JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
R. Lynn Wilson, author of Maggie’s Fall
(self-published)
Sometimes, the ones who know a girl best are her dog and her horse. Ranch-raised and city-tested, Maggie knows all about life’s battles, and she is prepared to fight them all – for her son, her makeshift family, her ranch, and her best friend. But to survive, Maggie will have to learn to fight to save herself.
Maggie McClellan lived the best of two worlds: her corporate profession as a PR director for a world-renowned boot maker, and her frequent escapes to the serenity of the West Texas ranch where she was raised – until her parents were killed in a car wreck. Selling the ranch seemed the obvious choice, but when Maggie learned that she was pregnant, she could not imagine raising her child anywhere but on the M-Bar Ranch.
Ten years later, Maggie is back on her feet, but someone is threatening to take it all away. Maggie is not just fighting to save a ranch, she is fighting to save a home, a way of life, and not just for herself, but for her son and the makeshift family who has stood beside her through all storms.
Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the inspiration to write Maggie’s Fall?
R. Lynn Wilson: I have had the privilege of knowing some very fine animals in my life, and it is they who first inspired Maggie’s Fall. In addition, when I read Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove, I fell in love with his band of flawed, heroic adventurers.
I found myself so thoroughly immersed in the story that I was incapable of separating the characters from my subconscious. The one work that most inspired my own novel was Lonesome Dove. I treasure the grit and humanity that McMurtry infuses into his characters. I am forever indebted and grateful.
JP: What sets Maggie’s Fall apart from other books in the same genre?
RLW: Having spent my entire life around Quarter Horses, stray dogs, and cowboys, it is imperative that I treat these subjects with authenticity. Maggie’s Fall has romantic elements, but it is not a romance novel. It evokes the spirit of the West, but it is not a Western.
JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that led to Maggie’s Fall getting out to the public?
RLW: Dogged perseverance…
JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take you to start and finish Maggie’s Fall?
RLW: I write for the same reason that I read – to escape, to lose myself in worlds yet unknown. Once I have a single image locked down, I block out everything else and follow the story wherever it leads. This process often leads to the trash bin, but until I get the words out of my head, I can’t move on.
Many times I had to set Maggie’s Fall aside while I dealt with life, but I would guess I spent two years writing it and another six months re-writing it until I felt it was ready to go out into the world.
JP: What’s next for R. Lynn Wilson?
RLW: I could not bring myself to let go of Maggie and her family. I’m working on a sequel, Maggie’s Stand, which will be ready in the summer of 2012.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12974178-maggie-s-fall
http://facebook.com/rlynn.wilson
http://twitter.com/hacktothefuture
I am both overwhelmed by and forever grateful for the generous words and inspirational messages I have received from Maggie’s Fall readers. Thank you!
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