Anna asked Madeline Martin:

Hi Madeline, thank you for your books! I loved Keeper of Hidden Books and The Last Bookshop. How do you gather the mental energy to do such detailed research AND writing, especially with a family (I'm a mom too)? I've got a historical fiction book I'm writing, but sometimes it's discouraging how slowly it seems to go. Any advice for a weary mother/aspiring author? Thanks for your time!

Madeline Martin HI, Anna :) First of all, congratulations on writing your first book! Being a mom and an author is difficult time and energy-wise (especially with a day job if you have one). I've been writing for over fifteen years, but have only been writing full time for four years and my girls are teens. The struggle is real, and I TOTALLY get it.
I think the most important thing is to try to carve out a time that you can work when everyone else is asleep when your mind is sharpest - either early morning, or late evening. Or if you're at home, maybe while your children are at school. Don't feel like you need to write huge blocks of text at once (unless you're on a roll, then go for it!) - writing 100 words a day (basically a paragraph) every day will add up faster than you realize and you can do more as the words are feeling like they're coming.
Regarding research, if you don't have the time to read dozens of books, that's totally OK. How much research is done is dependent on the author, the book, etc. Try to find maybe four or so books that are very helpful and read them - sometimes swapping 'want-to-read' novels with 'have-to-read' non-fiction (and hopefully you find it fun still, otherwise cut back on the books you're using for research).
The most important thing is to remember that the dream of publication is NOT impossible just because time is limited and because you're a mom. You absolutely can attain this dream. You've got this! Best of luck to you xoxo

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