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Featured Author - Maggie Dana


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As an established member of the forum, I thought that Maggie would make an interesting Featured Author. Maggie's book, Beachcombing, is published in June by panmacmillan, and she will be touring in the UK at various events and book signings.

 

Before she rushes off to do this, I'll let Maggie introduce herself a little better, and tell us more about the book. Once she returns, she will able to answer some of our questions.

 

Maggie, over to you... :smile2:

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Hi Michelle, and everyone ... and thanks for inviting me to be a featured author. I really am humbled (and excited) by this. Most unexpected, believe me.

 

First, let me mention I had no youthful aspirations to be a writer. Oh, I enjoyed writing, especially essays, but I never kept a journal or yearned to see myself in print, so it was a big surprise when I did, and it all happened because I was bored. So here goes ... my 'potholed path to publication' saga.

 

I grew up in England and moved to the States in my early 20s to get married, where I raised a family, got divorced, and found myself back in the job market at 35 with 3 kids and a half-finished house to support. After 5 years in a soul-destroying job with an engineering firm, I managed to wangle a lowly position at a US children's publisher, but my absentee boss left me with way too much time on my hands, so to keep boredom at bay (and to look efficiently busy), I wrote a kid's book. On their time, their typewriter, and their paper, and then (oh, sweet irony!) I sold it to them for $1,500, which was a nice chunk of change back then.

 

But this wasn't going to support me and the kids, so I kept working days and I wrote at night, and on weekends I continued to finish my house. I wrote a second book for the same publisher, then a series called 'Best Friends' for another. After that, life got in the way (launching my own business, surviving breast cancer, and several other pesky interruptions) and I didn't pick up my pen again until 1999. Women's fiction this time. I'd had no trouble finding publishers for my kids' books; how hard would it be for a novel? (Do I hear laughter? Snorts of derision?)

 

I'll stop now, and add more to my saga as we proceed. As for my novel, Beachcombing, here's what a friend, another author, had to say about it, which pretty much sums it up:

 

"Funny, sophisticated, and wise, Beachcombing is a coming-of-middle-age story about girlfriends when you're no longer a girl, about growing up when you're already grown up, and the price you're willing to pay for the love of your life."

 

I'm at home, in the U.S. until June 1st, then I fly to England for 3 weeks to help Beachcombing get off the ground ... so I'm ready to answer questions now. I'll also be checking in with the Forum while back on my UK home turf, but I'll be at the mercy of friends' computers (they're all on PCs, and I'm a Mac user) so I'll do my best to figure things out and keep up with this thread.

 

OK ... over to you.

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Hi Maggie and welcome to the Featured Author slot!

 

I've ordered BEACHCOMBING on Amazon and I'm really looking forward to reading it soon. I have a special interest in mature heroines. I write about them and my 21st birthday was a very long time ago. :smile2:

 

I'm also looking forward to BEACHCOMBING's wonderful setting. I love coastal/island books and New England is somewhere I've always wanted to go. How important is the setting for you when you're planning and writing a book? (I'm beginning to think I can't come up with an idea for a book or develop the story until I can "see" where it's taking place.)

 

And can I be nosey and ask if you, er, ever fall in love with your heroes? (You're among friends here!)

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Hi Linda:

 

Thanks for the welcome, and thanks for ordering the book. Setting is super important to me. I need to 'see' it before writing it, so I took the easy way out for Beachcombing and set the story in places I know and love: coastal New England, London, and Cornwall. The photos in the banner at the top of my web site are ones I took in my own home town (in Connecticut) last summer. Our local beach is less than 2 miles from my house; that shot of the marina is a 10-minute walk away.

 

And, oh yes, I certainly do fall in love with my heroes, the rotters and the nice guys. That said, I also fall in love with my female characters as well, and when I created Lizzie, the necessary 'best friend' of the main character, I took the most endearing traits from several of my own best friends and mushed them all into one character. Then I added a few quirks, an irritating detail or two because I didn't want her to be too perfect; I wanted her to be real.

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Hello Maggie,

 

What inspires you in your writing? Is it some 'thing' that you have in your mind over a period of time and it evolves there, or is it more a flash that sends you racing to your pen, pencil or keyboard? Indeed, is it something you can qualify?

