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Author Revealed

Monica Holloway
Photo Credit: Russell Baer

Monica Holloway

Monica Holloway is the critically acclaimed author of the memoir Driving with Dead People. She has contributed to the anthology Mommy Wars, from which her essay "Red Boots and Cole Haans" was described by Newsday as "brilliant, grimly hilarious." She... Read full bio

Author Revealed:
Q. What is your motto or maxim?
A. SLOW DOWN. (I repeat this several times a day in my head, but I never do it.)
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Monica Holloway: A Self Portrait
Monica Holloway Revealed
About Monica Holloway
  • What is your birthdate?:
    9/8
  • Previous occupations:
    Actress in the theatre, Assistant to the Executive Producers of UNSOLVED MYSTERIES (no I didn't see a real ghost), chasing a hot air balloon around Del Mar, CA and collecting the passengers when it landed, corn detasseling, driving a hearse
  • Favorite job:
    Writing
  • High school and/or college:
    MFA - University of California, San Diego
  • Name of your favorite composer or music artist?:
    Stephen Sondheim
  • Favorite movie:
    Moonstruck
  • Favorite television show:
    30 Rock
Revealing Questions
Q. How would you describe your life in only 8 words?
A. Shockingly, yet happily, not what I expected - ever!
Q. What is your motto or maxim?
A. SLOW DOWN. (I repeat this several times a day in my head, but I never do it.)
Q. How would you describe perfect happiness?
A. Standing in a grassy meadow with every single member of my family as far back as time, and knowing as I take in each perfect face, that all is forgiven between every person there, and all that remains is love. And that's where we start over.
Q. What’s your greatest fear?
A. Being completely alone in the world.
Q. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
A. Litchfield, Connecticut
Q. Which living person do you most admire?
A. Barack Obama
Q. What do you regret most?
A. Not being braver.
Q. If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?
A. To play the cello.
Q. What is your greatest achievement?
A. Giving birth.
Q. What’s your greatest flaw?
A. Not trusting myself.
Q. What’s your best quality?
A. I love to laugh.
Q. If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?
A. A polar bear. I'd be cute and not worry about my enormous butt.
Q. What trait is most noticeable about you?
A. I move very quickly.
Q. Who is your favorite fictional villain?
A. The 10,000 Volt Ghost from Scooby Doo
Q. What is your biggest pet peeve?
A. Someone talking while I'm watching a movie.
Q. What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing?
A. If only I had one.
Q. What’s your fantasy profession?
A. Conductor of the New York Philharmonic
Q. What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
A. Integrity, loyalty and humor
Q. If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?
A. A nine pump, nonfat, no water, easy foam chai latte from Starbucks
Q. What are your 5 favorite songs?
A. The Way by Neil Young, You're the Top sung by Louis Armstrong, Tom Traubert's Blues sung by Tom Waits, My Back Pages covered by Tom Corwin & Tim Hockenberry, Wrapped in my Memory by Shawn Smith, At Long Last Love sung by Sinatra
On Books and Writing
Q. Who are your favorite authors?
A. Kelly Corrigan Maile Meloy Billy Collins Dorothy Allison Wendell Berry Joan Didion Spalding Gray Annie Dillard Pema Chodron Truman Capote
Q. What are your 5 favorite books of all time?
A. THE CATCHER IN THE RYE SLOUCHING TOWARDS BETHLEHEM A CHRISTMAS MEMORY
Q. Is there a book you love to reread?
A. TWO OR THREE THINGS I KNOW FOR SURE by Dorothy Allison
Q. Do you have one sentence of advice for new writers?
A. Show up. Attend classes, workshops, retreats or any place where you can meet other writers and listen to other people's work.
Q. How did you come to write Cowboy & Wills?
A. I wanted the story of Cowboy & Wills to be down on paper, to last. A tribute to two of the bravest.