Interview with Author – M.G. King
Author Bio:
I became a writer in the third grade, when my best friend started the illustrious Cat Courier and needed reporters to capture feline news around the Southern Indiana neighborhoods where we lived. We sold copies up and down the block for five cents each.
I’ve held a few jobs since then. I’ve been a camp counselor, ESL instructor in Japan, and a registered nurse who has worked critical care, transplant, and surgical recovery. The only job I’ve ever been fired from was my brief stint as a short order breakfast cook — I’ve never been able flip fried eggs over easy without breaking the yolks.
Now I live in Texas with my husband and two sons, a Labrador named Bowzer and a cat named Mews, who all keep me laughing. None of them doubt my talents as a short order cook. (It helps that they don’t like fried eggs). We spend a lot of time looking for lost keys and homework assignments under the books that clutter our house.
What inspires you to write?
I think we are all made in the image of the Creator, with amazing potential for creativity. Others may sing or dance or teach children or construct bridges or run committees; I write. I love how stories give shape and meaning to the world.
Tell us about your writing process.
Someone once described writing a novel like making sausage. The end product is great, but the process isn’t pretty!
Most writers I know start with a character; a few admit that they start with a plot. I start with setting. For me, it’s all about context. Once I know the place I’m going to write about, it seems like the characters are already there, waiting for me to discover them.
I write a general outline, but I’m not a slave to it. I discover most of the story in the actual process of stringing words together. But it helps if I peg the beginning, the midpoint, and the end. It can take anywhere from two days to two weeks to write a chapter. Then it everything gets rewritten about forty-six times.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
It takes me a long time to write a book. Usually the characters have been hanging out in my head for awhile and they do take on a life of their own.
What advice would you give other writers?
Writing takes discipline! Lots of people think about writing, dream about writing, and read books on writing. Maybe this sounds too obvious, but writers write, usually everyday. Malcolm Gladwell wrote THE OUTLIERS (Little, Brown & Company, 2008). His book gives one example after another of people at the top of their game, including writers, who have usually invested TEN THOUSAND hours of practice. Start today, you don’t have a minute to lose!
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I have one traditionally published picture book, LIBRARIAN ON THE ROOF! A TRUE STORY (Albert Whitman & Company, 2010), and one self-published ebook (Kindle Publishing, March 2013). Each avenue has advantages over the other; for me, both have been a great experience.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think it’s an exciting time to be a writer. For those of us who write, we have stories we want to share, whether those stories are personal memoirs or fantastic adventures or vignettes that make us laugh. We now have freedom to create from our hearts, instead of trying to appeal to an ever-changing marketplace.
What do you use?
Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer, Beta Readers
What genres do you write?
Fantasy and nonfiction — I know these two categories couldn’t be further apart, but I love both.
What formats are your books in?
Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Author Home Page Link
Link To Author Page On Amazon
Link to Author Page on other site
Your Social Media Links
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3509805.M_G_King
http://twitter.com/mimking
http://pinterest.com/kingmim/
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