I became
acquainted with Maggie Thom through her thriller suspense novel, Captured Lies, the first novel in her
Caspian Wine series, about five years ago. I’m not sure why I waited so long to
ask her for an interview. I have thoroughly enjoyed her novels about the
Caspian Wine empire, along with her stand alone books, plus she has a way of
weaving twists into her stories when you’re least expecting them, and placing
her characters into highly suspenseful situations that keep you on the edge of
your seat. So, without further delay, please meet the talented author, Maggie
Thom.
Tom: Maggie,
thank you for sitting down with me for this interview on PULP DEN. First, how
about telling your fans a little about yourself, your family, and where you
live?
Maggie: Hi Tom.
Thank you for this interview, I have truly enjoyed ‘meeting’ you and feel
honored to do this interview. I’m married, a mom of just out of their teen
twins and I live on beautiful Vancouver Island, Canada.
Tom: From
reading your five novels it is easy to tell you are an intelligent writer, and
interested in the thriller suspense genre. This current novel, Split Seconds, is your third novel in
the Caspian Wine book series, and your fifth novel in the thriller suspense
genre. What made you decide to create The Caspian Wine series in the first
place, and what was the particular influence for these stories, if any?
Maggie: Well,
I actually hadn’t planned on writing a series. I had told myself they were too
much work. Captured Lies came about from a simple incident – a plane flew over
us and was really low. I thought it will never make it to the airport, what if
it crashed. Then my mind went wild. What if there was a baby onboard that
survived? What if that baby had been kidnapped in the first place but was then
kidnapped after the plane crash, how could she ever unravel her past. That was
the end of that story… or so I thought. Then after a fan had read Captured
Lies, she emailed me and asked when book 2 was coming out. I said that I wasn’t
writing a series. Almost as soon as I sent that reply the ideas started coming
to me. So, then I wrote Deceitful Truths and again said that was it. But…
another fan emailed me and asked when book 3 was coming out. Eek. This time I
just said I’m not sure. The ideas started coming and book 3, Split Seconds was
born.
Captured Lies (Book 1)
is about Bailey.
Kidnapped not once
but twice and now someone wants her dead. Her life was a lie!
Deceitful Truths (Book 2) is about Tarin.
Someone has stolen a week of her life and now wants to steal
the secret she is now hiding.
Split Seconds (Book 3)
is about Tijan.
Twins torn apart as toddlers… reunited as adults… and now
switching places to take on organized crime…
Tom: Along
the same line above, what other writers influenced you, if any, and whom would
you say your writing style most resembles? And are your stories more plot
driven or character driven, do you think? For me it was hard to choose between
the two, for both plot and characters are strong.
Maggie: There
are many authors that I have read and love their work but two really stand out
for me – Robert Ludlum and Sandra Brown. Each taught me something different.
Robert Ludlum taught me how to tell a story from different points of view and
not lose the reader. Sandra Brown taught me how to add in the twists and turns
that keep the reader guessing. I’m not sure who my writing most resembles
although I have been told authors like – Amanda Quick/ Jayne-Anne Krentz, John Grisham…
Thank you
Tom. I think I do a mix of both character and plot driven stories. I like
creating strong, believable characters and someone that the reader will feel a
connection to.
Tom: Tell us a
little about your latest novel, Split
Seconds, without giving any spoilers away.
Maggie: Tijan
knew that she had a twin but had been told that she’d died when they were two.
Through a fluke discovery, Tijan is sure that her twin is alive. She is
determined to find out. What she discovers is that she also has a father that
she never knew about and one who is not at all what she imagined a father
should be like. He’s a cold and deceitful man, one who will step on anyone to
get what he needs. And he’s involved with organized crime. When Tijan finally
meets her twin, she’s not sure what to expect. Excited to be reunited, they
soon discover that not everyone is happy there are two of them. To save her
sister and ultimately a father who got them into the mess they find themselves
in, Tijan switches places with her sister. She takes over her father’s multi-million-dollar
hotel business, something she knows nothing about. All in an attempt to save her
sister, their father and his business from organized crime.
Split
Seconds is book 3 in The Caspian Wine Suspense/Thriller/Mystery Series.
Tom: Besides Thriller
Suspense, have you considered writing other genres down the road, and if so,
what would they be?
Maggie: Actually
I have written a few other genres – romance and young adult – but I’ve never
done anything with them. Someday I think I’d like to venture into the genre of
fantasy. I love to read it, so we’ll see.
Tom: In your
novel, Split Seconds, we actually
follow Tijan, who has found her missing twin sister, Tarin, believed to have
died as a child. Trailing her from a mere photograph and birthmark, she quickly
becomes enmeshed in a suspenseful fight between a Mafia mob boss and her father
for control of the Caspian Wine Empire.
This is where her twin sister comes into the picture. Tarin refuses to
help her father obtain that control. This may be an off the wall question, but
do you have further plans for the Caspian Wine series, or do you think the
series may have run its course after three novels?
Maggie: Great
question. I thought it was done after book 1. And then after book 2. So now
that I’m publishing book 3, I really don’t know. We’ll see what happens moving
forward. There are always more stories to tell but at some point it’s about whether
it’s too much or not. Right now, I truly don’t know.
