Saturday Stories, Maggie Fechner

Today published author, Maggie Fechner joins us for Saturday Stories. I'm excited to highlight a fellow Wyoming writer!

If you want to learn more about Maggie check her out at her blog Mommy's Always Write.

Q--Who are you?

I am a wife, mother of four, portrait photographer, and author.

Q--Tell us about your book Growing up Gracie.

Here's the blurb: Burnt sienna, auburn or even ginger colored hair was what Gracie Fremont longed for as her bony fingers held waxy crayons next to her long locks one by one. But if the timid, skinny five-year-old were honest with herself, the closest match was brown. Plain old brown.

And that brown crayon defined Gracie Fremont’s life: Average.

Nothing difficult or unusual or even interesting ever happened to this little girl sandwiched in an LDS family of eight. But growing up in rural Cody, Wyoming, Gracie learns that lasting friendships, hidden talents and developing a testimony of her own are some of life’s most precious gifts. And finding true love is a fantastic bonus.

Growing Up Gracie is a LDS YA novel.

Q--What was your inspiration for the book?

I wrote the book when my first child was a newborn. The story isn't about her, but it is named after her. I simply wrote about a character who had been in my head awhile. I hope the book helps teenage girls who might be feeling average know that they are extraordinary daughters of God.

Q--What other stories do you have in the works? Tell us about them!

Letters Never Sent:

When Lily Foster makes a major life change and discovers secrets about her ancestors she never bargained for, the first step of an exhilarating journey is taken. As she struggles with her own trials Lily finds a link that will take her from present day to that of her great-great grandmother Ailsa MacDonald Ritchie, making her own way from Scotland to Wyoming. This book is about a journey of redemption and a search for sense of self. And the realization that sometimes what we long for the most is the one thing that was right in front of us all along.

Letters Never Sent is a mainstream family saga about the women of the Ritchie family.

I'm in the final revisions on this and hope to submit it in early April.

I also have a start on two other novels. The first is called Emmy, Ever After and the second, which is in the same series as Growing Up Gracie is called Danielle, Never the Bride.

Q--What was the first story you ever read that really made you fall in love with reading?

I think Shel Silverstein. I memorized "Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me Too" and thought he was an amazing poet.

Q--Finish this sentence: “I always thought you could...”

get your children to do whatever you wanted them to... :)

Q--What is your writing routine like?

Write from 5-6:30 a.m. Monday-Friday.

Q--Who is your publisher and why did you choose them?

My first novel is with Cedar Fort. I went with them because their reputation in the LDS Publishing world is well-established. Finding out they have some of the best covers in the business was a nice bonus. I love the cover of Growing Up Gracie!

Q--What was the hardest lesson to learn as a writer?

That even after you've landed a contract, you STILL have moments of self-doubt. Writers work so hard to hear the words, "we would like to publish your novel" that they forget there is still a lot of work after that too. Marketing has been a real eye-opener for me.

Q--What advice would you give your 12-year-old self?

Don't ever wish away your childhood! Be happy and have fun.

Q--If you were ever going to write a story about a new fantasy world, what would you name this place? What would you inhabit it with? Maybe blue people with tails? Perhaps pink monkeys with horns?

Oh wow. I have seriously the least fantastical mind out there. I have a hard time thinking outside the box. I don't think I will ever write fantasy. That being said, there is one super power I would enjoy: being able to eat anything I wanted and be forever thin. I love sweets!

Q--Which do you prefer, french fries or tator tots?

French fries. In fact, I hate tater tots. However, I only buy tater tots because that way I'm not tempted to eat them (and the hubby and kiddos will)

Q--What’s your biggest phobia?

Hmmm. Something happening to our kids while we are boating. We boat a lot in the summer and I'm usually a nervous wreck.




Thanks for the interview, Maggie!