 

I am fascinated by the first thought / inspiration aspect of a story that results in it being written.

 

Thank you :smile2:

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Hello Maggie,

 

What inspires you in your writing? Is it some 'thing' that you have in your mind over a period of time and it evolves there, or is it more a flash that sends you racing to your pen, pencil or keyboard? Indeed, is it something you can qualify?

 

I am fascinated by the first thought / inspiration aspect of a story that results in it being written.

 

Thank you :smile2:

Hi Chrissy:

 

There two things that triggered Beachcombing. One was a challenge; the other was a feeling of being left out!

 

First the challenge: For several years I've been whingeing at the lack of novels aimed at women in their middle years that featured independent, feisty women who tackled life head on. A good friend challenged me to write one of my own, so I did, and I've dedicated the novel to her!

 

As for other: Living in the US, I've watched (feeling a bit left out of the fun) as my friends here attended high school and college reunions where they reconnected with old friends and sometimes with old flames. I grew up in the UK and don't have that option, especially since I've been here for many years, and my school in England no longer exists. Then the internet made reunions even easier, so I got to wondering what it'd be like to meet someone from the past, someone you've not seen in 30+ years, someone you were rather fond of, maybe.

 

And that's pretty much what got things going, really, and the story pretty much grew from there. But a midlife reunion was just the basic premise, and other ideas would just sprout in my mind without warning, often at the most inconvenient times, such as when I'm in a traffic jam or in the shower. You just have to hope you remember them when you're finally able to grab a pencil and notepad.

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Hi Maggie :D

 

I was just wondering, do you ever base any of your books on your real life experiences?

 

I've always thought it would be great to be able to write a book and my husband is always saying since I read so much, I should give it a go, but I'm not sure I have the imagination to make it interesting enough. I'm always amazed by the depth of imagination it must take to make a story interesting, never mind engrossing, and I take my hat off to anyone who can do this successfully!

 

Well done to you and I wish you continued success :smile2:

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Hi Maggie!

 

First off, congratulations on the publication of your latest novel and on being our latest featured author. :smile2:

 

I have two questions to ask you:

 

1) Do/have you base/d any of your characters on people you know? If so, was any one person transcribed directly into a character or are they mnore composites of several different people? Or are they all completely made up?

 

2) What would be your number one piece of advice to an aspiring writer?

 

Thanks. :D

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I was just wondering, do you ever base any of your books on your real life experiences?

 

I've pulled a few details from my life, but nothing major ... just a few bits here and there, and the setting, as mentioned above, is based on the small New England town where I've lived for the past 35 years! And even though I describe the town and local scenery, especially the beaches, pretty accurately, I made sure not to include any of my town's inhabitants.

 

 

I also think that Jill, the story's main character, is modeled after me, or at least the way I'd like to see myself. Not sure if my friends and family would agree. I'll have to ask them!

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1) Do/have you base/d any of your characters on people you know? If so, was any one person transcribed directly into a character or are they mnore composites of several different people? Or are they all completely made up?

 

2) What would be your number one piece of advice to an aspiring writer?

 

I'll answer question 2 first. My number one piece of advice is to READ, READ, then READ a lot more, especially in your genre, be it thrillers, fantasy, women's fiction, picture books for kids, literary fiction ... whatever you're trying to write, read lots of it by authors you admire. Learn as much as you can from them, and the best way to learn how to write is to read.

 

As for characters based on people I know ... there are a few, especially one whose name in the novel is Dutch Van Horne. He's almost totally based on a friend (I asked his permission first) and while a minor character, he's an endearing and complicated one. Then there's Lizzie, Jill's very necessary best friend whose character is a composite of several of my own best friends, again with their gracious permission.

 

The other characters are mostly fiction, with the exception of Zachary, Jill's cat. He's based on Fred, a Siamese I once owned and still miss even though he's been gone for many years.

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I was very interested to read your advice to aspiring writers, Maggie.(Read, read, read.)

 

I agree. I think reading analytically really helps to improve your writing skills. Working out why & how something works (or doesn't!) can teach you so much about the craft of writing. I suppose it's something like taking an engine or a clock apart to see how it actually works.

 

I've found it relatively easy to work out why a book fails to hook me or a writing style irritates me. Working out why something has me turning the pages or fighting back tears is much harder to do.

