Hi Everyone

My writing career is going on fifteen years now and during that time I have been asked hundreds of questions in interviews with magazines, newspapers, writer’s groups and the like. Inevitably some questions are the same, again and again, and this gave me the idea to select a few of those questions and put my replies up on my blog, which will simultaneously be posted on my new website: http://www.mariannecurley7.com.

The first question and answer is below, but first I have good news to share about The Avena Series. About six weeks ago, I handed the third and final book to The Avena Series in to my publisher Bloomsbury. It’s called FEARLESS, and I have just heard that my editor loved it. Yeessss!!! Yeessss! Yehooo! This is me, the closest I can get to jumping up and down!

Ask any author and they will tell you it’s always a nervous time waiting for your editor’s decision and subsequent comments for improvement. Believe me, there will be revisions, but that’s okay. I don’t mind revisions. The hard work I can take, knowing the editor’s objective and professional views will lead to improvements that will make FEARLESS a fantastic finale. I’m actually looking forward to sinking back into Ebony and Nathaneal and Jordan’s hearts, their minds and the worlds they come from.

I will keep you posted on completion and publication dates as they are confirmed to me.

So here is one of my most frequently asked question:

Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?

Answer:

I remember enjoying writing stories when I was a young girl, eight, nine and older, but it wasn’t until my early thirties when I started writing with the idea of publication one day. Up until then I hadn’t thought of writing a story someone else might want to read. I was content to read, the bigger the book the better.  

When I was growing up we didn’t have any books at home, except for a set of encyclopaedias to help us do our homework. They were amazing books, especially for children, and I got a lot out of reading them. But we didn’t have fiction books. And once I’d read “Oliver Twist”, I was hooked. I became very familiar with my school libraries.  

When in my early thirties, I had just started back in the work force after my three children had all started school. I was teaching various classes in Office Administration and Computer Studies at an adult technical college part time, and though I enjoyed teaching I felt there was something else I wanted to do with my life. I enrolled in one writing course after another, entered a few short story competitions, and from the encouragement I received from my tutors began writing manuscripts of around 50-80 thousand words. I remember being surprised at how wonderful it felt to complete my first full-length manuscript. My first book was a romance and was promptly rejected by romance book publishers. But that did nothing to dissuade me. I penned another seven romances before I finally got the message that romance writing was not my forte. (It’s harder than it looks!) My daughters, who were at the time young teens and voracious readers, asked me to write a book for their age. I ran through an idea with them at the dinner table and when they gave me their excited approval I went ahead and wrote a dystopian novel I called ‘Enerith’. It wasn’t published, and neither were the two that came after it, but I have not looked back. I knew then the type of books that suited my style were paranormal fantasies in a modern setting for young adults.

‘Old Magic’ was my fourth try at a young adult novel. It was sold within three weeks to the highest bidder at a London mini-auction, and translated into more than a dozen international languages.

‘Old Magic’ has not stopped spinning its magic for me yet. I hope to have exciting news to tell you in my next blog.

Until next time, take care of each other.

Marianne