Marie Phillips is 29 years old - that's 29, not 30 - and has been blogging from her home town of London for far too long. She works part-time in a bookshop and spends the rest of her time writing the novel that she has nearly finished, really, any day now. Her favourite blogging topics are Australian soap operas, David Tennant, home improvement, and stupid things that she has done lately, peppered with the occasional unexpected rant about feminism or global poverty, which is a pretty accurate appraisal of the state of her thoughts. There are no pictures of her anywhere on her blog, but you can be pretty damn sure that someone that funny just has to be a fox. Marie blogs at Struggling Author.
Why do you blog? > Addiction. I started when I was unemployed and lonely and had too much time on my hands, and now I'm employed and not lonely and far too busy, and I can't stop.
What has been your best blogging experience? > Any time anyone leaves a nice comment. I am a comment whore.
What has been your worst blogging experience? > Certain David Tennant fans didn't take kindly to my claims that ours is a Special Relationship (it is, you know), and hounded me out of their forum - very funny later, but not so nice at the time.
What would be your main blogging advice to a novice blogger? > Ignore rude comments.
What are you reading at the moment? > Advance proof of Peter Carey's (fantastic) next novel Theft: A Love Story. Perk of the job.
What is the best novel you've ever read? > Catch 22.
What is your favourite movie? > When Harry Met Sally.
Who is your favourite composer? > J.S. Bach.
Can you name a major moral, political or intellectual issue on which you've ever changed your mind? > Sometimes I go through phases of thinking Neighbours is better than Home and Away, but I usually make it back into the fold.
What philosophical thesis do you think it most important to disseminate? > I wish more people studied and understood anthropology. It's not usually considered to be a philosophy, but I think it is - it's the practical discipline of keeping an open mind about other people's cultures.
What philosophical thesis do you think it most important to combat? > I am a particular hater of the philosophical school of I'M RIGHT, YOU'RE WRONG.
Who are your political heroes? > I owe a debt of thanks to the suffragists and suffragettes, without whom I would be voiceless.
What is your favourite piece of political wisdom? > Animal Farm and When the Wind Blows – influenced me as a child, and never forgotten.
If you could effect one major policy change in the governing of your country, what would it be? > I would bring in proportional representation. I have never voted anywhere where my vote counted.
What do you consider to be the main threat to the future peace and security of the world? > Greed and inertia.
What would be your most important piece of advice about life? > Enjoy it as much as you can without hurting anybody else.
What do you consider the most important personal quality? > Open-mindedness.
What personal fault do you most dislike? > Selfishness.
In what circumstances would you be willing to lie? > 'What do you think of my new haircut?'
Do you have any prejudices you're willing to acknowledge? > I really hate shoplifters.
What is your favourite proverb? > 'Slowly by slowly an egg walks.' Saw it on the back of a bus in Uganda; still puzzling out the exact meaning. Another good Ugandan one: 'Oxygen is human life and welding.' But I think that might have been an advert.
What commonly enjoyed activities do you regard as a waste of time? > Drugs. Become boring and impress all your boring friends!
If you were to relive your life to this point, is there anything you'd do differently? > I wouldn't have eaten brains just to impress my grandmother.
What would you call your autobiography? > Incompetent Lips. According to my orthodontist, that's my problem, and given all the foolish things I've said, eaten, drunk or kissed in my life, I have to agree.
Who would play you in the movie about your life? > Maggie Gyllenhaal. And Jake could visit on set.
What talent would you most like to have? > Singing. And I wish I could accessorize with ease.
What would be your ideal choice of alternative profession or job? > I'd like to be an artisanal cheesemaker. Or a dancer. Or both.
If you could have one (more or less realistic) wish come true, what would you wish for? > I'd like to publish a novel. Or to be on Strictly Come Dancing; that would be cool too. Oh, and I'd like to go on a country house weekend with a group of married people and be given the best room, but that's never going to happen.
If you could have any three guests, past or present, to dinner who would they be? > Jane Austen. Emily Bronte. And Casanova. We spinster writers deserve some fun.
What animal would you most like to be? > A chimp. Like being human without any of the responsibility, plus when they get bored of your company they shit on your head.
[The normblog profile is a weekly Friday morning feature. A list of all the profiles to date, and the links to them, can be found here.]