Three Strikes Thursday
Barry Carlson, a pro baseball success, could have any woman he wanted. Except one. Twenty years before, Barry won Amanda Marsh’s love, only to crush her heart. He’s returned to Serendipity, determined to win her back. Recently divorced, Amanda is happy—until Barry slides back into her life. Can they put aside old wounds and new misunderstandings to find a forever love?
Two On Tuesday
Blane Weston’s construction company needs the venture capital Matt Durand has. With his reputation for hostile takeovers, she wants no part of him. Mixing business with pleasure, she’s off to Serendipity to hook up with a former flame. Not used to being denied, Matt follows. How can Blane enjoy a journey to her past when Matt is determined to dictate her future?
One Fateful Friday
His high school reunion in Serendipity over, hospital CEO Jake Holbrook regrets his single state. When a special woman from his past tumbles back into his life—and his bed—he’s determined to keep her there. Family practitioner Bethany Thomas avoids an entanglement with her new boss, but unknowingly betrays him. As the holidays approach, can they overcome a lack of trust to find their Christmas miracle?
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERALike many writers, it’s hard to determine exactly when my fiction writing career began. I remember composing a short story in grade school (I have no idea about what) which was chosen for publication in an all school anthology. A journalism class taken in junior high school led to a job on the school newspaper and a weekly column.
I always loved reading. I loved writing too. Someday, I thought, maybe when I grew up and received the right training, I could actually write a book. After all, I was often told, laughingly most times, I had an extremely vivid imagination.
Through the years, the desire to write was always there. I had so many ideas and characters roaming around in my head, so many stories. But the business of living—going to college, getting married then raising a family—took precedence over something as frivolous as writing a book.
Then one day out of the blue I was downsized—effective immediately—from a job I’d held for over thirty years. What seemed so unfair at the time, I now recognize the tremendous gift I was given that day. As I’m now able to spend more and more time doing what I love—writing romantic fiction—I find I really do have an abundance of stories to share.
- Margo’s Website | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | Goodreads | Amazon
- Buy Link: Amazon
- Genre: Contemporary Romance – Anthology
- Release Date: August 11, 2014
- Length: 427 Pages
Interview:
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
That’s a hard question to answer. It wasn’t so much something that I realized. Writing was what you could term the family business. My dad was a writer, as were many of his friends and associates. Novelists, children’s book authors, script writers, newspaper reporters all were a part of my life as I was growing up. A short story I wrote in grade school was published in an all school anthology. I guess you could say once I saw my first byline, I was hooked. Someday, I thought, when I receive the proper training, I’ll write a book too. Ha! Little did I know that’s not exactly how these things work.
How long does it take you to write a book?
The length of time involved really depends on the book. Some of them come out so much easier than others. For one of my books, Only If You Dare, I received a contract on my proposal long before the book itself was finished. Being under deadline, I completed that one in about six months. Others, some as yet unsold, I’ve been working on for a few years, revising a plot line that doesn’t work, introducing new characters. My general writing schedule is Monday through Friday from 8 AM to NOON. Unfortunately, the entire time isn’t always devoted to pure writing. Some of it is used up doing promotional work or critiquing manuscripts for other writers. If I don’t have a book pretty much completed within about eight months, I start to feel as if I’m getting bogged down.
Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
For me, ideas come from everywhere. News items, observing people. The beginning of the idea for my current series in progress, Blood Brothers In Blue, came from my husband. I was getting nowhere with something else I was working on and, discouraged, asked him to brainstorm with me. He ended up doing most of the talking while I pretty much took notes.
When did you write your first book and how old were you?
The first full length novel I wrote was titled Beyond Yearning, a historical romance in the spirit of a Kathleen Woodiwiss book. It is one of my works that never will, and never deserves to see the light of day. It is that bad, but I still remember the opening line. Erin stared dejectedly out the window. My prose went downhill from there. I was about thirty years old at the time. I had always wanted to write a book, but I figured when the time was right. After I’d received the necessary education, established and maintained a successful career. Married, raised a family. That kind of thinking was wrong. One day, I literally, took out some notebook paper and started writing. I’ve been at it ever since.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
We’re busy with the same things as everyone else. Band concerts, little league games and such. Plus my husband and I try to walk three or four miles a day. Spend quiet time together. When I’m alone and have the time, I love to read. Cooking and cleaning aren’t exactly high on my list of enjoyable activities.
