Spotlight on
Margaret Daley
October 2006
WG: Welcome
Margaret. Thanks for stepping into my spotlight this month. To
start off, please tell us about yourself.
MD: I live in
Oklahoma and besides writing for Love Inspired and Love Inspired
Suspense, I teach at a high school. I work with students with
learning disabilities and teach 11th grade English. This
allows me to use my writing skills and that’s fun. I have a Masters
in Education and have been teaching in Special Education for
twenty-seven years.
Because I have a day job as well as a writing career, I don’t have
that many hobbies—no time for them. I do play bridge once a month
with a group I’ve been a part of for years. I love to go to movies
and have lunch with friends. I also love to read books. I have so
many books in my TBR pile, however, because my time is limited for
reading.
I have been married to
the same man for thirty-six years and he is such a support to me. We
have one son who is married and he has two children.
WG: Let’s talk
about your own personal road to publication:
Is there some individual, group or event that you can point to as
the catalyst/impetus that set you on the road to becoming a writer?
Explain.
MD: Actually I
started writing before Romance Writers of America was formed. I was
a charter member and went to the very first national conference in
Houston in the early 1980s. I did belong to a Writer’s Round Table
and we met once a week to critique each other’s writing. That
toughened me over the years.
WG: Tell us about
your journey.
MD: I started writing
to see if I could put a story down on paper. I’ve always had a vivid
imagination and loved to weave stories together, but I had never
written one down. I joined Tulsa Nightwriters and went to the OU
Writing Short Course where I met other writers. Through a contact
with an editor at Dell, I got my first agent. The editor recommended
me to that agent. Shortly after I got my first agent, Silhouette
launched their first line—Silhouette Romance. I sold my first book
to them after writing for several years. I have had many rejections
and I still receive them.
WG: How many books
did you complete before you sold your first? Have all/any of them
sold since?
MD: I completed three
books (100,000 words) before I sold. One of them in a smaller
version sold since then.
WG: What changed
most about your life as a direct result of joining the ranks of
published authors?
MD: I don’t have much free time.
WG: Let’s talk
about your writing process:
Do you maintain a set schedule? Is there such a thing as a typical
day for you?
MD: In the summer and
on weekends I write throughout the day. When I am teaching, I will
come home most days and write after I have checked my e-mail and
relaxed some from teaching. I do often write everyday at least some.
One page is better than none.
WG: Do you have a
‘mood setter’, something (music, ritual, environment, etc.) you use to
get you going when you sit down to write?
MD: I check my e-mail
and play a couple of games on the computer before I get started. I
also do that as a break.
WG: Do you do a lot
of up front plotting before you start or do you just dive in?
MD: No, I don’t do a
lot of up front plotting. I do know my characters well, though,
before I start and the key points of the story (goals, motivations,
and conflicts).
WG: Do you
normally start with storyline or with character or with some
combination of the two?
MD: I have started
both ways in the past. It just depends on where my spark comes from.
WG: Do you find certain themes or character archetypes making
recurring appearances in your stories?
MD: Yes, I like the tormented hero (alpha). Also I often write about
trusting the Lord and yourself. Forgiveness is another theme I write
about.
WG: Has anything
about the way you work changed since you became a published author?
MD: Not too much. I
usually am a steady writer who writes almost everyday anywhere from
a couple of pages to maybe 8 or 9. I have rarely written over 10
pages in a day. I consider myself the tortoise to the hare.
WG: Is
there anything else you'd like to tell us about your process?
MD: I write everyday
to keep myself immersed in the story. That way it is easier to pick
up each day.
WG: Do you have a
favorite sub-genre as a writer? As a reader?
MD: As a
writer—romantic suspense
As a reader—romantic
suspense, mysteries, adventures, thrillers
WG: Is there a
genre you haven't been published in yet that you'd like to try your
hand at someday?
MD: Women’s fiction
WG: Do you have
any advice to offer writers still striving toward publication?
MD: Keep writing and
submitting. If you don’t, you will never sell. So much a part of
this business depends on being in the right place with the right
story. Perseverance is important.
WG: Is there some piece of advice you
received or bit of ‘conventional wisdom’ that you wish you had
ignored?
MD: No, I can’t think of any right now.
WG: What do you
find to be the most rewarding thing about being a writer? What do
you struggle the most with?
MD: I love piecing a
story together.
What I struggle with
the most is description. I don’t particularly like to read it, and I
don’t like to write it. In some books it slows the pacing. I always
have to go back into a story and layer it.
WG: When you’re not writing, what do
you do for fun?
MD: I love to travel and try to go
somewhere every year. Also, I love to read.
WG: I love to
collect quotes, all kinds of quotes - inspirational, quirky,
motivational, profound, etc. Do you have a personal favorite you'd
like to share.
MD: God inspires
faith, hope and love.
Mine—on my
bookmark
WG: Please tell us
about your current project.
MD:
I am currently working
on a Love Inspired Suspense that is scheduled to come out in October
2007. It is called Buried Secrets. It is a cross between Indiana
Jones and National Treasure. It is the brother’s story from Heart of
the Amazon, Love Inspired January 2007. Maggie is forced to work
with a family enemy to find a treasure before both are killed for
the secrets they know.
WD: Tell us about
plans for future books.
MD: I just signed a three book contract with Steeple
Hill—one Love Inspired Suspense (Buried Secrets) and two Love
Inspired books (the second and third ones in my Fostering by Love
series).
WG: And before we
close, tell us how your fans can get in touch with you.
MD: You can e-mail be
at
Mdaley50@aol.com or visit my web site at
http://www.margaretdaley.com. I also have a blog at
http://margaretdaley.blogspot.com. If you sign my guest book at
my web site, you have chance of winning an autographed book. I have
a drawing every month from that month’s entries.
Top of Page
Previous Spotlights
Laura Marie Altom
Allison Brennan
Beth Cornelison
Holly Jacobs
Catherine Mann
Robin T. Popp
Joanne Rock
Kerrilyn Sparks
