Maryann Miller interview

This interview with Maryann Miller was first published in August 2008. Maryann Miller is the author of One Small Victory and Play It Again, Sam.

Where were you born and raised?

I was born in Detroit and raised in Warren, a suburb of Motown.

What was it that first got you into writing and when did you start writing?

I have been writing all my life. As a child I loved books and would get enthralled with stories that could transform my reality into some magical place. I decided early on that I wanted to write stories that someday some other child would cherish. That desire was also fueled by winning an award in the Detroit News Scholastic Writing Awards when I was twelve.

Which writers have influenced you the most?

Some of the great masters, Hemingway, Steinbeck, Shakespeare, Faulkner, Cather... and the list goes on. I learned something from each of them, but they all shared one quality, and that is a passion for story and the written word. That passion, I think, is what we need to create memorable characters and to persevere in this business.

What kind of things do you write?

My work encompasses journalism, novels, screenplays and stage plays. I have nine non-fiction books published with The Rosen Publishing Group in New York. My latest releases, One Small Victory and Play It Again, Sam are women’s novels, but I also enjoy writing mysteries. Some of my screenplays have won awards, and I had the honor of directing one of my stage plays at a community theatre in Texas.

What are you working on now?

I am the Managing Editor of an online community magazine, www.WinnsboroToday.com and I write regularly for www.BloggerNews.net and ForeWord Magazine. When not busy with those, I am working on book two of a mystery series. The first in the series, Open Season is under consideration, so I am finishing the second in anticipation of the publisher accepting the series.

What is your writing day like?

Most days I update WinnsboroToday.com first and then take care of business correspondence. Right now, a good part of the rest of my days are taken up with promotional efforts for my two books that came out this summer. One Small Victory came out in hardback from Five Star Gale/Cengage in June, and Play it Again, Sam was released as an e-book from Uncial Press.

What’s the most exciting thing about writing for you?

When characters come to life and start talking to each other and to me. Sometimes the dialogue comes so fast I can hardly get it down. Those surges of creativity are one of the greatest highs in the world.

What’s the most frustrating thing about writing for you?

The business and promoting end of it. I am not a good sales person and don't enjoy marketing.

What’s the best piece of feedback that you’ve had from your audience?

When I was holding some chat sessions at my house with teens for research for my Coping With Weapons and Violence In School and on Your Streets, one of the teens said they had read my other book for research. She seemed thrilled to meet the author of that book, and I was thrilled to know that the book had helped her do research for a paper she was writing at the time.

Do you write for a particular audience, or is your first priority to satisfy your own creativity?

My non-fiction is all for a particular audience, but the fiction is more about creativity. I have never been good at "writing to the market" in fiction because the story comes across forced. If I am making things happen to satisfy some guidelines or expectations, then I don't think the end result is as good as it could have been. Which doesn't mean I don't try to satisfy some expectations. I mean, a romance has to have a certain amount of the elements that people read a romance for, and a mystery, too, has to satisfy the reader. But, that only works well, in my estimation, if what happens is organic to the story, not put in because there has to be a kiss by page 20.

Do you have a homepage? Do you have any short stories or poems published online? (If so, please provide the URLs):

My Web site is www.Maryannwrites.com. My feature articles can be found at www.WinnsboroToday.com. My reviews can be seen at www.BloggerNews.net

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