About Peggy Rothschild:
Peggy Rothschild grew up on Los Angeles. Always a mystery-lover, she embraced the tales of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys before graduating to the adult section of the library. An English major in high school, she switched to art — her other passion — in college. At present, Peggy lives in the beach community of Ventura with her husband and their cats. In her spare time she focuses on transforming their yard into a drought-tolerant paradise.
What inspires you to write?
I love words — the way they sound, their infinite variety. I also love to play ‘what if?’ — which is a natural springboard for creating a character or story. For me, writing is a great way to combine the voyage of imagination with my love of language. Whether as a reader or a writer, I love losing myself in a story.
Tell us about your writing process.
I wish I were an outliner — I suspect there would be less rewriting! But, no, I’m a pantster. I do start out with some basic ideas — a character, a setting, a problem. I may even know where the tale starts and ends, but I rarely know the whole story until I finish the first draft. Like with Clementine’s Shadow, I knew I wanted to write a story which interwove the lives of four people and I wanted each character to find a way during the course of the story to move beyond past failures. From there I spent time thinking about what sort of characters would work well this idea. I also knew I wanted to set the story in a harsh, unforgiving landscape – one that would mirror some of the characters’ unwillingness to forgive themselves. As a native Californian, though I knew a big part of the state’s history was linked to the discovery of gold and silver, I never spent much time in the former gold or silver fields, so I had my research cut out for me!
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I don’t talk to them, but I feel like they do take on their own voice as a story progresses, at times acting in ways I hadn’t consciously anticipated. It’s always fun to be surprised by characters you’ve created.
What advice would you give other writers?
It’s nothing new, but keep on writing! Every time we sit down to write, we’re honing our craft. And there’s always more to learn.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
My decision to self- publish was kind of a roundabout one. The querying process is generally slow — especially if you only send out one or two letters every few months as I seemed to be doing. As the months were sliding by, I kept hearing that authors — even before publication — should have a website and be on various social media sites. I knew I would never do any of those things until I actually had a book out. Seeing the glacial pace I was taking on looking for an agent, I decided to self-publish Clementine’s Shadow and dive into the world of social media. Because of the book, I do have a website and am on Facebook, have book Pinterest boards, and have fallen in love with Twitter! Self-publishing has been fine for me, but does require a fair amount of time in terms of book promotion.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
The shift from printing on paper to ebooks has made reading so affordable. People can buy a greater variety of books and authors. As an avid reader, I’m a fan.
What do you use?: Beta Readers
What genres do you write?: Mystery, suspense, thriller
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Peggy Rothschild Home Page Link
Link To Peggy Rothschild Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
