{"id":1016,"date":"2007-10-24T10:07:00","date_gmt":"2007-10-24T10:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/2007\/10\/interview-with-miralee-ferrell.html"},"modified":"2007-10-24T10:07:00","modified_gmt":"2007-10-24T10:07:00","slug":"interview-with-merrilee-ferrell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/2007\/10\/interview-with-merrilee-ferrell\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview With Miralee Ferrell"},"content":{"rendered":"

Remember the book I blogged about about a week ago, The Other Daughter<\/a>? Well, I’m featuring the author on my blog today! Here’s an interview with a very talented novelist, Miralee Ferrell! <\/p>\n

=======================================================================
Interview For Miralee Ferrell<\/p>\n

Author Bio:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I’m over 50, married for 35 years this July, and have two wonderful children, Marnee and Steven. I’m active at our small church, serving on staff with my ministerial license and working with women in a counseling\/ministering capacity. My husband and I are looking forward to full retirement soon and taking off for a few months at a time on our 51′ sailboat, where my writing will take on an entirely new creativity. We have a horse, a dog and three cats that my daughter and her husband will inherit while we’re gone. Thankfully, they live on the adjoining property and are animals lovers.<\/p>\n

Tell us a bit about your first sale: who is the publisher? Which book? Genre, etc. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

My premiere novel is The Other Daughter\u2014the story of David and Susanne Carson, a couple with an already fragile marriage that\u2019s rocked to its foundation when a young teenaged girl appears at the door\u2026.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a brief summary:<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n

The girl standing at the door took a deep breath, pulling her suitcase a little closer to her trembling legs. “My mama’s dead. He’s my daddy.”<\/p>\n

Susanne Carson knew that she could trust the love of her life\u2014her husband, David\u2014until she discovered a strange, unkempt young girl on their doorstep, claiming to be David’s daughter.<\/p>\n

Not that their marriage had ever been perfect\u2014David’s decision to embrace the Christian faith had strained their relationship. Susanne may not have agreed with his beliefs, but at least she trusted him. Had David been hiding this not-so-little secret from his past? He wanted Susanne to believe in his God, but believing hadn’t done much to keep David out of another woman’s arms.<\/p>\n

As David confronts the truth of his past, Susanne must face her own moment of truth as her marriage is taken to the breaking point and the life of one young girl is left in her hands. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s women\u2019s contemporary fiction that\u2019s set in the North West, and is being published by Kregel Publications, a well known Christian publishing house. <\/p>\n

How did you come up with this story? Was there a specific ‘what if’ moment?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

An editor friend and I were brainstorming about what I could do for my first book, and she suggested using something I knew, possibly from my own life. That triggered the idea of using an episode from me and my hubby\u2019s personal life\u2014we received a letter from an 18 yr old girl a number of years ago, claiming to be my husband\u2019s daughter. After investigating and meeting Trisha, we accepted her into our lives and hearts, and have continued a relationship with her. The basis for the book came from that episode, but the balance of the book is fiction, other than the setting\u2014I live in the Pacific N.W., in the area where the book takes place. <\/p>\n

How did you get the call?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

It was rather unexpected. My agent submitted the manuscript to six different houses, then a few weeks later, I requested that she ask each to wait on completing their review, as I decided to make several major changes to the first few chapters. Five of the houses replied affirmatively, but we didn\u2019t hear from Kregel. We assumed they hadn\u2019t started reviewing it yet, and I moved forward with my revisions. Just as I was finalizing my changes the publisher from Kregel contacted my agent and made the offer. <\/p>\n

What was your reaction to the news that your first baby had been purchased? <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Stunned and a bit worried at first. I know that sounds strange and I should\u2019ve been bouncing around the house, but my first thought was, Oh no! They read the old version and I\u2019ve made all these changes! What if they don\u2019t like what I\u2019ve done and want to keep the old one? I knew the new version was much stronger, as did the editor I\u2019d been working with on the first 1\/3 of the book, so I prayed and my agent asked Dennis, my soon to be publisher, if they\u2019d take a look at the changes. They did, they liked what they saw, and the offer extended to the new book. THEN reality set in and the explosion of joy and incredulity hit me. It took several weeks before I really took in that it was sold.<\/p>\n

