Author/Speaker
http://fictionforyou.com
By Kelvin Oliver
T4JYM: How much editing of your novel Deeds of Darkness was involved? Did you do it all alone or did you send it to people to edit?
MM: My publisher, Treble Heart Publishing, assigns editors to each book that is accepted for publication and mine was no exception.
T4JYM: How many times did you have to re-edit your works?
MM: My very first book–which was an historical family saga based on my family’s genealogy was rewritten and rewritten and rewritten. Were they rejected by publishers? That particular book was rejected almost 30 times before I finally found a publisher. With Deeds of Darkness, several Christian book publishers rejected the book as being too scary for their readers. When I sent it out to secular publishers, it was rejected for being too Christian.
T4JYM: Who have been your biggest influences in life?
MM: I would have to say Christ–of course He influences me in everything that I do.
T4JYM: Who have been your biggest influences in your life as a writer?
MM: When I first became serious about being published I joined a writers’ critique group (which I still belong to twenty one years later) and met a wonderful woman named Willma Willis Gore who served as my writing mentor for many years. The woman who founded the group, Shirley Hickman, has been a wonderful support for me throughout the years.
T4JYM: How has this book been received by the general public?
MM: I’ve received wonderful reviews for Deeds of Darkness –especially from Christians. Has there been positive feedback? I’ve had wonderful positive feedback. Here’s an excerpt of a sample review: “Ms. Meredith’s themes are important for Christians to read and discuss. It would make an excellent study book for youth group or other small group members. Just how does Satan work in the present day? Readers will come away from this experience with a deeper faith and understanding of how the devil can take advantage of weakness in our lives and how God is working for each one of us. I highly recommend DEEDS OF DARKNESS, it is a book that will stay with you for a long, long time.”
T4JYM: Any negative feedback?
MM: No, I haven’t received any feedback that was negative.
T4JYM: What are your next plans for writing?
MM: I also write a mystery series with a Native American female deputy sheriff who is married to a Christian minister. There are five books in this series. Christian themes are woven throughout these novels.
T4JYM: Do you plan to do any more books along the same lines as this book?
MM: I have another Christian horror called The Choice which is similar to Deeds of Darkness.
T4JYM: Will you move on to new writing?
MM: Whether I’ll write anymore Christian horror novels, I don’t know. Right now I am working on the sixth Deputy Tempe Crabtree novel.
T4JYM: What is generally your target audience?
MM:I write for anyone. Deeds of Darkness has a Christian teenage heroine and hero, but many adults read it and enjoyed it. On the other hand, my mystery series which is targeted for adults has been read by many teenagers. I’ve often spoken at local schools about writing and often surprised by the kids who have read my books.
T4JYM: Do you write specifically to ministry workers or have you written other books targeted at other audiences?
MM: My books are targeted for a general fiction reading audience.
T4JYM: How do you decide on what audience to focus your writing on?
MM: I am compelled to write the book on my heart.
T4JYM: Have you written any other books?
MM: If you go to my website, http://fictionforyou.com you’ll see that I have written lots of books.
T4JYM: Do you have any ideas for books you would like to write?
MM: I have more ideas for books than I have time to write.
T4JYM: Who were the biggest influences in your life generally speaking, and who were the biggest influences since you decided to write?
MM:I think I already answered that one. However, when I was growing up my mother always encouraged me to do whatever writing I was pursuing from writing plays for the neighborhood kids to perform, to a weekly magazine and wrote, illustrated and sold to my middle school friends.
T4JYM: How do you find time to write?
MM: Writing is like a job for me, I do it on a regular basis. Even when I was raising my five children I wrote though during that time period I was writing things like the PTA newsletter and plays for my Camp Fire Girls.
When I began writing my first novel, I wrote at least two hours every day, and sometimes longer. I got up before my family to write. Later on I owned and ran and lived in a residential home for six women with developmental disabilities. When the women went to their sheltered workshop, I sat down at the computer and wrote until noon. Life is busy and time management is hard to do sometimes.
T4JYM: When do you do your best writing and where?
MM:I have an office where I write and I write at all hours of the day.
T4JYM: What do you like best about writing?
MM: When someone tells me how much they enjoyed one of my books.
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