Of all my social media accounts, Instagram is my favorite and the one I use the most. I also get to connect with other indie authors in a space where we’re just sharing pictures as opposed to constantly trying to sell our books. Maggie McGuinness was one of the authors who started following me, and I am pretty good about following back. She posted lots of pictures of her dog playing on the beach which were super cute.

Maggie also posted a picture of the cover for her book Planet Single. I thought it was a great cover, and even though I don’t typically read romance, I decided to give it a shot. I know how much it means to have someone take a chance on your writing, and I fully believe in supporting indie authors. I found the book entertaining and quite different from other romance novels. There was no bare-chested swashbuckling man, and the heroine didn’t just step out of a magazine.

I decided that Maggie was someone I wanted to hear more from, and she was kind enough to do this interview with me. Please proceed with an Australian accent in mind. It’s wonderful.

Jackman, Hemsworth, Spiders, and Snakes

Emily: What’s a day in the life of an author in Australia like?

Maggie: For this author, it varies a lot. As I do freelance editing with a mainly unpredictable workflow, everything is geared around that. I also live in a remote coastal area and I love to get out walking but that depends on weather, to some extent.

But a typical day would involve an early walk with my dog, Tilly, along the edge of the inlet to admire the views across big inland waterway to the ranges, and then watch the pelicans and cormorants fishing for their breakfast. Then I get back to my home office and tackle the freelance work for the day. I often have a break and drive into town to buy some groceries and a coffee (driving carefully, as there are lots of kangaroos and koalas around here with zero road sense!) Then I’d either do more freelance work or write a new section of my work in progress, which is Mirrabooka Romance Book 2. When I’ve knocked off work, I like to go for another drive and walk Tilly along one of the surf beaches, while the setting sun spreads beautiful pastel colours across the sky, clouds, and water. If we’re lucky, we’ll see dolphins cruise past or spot some whales further out to sea. Tough life, hey?

Emily: So how do I get to do what you’re doing? I mean, say something to tell me it’s not awesome. It’s the spiders, right? Tons of massive killer spiders? I know Australians are probably tired about hearing how the rest of the world thinks everything is out to kill you in Australia, but really, the rest of us would feel down if your lives were really that awesome all the time. Plus, you have Hugh Jackman and Chris Hemsworth. So, killer spiders, right?

Maggie: We absolutely do have killer spiders, being redbacks and funnel-webs. Our really massive spider, the huntsman, won’t kill you but is still terrifying. They can be as big as your outstretched hand and they like to sneak into houses and cars then play ‘peekaboo’ when you least expect it. Realising there’s a ginormous spider romping around in your car when you’re at top speed on the highway is no fun, trust me.

Emily: You have just detailed one of my biggest nightmares. Go on.

Maggie: So spiders are one thing but, personally, I get more freaked out by the snakes. There was a post on our local Facebook page the other day warning of a large tiger snake having a snooze on one of the popular walking tracks. That prompted a discussion about how it’s fine to have a red-bellied black snake in your yard because they’re reasonably placid and will keep the tiger snakes and eastern brown snakes away. Tiger snakes hunt nocturnally, so they like to slither around in the dark, and eastern browns are often described as fast-moving, aggressive and bad-tempered. All three are venomous, but another bonus is that the black snake is less likely to kill you. Yay!

Emily: Wow…

Maggie: We also have lots of goannas around here, which are giant lizards, usually around 4 to 6 feet long. They are generally placid but can be aggressive at times, especially when they’re hungry and they decide they want the sausages you’ve just cooked on a BBQ. I never argue with an assertive goanna.

Emily: Of course not. Why would you?

Maggie: Oh, I should mention hazardous marine creatures too—great white sharks, of course, and stingrays, and perhaps you’ve heard about our blue-ringed octopus? Very pretty, but deadly. So…have I dropped the awesome level down a notch yet?

