Maggie Clare's Blog, page 4
March 18, 2024
Party Time!
Dear Maggie,
Do you do anything special to celebrate when you finish writing one of your books?
Sincerely,
Party Girl in Patagonia
Dear Party Girl,
Funny you should ask, because I just finished drafting a novel the other day. I’ll admit, when I completed the first draft of my first book years ago, I rode that high for weeks. My husband took one of the original manuscript copies to Staples and had it bound and the title page laminated. We drank a bottle of champagne. Later, I had a big, festive lau...
March 4, 2024
Why the Nom de Plume?
Dear Maggie,
Why do you write under a pen name? Is it because of the sexy scenes?
Sincerely,
Shy in Shreveport
Dear Shy,
Not at all! I love writing the sexy scenes, and even the books I write under my given name Tabitha Lord have a little heat between sheets! When I started my writing journey almost a decade ago, I knew without a doubt that I’d write science fiction. I love the genre, I love tackling real-world problems in other-worldly settings, and as a huge Star Wars fan, science fiction just fe...
February 19, 2024
Best Book Boyfriends
Dear Maggie,
What makes a great book boyfriend? Do you have an all time favorite?
Sincerely,
Swooning in St. Louis
Dear Swooning,
A great book boyfriend likely looks different to different people. We all have qualities and characteristics we’re attracted to in a potential partner. I like to write strong, sexy male characters who own their shortcomings and aren’t intimidated by intelligent, successful, equally strong women. These hotties can come in different packages, with different personalities. T...
February 5, 2024
Here, Kitty Kitty!
Dear Maggie,
Do you have any pets?
Sincerely,
Animal Lover in Long Beach
Dear Animal Lover,
Yes, my husband and I have five pets, which is quite something since we live in a forty-foot tiny home on wheels! My general default pet allotment is two cats, one dog, which we maintained until COVID. Two of our children were still living at home, teenagers when the pandemic hit, and convinced us that two more kittens would make everything okay. We reminded them that they’d be leaving for college in a...
January 29, 2024
Monday Musings
On months with five Mondays, I double post to both my Maggie Clare and Tabitha Lord websites. If you enjoy the content of this post, and you want to keep track of my travel adventures, please feel free to subscribe my ‘Five Things’ blog HERE at the bottom of the page. The content is different from ‘Dear Maggie’, except on a month with five Mondays of course!
Welcome to my blog titled ‘Five Things’ where you can expect just that - five random musings or reflections from the previous week or s...
January 22, 2024
Validity, Visibility, and the Warm Fuzzies
Dear Maggie,
Do reviews really matter?
Sincerely,
Critic in Cranston
Dear Critic,
Yes, reviews matter! If an author receives a hundred reviews, Amazon sends a box of chocolates. At five hundred reviews, we get invited to join a secret writer’s club. When we reach a thousand, a unicorn shows up in our yard and spews multi-colored glitter all over the lawn. Totally kidding, obviously. However, reviews really do matter to authors and here’s why…
Reviews lend credibility and validity to our work. If you’r...
January 8, 2024
Ringing in the New Year!
Dear Maggie,
I’m anxious to read the next book in the TSI series. What are your writing plans for the New Year? Will you release book 4?
Sincerely,
Waiting in Walla Walla
Dear Waiting,
I know it’s been a hot minute since I released a new TSI book, and I thank you for your patience. I’d intended to be much farther along in the series by now, but our nomadic life took a little getting used to. We’ve been on the road for over a year now, visited twenty states, nine national parks, and discovered sma...
December 25, 2023
Happy Holidays!
December 11, 2023
Nomads
Dear Maggie,
Is it true you are traveling the country in an RV? What’s it like? How long will you be on the road?
Sincerely,
Traveller from Tacoma
Dear Traveller,
It is true! Last year, my husband and I sold our home, our cars, our furniture, pretty much everything, and bought an RV. We hit the road right after the holidays and have been wandering ever since. Once our youngest child left for college, our big house suddenly seemed rather empty. With all four kids living on the west coast, which was a ...
November 27, 2023
Constructive Critique
Dear Maggie,
Is constructive criticism a good thing or bad thing?
Sincerely,
Reviewer in Riverside
Dear Reviewer,
Constructive criticism is a good thing, most of the time. Before my books are ever published, I’ve given them to a trusted group of beta readers with the express intent of gathering feedback, mostly in the form of constructive criticism. Over the years, I’ve learned to ask these readers for the kind of feedback I need in order for it to be useful as I edit my manuscript. Here’s a short li...
