About Marguerite Madden:
I’m a wife, mother of two teenage daughters, three dogs and a horse. I was born in Midland, Texas, and grew up in Flushing, Michigan. In high school, I won a National Quill and Scroll Society award for a photograph I had published in the school newspaper. I’m the author of Keeping a Backyard Horse, Once Upon a Western Way, and My Butterfly Cancer, all available in print and Kindle formats. I currently live in the small farm town of Fisk, Missouri, where I’m working on two new novels.
What inspires you to write?
I’ve written stories as long as I can remember. I never really expected to publish, not until I found Smashwords in 2012. That was the first time I published Once Upon a Weztern Way. But when I got sick with cancer, I wanted to go farther with my writing, and a friend hooked me uo with CreateSpace. My Butterfly Cancer was inspired by my battle with leukemia and how it came to pass that I got published in print. My non-fiction horse book was inspired by my desire to reduce accidental neglect of horses through owner ignorance.
Tell us about your writing process.
I write when I feel like writing. Often, especially lately, I have piles of notes in a spiral notebook, so I can remember things about my characters without having to go back through what I’ve written.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I try to become the character and see their life through their eyes and experiences, think the way they think. In my opinion, this makes a character feel more real to a reader.
What advice would you give other writers?
Don’t give up! I almost had, and look at me now! I mean, I’m not the next Stephen King, but my stories are out there for people to enjoy! And isn’t that why we write?
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I published initially in e-format alone, through Smashwords. I’d found them by downloading books into my first smart phone Nook app, and I finally got the nerve up to check out their site. Their formatting requirements are a bit different than a print manuscript, but they have a Kindle book that walks you through it. A friend recommended CreateSpace for print and Kindle versions. Once your print manuscript is through CreateSpace, you can send it right over to KDP for the Kindle. However, it still won’t be formatted correctly for e-readers, so I’d advise doing that in a different file. I wasn’t aware of this with my first files, so now I’ll have to edit them and reupload.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
It’s my opinion that indie authors will eventually cause big publishing houses to go out of business. As it is, their requirements are so stringent that they’re likely only signing a handfull of new authors each year. Once their “established” authors are gone, they won’t have anyone left to replace them And authors have choices now, so why would we want to pay out a large chunk of royalties to a publisher (and a literary agent, since you can’t get into the “big houses” without one), when we can so easily do it ourselves??
What genres do you write?: Non-fiction, memoir, crime, romance, paranormal, fantasy.
What formats are your books in?: Print, Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Marguerite Madden Home Page Link
Link To Marguerite Madden Page On Amazon
Link to Author Page on Smashwords
