Madeline McEwen interview with David Alan Binder
Post date: Jul 24, 2018 10:43:44 PM
Madeline McEwen interview with David Alan Binder
Author Bio: Madeline McEwen is an ex-pat from the UK, bi-focaled and technically challenged. She and her Significant Other manage their four offspring, one major and three minors, two autistic, two neurotypical, plus a time-share with Alzheimer's. In her free time, she walks two dogs and chases two cats with her nose in a book and her fingers on the keyboard.
Link to Kirkus Review:-
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/madeline-mcewen/tied-strings/
And best quote from above:-
A pleasant diversion and a perfectly sized puzzle for PBS Mystery! fans. Kirkus
General links and other places you can find me:-
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00Q41VUFI
https://www.pinterest.com/macmaddy/pins/
https://twitter.com/#!/MadMcEwen
http://www.facebook.com/madeline.mcewenasker
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9886841.Madeline_McEwen
https://www.instagram.com/madeline.mcewen/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9886841.Madeline_McEwen
https://www.linkedin.com/in/madeline-mcewen-asker-362b853/
http://www.imajinbooks.com/imajin-qwickies/
Here is the uni-link (universal Amazon link that sends people directly to their country's Amazon):
http://getbook.at/TiedUpwStrings
Video taster is up and running!
https://www.banterhawk.com/bh-writers
https://twitter.com/BanterHawk/status/941406150808961026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP1OedSNmSk
1. How do you pronounce your name?
MAC Q en
2. Where are you currently?
San Jose in sunny California or Silicon Valley suburbs, if accuracy is important.
3. What is the most important thing that you have learned in your writing experience, so far?
You can’t please all the readers all the time and I wish I had a degree in marketing instead of economics.
4. What would you say is your most interesting writing, publishing, editing or illustrating quirk?
If you have to explain a joke to an editor, it’s a dud.
5. Tell us your insights on self-publish or use a publisher?
a. Who is the name of your publisher and in what city are they located?
Imajin Qwickies based in West Kelowna, Canada.
6. Any insights eBooks vs. print books and alternative vs. conventional publishing?
I was amazed when people asked me for ARC [Advanced Reader Copies] to read on their phones. I’m definitely on the fence when it comes to physical paper copies and e-books. In my life, they both have a place.
7. Do you have any secret tips for writers on getting a book published?
No secrets, but someone suggested I write shorts to establish a publishing history which might make my work more attractive to potential publishers.
8. How did you or would you suggest acquire an agent? Any tips for new writers on getting one?
Can’t help you on that one. Maybe publish first and prove you can promote your work, which again would make you more attractive to both agents and other publishers.
9. Do you have any suggestions or helps for new writers (please be so specific that this most likely will not have been seen elsewhere)?
Tricky. I’ll pick a less obvious one, but most probably, you’ve already seen it before. I call it “delayed gratification.”
When you’re on a roll and typing / writing away at full speed, leave the scene / sentence unfinished. Then, the following day, you’ll pick up where you left off with the same enthusiasm.
10. What was one of the most surprising things you learned with your creative process with your books, editing, publishing or illustrating?
It is never perfect, nor finished.
11. How many books have you written?
Written or published?
12. Do you have any tricks or tips to help others become a better writer (please be so specific that this most likely will not have been seen elsewhere)?
You’ve seen it elsewhere, but this is the best. Join or create your own critique group. Reading other writers’ work will help you learn what works and what doesn’t and why. Although you may think your work is perfect / can’t figure out where you are going wrong, other writers can and will help you write better which increases your likelihood of success.
13. Do you have any suggestions for providing twists in a good story?
Read the news, especially sensationalist stories, and change one fundamental element of the “plot.”
Or
Change the sex of your main characters – how does that affect how the story pans out?
14. What makes your or any book stand out from the crowd?
My book stands out because it portrays autistic people as regular folk. All books have a unique feature—only by reading can we discover what it might be.
15. What is one unusual way in which you promote your work?
I take one of my hand-thrown bowls with me to promotions. I’ve hand-carved a flow of miniature fish on the inside, with one fish [with an eye] swimming the other way, which illustrates how an autistic person finds their own route.
16. What is the one thing you would do differently now (concerning writing or editing or publishing or illustrating) and why?
Accept that whatever title I choose, it is bound to change.
17. What saying or mantra do you live by?
Happiness is a choice.
18. Anything else you would like to say?
Kindness is an underrated virtue—everyone needs a little more.
P.S. For this interview; no saying or mantra is required. I am just curious to the method behind the madness, the inner belief or what drives or motivates you.