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Allison Larkin

Internationally Best-Selling Author

You are here: Home / 3 More Ws / 3 More Ws – Stacey Ballis

3 More Ws – Stacey Ballis

August 3, 2021 Filed Under: 3 More Ws, 3Ws, author interviews

Stacey Ballis is so cool. She’s the author of TEN foodie novels that are all packed with humor, heart, and the kind of food descriptions that will not only make you hungry, but convince you that you’ve suddenly acquired mad skills and can pop into the kitchen to whip up everything you’ve read about. And maybe you have acquired these skills. I learn something new from every one of her novels. And Stacey will give you the recipes. She’s even written a cookbook! 

I’m so happy to have Stacey Ballis back for 3 More Ws. You can read her original interview here. 

Thank you, Stacey!

~AL

 

When did you discover your creative calling(s)?

Well, depends how you mean. According to my parents, my career in fiction began nearly as soon as I had speech, as I elevated fibbing to an art form. “I didn’t take the chocolates.” Says the two year old with chocolate all over her face. My actual writing career started in second grade, when I wrote a poem entitled “Suppose I Were A Snowflake”, an existential piece about the self and winter’s dark hold on the soul, which ended up getting published in an anthology of the best creative writing of that year by Chicago Public School students, and when the paperback copy of “Freckled Fantasies” landed and I saw my name in print, the fire was lit.

Where do you do your best work?

On the computer. Oh, wait, you meant geographically. I work on the couch, with the computer on the ottoman in my living room. I thought this was because I did not have an office. Then we renovated our house and I got a really gorgeous office, which I made my perfect cozy retreat, beautiful antique desk, walls upholstered in moss green velvet to create a super quiet calm environment with no outside noise distractions, plenty of bookshelves. And promptly discovered I still just work best in the living room. Ooops. I do also do good work at our weekend place, which is where I go when I am up against deadline and really need to be able to work round the clock.

Who are your great mentors, inspirations, or guides?

My grandmother, MFK Fisher, Julia Child, Jane Austen feel like my spirit guides, and my circle of writer pals are all amazing mentors to me.  My husband is my inspiration and muse. And Eloise represents my singular goal of how to live.

Links

Website: http://www.staceyballis.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stacey.ballis/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/staceyballis
Facebook: facebook.com/staceyballis1
 Buy Stacey’s Books

 

 

 

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I saw this little dresser at my favorite magic ant I saw this little dresser at my favorite magic antique store sometime in November and didn’t buy it. But then, of course, I kept thinking about her. She’s the perfect size for my office, and I found those drawer pulls hilarious. When I finally went back in December, I told myself I was shopping for wall art, because I assumed she would be gone. But she was right where I’d seen her last: balanced on another dresser with boxes of old picture frames and tchotchkes piled on top (the true mark of a magic antique store). I didn’t even realize she had a towel rack — that she was a wash stand, not a dresser — until I asked about the price, said I’d take her, and my favorite magic antique store person asked if we needed to unscrew the towel rack to fit her in my car. I suspect this little sweetie is not from the days of necessary wash stands so much as from a country kitchen in the 80s. She was in rough shape, and not made from wood worth stripping and re-staining, but her price reflected that. I had to disassemble that door and put it back together, but I’d been in the market for some experience working with old furniture, and she made me feel brave about trying. I thought about painting her something more neutral, but I’m so glad I didn’t. She deserves to be pink. She’s not perfectly painted and needs a few touch ups. I learned some things about chalk paint and finishes. The drawers stick a bit. Eventually, I’d like to line them with fabric and when I do, I might plane the edges to smooth things out. But goodness, I love her in a way that I wouldn’t if I hadn’t spent time cleaning away her cobwebs and scrubbing the grime from her hilarious drawer pulls. She’s also become a little shrine for the book I’m working on, which makes me love her even more. I’ve always been a person who sees some soul in certain things, and I’m learning to cherish that idiosyncrasy, because there’s so much joy to be found in a brave little toaster or an underdog wash stand. We’re not here in the world for all that long. We may as well love some bright little things. #furnituremakeover
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