What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?
Where do I start? I learned so much over the years. I’m a true pantser; I make do with a little bit of plot and character concepts and no outline. I begin with the germ of an idea and simply write. It’s sort of a stream of consciousness process. Then, I’ll be writing on, say, chapter six, when the scene and dialogue for chapter eleven pops into my head. I drop everything and write that. There really is no rhyme or reason to what I manage to get down on paper, but somehow all the things my characters did, and I had no clue why, eventually make sense and I, hopefully, create a cohesive story.
Do you have any suggestions to help me become a better writer? If so, what are they?
This is my heartfelt answer. Been there, done that. I totally gave up on my fiction writing for a few years because of work pressures, lack of time, family issues, and it’s one of my greatest regrets. My advice really is non-advice. Whenever you can and in any way you can – write. Always take yourself and your writing seriously, even if no one else does. Make time for yourself and your writing. No. Matter. What. Believe in what you are doing. From a practical standpoint, nothing’s perfect. As the song lyrics go – life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. Don’t expect the sun to rise and unlimited writing time to arrive just because you want it to. That’s not how it works. Carry some type of writing device with you at all times, whether you prefer paper and pen, iPhone slash Pad, internet applications, a tape recorder. Whatever works best for you. Capture your ideas, descriptions and dialogue as soon as they come to mind because, believe me, those things won’t stick around for long. Certainly not until you have the chance to sit down quietly and actually write, uninterrupted, the way you want to. A good sense of self is also an important tool. Enjoy the positive comments and reviews and accept and try to learn from the negative ones. Don’t get me wrong, those bad reviews hurt, but everyone’s entitled to their own opinion.
Do you hear from readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
A reviewer once said my love scenes are sexy, sensuous and basically g-rated. I like hearing that. To me, it means my characters have connected emotionally rather than just physically and my reader has become involved as well. Another reader sent me a letter after reading an article I’d written in a national magazine about never giving up. She said she had drawn strength from what I wrote and thanked me for sharing. That was pretty neat.
What would you like my readers to know?
Like many romance authors, I get my share of comments about how I write ‘bodice rippers’, adult only stories that focus on sex and little else. Not only is this an unfair assumption, in my case, this is so untrue. Whoever makes those comments has no idea what my work is about. Many of my books go above and beyond the relationship between the hero and heroine. For instance, my heroine in Night Stars and Mourning Doves overcame sexual abuse for her HEA. In another book, Only If You Dare, my hero, a sitting judge, suffered from PTSD. Other issues I’ve dealt with in Saturday In Serendipity are adoption, infertility, losing a career. My heroine in Two On Tuesday never got to meet her father because he died in the war. Those kinds of baggage, if you will. True human issues, and the emotions, along with the triumphs that go with them.
Thanks, too, for having me here today. I love the title of your blog. Deal Sharing Aunt, you sound like my kind of lady.
Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
That’s a hard question to answer. It wasn’t so much something that I realized. Writing was what you could term the family business. My dad was a writer, as were many of his friends and associates. Novelists, children’s book authors, script writers, newspaper reporters all were a part of my life as I was growing up. A short story I wrote in grade school was published in an all school anthology. I guess you could say once I saw my first byline, I was hooked. Someday, I thought, when I receive the proper training, I’ll write a book too. Ha! Little did I know that’s not exactly how these things work.
How long does it take you to write a book?
The length of time involved really depends on the book. Some of them come out so much easier than others. For one of my books, Only If You Dare, I received a contract on my proposal long before the book itself was finished. Being under deadline, I completed that one in about six months. Others, some as yet unsold, I’ve been working on for a few years, revising a plot line that doesn’t work, introducing new characters. My general writing schedule is Monday through Friday from 8 AM to NOON. Unfortunately, the entire time isn’t always devoted to pure writing. Some of it is used up doing promotional work or critiquing manuscripts for other writers. If I don’t have a book pretty much completed within about eight months, I start to feel as if I’m getting bogged down.
Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
For me, ideas come from everywhere. News items, observing people. The beginning of the idea for my current series in progress, Blood Brothers In Blue, came from my husband. I was getting nowhere with something else I was working on and, discouraged, asked him to brainstorm with me. He ended up doing most of the talking while I pretty much took notes.
