Hi, Miram! So happy to welcome you to my blog for the first time - I really hope you enjoy your time here and wish you much success with your latest release CRYSTAL CLEAR. Let's kick things off with my questions...
1.)
What do you wish you’d known before you started
writing?
I really wish I had known how much I hated
editing. Good editing is critical to producing a good book and I love to write
but I don't like to go back and correct. When I started writing my first novel
which, by the way, never got published, I had a great story. Unfortunately, I
knew nothing about the writing industry as a business and what it would take to
actually produce a really top-notch novel. So I just decided to write the story.
I had extra time on my hands because my husband was working long shifts away
from home way out in western Alaska. I would write a couple chapters and then
read it to him on the phone. He thought this story was pretty good. I thought
the story was pretty good. And then I started learning about actually writing
novels! My first novel was 474,000 words. I took it (in a big box) to a writing
class provided by one of the famous editors. In 1998 you still had to do hard
copy, double spaced, etc. The guy opened the class with a statement that he did
not want to see manuscripts about lost babies, stranded single moms, or
anything with law enforcement involved. He said those topics were overdone and
would never sell in the year 2000. So, I used my precious box of written words
as a footstool and went home thinking I had wasted a couple of trees. My story
was called Dangerous Skies, about a young girl who had been raped in high
school by the local rich Playboy and had run away to Alaska to have her child
and begin life as a single mother, hiding from pursuit by the guy who had
gotten her pregnant. As fate would have it, on the road from Homer AK to
anchorage, she goes off the road into the Kenai River with the baby in the back.
A local truck driver saves the baby as the car sinks through the ice. Not
knowing who this child belongs to or being able to retrieve any information
from the car, he simply brings the baby home to his wife, and they raised the
child together. Back in the day, this was not abnormal in Alaska. People just
jumped in and did what they needed to do. Years later, that baby is an
accomplished female air taxi pilot flying out of Talkeetna Alaska. Her
biological father finally finds her, and the suspense ensues. Having lived in
Alaska for almost 25 years, and a pilot myself, I thought this was a best
seller. Not! Some day I may go back and rewrite it. Who knows…
2.)
Is there one subject you’d never write about as
an author? What is it?
I don't think I would ever write a novel with
a weak female character. I like strong women who can take care of themselves.
Maybe that's because I lived in Alaska for so long, or maybe it's because of
the way I was raised, but stories with weak women do not appeal to me. I also
think that authors have a particular responsibility to present solid stories
with characters that have something to give. Irrespective of a good strong
character arc, helpless, wilting willows are not my thing.
3.)
Are you a plotter or a pantser?
I am kind of both. Sometimes I'll be in a
particular place or in a situation that sparks an idea for a good book, and I
go home and outline the entire story. And sometimes I just start writing about
something or someone and it turns into a story that creeps along with
characters inserting themselves. People ask me how I get my ideas and how my
brain comes up with these things and I really can't tell them. What I can say
is the more variety of experiences or travel in your life leads to all kind of
interesting plots. I can say, don't sit in a restaurant and discuss murder
techniques out loud with your husband! People do tend to stare.
4.)
If you could be the original author for any
book, which book would it be? Why?
Wow! There are so many. I guess the first
real fantasy book that spiked my imagination was the Dune series. I remember
reading it in Junior High and thinking this was the most incredible series. I
could not figure out how Frank Herbert actually put his fantasies to paper and
made them come alive for this 13-year-old girl, bored out of her mind in a
stuffy classroom. Herbert was an amazing amalgamizer: a person who puts human
survival, planetary colonization, religion, politics and evolution into a
gripping novel. He was from the state of Washington, but actually attended
Salem High School. That was why my school in Portland ,Oregon used his books in
their literature classes. He was a reporter for the Oregon Journal and was an
amazing student of religion and science. The Dune series is still the most read
book series in the United States. Then came the movies…
5.)
What are you working on at the moment?
