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INTERVIEW WITH GUEST AUTHOR MARNI MACRAE |
Interview
Q: Tell us a little about yourself, Marni--like where you're from, how you became a writer, what your life is like.
A: I grew up in the woods of Idaho and gypsied throughout most of America. Now I'm settled in the beautiful Northwest with the love of my life and our passel of children. I spend my summers weeding the garden and wondering where that darn cow got off to this time. I spend winters curled up with a book in front of the fire. I'm old school that way! I've always dreamed of being a writer, but thanks to being lucky enough to be a wife, mother, and pioneer of mostly finished projects, I frequently write in the dark of night whilst children/husband/animals sleep.
Q: Tell us a little about yourself, Marni--like where you're from, how you became a writer, what your life is like.
A: I grew up in the woods of Idaho and gypsied throughout most of America. Now I'm settled in the beautiful Northwest with the love of my life and our passel of children. I spend my summers weeding the garden and wondering where that darn cow got off to this time. I spend winters curled up with a book in front of the fire. I'm old school that way! I've always dreamed of being a writer, but thanks to being lucky enough to be a wife, mother, and pioneer of mostly finished projects, I frequently write in the dark of night whilst children/husband/animals sleep.
Q: How important are names to you in your books? Do you choose the names based on liking the way it sounds or the meaning? Do you have any name choosing resources you recommend?
A: Names are really important. I learned long ago to never use names that sound the same or have similar spellings, begin with the same letter. It can easily confuse a reader as they grow to know the characters. The names I use are usually ones I have a personal relationship with. I will use names of people I know sometimes, although the characters rarely reflect those people. It's kind of like giving my friends and family a secret identity. :) If I am stuck, I have a baby name book I will reference. It has names from dozens of cultures with their meanings.
Q: What is your least favorite part of the publishing/writing process?
A: The editing. I am terrible at it! I try to get it as close to perfect as I can, but I always feel embarrassed when I send it off to get the real treatment. I am punctuationally challenged. It's genetic. :)
Q: Is there a certain type of scene that's harder for you to write than others? Love? Action? Racy?
A: I hate writing tension, especially misunderstandings between the hero and heroine. I am a happy-ever-after kind of girl, so throwing in the tension always makes me cringe. In real life I am a huge communicator, so I always want the characters to talk it out. :) I'm pretty sucky at writing petty drama. I like the drama to be situational, not due to character flaws. I have a hard time reading that kind of drama as well and have put down many a romance that frustrated me.
Q: What are you working on now? What is your next project?
A: I am working on a book titled Nameless about a young woman who loses her memory. The story is a romance, but focuses more on what a person would do if left in the world at square one and the mystery surrounding her memory loss. It's a difficult story to write because of the challenge of the character and the inability to reference the normal things a person would know. I'm really excited to see how it ends!
Q: What were you like as a child? Your favorite toy?
A: I was a very shy little girl and attached to my mother's apron strings. I didn't have many toys, but learned to read at a very young age. Books were always my go-to entertainment. Or tree climbing. And horses. I loved horses.
Q: Do you have any scars? What are they from?
A: I have a scar on my upper lip from a car accident when I was ten. I cracked the windshield with my head and the dashboard with my face. It is one of those battle wounds Ive learned to live with. I have a cesarean scar as well. Three of my boys were troublemakers--one was breech and the other two had health issues that forced surgery. That is a scar I am proud to bear! My boys are champions. :)
Q: Have you ever gotten into a bar fight?
A: Lol! No, but I was a bartender for a few years and had to break up a few. Guys don't tend to want to hit a girl (especially when she's the person responsible for their alcohol flow), so it wasn't too difficult. :)
Q: Is there one subject you would never write about as an author? What is it?
A: I have an aversion to horror. I just can't handle abuse or dismemberment or chainsaw slashers, that kind of thing. I'm not all fairy dust and rainbow sprinkles or anything, I just know my limits. :)
Q: Do you read your reviews? Do you respond to them, good or bad? Do you have any advice on how to deal with the bad?
A: Oh, yes, I read every one of them. I respond privately to some if I know how to reach them, but am grateful for all of them. Even the bad. If you decide to put your work out there, you would be silly to think everyone is going to love it. I roll with the punches and acknowledge that we are all entitled to our opinions. I also recognize that I have room to grow and improve. Good reviewers will help to point out my weak spots to work on.
A: Names are really important. I learned long ago to never use names that sound the same or have similar spellings, begin with the same letter. It can easily confuse a reader as they grow to know the characters. The names I use are usually ones I have a personal relationship with. I will use names of people I know sometimes, although the characters rarely reflect those people. It's kind of like giving my friends and family a secret identity. :) If I am stuck, I have a baby name book I will reference. It has names from dozens of cultures with their meanings.
Q: What is your least favorite part of the publishing/writing process?
A: The editing. I am terrible at it! I try to get it as close to perfect as I can, but I always feel embarrassed when I send it off to get the real treatment. I am punctuationally challenged. It's genetic. :)
Q: Is there a certain type of scene that's harder for you to write than others? Love? Action? Racy?
A: I hate writing tension, especially misunderstandings between the hero and heroine. I am a happy-ever-after kind of girl, so throwing in the tension always makes me cringe. In real life I am a huge communicator, so I always want the characters to talk it out. :) I'm pretty sucky at writing petty drama. I like the drama to be situational, not due to character flaws. I have a hard time reading that kind of drama as well and have put down many a romance that frustrated me.
Q: What are you working on now? What is your next project?
A: I am working on a book titled Nameless about a young woman who loses her memory. The story is a romance, but focuses more on what a person would do if left in the world at square one and the mystery surrounding her memory loss. It's a difficult story to write because of the challenge of the character and the inability to reference the normal things a person would know. I'm really excited to see how it ends!
Q: What were you like as a child? Your favorite toy?
A: I was a very shy little girl and attached to my mother's apron strings. I didn't have many toys, but learned to read at a very young age. Books were always my go-to entertainment. Or tree climbing. And horses. I loved horses.
Q: Do you have any scars? What are they from?
A: I have a scar on my upper lip from a car accident when I was ten. I cracked the windshield with my head and the dashboard with my face. It is one of those battle wounds Ive learned to live with. I have a cesarean scar as well. Three of my boys were troublemakers--one was breech and the other two had health issues that forced surgery. That is a scar I am proud to bear! My boys are champions. :)
Q: Have you ever gotten into a bar fight?
A: Lol! No, but I was a bartender for a few years and had to break up a few. Guys don't tend to want to hit a girl (especially when she's the person responsible for their alcohol flow), so it wasn't too difficult. :)
Q: Is there one subject you would never write about as an author? What is it?
A: I have an aversion to horror. I just can't handle abuse or dismemberment or chainsaw slashers, that kind of thing. I'm not all fairy dust and rainbow sprinkles or anything, I just know my limits. :)
Q: Do you read your reviews? Do you respond to them, good or bad? Do you have any advice on how to deal with the bad?
A: Oh, yes, I read every one of them. I respond privately to some if I know how to reach them, but am grateful for all of them. Even the bad. If you decide to put your work out there, you would be silly to think everyone is going to love it. I roll with the punches and acknowledge that we are all entitled to our opinions. I also recognize that I have room to grow and improve. Good reviewers will help to point out my weak spots to work on.
