Special Guest Interview with Author Marcia Meara

New on Amazon US and Amazon UK

An angel’s work is never done—that’s part of the gig. But angels hadn’t been created to deal with such a vastly over-populated planet, rife with misery, suffering, and general chaos. Helping souls in peril has become a nearly impossible job, and even angelic tempers are frayed. The archangel Azrael has had enough. He believes he’s found a way to ease their burden while saving jeopardized humans, too—hired help. When Jake Daughtry lost his life rescuing a total stranger from certain death, he was on the fast track to Heaven. But that was before Azrael pulled him right out of line at the Pearly Gates. Now, as an Emissary to the Angels, Jake is taking to the highway in a quest to help souls in trouble. But the innate stubbornness of human beings bent on self-destruction is a challenge unlike any he’s ever faced. It’s up to Jake and Azrael to bridge the gap between humans and angels. Will they ever convince the Council of Angels this endeavor is worthwhile? Can Jake figure out how to play by Azrael’s complicated rules? Will Azrael ever master the use of contractions in general conversation? 

Today I would like to welcome author Marcia Meara:

Tell us about your latest book

Thank you, Tony, for having me as your guest today on The Writing Desk. It’s lovely to be here!. My latest release is The Emissary: A Riverbend Spinoff Novella. When Hunter Painter went off the rails in Finding Hunter: Riverbend Book 2, a mysterious trucker brought him home again. For more than a year, readers have been asking me at every event if the trucker was really an angel, as Willow Greene believes, or merely a kind-hearted man doing a good deed. I finally decided to answer their questions in this fun-to-write novella. To find out the answers, hop on board Jake’s big red-and-white semi and travel the roads from the Florida Keys to north Georgia on an adventure that will make you laugh hard and cry even harder.

What is your preferred writing routine?

I start my day at the computer early, cup of Earl Grey nearby. If left to my own devices, I will write all day long, at least until dinner, and often go back to it in the evening. I prefer to work uninterrupted, in total silence, the better to lose myself in whatever world I’m creating. Even music will bring me back to the here and now, a place I don’t want to be when I’m supposed to be standing beside MacKenzie Cole on a North Carolina mountainside, or wading in the Key West surf at midnight, keeping company with Jake Daughtry.

What advice do you have for aspiring writers?

Read. As much as possible, as many authors as possible, in as many genres as possible. Then start writing. Every day.

Love your characters. If you don’t, who will? Let them guide your words, but study your craft, too.

Always remember, it’s never too late. Don’t be the one saying, “If I had time, I’d write a book.” Make time. I did. I was 69 when I wrote my first book, and four years later, I’ve written 5 more novels, a novella, and a book of poetry.

Write that first book, no matter what! If nothing else, it will be a learning experience for you, and the next one will be better. Aim for improvement with each succeeding book.

And finally, never give up.

What have you found to be the best way to raise awareness of your books?

I’m still looking for the best one, but for me, nothing beats meeting readers face to face and talking about what they like. I’m very lucky that I’ve managed to establish good working relationships with several local venues, and through them, many more private book clubs and other groups.

I do presentations on all sorts of subjects, including Florida wildlife and habitat, which factors into my Riverbend books. I’ve been building a local readership this way that has done wonders for my books, and my self-confidence. Plus I love doing them. I’m booked for 2 or 3 a month halfway through 2018 already, and looking forward to every one of them.

I do the best I can on social media, too, but it’s not my favorite thing, other than blogging, which I love. Blogging is writing. Tweeting and Facebooking, not so much so, and my heart isn’t really in them, though I try.

I’ve promised myself to look into self-marketing in more depth in the months ahead, because I know I’m not doing a great job at it, other than locally. But honestly, at my age, I’d rather spend my time telling my stories. Maybe I’ll farm the marketing out one day, and simply write until I fall face down on the keyboard. For my money, that would be a pretty good way to go.

Tell us something unexpected you discovered during your research

That you can die from being shot in the foot, unlike how it looks in movies! Being shot in the shoulder can kill you, too. I had to do some research about gunshot wounds for That Darkest Place: Riverbend Book 3, and was shocked at how being “winged” could result in anything from paralysis to death. Forget Monty Python’s “It’s merely a flesh wound.” Gunshot wounds have the potential to be deadly, no matter where the bullet enters.

I’ve also run across all sorts of great and surprising things in researching Appalachian legends and ghost stories, like the legend of Boojum and Hootin’ Annie. (I couldn’t possibly make this stuff up, you know. Oh, wait. I could, actually. I’m a writer now. We make things up for a living!)

What was the hardest scene you remember writing?

I don’t know that there is one in particular, but in general, I have a hard time writing any scene that makes me cry, and there are usually as many of those as there are scenes that make me laugh. My characters just seem to find themselves in some seriously sad situations, and I have no idea how it happens. It’s not my fault, honest. There I am, busily writing down what they tell me, and the next thing I know, what they’re telling me is tragic. But, hey. The stories are theirs, so what can I do but take good notes, and hope they find happy resolutions a bit farther along in the tale? (That’s my story, an’ I’m stickin’ to it!)

What are you planning to write next?

I’m working on the draft of my fourth Wake-Robin Ridge book. I don’t have a title yet, but it features the little boy introduced in A Boy Named Rabbit: Wake-Robin Ridge Book 2. This mountain series deals with a lot of Appalachian legends. Ghosts, and the Black Dog, and other things that go bump in the night. The new one will feature the infamous Brown Mountain lights as a backdrop for a murder mystery. Things will be done. Nobody will be spared. Okay, some folks will be spared, otherwise it would pretty much bring an end to the series. But things WILL be done. Bad things. And Rabbit will need to put his extraordinary gift of the Sight to use again, before all is put to rights, and justice is served.

Marcia Meara 

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About the Author

Marcia Meara is a native Floridian, and lives in Sanford, just north of Orlando, with her husband of 30+ years, two large cats, and two small dachshunds. When not working on her books and blogs, she spends her time gardening, and enjoying the surprising amount of wildlife that manages to make a home in her suburban yard. At the age of five, Marcia declared she wanted to be an author, and is ecstatic that a mere 64 years later, she finally wrote "Wake-Robin Ridge," her first novel. Making up for lost time, she has published five more novels over the last four years - find out more at her website The Write Stuff: http://marciamearawrites.com/ and follow Marcia on Facebook and Twitter @marciameara.