Who is your agent?<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n

Tamela Hancock-Murray from the Hartline Literary Agency. The Lord put us together and I feel tremendously blessed to have her for my agent. She\u2019s been a joy to work with and goes the extra mile in working for me.<\/p>\n

How long did it take from first word to sale? What were some of the steps along the journey? <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

It took me five weeks to write the first draft, then the next six months of revising, editing and polishing before it was presentable. This was such new territory for me. I\u2019d written several non-fiction short stories that were published in magazines just prior to starting off in fiction, but I had no clue what I was doing when I began to write this novel. I\u2019d never read a book on writing, had no teaching on structure, plot, POV, characterization, dialogue, or anything else. It wasn\u2019t until three months before Kregel made their offer that I discovered ACFW and joined. My sister, who has done some professional editing, and a friend who is an editor and author, both helped tremendously, mentoring and supporting me through the first two drafts, or I wouldn\u2019t have made it this far. <\/p>\n

The Lord brought Tamela (my agent) into my life in a series of miraculous events that only He could have orchestrated, and seven months later I received the offer from Kregel. When the book is released, it will be two years since writing the first draft, and nine months since signing my contract. Kregel graciously put The Other Daughter on the fast track to publication, beating the usual 12-16 months for publication by quite a bit.<\/p>\n

Do you ever struggle with writer’s block? If so, how do you overcome it?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Yes, in the final \u00bc of my second book, Past Shadows, I stared at a blank screen more than once when I sat down to write. It doesn\u2019t happen often, but when it does, I skip ahead and start writing what I DO know, then I\u2019ll come back and link the old and new together. I\u2019ve found that if I can just get writing again, even if it\u2019s several chapters ahead, the rest will come in time. Sometimes I simply need to step away for awhile and not push too hard. Prayer is also a key\u2026ask the Lord to unlock the block and stir up a new creativity in your heart and mind.<\/p>\n

Any advice for those of us who are still dreaming of that first sale? <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I know what I wish I would\u2019ve had, when I started out. Critique partners\u2026they are invaluable. I didn\u2019t belong to a group until well into the writing of the second book in my series. Through ACFW I was able to get connected and our small group of four is a perfect fit for each of us. <\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be too shy to ask for help and don\u2019t be too proud to take constructive criticism of your work, when it\u2019s offered. You don\u2019t have to change everything that\u2019s suggested, but if more than one person points out something wrong, take it seriously and be willing to learn. And most of all, don\u2019t give up. If you believe that God has given you the gift or desire to write, then be obedient, even if it\u2019s never published. When I started out, I thought the best I\u2019d attain would be publication in magazines\u2026.having a book published didn\u2019t seem possible. The Lord gave me this story and it needed to be written, and the rest was up to Him. My responsibility was to write it, then keep moving forward in whatever direction He pointed out. <\/p>\n

Any exciting things happening before or during the time period while the book is releasing?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Yes! I\u2019m so excited! I received a Four Star review from Romantic Times Review Magazine. I assumed that Five Stars would be the top rating, but I was so blessed when I found out Four and a half was the best you could get, making Four Stars quite good indeed. I\u2019ve also gotten some very good reviews, including a glowing one from Novel Journey, one of the top Christian review blogs. The Other Daughter is also climbing it\u2019s way up the best sellers list on CBD\u2026at the two week mark prior to release (when this was written) it had hit #15 in women\u2019s contemporary fiction and #103 in overall fiction (out of 9,584 books), very respectable for a book not yet released. I\u2019d love to see it reach the top 75 in overall fiction, but am leaving that in the Lord\u2019s hands. <\/p>\n

