Reading by Deb: INTERVIEW with MARGOT SWAN

I want to thank Margot Swan for taking the time for this interview!

BIO:

Margot Swan lives in a small town in South Africa with her husband, four cats, and one very talkative Swiss Shepard.

Her hobbies include reading, building Lego, and crocheting. She loves all things Disney, Harry Potter, and romantic.

Margot Swan lives for a happily ever after. She’s been called a sappy romantic, and she wears that badge with pride. Love stories are life, and the books she reads need to be blissful and sinfully steamy.

If you’re looking for a short, sweet, and filled with heat romance—I’m your girl!

When and how did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve always loved reading, and it’s still my favorite pastime.

I tried writing early in my twenties but didn’t really find my voice or know how to write a cohesive sentence. Not to mention telling a story from start to finish.

Only after years of encouragement from my husband did I sit down and start to write. Then after Covid hit, a friend of mine had the idea of creating a travel romance series, and that’s where I started—co-hosting and writing for the Vagabond Series.

Writing is difficult, but it’s so rewarding when I get to hold my paperback and see my title on Kindle. It’s a fantastic feeling and makes all the hard work worth it.

Did you have any influencing writers growing up?

My aunt bought me a fairy tale book every time she visited, and I watched and re-watched all the classic Disney movies, so I guess my biggest influence would be Grimms’ fairy tales and Hans Christian Andersen.

As a teen, I read Mills and Boons; I wanted all the romance and the fantasy. The authors I read the most growing up were Nora Roberts, Marrion Zimmer Bradley, J.K. Rowling, and Stephanie Meyers (Yes, I’m a Harry Potter and Twilight Fan!)

Are any of your characters based on people in real life?

There will be a little bit of me, my friends, and family sprinkled into my characters, but I don’t write carbon copies of people I know.

Sometimes I take the best aspects of my friends and sometimes the worst to help me understand and develop the characters I’m writing.

You can’t write something that you don’t know. I believe authors need to be empathetic towards all their characters.

Where do you draw your book inspirations from?

Every-day situations. Fantasy situations.

Sitting on the bus and making eye contact with a handsome man, what would happen if you dared to get up and talk to him?

What would you do if the big bad wolf was sexy?

So my inspiration comes from my general curiosity and horniness, I guess.

Do you use have a basic outline when starting a new story or do you let the characters lead the way?

I start with a basic outline in my head, like a beginning, middle, and end, but the characters let me know how they want to get there. For example, once I was writing a steamy scene where I had a particular position I wanted the three characters to be in, but one character did not want to play along. He had other ideas, and until I wrote it his way, the scene wasn’t flowing, so yes, characters definitely dictate where a scene and even the story will go.

When you are picturing the characters in your book, do you have a cheater photo for inspiration?

Absolutely. I have a Pinterest board that I make for the setting, the apartment, the characters, and even the pets.

I also have a playlist to get back into a specific book and scene.

Many people read as a form of escape and relaxation. What is your favorite way to sit back and relax?

Reading is my escape. I love to get lost in the pages of a book, but I also love binge-watching shows and cuddling with my husband in front of the TV, and who doesn’t love a great horror movie on a Saturday night?

Besides that, I’m also an avid Lego builder and proud citizen on my Animal Crossing New Horizon island.

Who are your favorite current authors to read?

How much time do you have?

I have many favorites, but my ultimate one-click author is Kristen Ashley.

Other authors are L. Ann, Felicity Heaton, Ryder O’Malley, Nicci Harris, N Dune, L.V. Lane, Alyssa Turner …

What are your favorite books by others?

I’m gonna cheat and name series instead of individual books, okay?

Larissa Ione’s Demonica Series
Christine Feehan’s Sea Haven Series
Felicity Heaton’s Guardians of Hades Series
Elisabeth Naughton’s Eternal Guardians Series
Kristen Ashley’s The ‘Burg Series

You can see a pattern emerging, I’m sure. My jam is Greek Mythology and Paranormal romance.

Do the locations in the stories have any meaning to you?

They do. I am an avid traveler, so I try to incorporate all my favorite destinations in my books.

For example, my husband and I had a 12-hour layover at Zurich airport, so when I wrote Delayed in Zurich, I knew how it felt being stuck there. Paris also features in that book and it’s one of my favorite cities.

Then, I’m planning on writing books set in Venice and Japan.

Cape Town is also a destination that I enjoy writing about since it’s my favorite city in South Africa, where I live.

Do you write in single or multiple POV?

It depends on the length of the book. I’m writing a short story now, and with a 5K limit, I find that single POV tells the story better than dual or multiple POV, but I prefer writing multiple POV.

