Meow, today my guest is author Susan Breen!
Susan Breen
is the author of the Maggie Dove mystery series, published by the Alibi digital
imprint of Penguin/Random House. She lives in a small village in the Hudson
Valley with her two dogs and two cats. And her husband, Brad.
R: Welcome Susan!Tell us a bit about yourself and how you
became interested in writing.
Thanks ROCCO! Well, I’ve always loved reading. When I was
in the 4th grade, my uncle gave me a dictionary and I lugged it
around for years. Let us just say, I scored very well on the vocabulary part of
the SATs! When you love to read you
can’t help but wonder what it would be like to write your own book, and I have
to say, it’s just as thrilling as I ever hoped it would be.
R: Tell us about your Maggie Dove series. How did the idea for that come about?
I love stories about more-or-less
ordinary people who are forced to become extraordinary. Maggie Dove is as
ordinary as you can be. She’s a 62-year-old Sunday School teacher who lives in
a small village in the Hudson Valley. She might have gone her whole life
without doing anything remarkable, except that a young man she loves, who was
her late daughter’s fiancĂ©, is accused of being a murderer. Maggie has no
choice but to defend him, and to her surprise, and to mine, she’s ferocious.
R: Which of (your
character) adventures was the most fun
for you to write? Were any of them the least amount of fun?
In
the second book in the series, Maggie Dove opens a detective agency. I have no
idea what it’s like to be a detective and so I enrolled in a course to get my
detective license and one of the first things I had to do was follow someone. I
work in NYC, near Times Square, and so I picked a family and followed them and
it was so much fun. Very thrilling and oddly empowering. As to scenes which were not fun to write, at
one point Maggie and her business partner have an argument, and I had to
channel my own anger and frustration to write that. It was probably cathartic,
but stressful.
R: Do you have an “how I
got my agent” story you’d like to share?
How did you feel when you got the call your first novel had sold?
I met my agent, Paula Munier, at the
NY Pitch Conference. I knew right away that she would be a good fit for me
because she’s very honest and not afraid to give her opinion. One day she
invited me to meet her for lunch at a Mexican restaurant. She ordered
margaritas for us, and when I took my first sip she said, “Congratulations I
sold Maggie Dove.” Immediately my left arm went numb and I thought I was having
a heart attack. But then I drank the rest of the margarita and felt much
better!
R: What’s a must have for you when you are writing? What aids
the creative process?
I need quiet. I like to have my two
little dogs at my feet. Whenever I get excited, I jump up and they bark.
R: If you had access to a time machine, which historical moment
would you travel to and why?
I’m very intrigued by Tudor England
and I’m working on a book about that time period, so I’d love to see what the
people are really like.
R: If a movie were to be made of one of your books, which
one would you want it to be and who would you pick for the lead roles?
Judi Dench looks like Maggie Dove, so
if she’s feeling up to it, I’d love for her to play the role. Clarie Foy would
be great as Maggie’s young associate, Helen, though Foy may be busy right now.
R: What is one thing your readers would be most surprised to
know about you?
I started
off as a reporter for Fortune Magazine and my job was to report on the mining
industry. I’ve spent a fair amount of time crawling around in the dark.
R: What is the craziest thing you've ever done?
I went zip-lining with my daughter in
Costa Rica.
R: What do you hope readers will most take away from your
writing?
One of
things I love when I’m reading is to feel a real friendship for the characters
in a book, and so I hope readers will feel like they’ve made a friend in Maggie
Dove.
R: Are you a plotter or a pantser?
I always start
with character and go from there. So I suspect I’m a pantser with plotting tendencies.
R: Where can
we find out more about you and your work?
My web site is at www.susanjbreen.com. I’m also active on
twitter @susanjbreen. And I blog regularly for www.missdemeanor.com.
R: Do you have any advice for beginning
writers?
I
teach creative writing for Gotham Writers in Manhattan and so I work with
beginning writers a lot. I think the most important thing is: Write something.
