Another great author, another great interview - with Lisa Maggiore!
Adding to my continuing quest to showcase fellow authors from the many events I've participated in is an interview with Lisa Maggiore, author of the Ava the Monster Slayer series (among other works). Dust off those wanderer's boots, feel at-ease with your sword-arm, and read on...
Hi Lisa - thanks again for taking the time to be interviewed! Let’s begin with telling us a little bit more about who Lisa Maggiore is?
LM: Thanks, Hugo, for interviewing me! Well, that is a loaded question! I am a woman, wife, mother, grandmother, caregiver to my mom, social worker, and writer. Each of those “titles” has plots and subplots running through them, but if I wrote about those, this would not be an interview but me writing a memoir. I am a complex human who, at different ages and stages, is navigating reality as best I can. Travel, prayer, and alcohol help. 😊
When did you know that you wanted to be a writer?
LM: At a very young age, I wrote stories that included illustrations. Usually of a horse (I love horses!) As I got older, I was a ravenous reader and, in turn, would write. I wrote a 200-page fan fiction novel based on the book The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. That book was the first I read that made me go, “I WANT to be a writer.” It spoke to me like no other book I had ever read. I went to college to become a writer, but I became pregnant. I did not have the courage to risk getting a degree in which I may not have a steady paycheck, so I went into a career where I’d have a salary, although not a large one, social work. After a 20-year social work career, I leaped off my steady income and started writing and publishing books for children & adults.
How did you develop the ideas for your stories?
LM: Many come from what I know, my children, friends, and family. Writers are curious by nature, so events in history that I want to learn more about. But also from my 20 years of talking with an array of people and dealing with situations that were a mix of traumatic and redemptive.
Which projects were the most fun to develop?
Which were the most challenging?
LM: My Ava the Monster Slayer series for children is the most fun because I work collaboratively with my cousin, Ross Felten. His illustrations give movement to my words in a way I never envisioned. Most challenging is my current YA novel, which editors love but are unwilling to publish because of the publishing landscape around who gets to tell what story. The protagonist in my YA novel is a Black Amerasian, which I am not.
What are your plans long-term for your writing? Do you have additional/different works in mind?
LM: My long-term plan is to write, write, write! Making time around my caregiving responsibilities and helping out with my grandchildren. I have one child at home, and she will graduate high school in two years. That will also allow for more writing time. I have an MG graphic novel that I’m revising, and Ross is almost finished illustrating our third book Ava the Monster Slayer; Sleepover Superheroes!
As an author, I share the challenge of getting the word out about my books. What have you had to do to win broader exposure and branding for your works?
LM: I am a success sometimes and a flop at other times. I get into a social media groove, then something pushes me off, and I drop off for a few months. I know, a bad habit! I love in-person events, so I attend a few, along with school visits. I was a Chicago Public School social worker, so I had an “in.” I was blessed that my first book Ava the Monster Slayer; A Warrior who Wears Glasses, was an Illinois Reads pick for K-2 in 2017. That helped elevate my book, and all the librarians and booksellers that sang its praises shone a light on it with book buyers. I also started a website and social media pages even before I had a book to sell. I have a newsletter and a solid group of fans who engage monthly. They also help get the word out about my books.
This question will start off sounding like an old joke – a person walks into a bar (or convention or bookstore) and bumps into Lisa Maggiore – what would be your elevator pitch to showcase your work?
LM: In a bar would be let’s get a drink and talk about books. If I were pitching to an editor or agent at a conference or in a literal elevator, it would be specific about my current project. For example, the pitch for my YA novel would be “a sweeping historical YA novel about an Amerasian who survives the fall of Saigon and comes to America to find his father.”
As an author, it’s sometimes difficult to finally say a product is finished, no matter how many times you review or edit. Is there anything you would go back and change in your completed works? Were there ideas you had in mind and then decided NOT to include?
