tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1070521201481475245.post1369930683540016228..comments2017-10-25T03:29:59.634-05:00Comments on Book In a Year: Why I WriteMary Malcolm Duncansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06830246712003481093noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1070521201481475245.post-24171988669222182772014-01-02T20:33:20.946-06:002014-01-02T20:33:20.946-06:00I'm a Cajun. That might not mean much to someo...I'm a Cajun. That might not mean much to someone outside of my little corner of southwest Louisiana. Cajuns raise their children on stories. They tell ballads in their folk music. They invent mischievous half-alligator men who play tricks on the fishermen. They gather and tell stories to each other that have been told a hundred times, often to each other already.<br />This love of storytelling is so second nature that I started writing my own stories when I was seven. I thought it was my birthright, after all. My grandmother won a Liars, Braggarts and Storytellers Award when I was young, and I wanted to be just like her.<br />"I write because..." sounds so funny to me, because I don't want a reason to write. I don't "sing because" anything, nor do I "drink because" or "dance because." Nothing could ever keep me from setting stories to paper, or singing loudly in the car when no one is looking, or finishing off a perfectly quiet evening with a glass of wine and the bones of a new story.Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00278213022332225982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1070521201481475245.post-80430374768664671322014-01-02T15:45:26.687-06:002014-01-02T15:45:26.687-06:00Hi Mary!
I did not know you were from the Northwes...Hi Mary!<br />I did not know you were from the Northwest--I thought you were an Arky! I've been an avid reader my whole life. I think part of that stems from my family moving every 4-5 years. I got to experience some great places and met some fabulous people, but that doesn't mean the moves were easy. Every time we headed for a new location, the first person I met was in a book. Fictional characters always helped the transition. When my mom was in the hospital dying, I struggled with my lack of ability to do anything for her. I found Janet E's book in the gift shop. She made me laugh at the lowest point of my life and I realized that her books gave her the power to do something when nothing could be done. Laughter in tragedy is one of the greatest gifts you can give. How could I not want to share that gift?<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06960483227319392804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1070521201481475245.post-36458971360580977262014-01-02T13:13:17.874-06:002014-01-02T13:13:17.874-06:00I write because I can't stop asking the questi...I write because I can't stop asking the question, "What if ..." <br />I write paranormal romance and the "What if ..." question sparks my imagination and that imaginative spark forces me to answer that question:<br />I came up with a short story idea when in the pitch black night of a Girl Scout campout, I wondered ... What if a bear suddenly approached this cabin out of the dark?<br />I swore I'd never write a story about a vampire, because it seemed a cliché for my genre. I sat in my yard one day, picking weeds, and wondered, "What if a woman became a vampire because she needed the immortality to care for her disabled child?" I started writing Daywalker that very evening.<br />"What if ...?" is a remarkable question ... and it's one I answer every day, every time I write. Lisanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1070521201481475245.post-46164155719360648322014-01-02T10:36:03.362-06:002014-01-02T10:36:03.362-06:00Hi Mary,
Love your post and your encouragement to...Hi Mary,<br /><br />Love your post and your encouragement to finish a book in 2014!<br /><br />I write because I can...because I started down this road and I'm not ready to get off...because folks encourage me...but they would probably encourage me if I took up cross country skiing in Florida.<br /><br />Hugs and blessings to you in 2014!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com