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Interview with Donna Sundblad Archived Articles 05/2005 Lea Schizas Schizas Follows Her Heart to the Rock of Realm 12/2004 Don Hurst UKOO ~ Hurt's Dream Come True 08/2004 Nikki Leigh Leigh Reaches Her Dream in Misty Cove 06/2004 Betty Kreier-Lubinski A Glimpse into Other People's Lives 04/2004 Pat Dennis Mirth, Mystery and Moxie |
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INTERVIEWS
an interview with Marilyn Peake
by Donna Sundblad
Marilyn Peake has loved the craft of writing since childhood. "No matter how frustrated I've gotten with the struggle to write or publish, I've [...] returned to writing because I love it [...]. I have a need to express myself that way." She grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania, spending many afternoons climbing trees and exploring the woods in her three-acre backyard. She experimented as a young child with writing short stories. In high school, she wrote newspaper articles for two local newspapers.
Peake graduated from college with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and later obtained a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology. Life has doled out opportunities to work as both a Social Worker and Staff Psychologist [...]. In 1985, she completed a Masters Thesis [...].
Dreams Come True
"The first dream I realized was writing a book series that my children really enjoyed, and then presenting The Fisherman's Son at both of my children's schools." Piers Anthony read The Fisherman's Son and wrote a positive review [...]. I almost had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming Corresponding with Piers Anthony was a thrill."
Marilyn received positive reviews for The Fisherman's Son, and for her second book The City of the Golden Sun. Double Dragon Publishing accepted The Fisherman's Son and The City of the Golden Sun for publication in both paperback and electronic formats. A short time later, DDP also accepted the third book in The Fisherman's Son Trilogy, titled Return of the Golden Age. "I felt validated as a writer with room to grow in the future." By the time Marilyn completed Return of the Golden Age, she reached a comfort level within the novel writing process. "I now define myself as a 'writer' with an understanding of what that means."
Basic Rules Not Strict Formulas
Peake's free-spirited creativity avoids strict formulas, however she admits, "[...] I work hard to follow basic rules of story development such as: the need for conflict, the need for the main character to grow and change, the importance of using description to "show" rather than 'tell' the story, etc." She creates visual stories that communicate ideas on many levels. "When I find an idea that can blossom into a story with multiple layers of meaning, on a subject [...] I feel deeply about [...] I've identified the basis for my next novel or short story.
Marilyn admits the idea for The Fisherman's Son came to her gradually. "[...] I decided that Wiley O'Mara, the twelve-year-old main character, would embark on a heroic mission. As I developed the story, he meets a magical woman named Lucinda within a forest. She hands him a golden goblet engraved with the words 'Drink deeply by land or sea. Earth comes only once.' She tells him to go down to the beach in summer, and to show the goblet to a dolphin that will be waiting for him. In the end, it turns out that a dolphin named Elden has waited thousands of years for someone brave and good enough to rescue six boys trapped within a magical air bubble under the sea. These boys are from The City of the Golden Sun, a great and powerful city whose resurrection offers much hope to the inhabitants of Wiley's impoverished island."
Goals and Marketing
Whether self-publishing or having her books picked up by a publisher, Marilyn realizes the value in self-marketing. "I spend many, many hours marketing my books. So far, I have mostly marketed online. Recently, I've started arranging to have my books represented at conventions and book fairs."
When asked what works for her, Marilyn explains that she sets an approximate date by which she wants to complete a novel and tries to stick with it. "I'm highly motivated to sit down and write in order "to see what happens" within the fictional world I'm creating." She waits until she finds an idea for a novel or a short story that allows her to enter into a fictional world that she'll enjoy creating. Peake admits she discovered this process by accident when she wrote The Fisherman's Son. "I had written novels before that book that I had never published; but with The Fisherman's Son, I absolutely loved being in that world."