Emily: Yeah, but you kind of got me back in again with the octopus…Anyway, let’s get this back on track. How long have you been an editor and when did you decide to write your own stories?

Maggie: I began both things at the same time, which was about 11 years ago. I’d always dabbled in short courses and writing a few bits and pieces, but one day I decided to chuck in my marketing job and go “back to school” to study writing and editing full-time for a year and then part-time for a few more years.

I quickly got a part-time job with a corporate publisher and this eventually led to freelance work. I also started the first novel then, Planet Single, and it took years to finish! I had to learn a lot about the craft of telling a story well, but I was really lucky to have fabulous teachers and fellow students at Holmesglen Institute, where I studied, who taught me so much and made it all great fun. Also, being a single mum to two school-aged children meant there was a fair bit going on in those days, so it’s no wonder the first book took eons to finish!

Emily: Romance is a popular genre, and the books seem to do really well. Why did you decide to write romance? Do you think you’ll venture into other genres?

Maggie: I decided to write a “sweet” romance to see if I could, basically, and in doing so I realised it was lots of fun! I must be a romantic at heart. I’m going to keep writing both romance and romantic comedy genres. Someday, I’d like to tackle something a bit more literary, but it would still be in the women’s contemporary fiction area.

Emily: I decided to try my hand at a romance novel, and I do plan on publishing it one day. Do you have any tips or suggestions for the aspiring romance author?

Maggie: I’d say don’t be afraid to try something a bit different. There are lots of romance tropes, and there are publishers who churn out book after book, with very similar plots. Maybe that’s commercially successful, but I would rather read something that’s more individual, even if it breaks a few romance “rules” such as the couple taking longer to meet than the first five pages, or whatever it’s supposed to be. So I’d say: it’s your book and they are your characters, so trust your instincts about how you think the plot should develop.

Let’s Talk About Reading

Emily: What have you read from middle school or high school—or any time—that just stuck with you?

Maggie: The first books I fell in love with were the Narnia series, by CS Lewis, starting with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. My grade two teacher gave me a copy of that book, and for the first time I was transported to another world by the power of the written word. I still have the whole series and I still love those books!

In high school, a classic Australian novel called My Brother Jack by George Johnston made a real impact. A lot of it is set in Melbourne, the city I lived in for a long time, and it looks at inter-war Australian society in the lead up to the Second World War. As well as the history element it has a fair bit of emotional drama and I loved it. (Again, I still have it, plus the other two books in Johnston’s trilogy).

Emily: What are you currently reading?

Maggie: Jojo Moyes’ latest release—The Giver of Stars. It’s fabulous, like all her work.

Emily: I am so behind. All of Jojo Moyes’ books are on my TBR. What are you reading next?

Maggie: Whatever looks interesting at the local library when I visit next week.

Emily: What did you read last?

Maggie: A novel by Irish writer Cathy Kelly: It Started with Paris.

Emily: It sounds like romance is your go to. Is it your preferred genre?

Maggie: I like contemporary women’s fiction, romantic comedy, and romance.

Planet Single

Emily: Do you write full time?

Maggie: I wish! That’s the dream I’m working towards. At the moment I do freelance editing and content writing to pay most of the bills. I have two novels published now though, and am hard at work on the third, so things are gradually gathering momentum.

Emily: Like you, my first book took forever. It seems like my second book is also taking forever. Are you finding it easier as you progress along?

Maggie: Don’t worry, I feel your pain—everything takes me a long time! The good news is that now I’m working on book three, I’ve noticed I seem to be writing in a more efficient way, which hopefully will cut down on revisions and copy editing rounds further down the track. The first draft is still torture, though!

Emily: Which of your books should we read first?

Maggie: Start with Planet Single. It’s my first novel and it means a lot to me.

Emily: What's your book about?

Maggie: It’s about starting again after divorce and being back in the singles scene. The main character, Katerina, feels like she’s landed on a different planet when she finds herself single again after years of marriage and raising children. It’s also a voyage of self-discovery, as Kat realises she doesn’t even know who she is any more and sets forth to find out.

