Margaret Lake Interview

1: What is the most productive time of the day for you to write?

I usually write in the evening. That's when I take my grandson to his activities (Tae Kwon Do and Pokemon League). I carry my netbook with me and get in some good writing time.

2: Do you start your projects writing with paper and pen or is it all on the computer?

All on the computer. My handwriting is so bad that even I can't read it. In fact, I started writing when my son-in-law bought me a computer.

3: What do you draw inspiration from?

I write historical fiction/romance so I draw my inspiration from historical events. History is rich with conflict and I can play my characters off those conflicts.

4: Do you set goals for yourself when you sit down to write such as word count?

I only set goals when I'm getting close to the end. Partly I do that because I want to finish. But the real reason is that when I get to that point, the action is really heating up and I can't wait to see how the story is going to end.

5: Are you a published or a self published author and how do you come up with your cover art?

I'm a self-published author. Since I write historicals, I find a public domain painting that fits the story. Classical art is perfect for a medieval setting.

6: What drives you to choose the career of being a writer?

I feel like I've got stories to tell and now I have the time to put them down on paper. It's like eating peanuts. I just have to keep going.

7: Do you own an ebook reading device?

Yes, I own a first generation Kindle. Her birthday is August 29, 2008. I bought a K3 Wi-Fi for my grandson for Christmas. I owned my Kindle for quite some time before I even though about publishing an ebook.

8: Who are some of your favorite authors and What are you reading now?

My favorite author is Susan Howatch who has, unfortunately, retired. She writes mostly historical fiction. I also read a lot of mysteries; Agatha Christie, Rex Stout, Simon Brett, Larry Karp. In fact, I'm reading Murder By The Book by Rex Stout. I just finished reading Season of the Harvest by Michael R. Hicks as a beta reader.

9: What do you think of book trailers and do you have any plans to have any?

I love book trailers and I have two of them. Here are the links.

Ariana's Pride book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA_rpNyKYv0

Catherine and the Captain book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbnXJT-hzjQ

10: How did you come up with the title of your latest book?

Sweet Savage Charity is my latest book. The story is about a Puritan woman and a Wampanoag Brave and is set approximately six months after the landing of the Mayflower. The title just came to me, but my subconscious thought must have been that Charity is sweet and the land she has come to live in is savage. I suppose I put that all together in a flash of thought.

11: What are you working on now that you can talk about?

I've done a couple of short stories and a flash fiction that I'll be putting together into an anthology with my three novelettes. I expect to release that the end of March. In the meantime, I'm writing another story to put into the anthology but I don't know yet whether it's going to be a short story or a novelette. The WIP is about a woman detective in May 1942 which I may turn into a series. I'll see how it goes.

website: www.jobreepublishing.com