Today I’m thrilled to interview Paula Martin, a British author whose contemporary romances have great characters, intrigue, mystery, and fabulous settings such as Connemara in Ireland. That’s one of my favourite places in the whole world. I’m interested to hear about Paula’s writing journey.
LWOTW: Welcome, Paula, good to meet you. When did you write your first story?
Paula: Probably when I was about seven or eight. I’ve written stories for as long as I can remember (including cheesy romances for my friends to read when I was in my teens). In 1968, when I was in my twenties, I had my first acceptance of a short story by a magazine, and my first novel was also accepted and published by the first publisher I submitted it to. How lucky was that?
LWOTW: I think luck was only a small factor! But it is the stuff of dreams, I agree. What do you think of dreams, imagination, and planning?
We all need dreams, in some form or another, but we also have to accept that not all our dreams will come true – like reaching the #1 spot in the Amazon rankings, for example, which is probably my ‘wildest’ dream!
Imagination, however, is boundless, and can take us wherever we want to go. My imagination takes me on an emotional journey with all my characters, who become as real to me as any real-life friends. I can also re-visit some of my favourite places in my imagination while I write my stories, such as London’s West End theatre world, the English Lake District, Paris, New York, Egypt, and Ireland.
As for planning, this is where I am a contradiction. In real life, I tend to plan everything beforehand; in my writing, I am a basically a pantser. I have a vague idea about where my story is (or should be) going, but my characters take over and tell me their story.
LWOTW: That’s an interesting refelction on your writing processes. What’s the highlight of your writing career so far?
I can’t pinpoint any one highlight, as there have been so many. Obviously my very first acceptance by a ‘big’ publisher (Mills and Boon), when I was in my twenties, was one of them. Equally, after a long non-writing period, an acceptance by a publisher in 2010, restored my faith in myself as a writer.
Since then, and ten books later, there have been so many different highlights. Knowing people are buying and enjoying my books is wonderful, and a good review can make my day. Another highlight has been making some wonderful writing friends, both online and in ‘real life’.
LWOTW: What are you most busy with at the moment?
I’m busy promoting my ‘Mist Na Mara’ series. The first four books were originally published between 2014 and 2017, and sold steadily during those years. However, my publisher closed in the middle of 2017, and the books were offline for several months before being republished, so I lost the momentum of sales, and am now trying to promote them again. The fifth book in the series was published earlier this year.
All the books in the series are stand alone novels, with different heroes and heroines, but are linked by their setting at my imaginary Mist Na Mara House in the beautiful Connemara area in the west of Ireland. I didn’t set out to write a series, but somehow, one thing led to another!
At the same time, I’m writing the sixth in the series (as yet untitled), which is a reunion story following the acrimonious break-up several years earlier between the main characters.
LWOTW: You certainly have a lot on your plate. If you could say one thing to aspiring writers, what would it be?
Never say ‘That’ll do.’ Never be satisfied with less than your best, and keep trying to improve on your best.
And the Last Word of The Week: What’s your favourite colour?
Blue, the colour of the sky and the sea.
Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me, Paula!
Paula’s links:
Website: http://paulamartinromances.webs.com
Blog: http://heroineswithhearts.blogspot.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paulamartinromances
Amazon author page: http://author.to/MistNaMara
