Karin Gillespie Neches

You say either, I say eyether.” In the words of the Gershwin classic, either name you call Karin Gillespie , aka Karen Neches, this local novelist has parlayed her bottom dollar common sense into a full-time writing career. Best known for her books built around a humorous dollar store cast of characters, Gillespie most recently was hunting in North Carolina for an MFA in creative writing and bears. Either, eyether, way you look at it, betcha she came home with both.  
 
I frequently say...
Sorry about your dented fender. Why? Because I’m a terrible driver. If you see me coming on Washington Road, watch out!

On my next vacation, I will....
I can’t tell you. Whatever goes on in Gatlinburg stays in Gatlinburg.

What is one thing people mistakenly assume about you?
That I’m Michelle’s Pfeiffer’s twin sister. Very annoying actually since she’s three years older than me.

What’s your favorite phone app?
I have a Nokia circa 1997. But if it were app friendly I’d get a restaurant locator. I travel a lot and always want to know the location of the nearest meat and three. 

Most recent tweet?
My last tweet was, “Drink your wine. There are sober kids in Africa.”

The best thing about being a writer...
The lunches with Stephen King. The pots of money delivered to my home daily. The vivid imagination.

The worst thing about being a writer...
There is no downside. It’s the best identity in the world. Through my novels I can be anyone and I love that.

In your most recent work, Beatles music serves as an earthly field guide for your main celestial character. For the unconverted, why the Beatles?
They have a lot of songs and most everyone knows them. My characters were supposed to learn life lessons from the songs. Better to learn “Love Is All You Need” than “Love Stinks.”