Featured Author - Leslie Soule! - Part 2

MLM: Mardi Gras is Tuesday March 8th this year. Will you be celebrating it this year? Why or why not? If so, what are your plans this year? Care to share any stories of past Mardi Gras celebrations?

LESLIE: I didn’t end up doing anything for Mardi Gras this year. I usually don’t celebrate it. I was scheduled for Jury Duty and then went to martial arts. I’ve been leading grappling classes lately on Tuesday and Thursday nights.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any cool Mardi Gras stories. Never been to New Orleans or anything. Mardi Gras seems to be a very quiet holiday here on the West coast.

MLM: Are you Irish? Do you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day…why or why not?

LESLIE: Kiss Me! I am an eighth Irish. My Irish ancestry is the only line I can trace all the way back to the country of origin clearly. I usually celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by seeing who’s making corned beef and cabbage and partaking. For the past several years, I’ve wanted to get green beer. I tried making it myself once by just adding food coloring to beer and I added too much – I stained my teeth green!

MLM: In some areas, St. Patty’s Day is celebrated with green beer and all sorts of other green things, like green eggs and ham, have even been given a spotlight this time of year. What kind of activities will be going on in your area?

LESLIE: Umm…I think there are going to be a lot of places offering green beer out here. Also, I know in Old Sacramento there’s always a big St. Patrick’s Day parade.

MLM: One of the greatest things about the Internet is that we can connect with writers of all kinds from all over the globe so we want to know:
a.)What area of the country/world are you from?

LESLIE: I am from Sacramento, California, USA.

b.)What are the average temperatures of your area?

LESLIE: It stays pretty warm most of the time here. We never have snow. It’s awesome.

c.)What type of clothing would most residents be wearing today?

LESLIE: Well, it’s still a bit chilly, so they’d be wearing pants, t-shirt, and probably a light jacket of some kind.

d.)What tips do you have for people to “survive” the weather where you are?

LESLIE: Survive? Ha ha ha ha ha! This is California. It’s so great.

MLM: March has strong connections with Ireland, which is steeped in mysticism. What about you, are you steeped in mysticism? Do you believe in leprechauns and the like, or at least enjoy the tales of them? Why or why not? Are there any mystical beings with ties to Ireland that you really enjoy?

LESLIE: I like to think I’m steeped in mysticism. Maybe a little too much. I think it freaks people out sometimes. I love leprechaun lore. When I was in elementary school, we had to make leprechaun traps and it was so fun. I took one of those little baskets you get strawberries in and tied it to a string and tied that to a big stick so it was like a fishing pole. Then I put lettuce underneath. For some reason, I figured leprechauns would want to eat green things. As for mystical beings with ties to Ireland, I just love Irish mythology in general. What I really love is that the bards of Ireland would lie about their histories on purpose, and make these awesome, elaborate stories. They understood that it doesn’t matter whether these things are literally true, as long as we believe them in our hearts.

MLM: What is your view on March? Does it come in like a lion and exit like a lamb? Do you feel that March is really the time of rebirth, even though many flowers and trees might not start budding until April in northern parts of the world? Why or why not?

LESLIE: I’ve never really thought about how I feel about March before. The month’s only begun and it certainly seems like with everything going on for me, it’s come in like a lion. I guess we’ll see whether it exits like a lamb or not.

MLM: If you could go anywhere in Ireland, where would you go and why?

LESLIE: I would go to County Mayo in Ireland, since that’s where my ancestors were from.

MLM: On that note, we’ll end our interview for this week. Thank you so much for joining us this week! Please check back for the next installment of our feature!