FEATURED AUTHOR: MAGGIE MOOHA
Books:
Elizabeth in the New World
The Darcys of New Orleans
In the Eye of the Beholder
Where available:
What sets your books apart from all others?
My books have a strong dose of reality in them and are not “just a romance”. They also include real events and people who lived during that time.
What can we expect to gain or enjoy or understand from reading your literary creations?
Most of the people who have read them say that they learned a lot of history along with the story.
How or why is your work important?
There is so much history that most of us don’t know. I try to bring things that have been overlooked to light as well as spin a great yarn.
Who should be reading your books?
My audience is primarily women, because the stories are romances, but men have enjoyed the adventure aspect of my writing too. In fact, I have had people tell me that they don’t necessarily seek out romance novels, but like my books.
What advice do you have to offer in support of other authors?
Don’t expect success right away. Get a good editor and beta readers who will tell you the truth. For me, I wanted to prove that my writing was good enough for someone besides me to want to publish, so it took me a year of submissions, and then I got two offers from publishers in one week.
What is your genre of choice and why?
I have been doing historical romance because I began with a Pride and Prejudice variation and then a sequel and now another historical romance. I would like to try my hand at a saga.
How’d you come about discovering your writing talent, gift or ability?
I was always a good storyteller, even as a kid. I wrote a Star Trek novel in the 90’s and got an agent but no book deal, and then got into writing screenplays. When those didn’t pan out (won some awards, but no productions). I went back to writing novels.
What’s next on your authorship agenda?
I am writing a book that my publisher told me not to. All apologies to her, but I think it’s going to be a great story.
Is writing for you synonymous with living and breathing, or just something you do as a hobby, and how so and why?
Music was my real passion most of my life, but I really think writing comes more naturally to me. I find it engaging and satisfying, but at my stage of life, I’ll just see where it takes me.
What do you feel we need to hear or read more of, that is rare today in a book?
Quality. I picked up a book at the airport (my Kindle died) and it was supposedly a New York Times Bestseller. I thought it was mediocre at best and couldn’t even finish it.
What changes in the literary world would you most like to see?
More emphasis on good writing and less on good social media skills. Also, Jeff Bezos hasn’t done the world any favors.
Indie/Self-Published Author and/or Traditionally Published? What do you favor more and why?
I understand why people self-publish. It’s hard to find a publisher. I like being traditionally published because a lot of the minutiae is off my plate. Also, I feel it is a sort of vetting. I wanted to prove to myself that my stuff was good enough to be published.
How is your writing controversial, profound or mind boggling, or how would you describe it?
I do include social issues in my writing but try not to hit people over the head with them. I try to move my reader to feel the emotions of my characters and to not only transport them to a different time and place, but also to show them that people from the past are dealing with many of the things we all are now.
What’s the greatest compliment that you ever received regarding your literary accomplishments and what did this remark do for you, how did it transform your life or your writing?
One of my reviewers, someone I don’t know personally, said my work was brilliant. Another said out of 500 books she read this year, mine was in the top 10. I know my publisher wants me to be less meticulous in my research and make my work “more accessible” but I have to write what I feel is the truth, for me and for the real people who visit in my novels.
What’s the most memorable criticism you received regarding your literary works and how did this remark transform you as a writer or influence your writing if at all?
I had one scathing review that really, really hated my first book and accused me of all sorts of things. This is where having a publisher is a good thing. Since some of the content was controversial, my publisher had a “sensitivity reader” go over it first and it passed with flying colors. I try to look past the haters.
What have you sacrificed, if anything, to be a writer, or to write as you do? What have you gained from writing, how has it rewarded you personally?
Since I had a day job for 40 years, I haven’t really sacrificed anything to write. What I have gained, though, is an outlet for my creativity, and I am grateful for that. Getting this last novel done helped focus my energy during the lock down.