LM: I only have two children’s PBs, one novel, and two short stories out in the world, so at this time, I would say no, I would not change anything. I am proud of what I have written, but I have learned from each of them and would improve on a few things now that I am more seasoned—for instance, pacing and adding a little more dialogue in my adult novel
in the later half of the book. It might not be something the reader notices, but I did with more writing experience and classes.
I have a 10 year old son, and structuring time around him can be challenging! I’ve lost count of the times he nearly pressed the delete button on something I was working on…how do you find time to carve out your ideas?
LM: I write when I can. I don’t romanticize it. I get my butt in the chair and write when I get a chance. I have pads of paper in my car, next to my bed, so when I get an idea, dialogue, or plot, I can write it down and explore later. I rarely write in the summer, but once my daughter returns to school in the fall, I have scheduled days/times that I try and write along with social media updates.
Do you have a certain method you use when you write – i.e., a certain room, music, mood, etc., to help get you in the right writing frame of mind?
LM: I usually write in my office, which is an enclosed back porch. I have lots of windows, so that’s a nice touch. Sometimes I will listen to sad music if I am writing a scene requiring those emotions. And I need to have either green or black tea in my Yeti on my desk. That puts my head in the “it’s time to work” space.
What are you reading right now?
LM: In January, an agent posted on Twitter that you do not need an MFA to get published. She suggested reading 100 books published in the last three years in your genre. Take notes and read like a student. When you finish, write or revise whatever you are working on. I always read books in my writing genre, but not 100! I decided to take her suggestion, so I’ve read 92 MG graphic novels since January. I am hoping to finish the eight I have left by September 30th. I promised my newsletter readers I would give away a few of my favorites once I had accomplished my reading goal. Fingers crossed, I can finish those eight!!! Here’s the last group, although there’s an extra book in there. (At times, I’m a bit of an overachiever!)
Where can people go to find out more about Lisa Maggiore?
LM: My website is www.lisamaggiore.com. You can also sign up for my newsletter from my website to enter the hopeful giveaway in October!
FB Lisa Maggiore Books AND Ava the Monster Slayer
Twitter @MaggioreBooks
Thanks Lisa, for sharing some of your time!
LM: Thank you for having me! I hope to see you and your readers at an event soon!
Hi Lisa - thanks again for taking the time to be interviewed! Let’s begin with telling us a little bit more about who Lisa Maggiore is?
LM: Thanks, Hugo, for interviewing me! Well, that is a loaded question! I am a woman, wife, mother, grandmother, caregiver to my mom, social worker, and writer. Each of those “titles” has plots and subplots running through them, but if I wrote about those, this would not be an interview but me writing a memoir. I am a complex human who, at different ages and stages, is navigating reality as best I can. Travel, prayer, and alcohol help. 😊
When did you know that you wanted to be a writer?
LM: At a very young age, I wrote stories that included illustrations. Usually of a horse (I love horses!) As I got older, I was a ravenous reader and, in turn, would write. I wrote a 200-page fan fiction novel based on the book The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. That book was the first I read that made me go, “I WANT to be a writer.” It spoke to me like no other book I had ever read. I went to college to become a writer, but I became pregnant. I did not have the courage to risk getting a degree in which I may not have a steady paycheck, so I went into a career where I’d have a salary, although not a large one, social work. After a 20-year social work career, I leaped off my steady income and started writing and publishing books for children & adults.
How did you develop the ideas for your stories?
LM: Many come from what I know, my children, friends, and family. Writers are curious by nature, so events in history that I want to learn more about. But also from my 20 years of talking with an array of people and dealing with situations that were a mix of traumatic and redemptive.
Which projects were the most fun to develop?
Which were the most challenging?
LM: My Ava the Monster Slayer series for children is the most fun because I work collaboratively with my cousin, Ross Felten. His illustrations give movement to my words in a way I never envisioned. Most challenging is my current YA novel, which editors love but are unwilling to publish because of the publishing landscape around who gets to tell what story. The protagonist in my YA novel is a Black Amerasian, which I am not.
What are your plans long-term for your writing? Do you have additional/different works in mind?