It’s a romantic comedy. I decided to write a humorous book about the dating scene, because if you didn’t laugh, you’d cry, right?

Emily: My husband, friends (another couple), and I were all talking about that when we were out at a bar one night. We’re looking around wondering how people even get together anymore. I seriously wouldn’t have the guts to meet people or do online dating or any of that! I’d probably just give up and remain single because it seems so complicated! I’d be laughing AND crying!

Which of your characters (and from what book) should I interview?

Maggie: They’re from Planet Single – I’d love you to interview Kat’s inner voices: Voice One and Voice Two.

Emily: Why did you choose them?

Maggie: Kat isn’t very confident to start with and she has a lot of self-talk going on. Voice One and Voice Two provide lots of dubious—and usually conflicting—advice, and their wildly differing opinions about how she should behave can be pretty funny.

Emily: Awesome! I can’t wait to hear what they have to share!

Just for Fun

Emily: What are you binge-watching?

Maggie: Nothing. I’m a binge reader instead! I discovered Jojo Moyes about six months ago and became obsessed with reading all her novels.

Emily: Which paladin do you identify with?

Maggie: Que? I have no idea what that means.

Emily: That’s okay. I just throw my obsessions in here for fun. Which pony do you identify with?

Maggie: Ah, this question I understand! I used to do lots of horse riding at Pony Club when I was young, so I know my ponies. I’d say a Welsh Mountain Pony—they are hardy, versatile and good-natured. Shetlands, on the other hand, are bad-tempered and very naughty and they bite! Which is a bit unfortunate as, being small ponies, they get ridden by the littlest kids.

I was a children’s riding instructor for a while and one cranky old Shetland had a bad habit of ducking under low-hanging branches and swiping off his poor rider, then galloping away and leaving me to deal with the distraught kid. Umm, you did mean actual ponies, right? 😉

Emily: Um, yes…of course. But you know, now that you bring it up, I am surprised about the Shetland pony. I thought I would love them because of their hair. And because they are Scottish.

I think this is the pony I identify with:

via GIPHY

Emily: Now that I’ve got that out of my system, which Hogwarts House are you in?

Maggie: Slytherin. Nah, just kidding . . . I reckon Hufflepuff, mainly because I like saying the name. I’m a keen gardener, and the Hufflepuff element is earth. Also, I believe they are hard-working, friendly oddballs and I identify with that!

Emily: Yay! We have a Hufflepuff! What's the last movie you watched?

Maggie: Bohemian Rhapsody. It was brilliant!

Emily: What's your karaoke song go to?

Maggie: Hey Jude. I’m a terrible singer, but my tactic is to get others to join in and help me. Everybody knows that song and most love to sing along to the ‘nah nah nah nah’ bits.

Emily: Oooh, good song. But then you have to do that one part where Paul is really breaking it down and screaming. Who's your Doctor?

Maggie: Peter Davison. I thought he was cute!

Emily: Oh, nice! Doctor number five! (And just like that Mambo No. 5 is in my head…) What's your gaming class?

Maggie: Ermm, ah . . . pass? I remember Pacman though – I’m that old!

Emily: Hey, Pacman is timeless! We’ll call it Paladin (there I go throwing Paladin around). Pacman’s got high charisma, and is pretty single-minded.

Interview with Voice 1 and Voice 2, Beyond the Good and Bad Shoulder Angels

Voice 1 and Voice 2 (Image courtesy of Maggie McGuinness.)

I’m really not the prying type, and I don’t like getting into people’s business, but for this interview, I had to venture into the head of a woman named Katerina. She’s a recently divorced mom of two who is venturing out into a new world: dating in the 21st century.

