Tag: 2017 RWA PRO Mentor

An Interview with Author and RWA® 2017 PRO Mentor of the Year Maggie Marr

We’re here today with Maggie Marr—a woman who wears many hats. A woman who is also the 2017 Romance Writers of America® PRO Mentor of the Year. She will be honored during the PRO Retreat at the RWA® National Conference to be held in Orlando, Florida this July.

Maggie Marr is the author of twenty-plus books including the best-selling Hollywood Girls Club series. She is the past president of Los Angeles Romance Authors (LARA) and legal advisor to WFWA. When she isn’t writing, reading, practicing law, or chasing her kids, you can find her binge watching her favorite shows. For more information about Maggie and her novels please visit her website-www.maggiemarr.net or follow her on social media, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Goodreads.

Jann: Maggie, welcome to A Slice of Orange. Why be a mentor?

Maggie: There are so many reasons and first among them, for me, is that mentoring is fun. I love writing and I love writers (my tribe!) and being helpful to other writers gives me so much joy and fulfillment. Plus, I’m an introvert by nature, so mentoring allows me to build a relationship based on a mutual love for writing, which really takes the pressure off my introvert-nature.

Jann: Tell us about the mentor programs at LARA that you are involved with.

Maggie: LARA has great programs and many of them offer authors the opportunity to reach back and help. First among them is the mentor-mentee program which matches published authors with newer writers so that writers can utilize their mentors as a resource. We also have book-in-year, 20k in 2 weeks, published author chat, the write-in, and the LARA anthology. Each program intends to help make writing a well-formed habit.

Jann: Do you have any writing rituals? Schedule?

Maggie: I prefer to write first thing. When I accomplish my writing-goal for the day I feel good because I can check that off my list for the day.

 Jann: What kind of writer are you? A page a day or a burst writer?

Maggie: My goal is to write every day, but I don’t always achieve that goal. When I’m in my first draft I try for 3 thousand words a day. Lately when I revise I dedicate 2 hours a day because that’s what my schedule allows

Jann: Do you ever run out of ideas? If so, how did you get past that?

Maggie: I don’t run out of ideas, because there are couples lined up in my head, like airplanes on a tarmac waiting for take off, simply waiting for me to look at them and say, ‘you’re up tell me your story.’ What I do struggle with is scene location. I’m on book 25 and I don’t want the location of my scenes to feel tired or over-used so I’m constantly trying to think of new and unusual places to set scenes.

Jann: What’s the best writing advice you ever received?

Maggie: Never quit, never give up. Also, with every book try to write a better book than the one you just finished writing.

Jann: Author Maria Powers says: “Maggie Marr is a mentor, an inspiration, a motivator and a friend. She lives her belief that success for one is success for all, and her determination and tenacity always bring me back to the knowledge that I can do this. I am a better writer for having Maggie in my corner, but more importantly, I am a better person for having Maggie in my life.”

Thank you Maggie Marr for taking the time to be with us today to answer our questions. If you have comments or questions for Maggie, please use the comment form below.

Jann Ryan

Jann Ryan grew up with the smell of orange blossoms in Orange County in sunny Southern California, where she has lived her entire life and dreamed up stories since she was a young girl. Never an avid reader, she was in her thirties when she picked up her first romance quite by accident. She fell in love with happily ever after and has been reading romances ever since.

Wanting to put pen to paper, Jann joined of Romance Writers of America®. Currently, she is working on a romantic suspense series set in Stellar Bay, a fictitious town along the California central coast to fulfill her publishing dream.