LM: My long-term plan is to write, write, write! Making time around my caregiving responsibilities and helping out with my grandchildren. I have one child at home, and she will graduate high school in two years. That will also allow for more writing time. I have an MG graphic novel that I’m revising, and Ross is almost finished illustrating our third book Ava the Monster Slayer; Sleepover Superheroes!
As an author, I share the challenge of getting the word out about my books. What have you had to do to win broader exposure and branding for your works?
LM: I am a success sometimes and a flop at other times. I get into a social media groove, then something pushes me off, and I drop off for a few months. I know, a bad habit! I love in-person events, so I attend a few, along with school visits. I was a Chicago Public School social worker, so I had an “in.” I was blessed that my first book Ava the Monster Slayer; A Warrior who Wears Glasses, was an Illinois Reads pick for K-2 in 2017. That helped elevate my book, and all the librarians and booksellers that sang its praises shone a light on it with book buyers. I also started a website and social media pages even before I had a book to sell. I have a newsletter and a solid group of fans who engage monthly. They also help get the word out about my books.
This question will start off sounding like an old joke – a person walks into a bar (or convention or bookstore) and bumps into Lisa Maggiore – what would be your elevator pitch to showcase your work?
LM: In a bar would be let’s get a drink and talk about books. If I were pitching to an editor or agent at a conference or in a literal elevator, it would be specific about my current project. For example, the pitch for my YA novel would be “a sweeping historical YA novel about an Amerasian who survives the fall of Saigon and comes to America to find his father.”
As an author, it’s sometimes difficult to finally say a product is finished, no matter how many times you review or edit. Is there anything you would go back and change in your completed works? Were there ideas you had in mind and then decided NOT to include?
LM: I only have two children’s PBs, one novel, and two short stories out in the world, so at this time, I would say no, I would not change anything. I am proud of what I have written, but I have learned from each of them and would improve on a few things now that I am more seasoned—for instance, pacing and adding a little more dialogue in my adult novel
in the later half of the book. It might not be something the reader notices, but I did with more writing experience and classes.
I have a 10 year old son, and structuring time around him can be challenging! I’ve lost count of the times he nearly pressed the delete button on something I was working on…how do you find time to carve out your ideas?
LM: I write when I can. I don’t romanticize it. I get my butt in the chair and write when I get a chance. I have pads of paper in my car, next to my bed, so when I get an idea, dialogue, or plot, I can write it down and explore later. I rarely write in the summer, but once my daughter returns to school in the fall, I have scheduled days/times that I try and write along with social media updates.
Do you have a certain method you use when you write – i.e., a certain room, music, mood, etc., to help get you in the right writing frame of mind?
LM: I usually write in my office, which is an enclosed back porch. I have lots of windows, so that’s a nice touch. Sometimes I will listen to sad music if I am writing a scene requiring those emotions. And I need to have either green or black tea in my Yeti on my desk. That puts my head in the “it’s time to work” space.
What are you reading right now?
LM: In January, an agent posted on Twitter that you do not need an MFA to get published. She suggested reading 100 books published in the last three years in your genre. Take notes and read like a student. When you finish, write or revise whatever you are working on. I always read books in my writing genre, but not 100! I decided to take her suggestion, so I’ve read 92 MG graphic novels since January. I am hoping to finish the eight I have left by September 30th. I promised my newsletter readers I would give away a few of my favorites once I had accomplished my reading goal. Fingers crossed, I can finish those eight!!! Here’s the last group, although there’s an extra book in there. (At times, I’m a bit of an overachiever!)
Where can people go to find out more about Lisa Maggiore?
LM: My website is www.lisamaggiore.com. You can also sign up for my newsletter from my website to enter the hopeful giveaway in October!
FB Lisa Maggiore Books AND Ava the Monster Slayer
Twitter @MaggioreBooks
Thanks Lisa, for sharing some of your time!
LM: Thank you for having me! I hope to see you and your readers at an event soon!
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