My Book of the Day Author today is Naomi Musch. Naomi is an award winning author who writes from the pristine north woods of Wisconsin, where she and husband Jeff live as epically as God allows on a ramshackle farm where they spend quality time with their children and grandchildren. Amidst it, she writes novels about imperfect people who are finding hope and faith to overcome their struggles.
In non-fiction venues, Naomi spent five years as a staff writer for the EPA award-winning Midwestern Christian newspaper, Living Stones News, telling true-life stories of changed lives. She has also written dozens of magazine and internet articles for the purpose of encouraging homeschooling families and young writers, and she is currently serving on the board of directors for the Wisconsin Writers' Association.
In non-fiction venues, Naomi spent five years as a staff writer for the EPA award-winning Midwestern Christian newspaper, Living Stones News, telling true-life stories of changed lives. She has also written dozens of magazine and internet articles for the purpose of encouraging homeschooling families and young writers, and she is currently serving on the board of directors for the Wisconsin Writers' Association.
Continue reading to find out more about her and her writing.
How long have you been writing?
I turned in my first story for critique to my 4th grade teacher when I was 10, so I've been writing for a long time. Writing for publication didn't start until I was in my later twenties, and I first published a novel in my 40s. I just recently signed a contract for my 8th novel, The Love Coward, which will be the 6th with Desert Breeze Publishing releasing in May '15.
What gave you the writing bug?
As a child, learning to read was so thrilling to me. Writing became the natural next step. I was born a story-teller. I first seriously tackled penning a novel in 1983 when I was in my early twenties. That novel is in a file somewhere, never published, but it sure felt great to write it! I'd just finished reading Great Expectations, and my first Christian romance, Janette Oke's Love Comes Softly. So I set out to write a prairie romance with the vastly intertwined plot structure of a Dickens novel. It was great training.
What type of books do your write?
Nowadays I mostly write historical fiction with a strong romantic element. The book I'm sharing here today is a step away from that. It's a full length, fantasy version of Beauty and the Beast called Trevelyan, but even that felt like writing historical fiction. I would classify most of my writing as Women's Fiction, because there are always issues of interest to women flowing through my work, and my work tends to be multi-point of view, and the hero and heroine don't always meet on page one. I sometimes also tag my work as "Wilderness Fiction", because most of my stories either take place in the wilderness or in some country setting. My next novel takes place largely on a farm in rural Wisconsin right after WWII. I only have one contemporary novel set in town, and that's a town on the shores of Lake Superior. That outdoor element plays strongly in the story (Paint Me Althena).
How do you come up with ideas?
I don't come up with ideas. Ideas come up to me. They leap in front and shout, "Ta-da! We're here!" That often happens if I read about something historical that intrigues me, or if someone I am close to is dealing with an issue that stirs me, or if a Scripture passage speaks to my heart in a special way that I know a character could convey in action.
The Empire in Pine series (The Green Veil, The Red Fury, The Black Rose) chronicles a great deal of lumberjack/railroad history in Wisconsin, while telling the romantic, adventuresome stories of three generations of women. Writing those stories was a thrill as I learned more about my own state.
Paint Me Althena came to me as a dream after thinking long thoughts about women I knew who were considering leaving their families to "find themselves".
As for Trevelyan, I'd always wanted to expand on the children's fairy tale, so I did.
I would love to include a little ditty about why you wrote this book, a funny story about something that happened while you were writing, a difficulty you had while writing, or simply a word to your readers.
I wrote Trevelyan - A Tale of Beauty and The Beast because it's the fairytale I loved reading over and over again as a child, but always felt there was more to the story. I wrote the first draft before Disney made their movie, and readdressed the work years later as a gift for my kids and grandkids. That made the story even more special. I read it aloud to them. What a delight to see how much they enjoyed it! I've since discovered that even though the book is listed as a Young Adult novel, readers of all ages have really loved it.
I hope readers will hop on over to my one of these social media sites and say hello. Check out all my novels while you're there. They're available as both paperback and ebook except for the novella Heart Not Taken, which is e-only.
Find me here:
Amazon
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
www.naomimusch.com
More Reason to Write (Blog)
Google+
Trevelyan:
Swashbuckling heroes and elven princes journey to rescue Belle from captivity. For the Beast of Trevelyan and Evensong's faeries, time for redemption is running out.
Five men and two elven princes have embarked upon a quest: to save a sister from the wasteland of the Great Winter where she is held in the clutches of a Monster Lord who all believe brought desecration and ruin to the once glorious kingdom of Trevelyan. It is a land where hideous creatures and madness prey upon the careless, a land where faerie magic has taken an evil turn. For fifty years, no man or ally of men has been safe beyond the Cranreuch Plain.