Which fiction book on your shelf has been read the most times? What keeps pulling you back to that story? <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I have several authors that keep pulling me back\u2026I discovered Gene Stratton Porter and Harold Bell Wright in high school when I first read Freckles, Girl of the Limberlost, and Shepherd of the Hills. I love anything these early twentieth century authors wrote and own first editions of several of their works. The writing in the early 1900\u2019s had so much more depth than much of what\u2019s being written now. The descriptions were exquisite\u2026that\u2019s the only way I can describe how they wrote. The stories were unusual and you knew the characters personally, and cared about them deeply. H B Wright especially had thought provoking messages woven through his fiction that would stay with a reader for days, if not weeks to come. <\/p>\n

What else are you working on? <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019m working on Past Shadows (might also be called \u201cSheltered\u201d), the sequel to The Other Daughter, and hope to turn in to my editor in early November. I\u2019ve also started something new for me, an 1880\u2019s novel set in Washington state\u2026I\u2019m hesitating to say it\u2019s a romance, but it looks like it might be heading that direction. I\u2019m playing around with another idea for a stand-alone women\u2019s contemporary with an unusual twist. I\u2019m hoping to start it as soon as Past Shadows is finished. There could also be a #3 in this series, and if so, we\u2019ll return to Brianna, the 13 yr old girl who arrives at the Carson\u2019s door\u2026at the age of 23. <\/p>\n

How did people help you along the journey? <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

There have been several people who influence and helped me this past two years. My husband has been unwavering in his support, even when he felt I was being unfairly treated, LOL—He didn\u2019t like the initial rejections I was getting and couldn\u2019t understand why publishers weren\u2019t happy with it, after all the work I did. I\u2019m so blessed that he believed in me and kept encouraging me. <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve mentioned my sister Jenny and my author friend Elizabeth earlier, but they were a tremendous help with initial editing and suggestions. They both taught me so much about POV and believability. Writing dialogue came very naturally to me, but I struggled at times with other aspects of plot structure, pacing and tension.
My pastor and small home group prayed and encouraged me, and my mom loved everything I wrote, of course\u2026family and close friends are rarely a good source for reliable feedback, and I was so thrilled when I found ACFW a few months before my book came under contract, and joined a critique group a couple of months later. They brought another layer of accountability and learning to my writing that I hadn\u2019t had before. <\/p>\n

How can we pray for you on the next stage of your writing life?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I so need to be able to stay focused on my writing. Life has a way of distracting me and steering me off my intended writing course. We\u2019ve just completed a year long project of building a new home and are in the process of moving in, so I\u2019m hoping things will settle down and I can get back to some serious keyboard time soon.
Also, at the time of this writing, I\u2019m awaiting the verdict from a major motion picture studio concerning the acquisition of my book as a potential family movie. The studio rep read the book, stated she really liked it and felt it had a strong plot and very memorable characters. She requested a lengthy summary of the book showing how I would soften the faith elements to make it acceptable for a family, rather than Christian, movie, as their studio is not faith based. I\u2019ve done so and she\u2019ll be reviewing the summary over the next few weeks. This isn\u2019t something I or my agent sought\u2014the studio rep came to us when she saw a short summary of the book in a publishers newsletter\u2014so I\u2019m not counting on it or expecting anything at this point. It\u2019s in the Lord\u2019s hands and I\u2019m trusting Him that if He wants to use the book to touch lives in the secular world by making it into a family movie, that\u2019s great. If not, that\u2019s okay too\u2026.my book is being published, which is more than I dreamed would happen two years ago. <\/p>\n

Where do you write? Do you have a dedicated office or a corner or nook in a room? <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019m very blessed that I have two areas to write, depending on the noise and traffic level. We just completed building our new home and moved in early July. I have my lap top in the kitchen area on a desk for easy access when I want to jot a few notes, do some marketing, check email, etc. When I want to do serious writing and close a door, I go to my new office\/library to work. It has a wonderful view of the woods out any of the four windows, and a spacious work area, so is very conducive to writing.<\/p>\n

Do you have a word or page goal you set for each day?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m afraid I\u2019m not that organized. I have to work my writing into my very busy life, and often find myself writing late at night. If I\u2019m behind schedule, I\u2019ll push myself to stay put till I\u2019ve written a few thousand words to catch up on a couple of lost days, but it\u2019s rare that I get to write every day. Since my first book is nearing release, I\u2019m also spending quite a bit of time on marketing, and of course, just got all the edits, revisions and proofreading behind me.<\/p>\n

