Margaret Daley Interview

Q: Let me start with asking you to tell us a little bit about yourself.
A. I was a high school special education teacher for 27 years, but I’m retired now, writing full time. I have one son and two granddaughters. I’ve been married to my husband for 44 years.

Q: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
A. I fell into being a writer. I’ve always been a storyteller and not until I was about 27 did I decide to try and put a story down on paper. The rest is history.

Q: What do you write and why this genre?
A. I write Christian contemporary romance and romantic suspense. I mostly write romantic suspense and I love to read that kind of story.

Q: Do you base your characters on people you know or are they totally made up?
A: Both. One or two characteristics will be from someone I know, but basically the characters are made up.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release The Yuletide Rescue?
A: The blurb is:
MISTLETOE AND MURDER
When Dr. Bree Mathison’s plane plummets into the Alaskan wilderness at Christmastime, she is torn between grief and panic. With the pilot—her dear friend—dead and wolves circling, she struggles to survive. Search and Rescue leader David Stone fights his way through the elements to save her. David suspects the plane crash might not have been an accident, spurring Bree’s sense that she’s being watched. But why is someone after her? Suddenly Bree finds herself caught in the middle of a whirlwind of secrets during the holiday season. With everyone she cares about most in peril, Bree and her promised protector must battle the Alaskan tundra and vengeful criminals to make it to the New Year.
Alaskan Search and Rescue: Risking their lives to save the day

Q: Where did the idea for this story come from?
A. I wanted to feature a search and rescue group and I love Alaska. It seemed a natural combination for a series.

Q: Tell us a little about your main character and how you developed him/her.
A: David Stone was a pilot in the Air Force, serving in the war zone. I needed a pilot because of what I wanted to show in the story. The way I develop a character I live with him in my mind and slowly he reveals himself.

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?
A. I’m writing the fourth book in the Alaskan Search and Rescue series. I’ve just started planning the story so I don’t have much other than I want to showcase a bomb sniffing dog.

Q: What are some ways that readers of your books can help you as an author?
A. They could help spread the word about the story and/or leave a review about the book.

Q: What one thing about writing do you wish other non-writers would understand?
A. That we often live in our minds, visualizing stories.

Q: Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
A. I was a cheerleader in high school, that I have a hard time coming up with three things about myself, I tried out to be on the Amazing Race—didn’t get picked.

Q: Milk or dark chocolate? Coffee or tea?
A. Milk chocolate and tea.

Q: Favorite TV show or shows?
A. I love crime and suspense shows—example, NCIS.

Q: Where can readers find you on the internet?

A: Website Facebook Twitter: @margaretdaley

Q: Anything else you’d like to tell or share with us?
A. If you are a writer, don’t give up. Persistence is so important in this business.