This week I’m hosting Regina Scott with The Irresistible Earl, Cynthia Hickey with Fudge-Laced Felonies, and Marybeth Whalen with She Makes It Look Easy. If you want to enter the drawings, please leave a comment on one of the post during the week with your email address. I will not enter you without an email address (my way to contact you if you win). If you don’t want to leave an email address, another way you can enter is to email me at margaretdaley@gmail.com. The drawings end Sunday (June 26th) evening.
Interview with Marybeth Whalen:
What made you start writing?
It’s the way I came. I have always processed life via writing. And I’ve always thought in terms of stories. I see every person I meet and every situation I encounter as a potential story. I was well into adulthood before I realized that not everyone thought that way.
How long have you been writing? When did you sell your first book?
I started out writing nonfiction and kind of spun my wheels with that for a while before finally taking the plunge with fiction. Once I made myself take the risk of writing an entire book (which was my first novel, The Mailbox) things went pretty fast. I sold the novel a few months after completing it.
How do you handle rejections?
Whine to my best friend and husband. Threaten to quit writing. Sing a rousing chorus of “Nobody likes me, everybody hates me guess I’ll go eat worms.” Throw a pity party that no one else attends. Then go back and start working again.
Why do you write?
I guess I’ll say what Eric Liddell said about feeling God’s pleasure when he ran. I feel God’s pleasure when I write. It’s what I was created to do. Nothing beats getting to do what you were designed to do.
What would you be doing with your free time if you weren’t writing?
Reading.
What are you working on right now?
I am working on my third novel, which will come out in fall of 12. It’s another Sunset Beach love story that centers around a mysterious inanimate object. I am having a blast writing it!
Do you put yourself into your books/characters?
Every single one is a part of me.
Tell us about the book you have out right now.
She Makes It Look Easy is a novel about women’s relationships, the danger of pedestals and comparisons, and the beauty of authenticity and transparency. It’s a cautionary tale for those of us who tend to pursue perfection.
Do you have any advice for other writers?
Write as much as you can. Learn as much as you can. Read as much as you can.
How important is faith in your books?
I like it to be inherent to the story. I write about real people with real struggles who need the very real presence of God to make it.
What themes do you like to write about?
Second chances. Grace. Transparency. Forgiveness.
What is your favorite book you’ve written and why?
Whatever book I am dreaming about currently.
What is your writing schedule like?
I try to write 1000 words a day, every day. But then again, I have six kids so you can imagine how often that happens! I am good about mapping out a writing plan if I am on deadline and making it happen however I must. Otherwise life would be haywire and nothing would ever get done. When you are your own boss you sometimes have to boss yourself around.