Right now I am working on two projects. I am
currently finishing the 4th book in my Vamp Squad series and editing a young
adult novel called Wisdom of the Dragon. I will probably publish Wisdom of the Dragon
under my real name as it does not relate to any of my other single title novels
or series. It is a young adult novel and involves a lot of martial arts,
particularly the Kenpo system which I have studied for many years and maintain
a black belt in that particular form of martial art. The story is finished, and
I am editing, which takes the longest amount of time in the universe! It should
be done by early 2024. When I began publishing novels I was working for the
government and was not allowed to publish under my real name. Now I am done
with that and have an entirely new genre, so I think separating my adult novels
and young adult novels will eliminate reader confusion by using a different
name for each.
6.)
Do you work on one book at a time? More?
I actually have several projects going at one time and several outlines waiting in the wings. I can't seem to write fast enough to get the stories on paper, and for some reason, I don't dictate as well as I physically write. I am involved in a lot of different activities and often I will be doing something fun and come up with a storyline. I'm a pilot, a scuba diver, a martial artist, and love to indulge in anything artistic. I am my husband's safety diver when he spends limitless amounts of time underwater photographing all kinds of underwater life. He is actually an international award-winning photographer and we travel around doing photography shows. We split our time between Alaska and Oregon and the rest of the world, so there is never a dull moment. As long as I have my computer along with me, I can write and outline new books with some really interesting plots.
7.)
Do you have a favourite character in your
latest release?
Right now, I think my favorite character is Ethyleine
Matilda Anderson, or Emma as she calls herself in the book. She is in high school,
and her life is literally in the toilet. She punches the rich girl at school in
the nose and ends up suspended pending legal action against her. Her mom's a
drunk and they've moved from town to town all her short life. She does not know
who her father is and has no connections to family since they kicked her mom
out when she got pregnant at 16. The character arc for Emma involves witnessing
a drug deal, being pursued by dealers, almost dying from a spider bite and
finally finding herself through martial arts and new friends. She is a venue
for me as a teen, actually saying things I always wanted to say when I was a
kid! I was never part of the in-crowd or popular and was tall and uncoordinated,
as is Emma. Her sarcasm and independence are fun to write. To be clear, I had a
great childhood with very strong female role models, but I also saw sexual
discrimination at its fullest and lived through the race riots. I was an
activist for all kinds of silly notions and played at being a hippie for a
while. But time moves on and everyone has to grow up and be responsible for
their actions. Emma learns that the hard way in my book. And I leave the back
door open for a sequel if readers want it.
Crystal Traynor has constructed her world to fit her chronic OCD episodes and need for isolation and security. When her twin sister, Brystal, is murdered in Ireland, Crystal must leave her carefully insulated world to go and identify her sister’s remains, and bring her twin home.
When Inspector Ethan MacEnery sees the dead woman in the county morgue walk through his door, he almost loses his mind! Expecting the victim’s sister, he is totally unprepared for the identical version of the victim herself. Already captivated by what little he knows of Miss Brystal Traynor’s life , Ethan is shocked to meet Crystal, the identical, but totally different sister of the flamboyant, artistic Brystal. Drawn to this brilliant, yet peculiar woman, Ethan quickly volunteers to help Crystal deal with her sister's personal possessions.
Crystal finds this new world of ancient beliefs and unique people is changing her. She is astounded by the acceptance and support she feels... especially from one particular Inspector.
As it becomes clear that Brystal’s murder was more than an American gal in the wrong place at the wrong time, Crystal must overcome her personal challenges to help Ethan uncover the secrets in her sister’s beautifully cut crystal goblets.
Ethan quickly realizes Brystal’s work may hold the key to a diabolical plot that could destroy everything he holds dear… including Crystal.
Visit the cozy village of Dingle, Ireland with Miriam Matthews in her new book, Crystal Clear. Find out how personal challenges, some call a disability, can become an incredible ability, seen through the right eyes and with the right heart!
BIO & LINK:
I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest but knew Alaska would be my heart's home as soon as I stepped off the plane way back in the mid 1980's. Living in Alaska is not for everyone but it is definitely for me! A pilot myself, many of my stories involve aviation, strong female characters and the cultures and legends of my wild, untamed Alaska. I write romantic suspense, paranormal romance and historical romance and enjoy weaving intricate plots with current events or cultural legends or myths. When I’m not writing, I can be found teaching women’s self defense seminars and martial arts, scuba diving in tropical locales, flying around the country or just getting away to some unique paradise with my hubby. Keep watching for new books all the time!
Website: https://www.miriammatthews.com/books
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