Historical Romance

Historical Romance with an Inspirational Touch

Friday, December 04, 2009

Spotlight on: Margay Leah Justice


Author of: Nora's Soul
Publisher: Second Wind Publishing, LLC
ISBN: 978-1935171218
Released: November 3, 2008
Genre: Romance (Paranormal)
Available from Second Wind Publishing and Amazon


When angels of light and dark collide on earth…
Once he held a favored position in the heavens. But one moment of weakness casts Dante out and now he is cursed to walk the earth, collecting the souls of vulnerable women to buy his way into hell.
All hell breaks loose…
But standing in his way is Peter, an angel of light. Peter is everything Dante is not. Pure, above reproach. And determined to prevent Dante from achieving his goals. Peter will stop at nothing to protect the souls in his charge, even if it means achieving the impossible – leading Dante back onto the right path.
And no one is safe from the fall-out.
Nora Kendall believed in angels. Once. But then she lost her brother to cancer despite all of her prayers – and she lost her faith in all things angelic. Now, she is a lost soul who wanders through life like a sleepwalker, playing it safe and leaving the risk-taking to others.
Kyle Cameron is one of those risks. Burned by a bad marriage, his only concern now is providing a stable life for his children, who are left motherless by the unexpected death of his wife. This means working overtime to grow his architectural firm into a viable business – and leaving the care of his children to the care of someone he trusts. Despite his past connection with Nora, Kyle isn’t certain that she’s the right person for the job. He also doesn’t want to reconnect with her and repeat history.
But fate – and the machinations of two angels – has other ideas.


Nora’s Soul, by Margay Leah Justice, available now at Amazon.com
http://margayleahjustice.com
http://www.amazon.com/Noras-Soul-Margay-Justice/dp/1935171216/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_3

AMY: Thank you for joining me. What else would you like to share with us regarding your book?

MARGAY: Thank you for having me! Nora's Soul is the first in a series set in the world of angels of light and dark. It was supposed to be a stand-alone book, but a certain character (Dante) chose to let me know that his story was not finished. Let me just tell you this: He has a lot to say!

AMY: Were there any surprises that came about while you were writing Nora's Soul, or did you story stick with the plan you had set?

MARGAY: Oh, there were many surprises! I think the biggest one was the revelation that Dante wasn't exactly who I thought he was in the beginning. At first, I thought he was a devil and I wrote him as such, but after I was done, he kept coming to me with more of his story and I soon realized that he wasn't a devil at all. So although the basic idea remained the same, several key aspects changed.

AMY: What inspired you to write this book or these particular characters?

MARGAY: I know it might sound trite, but it literally came to me in a dream - well, two dreams, to be precise, that I had back to back in the same night. One was a dream about a woman - we'll call her Nora - who was dancing the night away in a nightclub with this devilishly handsome man who, when she finally broke away from him, showed his true colors behind her back. The second dream was with the same woman moving into a garage apartment as she prepared to take care of twins. Separately, the dreams probably wouldn't have made an impression on me, but together like that, they made me wonder. Who was this woman and how could she go from being so wild and unfettered in the dance club to so prim and proper in the garage apartment? I had to know the answer and as I began to jot things down, the story just unfolded and practically wrote itself!

AMY: Tell the readers about your writing journey and how you ended up with your publisher.

MARGAY: I have gone the route of trying to get an agent, a big New York publisher, etc., but when it wasn't happening, I looked into contests as a way of getting my writing out there and came upon one sponsored by Gather.com. During the process, I became friends with a group of writers and we ended up forming a critique group so we could keep up with each other and continue to read what the others had written. Somewhere along the way, someone threw out the suggestion that we should form our own publishing company so we could publish all of our books. Well, one of the members took that idea and ran with it and Second Wind Publishing was born. The next thing I knew, Mike was sending me an email requesting my full manuscript. That is how I became published!

AMY: If there is one piece of advice you could give an unagented / unpublished author, what would it be?

MARGAY: You have to absolutely love what you are doing, love what you are writing, because you are going to be spending a lot of time with it from the point of conception until long after publishing it (there is all that promoting you have to do, after all). So my advice would be: First, make sure you are going into this for all the right reasons. If you're only writing to become a mega star or rich, you're doing it for the wrong reason. You should write because you can't imagine not doing it. Write for yourself first, then see if anyone else wants to read it. Second, instead of the old adage "Write what you know," I would say "Write what you want to read." Write the story that excites you and makes you want to get to the end - and then mourn the fact that you did. As for the what you know part, that's where research comes in. And third, if you're serious about taking this on, have confidence in yourself and persevere. Success doesn't come overnight and if you don't believe in yourself, who will?