 

Here's a tough Q (maybe!): Which book would you like to have written?

Edited by Linda Gillard
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Here's a tough Q (maybe!): Which book would you like to have written?

Thanks, a LOT, Linda!

 

I'd like to say something by Dickens or Delderfield, but I'll admit to Trollope ... Joanna, not Anthony! I really admire her style, her ability to jump from one character's POV to another without it ever feeling like the awful (and noticeable) head-hopping that ruins many a book for me. I know there are literary types who look down their noses at her 'aga sagas,' but luckily we don't all like the same books.

 

It's a toss-up beteen A Spanish Lover and The Rector's Wife.

 

Oh, and can I pick another (1, or 2, or 3, or ....).

 

Elizabeth Buchan's Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman is a favourite and I'd love to have written it; then there's an amazingly fabulous novel called Star Gazing I'd rather have loved to see my name on, but I cannot, for the life of me, remember the author's name!

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Am madly flinging clothes around my bedroom trying to decide what to pack for my trip home (first time in 7 years ... I can't WAIT), but I've not been in the UK in the summer since I left a gazillion years ago. All my trips home since then have been in autumn, winter, and spring.

 

And having lived in the US all this time where the summers can be brutally hot, I've learned to live in a bathing suit and shorts even though I hate baring my legs, and so I need help with what to bring. I'll be doing a bunch of semi-formal-type stuff, readings and signings at bookshops and libraries, a couple of writers' workshops, plus meeting my editor in London, so I'm bringing dressy trousers and shirts, and a linen blazer for that (and a raincoat), but what do you think the weather might be up to for most of June?

 

I realise it's a stupid question, but I'm trying hard NOT to pack everything but the kitchen sink.

 

Definitely bringing comfy shoes. I'm too old to wear anything else!

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Thanks, Maggie. :smile2: And I wasn't fishing!

 

I rate Joanna Trollope too. The excellence of THE RECTOR's WIFE dogged my footsteps a little when I was writing A LIFETIME BURNING (which was also about a clergy wife.)

 

IMHO the term Aga Saga is just another instance of the misogyny of our literary culture in the UK. Didn't Tolstoy, A. Trollope and Zola write complex family stories?... What is WAR & PEACE but a magnificent soap set in wartime?

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... what do you think the weather might be up to for most of June?

Well, we've been promised we're getting a nice, sunny summer this year, so light summer dresses/tops and skirts/trousers would be in order, but knowing the British weather can turn at the drop of a hat, bring a lightweight cardigan and/or lightweight jacket too - just in case! And pack a small, folding brolly. It'll last all of five minutes if it gets windy, but at least it'll give you a chance to get to a place that sells larger lrollies that won't buckle in a breeze - LOL!

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Hi Maggie,

Once your book was written how many publishing houses did you have to approach before someone agreed to publish it? I would have thought that someone would have noticed sooner that there is a gaping hole in the Women's literature market - it's all geared to 20 & 30-somethings!

 

Do you know where your signings will be?

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Kell ... thanks for suggestions and the weather update. I'll pack a small brolly, just in case. Let's hope the pundits are right and you have a warm and glorious summer. I hear last year's was pretty dire; I think it's time you had some sun for a change.

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Hi Maggie,

Once your book was written how many publishing houses did you have to approach before someone agreed to publish it? I would have thought that someone would have noticed sooner that there is a gaping hole in the Women's literature market - it's all geared to 20 & 30-somethings!

 

Do you know where your signings will be?

 

My signings are listed at http://www.maggiedana.com (click on the link for 'news & events'). There are 4 bookshop and 2 library events, plus a couple of writers' workshops and 2 informal (drop-in) signings.

 

And I whole-heartedly agree about a gaping hole in women's fiction. I've been whingeing about this for years, and am glad to see it's slowly getting filled, but not nearly fast enough for my taste!

 

Small note of interest here: If you want to be published by a major fiction house, you need an agent because publishers will only accept submissions from agented authors. Getting an agent is tough, and getting tougher. It's not like hiring a real estate or insurance agent where all you have to do is pick up the phone and ask. A literary agent has to be won over by brilliant writing and a manuscript he or she can't bear to put down.

