Today, the wonderful Paulette Mahurin is featured on my blog. I'm glad she took the time to answer some questions, and I want to say a huge thank you for all she's doing for shelter dogs. Read on to find out more.
Tell us a little bit about you. Where are you from? What kind of books do you write? How many books have you written? Do you set your stories in the area you live in?
First let me say a heartfelt thank you for having me over to your great blog site. I was born in Chicago, Illinois and moved to Los Angeles when two-years-old so I am a virtual lifelong transplant to Southern California. I mainly write historical fiction but I have one literary fiction also to my name. I have published six novels. Only one story, His Name Was Ben, is set in the town where I live, Ojai, California.
Most writers I know are voracious readers. What kind of books do you like to read? What’s your favorite book?
I love historical fiction. But I also love a good story that grabs and holds my attention. If it’s a great story then the genre is secondary for me. I am also a voracious reader and I love to have a book in progress as a part of my daily routine.
Let’s play a quick game of “This or That”.
Real books or e-books? E-Books, and that is fairly recent but I am now hooked on my kindle and its convenience.
Coffee or tea? Definitely coffee although I start my day with green tea for the antioxidants.
Dogs or cats? Dogs.
Summer or winter? Summer.
Morning or night? Morning. And a sunny morning with a cup of coffee and a book sounds perfect to me. And having a dog sitting next to me is heaven.
And since the mention of dogs came up I wanted to indicate that all the profits from all my books go to help get dogs out of kill shelters. Last year we helped free 904 dogs. This year we’re heading into 500. All the before and after photos are shown on my blog site. (see link below)
Would you mind telling us about your writing style? Such as: Do have a routine? Do you need complete silence or blaring music? Early morning writing or late nite writing?
I usually wake up early and begin writing. Silence works best for me so my thought process isn’t interrupted. If I’m into the flow and it’s going well, I can stay at it into the afternoon but that usually proves to be too exhausting. I can only take so much sitting at the computer.
Do you have a favorite “writing” snack?
Dark chocolate.
Which do you think is the hardest to write: the first sentence or the last one?
Definitely the first sentence. If that falls flat you can lose a reader. But once they are into and invested in the story you should have them by that last sentence.
What is your biggest distraction while writing?
My dogs. I have two big dogs that demand attention when they are hungry, when they need to do their stuff, when they need a treat, when they need a walk, and when they need attention. Also the phone ringing and it’s someone I need to talk to.
What is the best writing advice you’ve ever received?
The critic inside your head is not accurate so ignore it. It will want to bring you down and sent you on detours that land nowhere helpful.
Do you have any advice for new writers?
The only thing that defines a writer is to sit down and write. A writer writes. Doesn’t matter for how long or what he/she is writing about. Just plant yourself down in front of the computer and
begin. Vomit it out. And once it’s all out there seek the help of an editor. Let the editor do the thinking and correcting once you’ve told the story.
What’s next for you? What do your readers have to look forward to?
Year ago I wrote a rough draft mystery about a cardiovascular surgeon whose patients start dying on him post cardiac transplant. Who is killing the patients? And why? I’ve come up with a pretty far out culprit based on some current modern results from actual transplant patients. I’m a health care provider so I thought I’d put my profession to use in this one and give it a try.
Where can we connect with you? Tell is where to find you online.
Amazon author page: http://thepersecutionofmildreddunlap.wordpress.com/
About Paulette: Paulette Mahurin is a best-selling literary fiction and historical fiction novelist. She lives with her husband Terry and two dogs, Max and Bella, in Ventura County, California. She grew up in West Los Angeles and attended UCLA, where she received a Master’s Degree in Science.
Her first novel, The Persecution of Mildred Dunlap, made it to Amazon bestseller lists and won awards, including best historical fiction 2012 in Turning the Pages Magazine. Her second novel, His Name Was Ben, originally written as an award winning short story while she was in college and later expanded into a novel, rose to bestseller lists its second week out. Her third novel, To Live Out Loud, won international critical acclaim and made it to multiple sites as favorite read book of 2015. Her fourth book, The Seven Year Dress, made it to the top ten bestseller lists on Amazon U.S., Amazon U.K. and Amazon Australia. Her fifth book, The Day I Saw The Hummingbird, was released in 2017 to rave reviews. Her sixth book, A Different Kind of Angel, was released in August, 2018.
Semi-retired, she continues to work part-time as a Nurse Practitioner in Ventura County. When she’s not writing, she does pro-bono consultation work with women with cancer, works in the Westminster Free Clinic as a volunteer provider, volunteers as a mediator in the Ventura County Courthouse for small claims cases, and involves herself, along with her husband, in dog rescue. Profits from her books go to help rescue dogs from kill shelters.
Thank you so much for featuring me at your great blog site. <3 Paulette
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