Author interview with Marie Reed

I'm delighted to introduce my third and final author from the anthology 'Third name's a Charm' which was released on April 14th 2024. Marie Reed writes Fantasy/scifi and was first published in 2022, so let's meet her:

 

'I'm just a 30-something working retail in the Midwest who dreams of someday working in a library or museum. I have two kids in school so free time is limited. I spend most of it reading.'

 

And a tweetable version (tweet here):

'Reader turned writer and learning the basics while having fun and helping to raise money for charities supporting reading and literacy.'

What inspired her to become a writer?
'I’ve always loved reading and wrote some as a child, and then had a poetry phase as a teen. A group of us got together to write an anthology after a fun game in a Facebook group takeover, and now here we are!'

Does she have a daily writing routine?
'No, I don’t write daily. I really should, because that novel isn’t going to write itself! But when I am seriously working on a project, I usually write in the evenings sitting on the couch with a mug of hot tea after the kids have gone to bed.'

What does she enjoy the most about writing?
'I like being able to make my ideas come alive on paper and to make the things that I would want to read myself.'
 

And what has Marie found the hardest part of writing?
'Making a routine. There isn’t enough time in the day to do all the things I want to get done, and I have so many books on my TBR!'

I can sympathise there!  What's the best money she's ever spent as a writer?
'A good laptop. I wrote my stories for the first two anthologies on my phone, and started my novel there. Things are so much easier on the laptop!'

For me too! What does she find the most difficult thing about writing characters very different from herself?
'Second guessing myself about their actions and behaviours.'

Does she read reviews of her work and how does she deal with them?
'Yes, obsessively. I really need to stop because the bad ones make me mad or sad. I’ll never respond to one though.'
 

So let's find out about her story in the anthology. Can she give us a synopsis?
'Callie Azuresmith's path to the Impassable Sorcerers is looking clearer now that she's enrolled at a school that is teaching her all she'll need to know about magic. She loves it---even if the resident mean girl is still going out of her way to be a jerk three years into school. 

When one of Callie's favorite teachers partners her with that same girl for the most important project for the class, she's not sure what to think. What did she ever do to Professor Torune to deserve this, and is this going to be the end of her success in class?'

That sounds like fun! Can she give us a tweetable (tweet here):

'Callie Azuresmith's enrolled at a school that is teaching her about magic. She loves it, even if the resident mean girl is still going out of her way to be a jerk three years later.'

 

What did she find the hardest scene to write and why?
'There's a cafeteria scene where Callie meets up with her friends and they’re talking, and I got stuck in the scene and couldn’t figure out how to end the conversation and get her out of there! I ended up cutting multiple characters so there wouldn’t be so many people to talk to.'
 

These are things you just don't think about as a reader! Did she need to do any research?
'I didn’t do much for this one, but did spend an afternoon looking up different types of magic to have as the classes.'

Now that sounds like fun research! It sounds a fascinating short story in a wonderful charity book, so please take a look and help this cause if you can. You can find out more about the author on her links below:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authormariereed
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormariereed/

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