An Interview with Anna Maclean

I'm very pleased to have Anna Maclean with us today as a stop along her virtual book tour. She writes historical cozy mysteries, which is right up my (and I hope your) alley.Please be sure to leave a comment as Anna is giving away a wonderful gift basket to a randomly drawn commenter and you don't want to miss out!Why did you decide to write?    I don't think I ever decided.  It was justalways there.  I love stories and I began telling stories to myself in theform of daydreams when I was very young, and as soon as I could hold a pencil Ibegan writing those stories down.  Of course I loved Little Women as agirl, and when the opportunity came to write mysteries using Louisa May Alcottas an amateur sleuth I jumped at the chance! How much research do you do?    Usually, quite a bit.  Libraries are myfavorite place to be, and there are great libraries in my town, so I can go infor the day and kind of camp out in the aisles and at the worktables.  Ican't think of a happier, more exciting place to be than a good library.Wait.  I forgot.  A café table in Paris is pretty good, too. What was the most interesting thing you discovered when you weredoing your research?           For Louisa and the Crystal Gazer, I researched 19th centuryspiritualism and found great, great materials, including one dusty old volumethat described how to make spirit paintings (using paint that was invisiblewhen dry) and how to make trumpets fall out of the ceiling.  Can't wait tohave my next dinner party and really camp it up with ectoplasm! What's your favorite method for researching?           Reading journals and diaries.  Louisa kept some great journals! Do you have a favorite theme or message for your readers?            My favorite message: life is wonderful, life is a mystery, and never, ever letanyone stop you from exploring as much of the mystery as possible. When do you write/what is your writing day like?           I like to write first thing in the morning, before I've had to clean up afterthe cats, pay bills, plan dinner, take care of day job things (I alsoteach.)  There's a wonderful moment when I first wake up, when somethingjolts my imagination out of the blue, literally, and it takes me to a new placein the work.  That doesn't happen any other time of day, for me. What is the best advice someone has given you about writing? Theworst advice?           The best advice I ever got, and I got it early, thankfully,  was never toread or think about how hard it is to get published.  Just write, and hopefor the best. Writing is a dive off the really high board, and while itrequires skill and willpower, it also requires a certain recklessness. The worst advice I ever had?  I can't remember it, so obviously I didn'ttake it!  How do you approach a new book? Outlines? Just an idea?           I can't stand outlines.  I'm very methodical in some ways – I have to havea tidy desk and a few rituals: coffee on one side, a little Buddha on the otherside of the keyboard – but when it comes to ideas and working on a book, acertain chaos is very productive.  Again, it's that dive off the highboard.  At some point, though, usually at the 2nd or 3rddraft, I do make an outline of what I have and see if the plotting is makingsense, and where the holes and problems are. Who are your favorite authors? Have any authors inspired you orinfluenced your work?           Oh, so many.  Daphne du Maurier,  Anya Seton,  Mary Lee Settle,Ann Patchett, Ian McKewan, Roman Gary…I read hundreds of books a year and thishas been going on for a while, so do the math.  But what all the authorshave in common: they tell a great story, and do it with great skill, sometimeseven a touch of genius.  And their work has great humanity, it makes youfall even more in life with the world and people, not less. What makes a great book in your opinion?           See the above! Do you have any tips for aspiring authors?           Don't let anything stop you. Write the book you want to read, write it to thebest of your ability. Where do you see yourself as an author in five years?           At my desk in the early morning, with a cup of coffee on one side of thekeyboard and a little Budda on the other side, puzzling out a character and aplot. Where do you see the publishing industry going in the next fewyears and where do you see yourself within this industry?           This is where I'm supposed to hold my head and moan, right?  Admittedly,It is frightening what is going on.  Sales are down, little bookstores arebeing swallowed by sharks.  It's hard to find good news.  However,that said,  in a way I see us going back to more of a 19thcentury style of publishing, where people write what feels important to themand then they find a way of getting their work into book form, even if it meanspaying the printer yourself…as long as you get the work into the hands ofreaders, perhaps on a smaller scale than we had in the last 100 years of masspublication.  And this could be a good thing, could be a greatthing.  Technology also means that essentially anyone who wants to publish,can. There may not be a whole lot of money, but that's always been thecase.  And sometimes there is a whole lot of money.  But I've alwaystold new writers that if what they really care about is getting rich theyshould just play the lottery.  If you care about getting your work outthere – this can be done.As for technology replacing books, I just can't see thathappening. Books, when you think about it, are already a perfect technology:portable, easy to read and no problems with downloading and saving! Brief Bio Anna Maclean is themystery nom de plume for Jeanne Mackin, the author of several novels:  TheSweet By and By (St. Martin's Press), Dreams of Empire (KensingtonBooks), The Queen's War (St. Martin's Press), and The Frenchwoman(St. Martin's Press).   She has published short fiction and creativenonfiction in several journals and periodicals including  American Lettersand Commentary and SNReview. She is also the author of the Cornell Book ofHerbs and Edible Flowers (Cornell University publications)  andco-editor of  The Norton Book of Love (W.W. Norton).  She wasthe recipient of a creative writing fellowship from the American AntiquarianSociety and her journalism has won awards from the Council for the Advancementand Support of Education, in Washington, D.C.   www.Annamaclean.net www.facebook.com/annamacleanauthor  "Louisa May Alcott makesa wonderful narrator, whether observing the foibles of those around her oraddressing the reader with gentle humor…Fans of historical mysteries will findmuch to enjoy here."                                     The Romance Readers Connection "Macleans latest cozy isentertaining and has a fascinating mystery and a healthy dose of humor. The author's attention to historical detail adds realism and depth to thispage-turner."                                    Romantic TimesFiction Writing and Other Oddities