Author Interviews

8/20: Interview with Margot Justes - www.mjustes.com

A HOTEL IN PARIS, coming June 2008 - Echelon Press, LLC.

"A Hotel in Paris" features an American painter living in Paris who meets murder, mayhem and an Inspector from Interpol. Since the murder occurs in her hotel, she decides to get involved, much to the chagrin of the man in charge. A keen eye for details and an impressive talent for putting it on paper helps bring the case to a close.

Margot, who works in the HR department of a major corporation, says she was driven to start writing: "About four years ago, I started writing after a tough day at work. It was pure therapy, and still is. I usually come home from work, read for a bit, go to my office and start writing although lately it has been tough, with the book launch practically around the corner. Usually I spend three to four hours a day in my office. The solitude energizes me."

Despite having no writing background, "unless you consider liberal arts as training," Margot finds it impossible to stop writing. "I love putting words on paper, it's relaxing," she says. "I create my own world where I can do anything I want. The odd part of that is, I started out with a full fledged mystery, but the two protagonists had such chemistry together, the story evolved into something much more."

That "something" prompted Margot to find out more about the romance field. She has enjoyed attending both Romance Writers of America and Sisters in Crime conferences. "I've soaked up everything I could from the panels I attended," she says. "It all helped me to become a better writer."

She also finds inspiration from other authors in both fields: "I really wasn't looking for inspiration, but I must say Dorothy Sayers had an impact, she wrote beautifully. In the romantic contemporary genre I like the stories Nora Roberts weaves, especially her trilogies where a sense of family is so very well developed."

When she's not writing, Margot admits to enjoying gardening - to a degree: "I love to garden, minus the bugs. I can't handle it. Travel, museums, art, local summer art fairs are a must... Art and travel have influenced me tremendously. I cannot paint stick people, but I love looking at someone else's work."

Oh, and she admits there is one other advantage to writing - at least so say family members: "I no longer go shopping, unless it's absolutely necessary. According to some members of my family, that is a very good thing." #

Interview 2: Mary Cunningham; Interview 3: Heather S. Ingemar