I’m not going to go into how I got into Kat’s brain, but it may have involved a certain Professor and a machine called Cerebro. But I digress…

So in order to deal with being inside someone else’s head, my brain has protected itself by creating an image of a room. It’s a bit of a mess on one side, and I have to step over boxes and interesting looking gadgets that look incomplete. The other side is bit more organized. There are books on shelves, and everything seems labeled.

Emily: Hello? Voices? Are you here? How do you summon voices? Now there’s something I never expected to say…

Voice One: Greetings, Emily! Welcome to Kat's brain, where Voice Two and I live. I'm delighted to be the spokesperson for the two of us, since I am the mature, level-headed one. Please excuse the mess—there are always a lot of odd thoughts and half-baked ideas scattered around in here, especially over there on Voice Two's side. She's very haphazard and irresponsible. Come and sit over here on my side, where you can see everything is neat and tidy. I like to have a nice, orderly filing system where items of knowledge and important thoughts can be neatly stored and easily retrieved.

Voice Two: Ignore her! She's not the spokesperson; she just has delusions of grandeur. My side of Kat's brain is where all the fun happens, so come and hang out over here! Sure, it's a bit messy, but just shove a few of those random thoughts out of the way and take a seat.

[I am not entirely sure what to do, so I grab one of the sturdy chairs from the neat side and drape it with a fur throw from the messy side, and sit smack in the center of the room.]

Emily: I hope this is okay! I’m a bit overwhelmed, and—

[A table appears in front of me with a gift on it. The Voices encourage me to open it, so I do. Inside is…]

Voice One: Since you are married, and may I say it is lovely that you are willing to commit to someone wholeheartedly (unlike some other fickle creatures around here), my gift to you is the book The Good Wife Guide: 19 Rules for Keeping a Happy Husband. It has lots of handy hints for pampering the man of the house.

Voice Two: Hahaha! You know that book is just a joke, right? You're not supposed to take it seriously.

Voice One: Oh. Really? Well, umm, I think it can be interpreted however you like. Anyway, moving on. What's your gift?

Voice Two: What every married woman needs. Some red lingerie, a bottle of vodka and the game Twister. Hopefully that will spice things up a bit for you.

[I let out a huge laugh because this is both hilarious and embarrassing all at once.]

Emily: I really appreciate the gifts! They’re unique, that’s for sure! And I’m sure my face is as red as this lingerie, so let’s just get to it, shall we? You are voices…so where exactly did you come from? Have you always been here?

Voice Two: We've always been lurking in Kat's brain, but it took her a long time to listen to us. She had an uptight and bossy husband who dominated and squashed her inner thoughts for years. But when she got free of him and hit the singles scene again, she realised we were always around to offer support, encouragement and helpful advice.

Voice One: I offer the sensible advice to promote dignified and ladylike behaviour, as opposed to Voice Two's wild and wanton ways. Fortunately, Kat listens to me at least sometimes.

Voice Two: Hey, she listens to me too. We've had a few adventures, alright!

Voice One: Adventures? Huh! I think they're called disasters.

Voice Two: Don't listen to that repressed old bag, Emily. Me and Kat have fun together! Like with the sexy tradie guy…woo hoo!

Emily: Whoa, hold up. Who is the sexy tradie guy? Is that McKenzie? Because I’m cool if we talk about him for a bit.

Voice One: He’s not, but yes, let’s talk about McKenzie instead. He’s a very nice young man. I don’t remember that other one.

Voice Two: You do so! You just don’t want to remember because it’s such a sizzling hot encounter. Sexy tradie guy is the New Age electrician who invites Kat around for lunch, and then as things progress she realises she pretty much is lunch, because—

Voice One: La la la la—I’m not listening!

Voice Two: Built like a cucumber, with a tongue that’s all muscle. That’s all I wish to say.

Voice One: You’re a disgrace. You see what I have to put up with, Emily?

Emily: I mean, at least you all aren’t bored! What motivates you? Aside from Mr. New Age Cucumber, that is.

