…but my books seem to appeal to women of any age. Though my first book makes grown men cry, and many have loved my second. So I guess I write for adults.

Julie Frayn – 27 July 2014

The Back Flap

Mazie Reynolds has moxie from the top of her bruised face to the tip of her broken wrist. She married a man she adored, and who adored her in return. But over fourteen years, her happy marriage soured with each new beating.

When his attentions shift to their twelve-year-old daughter, Mazie knows it’s time to get the hell out. She hatches a plan to escape. But can she outwit the man she vowed to obey until death do they part?

About the book

What is the book about?

Mazie Baby is about survival. It’s about fighting back. It’s about standing up to your abuser and not allowing the abuse to rule your life one moment longer. And it’s about accepting that sometimes, you can’t escape the everlasting effects.

When did you start writing the book?

This book started in my head with the idea for one pivotal scene. I put fingers to keyboard during Camp Nano in April 2013. I hit the goal of 50,000 words and then stalled. The subject matter is intense and I needed a break.

How long did it take you to write it?

After getting back to the story from my break, the book was ready for my editor in February, so about 10 months. It went through two full edits, so start to finish, 13 months.

Where did you get the idea from?

I know many women who’ve been the victims of domestic violence, and one who died at the hands of her abuser. That knowledge sparked the idea, and a flash of that pivotal scene during a waking moment one morning sealed it – I had to write this story.

Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?

Oh my, yes. My stories are about real people and real life. I want them to ring true. That means I don’t hold back, don’t gloss over the tough stuff. Some of the scenes in this book are . . . let’s just keep using ‘tough.’ I often had to walk away for a couple of days and then come back with a slower-beating heart.

What came easily?

The interaction between Mazie and her daughter, Ariel, and expressing the love and fear Mazie feels for her child. I fully understand those feelings. I also identify the desperate need to do anything to keep peace and to protect my child from some of life’s realities. Because I’m so familiar, it just flowed onto the page. Other easy parts were the scenes with the nosy neighbor, Rachel. I love that woman!

Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?

I’d place bets that every character in every book is borrowed from real people, if not in whole, at least a few specific traits or actions. But other than borrowed bits (in the case of Mazie’s husband, Cullen, borrowed from several places and squished into one miserable dude), the rest is made up.

We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?

Generally I am not a fan of Stephen King, but a few of his books and his style have stuck with me. Dolores Claiborne, Misery, and Rose Madder (up until she walked into a painting, then he lost me). Ann Rule was a huge influence. For years I read nothing but true crime. In many cases reality is far more dramatic than fiction. Once I read Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, I think that sealed my writing style.  That book was true crime told in the manner of a fictional story. My stories are all fiction, but rooted firmly in the horror that reality often is.

Do you have a target reader?

Not that I write for, but my books seem to appeal to women of any age. Though my first book makes grown men cry, and many have loved my second. So I guess I write for adults.

About Writing

Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?

When I begin a new work, I follow a process I call word vomit. Open up my mind and puke prose onto the page without thinking too much about spelling or grammar. Once I get a good start, I slow down a bit, although vomiting works when I stall. I often stop in the middle of a larger work to clean out the cobwebs with short fiction, then return, refreshed. Many authors hate editing, but I love that part. Polishing and pruning and perfecting. Yes, that’s my favourite.

Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?

I tried outlining once. Epic fail. I am a pantser.

Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?

Both. After the initial push to get words on virtual paper, I often go back to the beginning and read it through, fixing as I go. Once the full draft is done, it’s edit, edit, edit. At least two more passes through before it goes to the guy who really knows how to edit.

Did you hire a professional editor?

I do have a professional editor – and I love that guy! Scott Morgan of www.write-hook.com. I don’t know where I’d be without him. His credo is “write for the jugular” – and I try to follow that every time I sit down at my laptop. After three novels and several short stories, he has made me a better writer.

Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?

Sometimes I do. The soundtrack to my first novel, Suicide City, a Love Story, was the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Some of their songs (Universally Speaking, Breaking the Girl, My Friends) inspired some of the scenes. For Mazie Baby there was no soundtrack. Because Mazie had little joyful music in her life, I wanted to keep myself in that frame of mind. For my latest WIP, the fictional story of my parents love affair set in the 1940s to 1960, I hear Sinatra and Elvis.

About Publishing

Did you submit your work to Agents?

I did try the agent route, but got immediately frustrated. I couldn’t begin to write something new while I begged for attention, so I decided to quit begging, and just go for it. And I’m glad I did. The goal is to write, and hopefully to have people appreciate the story. It can’t be appreciated if it never sees the light of day.

What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?

It was the frustration noted above, and the gentle (and sometimes less-than-gentle) nudging of my new circle of indie-author friends.

Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?

Myself? Hah! The cover for Mazie Baby was created by my sister, Carolyn Frayn (www.carolynfrayn.com / www.artofbreastcancer.ca ). She is a photographer and an artist and this is our first collaboration. She was too ill with cancer to do the covers for the first two books, so this cover is that much more special (especially since she produced it while undergoing chemotherapy yet again). That she used my daughter as the model for Mazie? Priceless.

Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?

I wouldn’t call it a plan. Part winging, part using what I’ve learned in the past year from the first two books. I am part of a wonderful group of supportive writers and have a presence on the www.enovelauthorsatwork.com website. I’ve got bubbles and excerpts on www.bublish.com  and www.microcerpt.com. Mazie Baby will be a new release feature at Kindle Books and Tips in July. I am seeking out reviews from known and popular review sites (fingers crossed BigAl will read it and like it as much as It Isn’t Cheating if He’s Dead, wink wink nudge nudge). And of course I am doing an Indieview!

Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?

Go for it! Outside of giving birth twice, publishing my stories has given me more satisfaction than anything. It is truly an accomplishment to write one novel. Now I’ve three under my belt and a fourth on the way, I have no desire to slow down. It is a long-time dream come true.

About You

Where did you grow up?

Grow up? I knew I forgot to do something….

Where do you live now?

I am in Calgary, Alberta. Proud to be a polite Canadian and make judicious use of extra ‘U’s.

What would you like readers to know about you?

Despite the gruesome subject of many of my books and stories, I am a happy person. Pretty chill, in fact. And I love beer and bacon.

What are you working on now?

I am building a short story anthology around characters I see at bus stops, and am 60,000 words into my fourth novel titled The Orphan and the Rose. It is based on the true story of my parents love affair, but turned into fiction for many reasons, the main one being I don’t want to be tied to facts. And with my mom’s ever-changing version of facts as Alzheimer’s steals a bit more of her week after week, I can’t rely on them anyway.

End of Interview:

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Get your copy of Mazie Baby from Amazon US, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords.