Marion Faith Laird Interview

Q: Let me start with asking you to tell us a little bit about yourself.

A. Why is that always such a hard question? 🙂 Let’s see. I’m a singer/songwriter and professional musician. I’m the organist at our church. I also play other instruments, including guitar and violin/fiddle (same instrument, different styles). My dad was in the Navy, so I’ve lived on both sides of the country as well as in the middle, and a year in Hawaii I wish I’d been old enough to remember!

Q: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

A. Probably from the first time I knew that the stories in books were made by someone. I can’t really remember my first childhood writing ambitions (though writings stories was always one of my favorite activities). I started trying to get published after high school, but it wasn’t until I started hanging out on the Harlequin Community Boards that I found my niche.

Q: Could you give us the highlights of your professional writing career including how you got your first writing break?

A. Loving various genres, I tried my hand at writing everything from children’s books to science fiction. I read every book on writing I could find, and even studied screenwriting. (For those who have difficulties with plotting, screenwriting helps you focus on what’s important to a story.) I entered the “Writer’s Digest” writing competition several times while I was still learning, mostly in the script category, and generally received honorable mention. I’ve always loved romantic suspense, and when I discovered the Harlequin Community Boards, I started joining the writing challenges. I entered a few editor pitches with Harlequin American Romance, Love Inspired Suspense and Medical Romance, and then Harlequin/Mills & Boon invented “So You Think You Can Write.” My first effort there, a Regency, which had mixed judges’ reviews from a Beau Monde Romance Writers of America chapter contest, died on the vine. I tried again with No Place to Run, originally titled Dainger County Deputy, and, despite not advancing through the contest, it got the Love Inspired Suspense editors’ attention. I got a request for the full manuscript and a synopsis from Tina James in November, and Elizabeth Mazer made “The Call” February 28th of last year, buying the book. I was so thrilled, I barely knew what questions to ask!

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release No Place to Run?

A: It’s the story of librarian Lorie Narramore, who moves to Arkansas from California after she is acquitted of murder in the death of a man who was attempting to kill her and another woman. She has felt safe, until the first threats appear. Someone is determined to destroy her. Deputy Sheriff Matt MacGregor has to discover the culprit, before it’s everlastingly too late. With her aversion to law enforcement and his doubts about her, they have a rocky road ahead of them.

A: National Novel Writing Month, a blank document, and panic! 🙂 Seriously, after relocating from California to my grandparents’ old property in Arkansas, the setting was a natural. Giving Lorie that experience helped me relate to her background. The rest of it came from “What if…?”

Q: What is the main thing you hope readers remember from this story?

A: God honors our faith in Him, and He’ll be with us in the tough times as well as the good times.

Q: What is your favorite scene/chapter from the book?

A: Another hard question! I think one of my favorites is when Matt shows up for supper at his friends the Burkhalters’ house, and then realizes Lorie is already there. I love their family, and wouldn’t mind sharing a pizza with them and their kids.

Q: What inspires you to write?

A. Just about everything! Ideas are everywhere, and sometimes one will lie dormant for years until the right catalyst comes along. Being able to turn ideas into stories is a great gift, one I don’t take for granted. I was also always inspired by my mother, who wrote a lot of books while she was in school but didn’t publish them, and my grandfather, who wrote articles for the newspaper and magazines to augment his teaching income. My father also left several unfinished stories that I wish he’d completed.

Q: How has being a published novelist differed from your expectations of the profession?

A: I’m not sure I expected to feel like jumping up and down with joy. I also never imagined my first published novel would receive 4½ stars and a Top Pick from “Romantic Times” magazine! That was an unexpected surprise & blessing.

Q: What advice or tips do you have for writers who are just getting started?

A: If you don’t love to read, writing is not for you! You need to read, not only your target genre, but anything that can improve your writing. Even poorly written fiction can improve your writing because it shows you what doesn’t work. I’d also find a good online writing community, like the Harlequin Community Boards and/or PanHistoria (for interactive novel writing). If you have a local writer’s group, join! They often have people in all phases of a writing career, from rank beginners on up to multi-published authors. I’d also recommend American Christian Fiction Writers and (for the romantically inclined) Romance Writers of America. While those two organizations have different focuses, they both have helpful writing magazines, and sometimes offer online lessons in writing. Magazines like “Writer’s Digest,” “The Writer,” and “Poets and Writers” have interviews with authors, writing prompts, and lots of other great information. Get to know your librarians. Some are very helpful when they know you’re trying to break into writing. Finding a good critique partner (i.e., someone who isn’t a relative or close friend) is also important, preferably someone without a personal agenda, who will help you find places to improve in your manuscript without making you feel like giving up writing and taking up something simpler, like nuclear physics. (*grin* No, I’m not picking on physicists!) (Just a note here–the Harlequin Community Boards have a thread called Work In Progress where we decide on a theme and then post a short clip–somewhere between 100-200 words, generally–and then comment on each others’ work. While not as comprehensive as having a good critique partner, it can be very enlightening! Also, you get to read other writers’ work.)

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?

A. I’m working on a third book set in Dainger County, tentatively titled D.E.A.DEAD. Some of the characters you meet in No Place to Run have a role in this one. I’d tell you more, but it might give away some things in the first book!

Q: When you’re not writing what do you like to do?

A. Playing musical instruments and singing are right up there at the top of the list. I love to make things and craft, and I can usually be found with my nose in a book. I love photography, and I’ve discovered an ability for video editing. I edited our church’s first Easter pageant from the actual performance as well as some of the practices, and the separate audio tracks, made a title and end credits with photographs taken by our friend Kathleen Davis and by Mom, and ever since, I’ve wanted to do more. I’m currently editing a book trailer for No Place to Run. It should be on YouTube with links on my websites by the time you’re reading this. (At least, I hope it will!)

Q: Where can readers find you on the internet?

A. Two places: www.marionfaithlaird.com and www.daingercounty.com I’m also on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, and on the Harlequin Community Boards.

Q: Anything else you’d like to tell or share with us?

A. Write what you love. The old advice, “write what you know,” is fine, but you can learn what you don’t know. It’s easier to get information than it is to develop passion for a literary genre you don’t love. Write from the heart, and the right readers will find you. Thanks so much for letting me share this time with you!