Inkwell Guest Interview: Miriam Newman

Hey, all! I’m pleased to have my friend and author, Miriam Newman, here today! She’s taken time out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions. To find Miriam online, check out the links at the bottom of the post. But if you’re dying to get your hands on her latest release (like me), here are the buy links:

All Romance eBooks | Fictionwise | Amazon

Hi Miriam! Thanks for joining us here today. You know I have long been a fan of your writing and have enjoyed reading and critiquing with you. Tell us about your latest book, The Eagle’s Woman. P.S. WOW! That cover is amazing!

Thanks, Michelle. Set in 856 A.D., this is the story of Ari and Maeve. Son of an impoverished, dying Norse chieftain, Ari raids for booty and slaves so he can feed his people. Pagan himself, still he spares priests though he sells them. He’s a heathen, a murderer, and it is a sin for any Christian woman to love him. Yet when he abducts Maeve from her peaceful Irish fishing village, he may have found the one woman who can.

Your stories are always so interesting with the historical settings, either fantasy or not. What made you want to write The Eagle’s Woman?

It all began with a trip to Ireland six years ago during which I saw a replica of a Viking longship. I knew of the strong Viking influence particularly in Scotland and also in Ireland, and my love of history took over. And then, of course, my love of romance took over that!

I know you have a trip to Ireland coming up (so jealous!). To me, it’s a magical place where faeries still live. 😉 Can you tell us what you love about that country?

I especially love the pace of life, the famed “Irish time” so different from what we experience here in the States. Things get done, but without the frenetic quality we have. People walk a lot and I think they are much closer to nature. For a country-dweller like myself, that’s key. The first time I went to Ireland I didn’t know a soul, yet it felt like everyone I met was a friend. I love the tea, I love the scones, I even love the rain. Every time I arrive, I feel like I’ve come home—which considering the preponderance of my Celtic genes, may not be far from the truth!

How does the place inspire your writing?

The scenery, the grandeur of much of the landscape, the respect for artists of every kind and the sense of history permeating the place all spark my muse. You can see old Norman watch towers along the coasts and in present-day pastures…ancient beehive huts on the Dingle Peninsula…the eerie stones and tombs left over from people so long dead we barely have the memory of them. Yet there are their markers. That sense of the cycle and continuity of life calls strongly to the same thing that makes me write. It’s deeply spiritual.

You have an incredible backlist. Can you share with readers your publishing story?

I wrote poetry for many years because it took less time than writing a book. Busy with a husband, five stepchildren, a farm and a career, there was no way I could write a novel though I wanted to. Sadly, it wasn’t until after my husband died that I had any “free” time, so I hopped on the first plane to Ireland and sat down in a sheep pasture (and a pub or two) to write poetry. But I guess my muse had gotten there before me and it wasn’t poetry she wanted to write. Two novels later I finally stopped, returned to the U.S. and started looking for a publisher. That was twelve books ago. Once I started, I couldn’t stop.

I know you’re an incredibly busy person. When do you find time to write?

In the middle of the night or, alternatively, often I get up at 4 a.m. and write until daybreak.

What do you like to do when you’re not working or writing?

Uh…is there such a time? Well, I do live on a working horse farm, so I’m usually mucking out stalls, caring for horses or walking one of my three dogs when I’m not at work or at my computer. I’m supposedly retired, but for financial reasons that hasn’t really happened yet.

Can you tell us what other things you have in store for lucky readers? I love your work and always look forward to your books.

Oh, where to start? First of all, there will be at least one sequel to my newly-released Viking romance, The Eagle’s Woman. Book II, The Eagle’s Lady, should be out later this year. I have a women’s fiction in the works…a science fiction sequel to my book Scion…a novella due out based on the ancient Irish legend, Deirdre of the Sorrows…and a Christmas-themed futuristic novella that should release late in November. Somewhere in there I have a fantasy novel set around the time of The Famine in Ireland, too. That one needs a little more work before I’ll be satisfied with it.

I’m very excited you’ll be writing a sequel to Scion. I loved that book! Where can we find you online?

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