 

As for my own potholed path to publication ... it's been a convoluted, often frustrating, frequently infuriating, yet ultimately rewarding journey that began in the 1980s when I got my start by writing books for kids, 7 of which were published (it was a little easier to find a publisher in those far-off days).

 

Then life got in the way. I started a typesetting business, steered my 3 kids through college, survived breast cancer, moved 1200 miles from my home in Connecticut down to Alabama for 2 years to help my son and his wife cope with a toddler and premature twins, returned home to pick up the threads of normal life again, and so on, and I didn't fire up my keyboard again till the summer of 1999, when a friend challenged me to write the sort of book I was always complaining there weren't enough of.

 

In the 10 years since I began it, my novel has undergone more facelifts than the QE2, including (in no particular order) 2 agents, 3 title changes, and 4 major revisions that chopped its original 180,000 words in half. It has been scrapped and rewritten from the ground up in a different tense and POV, with a brand new plot and enough new characters to fill a phone book. It has been submitted by aforementioned agents to a dozen editors in New York and come close, but not close enough, with a couple of them, and it has lived in a box beneath my bed for months on end while I tried to pretend I didn’t care if it ever got published.

 

Finally, just over a year ago, I decided to give it one more shot by submitting it myself to Macmillan New Writing in the UK, a new imprint at Macmillan that actually accepts manuscripts directly from authors. So I fired it off, then settled down to wait and, being a pragmatist, I prepared myself for yet another disappointment.

 

So you can imagine my surprise when, two months later, I got the email all authors dream of: "We love your novel and would like to publish it." It arrived as I was about to drive north to my daughter's house to help celebrate her birthday. I replied to the email: YES, PLEASE!!!! and printed it out, then gave it to my daughter as an extra birthday present. We both danced around her kitchen, laughing and crying. Her kids thought we'd gone barmy.

 

So, in answer to your question: How many publishing houses did you have to approach before someone agreed to publish it? the answer is, "I've pretty much lost track," but if you mean How many publishing houses did I personally submit it to? then the answer is 'only one,' but that was at the tail end of a very long path filled with many, many potholes.

Edited by Maggie Dana
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Hi Maggie,

 

Will you/do you read reviews of your book? I know lots of actors, for example, avoid reviews because they realise it doesn't make you a better actor if someone says you're good, and probably makes you self conscious and doubting if someone says you're bad, so I wondered how you feel about them?

 

Thanks :)

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Hi Maggie,

 

Will you/do you read reviews of your book? I know lots of actors, for example, avoid reviews because they realise it doesn't make you a better actor if someone says you're good, and probably makes you self conscious and doubting if someone says you're bad, so I wondered how you feel about them?

 

Thanks :)

 

I already have two reviews and both, fortunately, are good (links are at http://www.maggiedana.com, click on link for 'reviews' and scroll to the bottom). I shall definitely read all of them and try very hard not to be too upset by the negative ones which I'm sure to get. I'm lucky in that I have several good friends who're authors and I've been able to learn from their experiences with reviews, the good and the bad.

 

We all love the glowing reviews, and probably believe them as well (!!!!), which means we have to pay attention to the negative reviews as well because they will also hold nuggets of truth, even if we don't want to admit it!

 

Will I get self-conscious? Will I begin to doubt my writing? Probably, but I've not had enough reviews yet to be able to say for sure. I promise to keep you all updated on this.

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Hello again Maggie,

 

If you were to create a pseudonym for yourself (assuming you don't already have one) what would it be, and why?

 

Thank You

I don't have one, but I did ponder, briefly, using my middle name and my mother's maiden name which would've produced this:

 

Anne Honeywood

 

But it looked like the sort of name you'd find embossed on a cover featuring heaving bosoms and bare-chested men with muscles and long flowing hair.

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Hi everyone:

 

Just a quick post to say I'm packed and ready to leave on my trip. Will arrive at Heathrow on Tuesday morning, my first trip back home in almost 7 years. Once I figure out my friend's PC, I'll jump online and check in with the Forum.

 

Maggie

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Well Maggie, if you ever want to expand into the "exotic/erotic" market, then you already have the perfect name to write under!

 

PS: Hope you had a safe flight & a lovely trip home (even if it is primarily business)

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