AMY: Besides Nora's Soul, which we highlighted here, have you published other books or are there some that are yet to be released?

MARGAY: I don't have any others published yet, but I am waiting on word about some. I'd prefer not to say more until I get confirmations.

AMY: How can we find you on the internet (Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, blog, website addresses)

MARGAY: The Jane Austen Society Pages: http://textnovel.com/stories_list_detail.php?story_id=1347
http://margayleahjustice.com/
http://moonlightlacemayhem.blogspot.com/
http://www.myspace.com/margay1122
http://twitter.com/Margay
http://www.facebook.com/MargayLeahJustice
http://secondwindpub.wordpress.com/

AMY: Is there anything you would like to ask the readers?

MARGAY: I would love to know what draws them to the books they choose to read.

AMY: Margay Leah Justice has been generous enough give away an autographed copy of Nora's Soul. I am sorry but this is limited to U.S. residents only, due to the cost of postage. If you would like a chance to win the book, simply comment and leave your e-mail address. A winner will be picked and announced Saturday night. Good luck.

20 comments:

  1. I loved the advice - - that you can't imagine NOT doing the writing - - (or whatever vocation you choose). Chuck Swindoll said the same thing about ministry. It is hard WORK so make SURE you love it and are called to it.

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  2. interesting info for us new writers who are trying to get published. I just spend 4 hours of sleep? time writing several poems for my next book on Nature Poems for my GrandKiddies. Interesting how inspirations comes. Would love to be in the contest lin at sunrivertoday dot com. Thanks.

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  3. I love how she said the character has more to say. Great that she listened! :O)

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  4. Great advice, Margay. I had a dream blurb the other night. I woke up laughing, but then thought, "Hey, that might make a good story." I agree that writing what you love is a must.

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  5. Margay, what an interesting plot. You sound a lot like me. I write in hopes that my characters will surprise me, too. Isn't that fun when they do? My stories come to me in dreams, so I understand you well!

    ~Phyllis~

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  6. Can't wait to read this. I love all stories related to the angelic world. Found it interesting that the charachter lead the story line, as do guardian angels if you listen.

    debpayton122@yahoo.com

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  7. Great interview. Thanks for sharing. Sounds like a great book.

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  8. Love the plot of this story, it sounds so interesting! Great interview too. I'm not certain what draws me to certain stories whether its reading or writing. I think it has to have a really strong heroine for me. Gone are the days a heroine will sit back and let hero rescue her. And anything about history is a must for me. I read and write to get away from todays pressures and stresses, I don't particularly want to read about them but that's just me. Great blog Amy!

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  9. I love that the ideas for this book came to you in dreams. I am going to have to take more notes of my dreams! Sounds like a great book.

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  10. Misslynda, thank you for stopping by. I'm happy that my advice resonated with you. I guess it could be true of anything we undertake. If we don't love it, we're going to end up hating it.
    Margay

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  11. Lin, it makes me happy that my advice is good. I am where I am today because someone gave me good advice about my writing. I truly believe in passing that on and helping others in their journey.
    Margay

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  12. Diane, if you had my characters rattling around inside your head, you'd listen, too! They're not shy about telling me what they want. ;-)
    Margay

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  13. Samantha, I have woken up laughing before, too - then wondered what the heck was I dreaming? I love it when that happens!
    Margay

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  14. Thank you, Phyllis! Yes, I love when my characters surprise me - after I get over the shock, that is. I don't want them to be predictable (unless they tell me they are), so it only seems right that they should surprise me, too.
    Margay

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  15. Deb, you are so right. And this is the first book in an ever-expanding world of books. I just finished one that started out as a stand-alone (which I had intended to submit to a contest, but went over the word count), but ended up tied to this series when Dante and Peter not only made a cameo in it, but became integral parts of it! So a lot of what I am writing these days pertains to the angelic world.
    Margay

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  16. Melissa, thank you, I appreciate it!
    Margay

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  17. Louise, thank you! And I'm happy that you like my advice. I know I kept going on by reading the advice of others, so I like to pass along what I've learned to others to help them along.
    Margay

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  18. Tabitha, thank you, that is so nice! I've had other ideas surface from dreams since this one, so I tend to pay a lot of attention to what I'm dreaming about! And the more I read, the more I realize I'm not alone. A lot of other writers have culled their story ideas from dreams, as well. So the next time you're stumped about what to write, pay closer attention to what you're dreaming about. The nugget of an idea might just be lurking deep in your REM.
    Margay

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  19. Sorry I'm so late to this, ladies! But what a great interview! It's always great to hear about other people's journeys to publication :) Congrats, Margay, on your novel. I remember it from the First Chapters Romance contest and I'm thrilled you were able to find a home for it. Best of luck going forward with that and your upcoming projects!

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