Tom: Tell us about your two stand-alone
novels, Tainted Waters and Deadly Ties. Although I love the Caspian
Wine series, I think I favor these two novels slightly more.
Maggie: Each of these novels were interesting
to create and both mean a lot to me but for different reasons. I like to write
about people and situations that I feel are important.
Tainted
Waters: Sam is a woman who has struggled to find herself,
she has flipped from job to job and just can’t seem to settle down. The suicide
of her father when she was seven has left her scarred and lost. He’d been her
world. After being fired from her latest job she moves to the family cabin
which she hasn’t been in over twenty years, since her father’s suicide. A
series of events happen that soon pull her into a web of mystery, where she
soon discovers that not only might her father have been murdered but so might a
few of the other owners around the lake.
Deadly
Ties: Kyara has
always been embarrassed about her home life. Her grandmother went to jail for
murdering her husband and her mom is hopeless and helpless. After her mom is
attacked Kyara realizes that what she knows is not the truth. Going on a quest,
she discovers many secrets that others will go to any lengths to keep hidden. A
golf course was built but not because the sport was gaining in popularity but
to hide a deadly secret. It pulls Kyara into 30 years of lies that she must
untangle before a whole town ultimately pays the price.
Tom: What do
you find to be the most exciting part of the creating process?
Maggie: Letting
the ideas fly. I used to worry that my story sucked when I was finished writing
it. It wasn’t until I realized that rewrites weren’t a form of punishment that
I really realized that is where the magic happens. I love rewrites because that
is where I get to really make the story the one that I want. The one that has
twists and turns and is full of lies, deceit and secrets.
Tom: Along
the same subject as above, what do you find to be the most difficult area in
the creating process?
Maggie: I
think I’m at the point that I don’t really find any of it super difficult. To
me it’s all about focus and time. I used to think the rewrites were impossible
but that was because I saw it to mean I wasn’t a very good writer. In truth,
all it means is that I get to create the story I want. Each part of writing has
its own challenges but I just remind myself I could be working my 60 hour a
week director position again. Writing is so much easier and more enjoyable.
Tom: There
was a three-year gap between Book 2, Deceitful
Truths and Book 3. Split Seconds.
Are you working on a sequel or anything else right now? And if there is a
sequel in the works, when do you expect it to be out?
Maggie: There
is not a sequel in the works right now. Actually, I’m working on a fiction story
that I wrote years ago. I really like the story but it needs a lot of work. I
had originally written it as a romance but want to change it to a
suspense/thriller. Which is what happened with Captured Lies. I am also working
on two nonfiction books.
Tom: Besides
family and writing, tell us about any hobbies or community service you may be
involved in, and any other activity you would like to mention.
Maggie: I
love going out in nature – hiking, kayaking, just walking, sitting and
enjoying. I love to read – fiction and nonfiction - but don’t read as much as I
used to. I also build websites and love to create images with quotes for social
media. I am currently a member and on the board for a Women’s Business
Networking Group. We do everything from fundraising, to networking, to
training, to community events. I belong to a few author groups online, where we
work together to help each other with everything from writing to marketing.
I’ve also started a women’s writing group online, to help women find their
voice through writing. I also teach writing workshops – on and offline. And I
teach how to write compelling fiction book blurbs.
Tom: What
advice would you give other aspiring authors hoping to break into the writing
field today?
Maggie: Go
for it. Writing is such a gift but there are many fears and issues that might
get in your way. Connect to other writers and authors, ask for help, join
groups, take writing classes… know that you are on the right path. Keep writing
and know that your first draft is meant to suck. It’s just about getting the
ideas down. It’s in the rewrites that you get to create the story that you
want.
Tom: And
most important, where can fans find – and buy - your novel, and do you keep
copies on hand for autographs? Please include website and Blogs.
Maggie:
(pre-order
Split Seconds and receive some amazing bonuses).
Tom: And now
another question from left field. If you could, would you choose to live
in a parallel universe as one of the people in the worlds you create?
Maggie: Interesting
question. Hmmm… I think to some degree I
do. Although I don’t live with or see a lot of what I write about, truly most
of what I write does happen in our world.
Tom: Maggie,
thank you very much for sitting down with me for this interview.
Maggie Thom’s Bio
Want to take an adventure beyond your fingertips?
Award winning author, Maggie
Thom loves the challenge of creating a web of secrets, lies and deceit. She
doesn’t want you to figure it out until the end. Author of The Caspian Wine
Suspense/Thriller/Mystery Series – Captured Lies and Deceitful Truths with
Split Seconds about to be published – and her other individual novels Tainted
Waters (2013 Suspense/Thriller Book of the Year through Turning the Pages
Magazine) and Deadly Ties. Take the roller coaster ride. It’s worth it. Get
your free copy of Captured
Lies.
Her motto: Read to escape… Escape to
read…
"Maggie Thom… proves her strength as a master of words,
plots and finely chiseled characters… she weaves a brilliant cloth of the many
colors of deceit.” Dii - TomeTender
