This week's Author Spotlight, we got to sit down and talk with the author for a bit. So, without further adieu, let's meet the author.
Most of my favorite authors are indie or self-pubbed, what made me you decide to go that route?
I think it was lack of experience and knowledge. I have always been impulsive and leap before I look. When the manuscript for The Bridge of Deaths was ready I never gave it a second thought, I wanted the information out there.
That was with AuthorHouse a vanity publisher, I have since learned easier and less expensive ways to move forward and more important, have more control.
What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?
That as I am molding characters and stories they sometimes mold me. Right now I am working on Bruce, Sculpting a Life the main character is from Death of a Sculptor. He is a man who falls in love with ease and has many wives, I have been married for 26 years and as I create Bruce he makes me more open minded.
When I created Maggie for The Bridge of Deaths I either did not realize or was not a pacifist, but today I am very aware that I object to war, all war.
Which of your characters are you most like? Least like?
There is surely even in the worst of them a little bit of me and hopefully in the best of them a lot of me. I cannot choose, they are in away all my children!
Do you have a particular writing habit?
I make lists. I always keep a notebook handy and write ideas, what the character might do, say, I mull over the information a lot, my writing process involves loads of thinking time.
If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
I cannot choose. I believe we have so much to learn from every other writer. If we are open-minded and read with care there is so much to learn. I chose certain writers and read all their works carefully and often in chronological order, it is so fascinating to see how their writing voice matures and grows. I find great encouragement in the idea that I too will improve with time and experience.
Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
Too many wonderful new ones and I don’t want to single out anyone. So instead I’ll tell you of an old one I rediscovered recently. Scott Turow, I had not realized that he had a sequel to Presumed innocent a book I loved twenty years ago came out in 2008. I recently read it and it was fantastic, like reconnecting with old friends and working out the ins and outs of a murder.
What is the hardest part of your writing?
Editing. It is such hard work to accept that parts of a story may well be useless, and revising and editing and still finding room for improvement.
Do you have any advice for other writers?
Breathe, enjoy, create. Remember that your voice is unique, learn from other writers but keep your originality.
Describe yourself in three words.
Happy. Lucky. International.
I know characters are like children but if you could choose, who’s your favorite from your books? Of all time?
Here you go again. You would make a good reporter! Okay I love all of them but if cornered I will choose Maggie from The Bridge of Deaths I love her carefree manner and hunger for knowledge.
Any song or songs that could basically sum up the overall mood of your current book?
No. Some days I think every song I hear fits with what I am writing and other days, like today, I just cannot imagine matching my writing to a song, like it would be too arrogant.
Do you plot out your books or just freely write them and let the characters tell you what to do next?
I am a combination plotter/Pantser. I have a concrete plan for what a story will do, but I do improvise with certain scenes. When I was in school and had to hand outlines for papers, I always wrote the paper first and then the Outline from the paper.
If you had to choose, which writer would you consider the biggest influence in your writing?
I do have a super favorite W. Somerset Maugham. His last book was titled CATALINA he wrote it 10 years before I was born and the book starts out on August 15th, which is the date of the plane crash in The Bridge of Deaths . How cool is that?
That is totally cool!!
What are your current projects? Can you share a little of your current work with us?
I don’t share excerpts from WIPs but if you have read Death of a Sculptor you are familiar with part of Bruce’s story from the perspective of others.
Bruce is a world-renowned sculptor who had a shelf life for love. The moment he loves a woman he cannot help but sculpt her shape and that betrays his lack of fidelity. This book can serve as a sequel or prequel to Death of a Sculptor.
Thank you so much for stopping by today, M.C.V. Egan and answering some questions. If you would like to follow this author and keep up-to-date on this author you can follow her at Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Goodreads, and Amazon.
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