Apropos of Nothing: Rosemary Smith Answers 5 Questions

Rosemary was born in Louisiana. She used to tell people she had the good sense to leave the state before she was branded a Cajun. People laughed. When she got older and learned a few things, she realized that Louisiana was not a bad place at all.

As a military family, she and her husband, Al, lived in Europe for nearly six years and met people from all over the world. Rosemary sold her watercolor and oil paintings to feed her creative streak. She also wrote poems and stories but never shared them with anyone outside her family.

When Al retired after twenty-six years in the Army, they chose to come back to Louisiana for him to fly for Petroleum Helicopters. He loved it. Rosemary continued with her real-estate career, and life was good.

They discovered very quickly that they’d both missed the sounds of cicadas in the summer heat, the tastes of crispy fried shrimp, spicy boiled crawfish and icy cold Sugartown watermelon, and definitely the people.

Rosemary likes watching the egrets fish in the coulee (a fancy name for a fancy drainage ditch) in the woods behind her house. The little green lizards even inspired her to write a series of books for children. She enjoys making a big gumbo on the first cool night of autumn. Most of all, she enjoys hearing the voices of her Cajun friends as they sit around her table to share it.

Louisiana is a magical place, full of mystery, wildlife, good food, and fun. Rosemary won’t be leaving again. When she dies, they can bury her remains in a cypress box in the swamps she loved. Louisiana is home.

How do you decide between right and wrong? 

 I ask myself if I would want my mother to know about it. My mother must have instilled a massive sense of guilt in me from birth. She nearly died having me, so even now I feel like everything I do has to justify my existence. I only recently realized that all my novels and many of my stories have an underlying theme. I am sixty-five years old and still trying to please my mother. My characters seem to feel the same way. Even my Vampire. His mother was the one who asked, “Does it have to be human blood?”

Tell about a "special" gift that you received when you were a child.

My first really “special” gift was a set of World Book Encyclopedias….Red Covers… I read them from the front cover of A to the back cover of Z more than once. My parents thought it was to help me with my school work, but it opened doors to all kinds of exciting worlds and made me even more curious about EVERYTHING. It made me want to see it for myself.

When do you feel most confident? 

When someone reads something I wrote and says good things about it. Praise makes me brave.

Say something about spontaneity.

I am quite spontaneous. Heap a little praise on me about one of my books or stories and then take a few steps backwards. It could get dangerous…in a fun way. 

What is one thing you could do to improve your life? 

Write a book that people like well enough to tell their friends about so that it ends up a NYT bestseller. And be Richer, Thinner and Taller…..lol………if all that fails, I want to win the Powerball….

To learn more about Rosemary and her writing, visit:

Her Facebook Page

Her Twitter Profile

Her Pinterest Boards

Her Website

Thank you for stopping by, Rosemary. I remember the first time I opened up an encyclopedia – it was like getting access to a world I’d never known existed. I couldn’t concentrate on what I was actually looking up because of all the interesting tidbits around it!

On Wednesday, Jo Briggs will be answering five questions. I look forward to seeing you again then!