What does a typical day look like for you?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

There really is no typical with my hubby and myself. He\u2019s semi-retired, but still involved in a large project\/invention that\u2019s going to market soon, so he\u2019s in and out a lot. I\u2019m involved at our church, but much less than I used to be, and also involved with family. This past few months was taken up with finishing the interior trim in our new home, putting in flower beds, packing and moving, keeping up on the yard work on the old house that hasn\u2019t sold yet, and fitting in writing and marketing when I\u2019m able. Thankfully, I\u2019m not under a strict deadline with the second book.<\/p>\n

Take us through your process of writing a novel briefly\u2014from conception to revision. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019m more of a seat-of-the-pants writer\u2026I get an idea, decide who the main characters are and start writing. I don\u2019t follow a lot of rules, and tend to get better acquainted with my characters as I go. I have a basic overview of the story line in very simple outline form\u2026I\u2019m talking, a few sentences that might fill one page, at most, with very few details. <\/p>\n

It does make it a bit more time intensive, in that I probably have more revisions than an organized writer, but I\u2019ve found I can be more creative if everything isn\u2019t mapped out along the way. My characters have more room to grow, change, and make some of their own decisions\u2026I\u2019ve had things happen in my story line that weren\u2019t planned, but that fit beautifully and strengthened the plot. After writing the rough draft, I\u2019ll submit it to my crit group a few chapters at a time, as well as having an editor I trust review the first third to half of the book for plot holes and inconsistencies, then start revising and editing.<\/p>\n

What do you wish you\u2019d known early in your career that might have saved you some time and\/or frustration in writing? In publishing? <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

This is a hard one, as I\u2019m still very early in my writing career, having only started writing seriously just over two years ago. I\u2019m growing and learning constantly, and in all honesty, I haven\u2019t had a lot of frustrating times since beginning this journey. I\u2019d have to say that the issue of timing probably stands out more than most other things. I was in too big of a hurry, at first, to send my \u2018baby\u2019 out into the world when it wasn\u2019t ready. Had I taken the advice of an author\/editor friend on some of the changes she gave me that would have strengthened my book, and not been so sure it was fine the way it was, I probably wouldn\u2019t have had some of my early rejections. Of course, rejections are part of the growing process, and I learned valuable lessons there, too.<\/p>\n

How much marketing do you do? What have you found that particularly works well for you? <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019m one of those rarities in the writing world who actually enjoys the marketing part of writing. A lot of authors I know prefer to hole up in their office and write and not mess with promotion and marketing\u2026not me. I love it. In fact, I probably spend too much time on it, and not enough on writing. Currently, I have a blog, web site, ShoutLife profile and moderate a marriage group there, as my book deals with marriage issues, a My Space site, a 60 second book trailer on God Tube and My Tube, an email campaign, free book drawings, and try to stay active on a couple different writer\u2019s groups. I also keep in touch with about 300 people who\u2019ve signed my guest book on my web site, and offered to help with marketing. Those people have been amazing in passing along the word to their friends. I decided I didn\u2019t want to put out the money to have someone else put a blog tour together, so jumped in and made that happen, too. I can tell you one thing, there\u2019s not enough hours in a day for writing, marketing, husbands, houses, animals, friends, church and all the other things I\u2019m supposed to be doing\u2026but thankfully, I\u2019ve not been kicked out of church, my family and husband haven\u2019t disowned me, and my house isn\u2019t falling down around my ears\u2026 yet, LOL!<\/p>\n

Do you have any parting words of advice?<\/p>\n

Keep your priorities in order\u2026God first, family next, ministry and others (including your writing) third. Write for the Lord, and yourself, rather than to be published. It will cut way down on the disappointment and frustration level, and bring a deep sense of joy and accomplishment.<\/p>\n

=======================
Thanks for being on my blog today, Miralee! I’m sure readers will find that this interview has been a real treat! If you want to follow her tour, here are some upcoming blogs which will feature Miralee:<\/p>\n

