Maggie Plummer

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Thanks so much for inviting me, and for helping indie authors!

I have lived in western Montana for many years, but I grew up in Detroit, Michigan. When I was in high school the Motown sound was all the rage. I danced on a local TV show that was Detroit’s version of Bandstand. Oh, to get some vintage footage of that! I was one of the teenyboppers dancing on the pedestals. But I digress…

Along the lengthy, winding trail to becoming a novelist, I wandered around the United States and worked a dizzying array of jobs. I’ve been a journalist, book publicist, book editor, census enumerator, school bus driver, field interviewer, waitress, post office clerk, fish processor, library clerk, retail salesperson, Good Humor ice cream girl, fishing boat first mate, race horse hot walker, apple picker, and bus girl.

I have three books published, and another one coming soon — hopefully within the next year.

My award-winning first novel is SPIRITED AWAY – A NOVEL OF THE STOLEN IRISH (2012, CreateSpace Independent Publishing). DARING PASSAGE: BOOK 2 OF THE SPIRITED AWAY SAGA, the much-awaited sequel to SPIRITED AWAY, has just come out in paperback. The Kindle e-book edition will be released Dec. 20, and is available for pre-order now.

My other published book is PASSING IT ON: VOICES FROM THE FLATHEAD INDIAN RESERVATION (2008, Salish Kootenai College Press, Pablo, Montana), a non-fiction collection of feature articles I wrote for the Flathead Nation tribal newspaper in Montana.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Oh, I already spilled those beans, but I will just say it again: DARING PASSAGE: BOOK TWO OF THE SPIRITED AWAY SAGA is my newly published sequel. Readers of SPIRITED AWAY – A NOVEL OF THE STOLEN IRISH were not shy about demanding a sequel. Their enthusiasm was wonderfully inspiring, and I hope they will like the sequel as much as they liked the first novel.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Hmmmm. I do most of my writing in my living room recliner, on a laptop. Is that unusual? Maybe. It’s not the best habit in the world, but I figure as long as I get the work done, so be it.

As I wrote my two historical novels, both of which are set in the 1650s, I did research constantly. For example, I looked up words on online etymology sites, to make sure that they were appropriate for my era. The whole research aspect of having written these two historical novels is amazing to me. It’s been rewarding, but kind of tiring, too. I need a break from it. But I may well come back to the seventeenth century eventually!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
In the 1970s, I was a huge Toni Morrison fan. More recently, I have admired Barbara Kingsolver (especially her ANIMAL DREAMS), Anna Quindlen, Anne Tyler, Pat Conroy, Wally Lamb, and Norman Maclean — just to name a few.

I think my favorite novel of all time has to be Harper Lee’s TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. I just love it so much!

What are you working on now?
I’m revising and rejuvenating a novel I wrote years ago. It’s been gathering dust for long enough! This project is very different from the two novels I have published. Although it does include a lot of Montana history, that history is told within a contemporary framework. I guess that would make this novel I’m working on contemporary mainstream fiction.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have been focusing on twitter for a while now, adding and adding followers, and trying to get better at writing clever, concise tweets.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I would say, make your writing your #1 priority. Arrange your schedule around it, using your most energetic, productive time of day to write write write.

Also, get your book or books professionally edited. Indie authors must turn out high quality, clean books if we are ever to be accepted as equals in the publishing world. I feel this is very, very important. When I see indie authors turning out sloppy, rushed books, I get terribly frustrated.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I think, this from Thoreau: “Our lives are frittered away by detail: Simplify! Simplify!”

I love that. I think it’s helped me a lot through the years.

What are you reading now?
GONE GIRL. I am enjoying it, even though it’s not my preferred genre. I would like to know how the author plans her plotlines! That aspect of the book is amazing to me.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Lots and lots of novels! I hope to get better and better as a writer, and get my life experiences into my fiction.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT, SHE’S COME UNDONE, and ANIMAL DREAMS.

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