Voice One: I think I can speak for both of us here (which is quite rare) when I say that we both want the best for Kat. She's a nice person who put up with a very tedious husband for a long time. And then he cheated on her and left her, the rotter! Kat deserves to find happiness, so that's what we work towards.

Voice Two: Praise the lord, it's a miracle—I agree with Voice One.

Emily: We should have a moment of silence to commemorate this.

[Mostly, I just need the silence because it’s hard to think! You’re welcome, Kat!]

Emily: What do you do on a daily basis?

Voice One: I try to guide, advise and keep things tidy.

Voice Two: I just look for any opportunity for Kat to dress up, go out, drink too much and meet hot guys. You're only young once!

Voice One: That's so irresponsible! She's a forty-something mother-of-two, remember?

Voice Two: Yes, well, she's making up for lost time, after all those years with Neville (a.k.a. The Accountant), who is the world's most boring man.

Emily: I think between the both of you, Kat could live a little in a responsible way. There’s no age limit for fun. So let’s see what each of you think your goal is. Let’s start with you, Voice One.

Voice One: For Kat to be happily married to a wonderful man. Isn't that right, Voice Two?

Voice Two: Mmm, almost. How about: For Kat to be in a great relationship (marriage optional) with a wonderful, sexy man who's a red-hot lover. Agreed?

Voice One: *sigh* Oh alright, agreed.

Emily: I think we’re making real progress here. Do you consider yourselves friends or enemies?

Voice Two: Good question! I think friends, actually. Voice One is a great sparring partner and I'd really miss her if she wasn't here. Besides, sometimes my advice can be a bit…umm…well…*cough*…wrong .

Voice One: That shows amazing insight and awareness, Voice Two! And I'm deeply touched. My goodness. I think I'm going to have a little cry, actually…

Voice Two: Oh please, get a grip! I'm not going to say nice things about you if you're going to be such a sook.

[Googling “sook”…]

Emily: I’m going to regret asking this question. What irritates you?

Voice One: Voice Two!

Voice Two: Voice One!

Emily: I should have known. Do you ever get alone time?

Voice One: Yes, we regularly retreat to our own areas for some periods of quiet reflection and contemplation.

Voice Two: Which is usually when Kat has told us both to shut up and away. She doesn't seem to like it when we are having a spirited debate with each other in her head. She's a strange girl sometimes.

Emily: Do you ever just stay silent, sit back, and watch how it all plays out?

Voice One: Yes, we do. I have sometimes had occasion to sit back and look on in horror when Kat has been taking Voice Two's advice a bit too literally. There have been some most unseemly goings-on around here at times.

Voice Two: Ha! I bet you learned a few things! If it was up to you, Kat would spend her evenings in a rocking chair, sipping tea, knitting and talking to her seven cats.

Voice One: That's an outright lie! I've never suggested more than one cat.

Emily: Baby steps. Maybe ditch the rocking chair, sip some tequila, and…talk to a puppy?

[My suggestion is met with silence.]

Emily: What do you want people to know most about you?

Voice Two: We want people to know that they all have versions of us in their heads, and they should pay attention to them. Everyone has self-talk going on, right? That's all that we are. But there is some self-talk that you don't have to listen to. If there's a voice telling you that you're useless or stupid or whatever, tell it to shut up and then ignore it. Listen to the voice that says nice things to you, laughs with you (not at you) and encourages you. Listen to the one that says "be brave", or "take a chance", or "have some fun". But then . . . maybe listen to that other more sensible voice too.

Voice One: You mean the voice that says, "think it over", "be careful" and "stay calm and dignified"?

Voice Two: Yes, that's exactly what I mean. But we make a great team, right?

Voice One: We do! And I have to agree with Voice Two's earlier comment, which is that people should be picky about the self-talk they listen to. If it's negative or nasty—get rid of it. Find the nice voices (like us!) and let them be your friends.