, I tended to think it was kind of funny. I sucked at being miserable and even when I nailed it, instead of wallowing in it, I’d find myself wondering if I could use it in book…

It’s kind of sad. But even that doesn’t bother me. If I had a theme song, it would be I Love to Laugh. A friend of mine has a theory about me. She thinks I am so cheerful because of my fictional mayhem. I wreak some pretty bad havoc on my characters, so she might be right. It’s a sort of Dorian Gray effect maybe.

The hubs would emphatically agree. Someone (I forget who) said that “man has put you through hell!” The hubs looked at me and said, “Who looks like they’ve been through hell? Who has TWO artificial hips? What’s left of my hair is gray!”

Oops. Picture me trying to whistle — and failing — as I change the subject. And give him a big smile. Cause life is pretty good. Even when it isn’t. Cause if it isn’t? It’s great copy for the books.

I was mulling a contender for “Worst Havoc Wreaked on Characters in a Novel,” but it is tough to pick just one. If you like your books with havoc and humor, then start with The Spy Who Kissed Me or Do Wah Diddy Die. And don’t forget to make a wish. 🙂

So, are you an optimist? Pessimist? Combo of the two? Don’t want to commit to either? Find fictional havoc cathartic?

Perilously, yet optimistically yours,

Pauline