Oct. 24th <\/p>\n

Tiffany Amber Stockton–A Fiction-Filled Life<\/p>\n

www.ambermiller.com<\/p>\n

25th Bonnie Way—The Koala Bear Writer<\/p>\n

http:\/\/thekoalabearwriter.blogspot.com<\/p>\n

Stormi Johnson—Write Thoughts<\/p>\n

http:\/\/writesthoughts.blogspot.com<\/p>\n

26th Robin Grant—Queen Of Perseverance<\/p>\n

http:\/\/queenofperseverance.blogspot.com<\/p>\n

27th Delia Latham—The Melody Within<\/p>\n

http:\/\/themelodywithin.blogspot.com<\/p>\n

28th Jennie McGhan—Jen’s Life Journey<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.shoutlife.com\/cmpctjen <\/p>\n

and
http:\/\/jenslifejourney.blogspot.com\/<\/p>\n

29th Susan Lohrer —Inspirational Editor<\/p>\n

www.inspirationaleditor.blogspot.com<\/p>\n

30th Carla Stewart—Carla\u2019s Writing Caf\u00e9 <\/p>\n

www.carlastewart.blogspot.com <\/p>\n

31st Christina Berry— Posting with Purpose<\/p>\n

www.authorchristinaberry.blogspot.com<\/p>\n

November<\/p>\n

1st Bonnie Leon—Bonnie’s Blog<\/p>\n

www.bonnieleon.blogspot.com<\/p>\n

2nd Jan Parrish—Bold and Free<\/p>\n

www.janparrish.blogspot.com <\/p>\n

3rd Tina Helmuth—The Ink’s Not Dry<\/p>\n

http:\/\/tinahelmuth.blogspot.com\/<\/p>\n

4th Teresa Slack—ShoutLife Blog<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.shoutlife.com\/teresaslack<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.teresaslack.blogspot.com<\/p>\n

5th Pam Meyers—A Writer\u2019s Journey<\/p>\n

http:\/\/pammeyerswrites.blogspot.com\/<\/p>\n

6th Betsy St. Amant—Betsy Ann’s Blog<\/p>\n

www.betsy-ann.blogspot.com<\/p>\n

7th Megan DiMaria—A Prisoner of Hope<\/p>\n

www.megandimaria.blogspot.com <\/p>\n

8th Christa Allan—CBAllan WordPress<\/p>\n

www.cballan.wordpress.com<\/p>\n

9th Susan Marlow—Suzy Scribbles—Homeschool Blogger<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.homeschoolblogger.com\/SuzyScribbles\/<\/p>\n

10th Jamie Driggers—Surviving the Chaos<\/p>\n

www.survivingthechaos.blogspot.com<\/p>\n

11th Cindy Bauer—-Christian Fiction Author & Speaker<\/p>\n

www.cindybauer.blogspot.com<\/p>\n

12th Angie Breidenbach—God Uses Broken Vessels <\/p>\n

http:\/\/godusesbrokenvessels.blogspot.com<\/p>\n

13th Patricia Carroll—Patricia PacJac Carroll<\/p>\n

http:\/\/patriciapacjaccarroll.blogspot.com\/<\/p>\n

14th Toni V. Lee—Spreading Truth Through Fiction <\/p>\n

http:\/\/tonivlee.blogspot.com<\/p>\n

15th Camille Eide—Faith Inspiring Fiction <\/p>\n

http:\/\/camillecannon.blogspot.com\/<\/p>\n

16th Lisa Jordan—Musings<\/p>\n

http:\/\/lisadjordan.blogspot.com\/<\/p>\n

Thanks again, Miralee!<\/p>\n

Cecelia Dowdy<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Remember the book I blogged about about a week ago, The Other Daughter? Well, I’m featuring the author on my blog today! Here’s an interview with a very talented novelist, Miralee Ferrell! =======================================================================Interview For Miralee Ferrell Author Bio: I’m over 50, married for 35 years this July, and have two wonderful children, Marnee and Steven. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-author-interviews"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paovYP-go","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1016"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1016\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ceceliadowdy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}