Daring Adventures in Midlife: Author Interview MCV Egan

Today I am excited to share an interview with fellow author MCV Egan. Her new book Defined by Others is on tour and she was kind enough to answer some questions for my blog today

1 When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I learned how to read very young, and I read a lot. From a very young age I could clearly see my name on the cover of a book, call it wishful thinking, visualization for the law of attraction or setting goals, but whatever it was it was very clear to me. That being said, I got a late start as far as being public with my writing. I wrote journals and many long involved letters, which my friends would say felt like reading a good short story. I had a wide variety of jobs that paid the bills and I am now 55, I did not plunge into being public about my writing until a few years ago.

2 How long does it take you to write a book?

My first book THE BRIDGE OF DEATHS took me eighteen years, yes 18. It involved a tremendous amount of research and requesting files, in retrospect I have come to realize I am a most patient person. DEFINED by OTHERS the first draft was my 2013 NaNoWriMo success at 50K+ words , it did take me a year to clean it up properly, I think focused on one single project I could come up with a good book in six months, after edits and re-writes.

3 What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I have a very wide variety of interests, from Astrology, Tarot, Palm Reading to cooking, crafts, birdwatching. I of course love to read and I love to travel. I am fluent in four languages and I incorporate a wide variety of things to my books. For example in DEFINED by OTHERS , I incorporate languages, the main character Anne is a translator, Chinese astrology, the women are born in the year of the Chinese Snake but I also make a play on real snakes from one of Anne’s translations. This way the reader gets to have fun with a bit of trivia.

4 What do you like to do when you're not writing?

There is a lot I have to do when I am not writing, I am a wife and mother and that keeps me quite busy; cooking, laundry, keeping a pantry full to feed the insane appetite of a growing teen.

As a writer who prefers to focus on contemporary my favorite hobby has to be people watching. So I enjoy pretty much everything, grocery shopping, doctor visits, I am constantly putting a story to a face or observing how people act and react.

I do find the time to take magical walks and go bird watching, read, market my work on cyberspace, and I am a huge movie buff, I love movies, I enjoy watching them at home and I love going to the cinema, it is such fun to share reactions of surprise, fear and other emotions with a large group of people I don’t know at all.

5 What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?

That the ending is not in stone! I can write an outline and head in a certain direction but my characters or the story line might flow in an unexpected manner, I have learned I have to be as open minded about my characters as I am about people.

6 What inspires you?

Absolutely everything.

7 What makes your book stand out from the crowd?

I use humor where many would not, I use themes in a different way than most. I have a character in Defined by Others who pretends to be psychic, and as she is doing it she becomes a bit confused as to what is real and what is not.

I add cultural flavors to my work, even in small nuances like Connie’s Hungarian cooking, or by discussing The Little Mermaid in regards to the immortal soul.

8 What projects are you working on at the present?

DEFINED by OTHERS is the first in a series, I am working on books two and three while outlining others. I am also working on short stories and One Act Plays. Book two of the series is Climbing up the Family Tree; Defined by Pedigree.

M.C.V. Egan is the pen name chosen by Maria Catalina Vergara Egan the author of The Bridge of Deaths and Defined by Others. Catalina is originally from Mexico City, Mexico. She has lived in France, Sweden and various parts of the U.S.A. She has called South Florida her home for the last twenty-five years; she is a writer, a mother a wife and a pretty good cook. Her first book The Bridge of Deaths is available in two different versions, her book Defined by Others is the first in a series Defining Ways exploring what makes us flawed and human. Book two Climbing Up The Family Tree; Defined by Pedigree will be released in November 2015.

If you want to find out more about MCV Egan - here is her contact info & links:

MY YouTube Channel

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg4Pw3j3pG60G3h8BogOGAg

Book Trailers for The Bridge of Deaths

1 http://youtu.be/YNe9psSjGio

2 http://youtu.be/tUdQ_AV0StA

Contact links:

Facebook fan page

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Bridge-of-Deaths/130675087014521

blogs

DEFINING WAYS http://mariacatalinaegan.com/

THE BRIDGE OF DEATHS http://thebridgeofdeaths.tumblr.com/