Molly Fader
Molly Fader is the author of The McAvoy Sister’s Book Of Secrets. As Molly O’Keefe she is the USA Today Bestselling author of over 50 contemporary romances. She lives in Toronto Ontario with her husband, two kids and rescue dog.
Twitter: @MollyOKWrites
Instagram: @@MOkeefeAuthor
Are there particular films that have influenced your writing?
When I was growing up my dad was a high school Wrestling coach and this often meant he was gone for weekends. Mom and I travelled to a lot of wrestling matches all over the Midwest but I think every once in a while – she had enough of smelly gyms and looked forward to a weekend at home. One of those weekends, I’m going to say I was about 13 years old – my mom rented three movies for a mother/daughter movie marathon: An Officer and A Gentleman, Dirty Dancing and Dr. Zhivago. That right there is the genesis of just about everything I write.
Is your go to comfort food sweet or savory? Is it something you make yourself? Does food inspire your writing?
I am an equal opportunity comfort food eater. I have, like most people thanks to the pandemic learned some new cooking skills. I make a pretty great focaccia. Food hugely impacts and inspires my writing. Food is a beautiful metaphor for love. And a way to communicate love without saying the words. A friend shared this with me and I think about this constantly and a lot of my characters think about this constantly.
Have you ever experienced Imposter Syndrome?
If there is an author in this world that hasn’t, I would like to meet them. Because I think they’re lying .
What’s the difference (at least for you!) between being a writer and an author? How do you shift gears between the two?
Wow – what a compelling question. I think the difference for me might be the work vs. the work around the work? Like while answering these questions, I feel very much like an author. I’m getting sort of in my head about things, feeling very meta. When I’m writing a book, thinking about a book or editing a book – it feels really active and physical. Like I’m getting my hands dirty.
If you could create a museum exhibition, what would be the theme?
Oh my gosh – Midwest Kitchens or Kitchens of the 1980’s. I feel like kitchens have changed so much – even my own kitchen. It’s sleek right now and kind of minimalist. I have chrome stools and these funky modern lights. It looks a little artistic and cold vs. my mom’s yellow linoleum and cluttered formica countertops with its rotary phone and chalk board messaging system. I love kitchens, I love how they hold a family. I love how they feed and comfort families and bring people together. I love how messy they are. If I could walk through exhibit after exhibit of historical kitchens or famous people’s kitchens– oh, that would make for a great day.
