Mara's Interview by the National Association of Women Writers
Q: When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?
A: I don't ever remember not writing. As a child I
thought the hearth was a stage, so I wrote and performed a play every
evening. I would say that my life is a series of realizations about
what I want to write next.
Q: How and when did you make this dream a reality?
A: Two vivid examples: The first, age 14, I marched
into the Mainichi Daily News (I grew up in Tokyo) and asked for a job.
The editor first roared with laughter, then (when I didn't back down)
asked me to do one story, then when he offered guidance and I did a
re-write, hired me. The second, age 30, walking away from a good journalism
career to return to my own creative work. The reporting taught me everything
I needed to know about research and deadlines. The paradigm shift to
creative work reconnected my soul.
Q: What's the most important lesson you've learned so far in
your
writing career?
A: HUMILITY (My first novel had to be completely re-written.)
PATIENCE (My book Act Right took seven years to write.) IMPORTUNITY
(I had to ask for or create most of my major writing assignments.) PERSISTENCE
(It took 20 years and 100 scripts to get into the Writers Guild of America.)
GRATITUDE (When one is a writer, ALL life experiences are valuable.)
Q: What are you working on right now?
A: Book six in my "Milford-Haven" series,
Dream Catchers. Also, Island Magic, set in Hawaii, and House in the
Woods, set in Colorado, each of these books being in a different stage
of development.
Q: Name some authors or books that have influenced your writing life
in a positive way.
A: Lady Murasaki, author of the world's first novel,
The Tale of Genji; John McPhee, author of so many treasures, perhaps
my favorite being Assembling California, which I read for research but
then fell in love with; William Least Heat Moon, author of Blue Highways
and Riverhorse (my vocabulary doubled by reading his works); Dana Stabenow,
author of two great Alaska mystery series; Danielle Steel for her sense
of redemption and sheer volume of work; Louis L'Amour, friend, mentor,
and a mighty tough act to follow.
Q: What have you recently read or what are you reading right
now that you would consider an outstanding work?
A: Mary Shelley by Miranda Seymour, for its scholarship
and insights. Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes,
which gets better with each reading through the years and is soul-nurturing
for women. Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman, for acknowledging
the "other" side of the brain. The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron,
another work that provides more wisdom with each reading.
Q: What excites or ignites your soul?
A: Finding THE right word or phrase. Writing in the wee hours. Hiking
in the mountains with my husband. Working with my editor (which is like
getting a tune-up). Holding a fresh copy of my newest book. Seeing the
"light" go on in the eye of a student. Inhaling the air and
walking the shore of California's Central Coast. Being anywhere multicultural,
like Honolulu, or the American School in Japan. Having a three-hour
cup of tea with a soul sister. Rolling around on the floor with my nephew
and his doggies. Listening until the spiritual insight comes through.
Having my goddaughter show me the latest version of her room. Drawing
with Kensington (age 2). Reading the insightful, inspiring comments
from my readers.
~*~
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