Until Belle's choice leads them all to discover the truth.
Now rescuing her might come at a cost no one expects -- and from an evil no one but a princely beast and the faeries of Evensong ever anticipated.
If you want to find out more about Naomi's books, click on the book cover or any one of her links.
Thanks for visiting, Naomi! It was a pleasure having you.
How long have you been writing?
I turned in my first story for critique to my 4th grade teacher when I was 10, so I've been writing for a long time. Writing for publication didn't start until I was in my later twenties, and I first published a novel in my 40s. I just recently signed a contract for my 8th novel, The Love Coward, which will be the 6th with Desert Breeze Publishing releasing in May '15.
What gave you the writing bug?
As a child, learning to read was so thrilling to me. Writing became the natural next step. I was born a story-teller. I first seriously tackled penning a novel in 1983 when I was in my early twenties. That novel is in a file somewhere, never published, but it sure felt great to write it! I'd just finished reading Great Expectations, and my first Christian romance, Janette Oke's Love Comes Softly. So I set out to write a prairie romance with the vastly intertwined plot structure of a Dickens novel. It was great training.
What type of books do your write?
Nowadays I mostly write historical fiction with a strong romantic element. The book I'm sharing here today is a step away from that. It's a full length, fantasy version of Beauty and the Beast called Trevelyan, but even that felt like writing historical fiction. I would classify most of my writing as Women's Fiction, because there are always issues of interest to women flowing through my work, and my work tends to be multi-point of view, and the hero and heroine don't always meet on page one. I sometimes also tag my work as "Wilderness Fiction", because most of my stories either take place in the wilderness or in some country setting. My next novel takes place largely on a farm in rural Wisconsin right after WWII. I only have one contemporary novel set in town, and that's a town on the shores of Lake Superior. That outdoor element plays strongly in the story (Paint Me Althena). How do you come up with ideas?
I don't come up with ideas. Ideas come up to me. They leap in front and shout, "Ta-da! We're here!" That often happens if I read about something historical that intrigues me, or if someone I am close to is dealing with an issue that stirs me, or if a Scripture passage speaks to my heart in a special way that I know a character could convey in action.
The Empire in Pine series (The Green Veil, The Red Fury, The Black Rose) chronicles a great deal of lumberjack/railroad history in Wisconsin, while telling the romantic, adventuresome stories of three generations of women. Writing those stories was a thrill as I learned more about my own state.
Paint Me Althena came to me as a dream after thinking long thoughts about women I knew who were considering leaving their families to "find themselves".
As for Trevelyan, I'd always wanted to expand on the children's fairy tale, so I did.
I would love to include a little ditty about why you wrote this book, a funny story about something that happened while you were writing, a difficulty you had while writing, or simply a word to your readers.
I wrote Trevelyan - A Tale of Beauty and The Beast because it's the fairytale I loved reading over and over again as a child, but always felt there was more to the story. I wrote the first draft before Disney made their movie, and readdressed the work years later as a gift for my kids and grandkids. That made the story even more special. I read it aloud to them. What a delight to see how much they enjoyed it! I've since discovered that even though the book is listed as a Young Adult novel, readers of all ages have really loved it.
I hope readers will hop on over to my one of these social media sites and say hello. Check out all my novels while you're there. They're available as both paperback and ebook except for the novella Heart Not Taken, which is e-only.
Find me here:
Amazon
Goodreads
www.naomimusch.com
More Reason to Write (Blog)
Google+
Trevelyan:
Swashbuckling heroes and elven princes journey to rescue Belle from captivity. For the Beast of Trevelyan and Evensong's faeries, time for redemption is running out.
Five men and two elven princes have embarked upon a quest: to save a sister from the wasteland of the Great Winter where she is held in the clutches of a Monster Lord who all believe brought desecration and ruin to the once glorious kingdom of Trevelyan. It is a land where hideous creatures and madness prey upon the careless, a land where faerie magic has taken an evil turn. For fifty years, no man or ally of men has been safe beyond the Cranreuch Plain.
Until Belle's choice leads them all to discover the truth.
Now rescuing her might come at a cost no one expects -- and from an evil no one but a princely beast and the faeries of Evensong ever anticipated.
If you want to find out more about Naomi's books, click on the book cover or any one of her links.
Thanks for visiting, Naomi! It was a pleasure having you.
Great interview, Naomi! Proud of you for all you have accomplished. You are an excellent role model for our St Croix Writers!
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