What do you find to be your best research tool?

Other people and authors. Asking questions and having discussions about various subjects can give you insight into other people’s beliefs, traditions, and points of view. That keeps your writing relevant and from becoming too one-dimensional.

Do you write under a pen name? Also, do you write under more than one name?

Margot Swan is my only pen name.

I’m a high school teacher by day and really, really don’t want my students and their parents to read my steamy love stories.

Also, I don’t think I need a different pen name for writing different genres. As a person, I read different genres, so why shouldn’t I write in different genres as well? Or that’s my opinion.

What genre do you write and why is this your preference?

Romance is the primary genre I write.

My husband gave up on playing chess with me because I got mad whenever he took my knight before the knight could rescue the queen from the evil king. So I find romance everywhere.

I’m going to branch off into paranormal romance and contemporary romance, though, and the tropes that I enjoy writing (so far) are New Adult, Instalove, Second Chance, and Friends-to-Lovers.

Tell me something about yourself outside of writing. Jobs, accomplishments, family, quirky trait...what led to you being you?

I have a cool collection of Disney and Harry Potter knick-knacks and memorabilia, and I love buying and drinking coffee.

A quirky trait that I have is that I like copying sounds; my husband calls me a mockingbird.

What advice would you give to an aspiring writer?

Just keep writing. Don’t stop.

Try again and again until you feel happy with it.

Some advice that I got that helped me was having conversations with your characters as if they were friends, and sorting them into Hogwarts Houses. It really helps with knowing how they would react in certain situations.

How do you deal and process negative book reviews?

I like the advice Alanis Morissette’s dad gave her when she was stepping out into the limelight; ‘Honey, there’s going to be three ways people perceive you: The first group of people will adore you and you can do no wrong; the second group of people will hate you and you can do no right; and then the third group of people won’t give a s**t.’ And he said, ‘That’ll be the case no matter what, so enjoy.’ https://www.iheartradio.ca/news/you-oughta-know-alanis-morissette-reveals-dad-s-advice-1.17818588

That’s what I try to remember when I get negative reviews. Plus, I just try to write the books I would like to read, and enjoy the journey of writing and hearing from those who enjoyed my book.

What is the most difficult part of your writing process?

Blurb writing and marketing.

Writing a short synopsis about my whole book feels like torture, and then having to put myself on social media every day to get my book out there is torture.

I’m an ambivert, so I’m both extroverted and introverted, and I use up all my introvert energy at school, so when I get home to writing, I feel drained. But it’s part of the book process and something we need to do.

What do you need in your writer’s space to keep you focused?

Coffee! I need coffee and my book’s playlist on replay to get me in the right frame of mind to write.

What is your naughty indulgence as you are writing?

Not really supposed to be naughty or indulgent, but when I need some help with a steamy scene, I go to Pornhub and get some inspiration. It’s one of the pleasures in my author life, lol.

If you could spend a day with another popular author, whom would you choose? And why?

Kristen Ashley.

I would just like to be around her. From her writing, her posts, and newsletters she seems authentic and real. I’d want to soak up her positive rock chick energy.

What is your schedule like when you are writing? Do you have a favorite writing snack or drink?

I mostly write in the evenings and on weekends when I get some time.

Usually, my husband plays games on the TV, and I type away next to him on the couch.

I like snacking on chocolates or cookies, a favorite being Twix. I love most things sweet and like to motivate myself with snacks.

Oh, and coffee—I can’t word without caffeine.

Do you listen to music when you write – what kind of music is your favorite?

My favorite music genre is Modern Country and Blues.

I create a playlist for every book I write, and there will also be some country in there.

Have pets ever gotten in the way of your writing?

My cat, Jelly Bean, loves to interrupt my writing by laying on my chest, making it impossible to type on my laptop.

What is your kryptonite as a writer? What totally puts you off your game?

Any kind of stress. I lose my mojo as soon as I become anxious about outside life.

But I also work best when I’m under a deadline—I’m weird that way.

Have you ever killed off a character that your readers loved?

Absolutely not. I’m also not planning on killing any of my characters. I’m a ‘sweet with serious heat’ kinda author.

How do you celebrate after typing THE END?

Is it wrong that I don’t celebrate or write the end? Writing THE END feels depressing, like I’ll never spend time with my characters again, and I don’t want that, so I just write the last sentence and believe I’ll write a sequel someday.

I do celebrate my book but on release day. It’s become a tradition to open a bottle of Martini Asti, drink to the new book, and go out for a nice dinner. Also, after writing that last sentence, the real work starts. It’s rewrites, edits, rewrites, some crying, and proofreads, covers, and publishing, and in between and during all this… there’s marketing.