When did you write your first book and how old were you?
The first full length novel I wrote was titled Beyond Yearning, a historical romance in the spirit of a Kathleen Woodiwiss book. It is one of my works that never will, and never deserves to see the light of day. It is that bad, but I still remember the opening line. Erin stared dejectedly out the window. My prose went downhill from there. I was about thirty years old at the time. I had always wanted to write a book, but I figured when the time was right. After I’d received the necessary education, established and maintained a successful career. Married, raised a family. That kind of thinking was wrong. One day, I literally, took out some notebook paper and started writing. I’ve been at it ever since.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
We’re busy with the same things as everyone else. Band concerts, little league games and such. Plus my husband and I try to walk three or four miles a day. Spend quiet time together. When I’m alone and have the time, I love to read. Cooking and cleaning aren’t exactly high on my list of enjoyable activities.
What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?
Where do I start? I learned so much over the years. I’m a true pantser; I make do with a little bit of plot and character concepts and no outline. I begin with the germ of an idea and simply write. It’s sort of a stream of consciousness process. Then, I’ll be writing on, say, chapter six, when the scene and dialogue for chapter eleven pops into my head. I drop everything and write that. There really is no rhyme or reason to what I manage to get down on paper, but somehow all the things my characters did, and I had no clue why, eventually make sense and I, hopefully, create a cohesive story.
Do you have any suggestions to help me become a better writer? If so, what are they?
This is my heartfelt answer. Been there, done that. I totally gave up on my fiction writing for a few years because of work pressures, lack of time, family issues, and it’s one of my greatest regrets. My advice really is non-advice. Whenever you can and in any way you can – write. Always take yourself and your writing seriously, even if no one else does. Make time for yourself and your writing. No. Matter. What. Believe in what you are doing. From a practical standpoint, nothing’s perfect. As the song lyrics go – life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. Don’t expect the sun to rise and unlimited writing time to arrive just because you want it to. That’s not how it works. Carry some type of writing device with you at all times, whether you prefer paper and pen, iPhone slash Pad, internet applications, a tape recorder. Whatever works best for you. Capture your ideas, descriptions and dialogue as soon as they come to mind because, believe me, those things won’t stick around for long. Certainly not until you have the chance to sit down quietly and actually write, uninterrupted, the way you want to. A good sense of self is also an important tool. Enjoy the positive comments and reviews and accept and try to learn from the negative ones. Don’t get me wrong, those bad reviews hurt, but everyone’s entitled to their own opinion.
Do you hear from readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
A reviewer once said my love scenes are sexy, sensuous and basically g-rated. I like hearing that. To me, it means my characters have connected emotionally rather than just physically and my reader has become involved as well. Another reader sent me a letter after reading an article I’d written in a national magazine about never giving up. She said she had drawn strength from what I wrote and thanked me for sharing. That was pretty neat.
What would you like my readers to know?
Like many romance authors, I get my share of comments about how I write ‘bodice rippers’, adult only stories that focus on sex and little else. Not only is this an unfair assumption, in my case, this is so untrue. Whoever makes those comments has no idea what my work is about. Many of my books go above and beyond the relationship between the hero and heroine. For instance, my heroine in Night Stars and Mourning Doves overcame sexual abuse for her HEA. In another book, Only If You Dare, my hero, a sitting judge, suffered from PTSD. Other issues I’ve dealt with in Saturday In Serendipity are adoption, infertility, losing a career. My heroine in Two On Tuesday never got to meet her father because he died in the war. Those kinds of baggage, if you will. True human issues, and the emotions, along with the triumphs that go with them.
Thanks, too, for having me here today. I love the title of your blog. Deal Sharing Aunt, you sound like my kind of lady.
Giveaway
Great interview, thank you!!
ReplyDeleteNikolina. You're welcome. I appreciate you taking time to read about me.
Deletethank you for the chance to win :)
ReplyDeleteLisa. My pleasure. Best of luck.
DeleteThanks for holding this giveaway.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure. Thank you.
DeleteGreat interview with a lot of perspective on your writing process. I learned things I didn't know about you, and that's saying something!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the chance in the giveaway.
ReplyDelete