Anything. You have to start somewhere.
Just for Fun:
Night or Day? Day
Dog or Cat? (answer
carefully) I have two dogs (cockapoos
Buster and Bailey) and two cats (Calvin and Brady), so I can’t choose.
Beach or Pool? Beach
Steak or salad? Salad
Favorite Drink? Scotch on the rocks
Favorite Book? Truman Capote’s A Christmas Memory, and many
others!
Favorite TV Series? At the moment, The Crown
Favorite Movie? North by Northwest
Favorite Actor: Cary Grant
Favorite Actress: Myrna Loy
Dirty Martini or Pina Colada?
Martini
Hawaii or Alaska? Hawaii
Finish this sentence: If I could meet anyone in the world, past or
present, it would be Eleanor Roosevelt
If I had just one wish, it
would be for peace
If I could trade places with
anyone in the world, it would be Lin Manuel Miranda. He always looks like he’s
having fun.
Susan will give away a Maggie Dove tote bag to one lucky
commenter!
To enter, leave a comment on this blog
post with your name and email address (entries without email will be
disqualified). For extra entries, you can do any or all of the below:
* Follow my blog (+ 1 point)
* Follow me on Twitter (+ 1 point) (Link: https://twitter.com/RoccoBlogger)
* Tweet about the contest (+ 1 point)
* Friend me on Facebook (+ 1 point) (Link: https://www.facebook.com/ToniLotempio)#!/
*
Mention the contest on Facebook (+ 1 point)
* Mention the contest on your blog (+ 1 point)
* Mention the contest on your blog (+ 1 point)
Winner will be chosen at random using random.org. Don’t forget to mention all you’ve done in
your comment. Good luck! US only, contest ends midnight, Feb. 12!
Well, the series sounds intriguing and I think Maggie Dove and I could be friends. But I knew this was an author I had to read when I saw Cary Grant and North by Northwest! The highlight for me of our trip to Mt. Rushmore was the marker that said NxNW filmed here. Thanks for the giveaway. I follow the blog and FB.
ReplyDeletesallycootie@gmail.com
This sounds like an amazing read! I think it's interesting that Susan took a class to become a detective in order to write an authentic story. I will definitely be adding this series to my TBR list.
ReplyDeleteRocco,I follow your blog, on Twitter and Facebook and shared post on Facebook.
diannekc8(at)gmail(dot)com
This sounds like an amazing read! I think it's interesting that Susan took a class to become a detective in order to write an authentic story. I will definitely be adding this series to my TBR list.
ReplyDeleteRocco,I follow your blog, on Twitter and Facebook and shared post on Facebook.
diannekc8(at)gmail(dot)com
I like when I'm able to become friends with the characters. I think Maggie & I will become friends.
ReplyDeleteturtle6422(at)gmail(dot)com
Following blog - by email
Following Twitter - @janaleah64
Tweeted - https://twitter.com/JanaLeah64/status/830551089887842304
Friends on FB - Jana Leah
Shared on FB - https://www.facebook.com/jana.leah.9/posts/2111803785712707?pnref=story
Rocco, thanks for introducing me to Susan and Maggie. I have added the book to my TBR list. I also know my mom will love the series.
ReplyDeleteI want to congratulate Susan not only on her success, but her attention to detail! I often admonish writers to 'do their homework',(research), but Susan went above and beyond in actually becoming a detective!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chance zeta(at)iwon(dot)com
ReplyDeleteFollow your blog by email
Follow on twitter jnalpath
Tweeted. https://twitter.com/jnalpath/status/831465898569523200
Follow on Facebook
Shared on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/jess.dimovski.5
Thank you all so much for your comments. It's been such a pleasure to visit with Rocco.
ReplyDeleteI love the Maggie Dove books! Can't wait for the third one.....
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the first book and felt like I really got to know Maggie Dove. I am looking forward to reading the second book! swimmerxyz@aol.com
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