WWR: Margaret, since this is your first interview with WWR, can you give us a brief rundown of your writing career? How long have you been writing? Do you write under any other names, etc?
MARGARET: I have been writing for over thirty years - and how time has flown. I can’t believe it’s been this long. My first book was published at around the time of my 40th birthday, so the saying Life begins at forty was definitely true in my case.
I’d read Mills & Boon romances from about the age of fifteen, as had my mother, but I never dreamt that one day I would be writing them. When inspiration struck – see my bio on my website for the whole story – I couldn’t wait to get the words down each day. I’d found something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. It took me two attempts to get accepted and the rest, as they say, is history. And I’m happy to say that I’m currently working on my 75th book.
I write under my own name and although I’m often asked whether I’d like to write any other type of book my answer is always no. I love romance. It’s as simple as that.
WWR: You have a very extensive backlist. Can you tell us if there are any books that you have a special fondness for, and which one(s) would you recommend to someone who’s never read one of your stories as their first?
MARGARET: If I had to choose one of my favourites it would be Unexpected Inheritance – where the heroine’s inheritance turns out to be the hero! I just loved that story. But that was way back in the eighties, so if I wanted to recommend a book today it would be either Bought for Marriage or Bedded At His Convenience. Bought for Marriage has a gorgeous Greek hero who insists on my heroine marrying him if she wants him to invest cash in her father’s ailing business. And in Bedded At His Convenience my heroine ran out on her husband. Now they have met up again and he wants revenge – and he knows exactly how to do it.
WWR: Readers and writers alike love to know the ins and outs of how a writer structures their time when working on a book. Can you share a typical day in your writing life with us? Also, has the way you work today changed from the way you did things when you first started out?
MARGARET: For the first two years of my writing career I did my writing in my spare time at the office where I was secretary to the UK Manager. (It was a small branch of a Danish company and very often I was alone in the office.) Once my work was done all I had to do was man the telephone. It was the perfect job for a writer. But once I realised that I could make more money out of writing I gave it up and set myself up on my dining room table at home. I kept the same hours as if I was still going out to work. It didn’t take any discipline because it was what I’d been used to. My two children soon got used to me pounding away on the typewriter.
Life got much easier when I bought my first computer. No more spending days and days typing out the finished copy. One press of a button and the printer did it for me. Oh, happy days!
Now that my husband has retired my working days are very different. For one thing I no longer write four books a year; I content myself with two. Although when I am actually writing I try to keep to a routine of 10 till 4 most week days and I never work weekends unless I have a looming deadline. My husband, bless him, keeps me supplied with endless cups of coffee – unless my study door is closed when he knows better than to interrupt me! And I always stop for lunch which we eat together while watching the news on TV. It takes me roughly three months to write a book, including revisions, so I have lots of time for holidays and days out.
WWR: In relation to the previous question, how do you pace yourself and effectively manage your time when you’re working on a new story while finishing up other projects at the same time?
Margaret: Before I begin my writing each morning I check my emails, answering those that are urgent, leaving the rest for another time. (I’m a great procrastinator) Actually I try to do them before I go to bed. I’m often still on my computer at midnight. I’ve gone from being computer-less in my early writing days to actually depending on it as though it is a lifeline.
Then there is my blog to write – which I try to do twice a week, and several blogs to read each day – these usually get done before I start work. Mostly I’ll eat breakfast with my husband but sometimes I’ll sit and eat it in front of my computer. I only ever have cereal for breakfast so I don’t get any crumbs into my keyboard!
I do hate it though when other jobs intrude into my writing time. At the moment my accountant is waiting for my annual figures and I keep putting it off because of the time it takes to collect everything together. I should be more organised, I know, and keep everything up to date, but despite resolutions I always have to take a couple of days out of my writing schedule to get everything up to date.
WWR: I recently had the privilege of helping you create a website (www.margaret-mayo.com) to showcase your writing. Can you tell me why you’ve waited so long into your career to join the web?
Margaret: Websites were in their infancy when I began to write so it was never an option then. But gradually over the years I saw more and more authors developing their own sites. Even so I still hesitated because it’s not in my nature to blow my own trumpet.
However, having said that, a few years ago I read an article saying how easy it was to develop a site with a certain company. So I paid for my domain name and had a go. I hate to admit it but I couldn’t do it – so I gave up and forgot about having a website until last year when I read about a short course at my local library called Web Design for Beginners. I joined. And lo and behold I had a website. The problems came later when I tried to upload new book covers. For some reason I couldn’t get them to work.
By this time I’d decided that I really did want a website. I’d heard Kate Walker eulogising about the fabulous Heather Reed – and so, www.margaret-mayo.com was born. A big thank you to Heather here.
WWR: Can you tell us a bit about your publishing schedule for 2008? Also, can you share the titles and when/if they’ll be released in the US?
MARGARET: My next release is The Billionaire's Blackmail Bargain which is being released in the UK in September. I have no idea yet when it will be released in the Presents series in the US. As soon as I do know I’ll put the information on my website.
Actually this has been a disappointing year for me as far as releases are concerned, caused by the many revisions I was asked to do on The Billionaire's Blackmail Bargain. All was well in the end but it did mean that I was way behind with my schedule of two books a year. I do have another book coming out in February 2009 here in the UK entitled The Italian’s Ruthless Baby Bargain. Again I’ll put the Presents release date on my website as soon as I know it.
WWR: Do you like to hear from readers? If so, how would a reader contact you?
MARGARET: I love to hear from my readers. I’m always interested to hear what they like about my stories, and if they have any dislikes as well. I try to write the very best stories I can and feedback is the best way of doing it. Readers can contact me via email at margaret_mayo@yahoo.co.uk
WWR: And finally, with so many stories under your belt, do you have any advice for new authors trying to break into the writing world?
MARGARET: I joined a Writer’s Circle after I’d written the first draft of my first ever story (it was not planned as a Mills & Boon romance, it was just a story, something that had popped into my head which had a bit of romance in it.) And fortunately for me the lady who ran it was a Mills & Boon writer. She gave me loads of good advice and although the book was never accepted, I don’t think I would ever have gone on to write for Mills & Boon if I hadn’t met her.
So my advice for would-be romance writers would be first and foremost to read as many books in the line you want to write for as possible. Read them for pleasure first and then read them again more slowly to see how exactly they are made up. They need to be filled with emotional intensity. Study how authors do that. And whatever you do don’t put in any superfluous love scenes – they just don’t work. Making love needs to be a part of the whole. Sometimes, occasionally it might happen near the beginning of the book, but only if the storyline dictates it and there’s enough going on afterwards to warrant it. On other occasions the hero and heroine might not make love until the very end of the story. It doesn’t matter. It’s their feelings, their problems, their heartache, the way they resolve it, that is the backbone of the story, the most important part.
WWR: Margaret, we can’t thank you enough for taking time and sharing your career with us!
