GET LOST WITH MARY BUCKHAMS INVISIBLE MAGIC

Get Lost in a Story Readers, today we’re privileged to welcome Nonfiction Guru and Bestselling Fiction Author Mary Buckham to the blog.  

About Invisible Magic: 

Hidden from a world unaware of magic, a recently and only partially trained group of operatives know as the Invisible recruits are the only ones willing to stand between mankind and those powerful preternatural factions seeking to change the balalnce of power and gain world domination.

Alex Noziak, part witch, part shaman, anticipate facing dangerous preternaturals out for blood . . . not fashion week. But when the rookie agent is sent undercover to find out who, or what, is behind a series of world-wide thefts of top-secret intelligence, Alex tangles with the Seekers.

Seekers hunt gifted human individuals like Alex and her squad whose rare powers can keep the balance between human and nonhuman squarely on the side of the humans. Her simple assignment turns into a battle of survival for everyone involved when she crosses, Bran, a mysterious warlock, who might be her only ally or worst enemy.

To save the innocent, Alex must call upon her untested abilities, but at what cost?

~~~

And now, let's get to know Mary Buckham:

DONNELL:  Hi, Mary:  Welcome!  Now I’m not up on preternaturals, so please explain to me what a part witch and a part Shaman is, explain Alex’s  extraordinary powers, and then let’s get to what readers really care about.  Do you have any invisible powers?

MARY:  My kids think I have invisible powers. One tweak of an eyebrow and they know to jump! As for Alex being a witch, especially a Celtic witch, she is born to magic as opposed to a Wiccan who can learn magic. However in Alex’s situation she might have been witch-born but because of her family dynamics (her witch mother abandoned her family when Alex was young) Alex didn’t have a lot of training regarding her magic. So she’s an untrained witch with shamanistic abilities, which means she can cross from the physical world into the spirit realm, which sometimes can help her but sometimes adds more challenges to her already complicated life.  She’s wary of her witch abilities even as she’s thrown into situation where she’s forced to use magic to save lives around her, including her own.

DONNELL:  Your blurb has conflict written all over it.  Now, I know you, and you don’t strike me as a woman who likes conflict in her personal life.  So tell me, how  being the nice person that you are, do you manage conflict in your stories?

MARY:  LOL! Conflict drives the drama of a story and raises story questions. Readers of commercial fiction read to have questions raised and answered, so the more conflict in a story the faster a story can be paced. Many readers have told me I write paranormal thrillers because of the pacing and the fact they can’t put the book down while they’re reading.

DONNELL:   Your schedule once upon a time was intense—maybe as intense as Invisible Power.  So here’s two-part question.  When do you find time to write? And where will we find you when you do it?  (E.G. your favorite spot to write).

MARY: No writer is given extra time so to find the time to write one must be willing to give up time for other things. My house is not pristine, I kill plants regularly because I forget to water them, and once I taught my hubby how to cook I bagged that function. J I have taught myself to write anywhere I have a few minutes—as a passenger in the car, on ferries, on planes. When I’m at home I write in my bedroom as when I started writing I had five children under the age of eight and the only place I found any private time was the bedroom or the bathroom. For some reason writing in the bathroom never took so it’s been the bedroom for years.

DONNELL:  Does one of your invisible powers prevent Writer’s Block?  Just askin’.  Do you get it?  How do you handle it?

MARY: I get physically exhausted which forces me to slow down or stop but I don’t get writer’s block. I don’t have time to get blocked. <G> I focus on what is working in a story, or give myself permission to start a new story, play with different stories, or just have fun with the process. If I’m stymied for a bit I also know it’s simply a speed bump and not a block.

DONNELL:  All people with unseen powers need sustenance.  So, what’s in your refrigerator right now?

MARY:  I think it’s in that room called a kitchen but I’m in that room so rarely I don’t know for sure J. Basic requirements though are chocolate, coffee and red wine. Not necessarily in that order.

 

DONNELL:  You teach both nonfiction classes and write fiction.  So let's put you truly on the spot.  You have to give up one (kind of like your logline (If she wins he'll lose his freedom.  If he wins she'll watch her brother die.)  [insert scary music here.]  Which do you give up?  Nonfiction or fiction? 

MARY: Nonfiction. I’m actually pulling way way back on my teaching schedule (part of that question about how do you find the time). I have enjoyed immensely my years of teaching; the people I’ve met; the travel; the chance to talk story with so many writers at different levels of their writing game, but within six months I won’t be teaching online any more and within a year I won’t be teaching at full day conferences or events. That will allow me time to write more.

DONNELL:  When you’re not teaching or writing, what do you do for fun?

MARY: I collect textiles, ethnographic materials, and folk art, as well as travel, read and, because I live in a stunningly beautiful part of the country I take lots of beach walks along the ocean or mountain hikes.

DONNELL:  What’s the most unusual thing you have in your closet?

MARY: A collection of Ethiopian headrests, mud cloth from Mali, Japanese kimonos from the 20s and 30s and a suitcase that’s always packed so I can travel on a moment’s notice.

DONNELL:  Last Question.  If you could meet anyone, past or present, who would it be?

MARY: I have an ancestor who was accused of witchcraft twice in the early days of Massachusetts.  She was one of the wealthiest women in the Colonies but still found herself imprisoned. I’d love to talk with her, see what gave her strength and how such charges changed her life.

MARY’S QUESTION FOR READERS.  What was a favorite book you read as a child?

Book Giveaway:  I’d be delighted to give away 2 books – either digital (worldwide) or paperback (if in the US or Canada) of INVISIBLE MAGIC Book 1 in the Invisible Recruit Series.

Mary's Links and contact information. 

Fiction:

INVISIBLE MAGIC: Book 1 Alex Noziak (available now)

INVISIBLE PRISON: Alex Noziak novella (available now e-format only)

INVISIBLE DUTY: Alex Noziak novella (Coming May 2013 e-format only)

INVISIBLE POWER: Book 2 Alex Noziak (coming June 2013)

Non-fiction books:

WRITING ACTIVE SETTING: Book 1

WRITING ACTIVE SETTING: Book 2

(both available now in Kindle format)

www.MaryBuckham.com

www.InvisibleRecruits.com

Thanks Donnell for hosting me!!

My pleasure, Mary!

 

Note: COMMENTERS are encouraged to leave a contact email address to speed the prize notification process. Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only unless specifically mentioned in the post. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants. Winners of drawings are responsible for checking this site in a timely manner. If prizes are not claimed in a timely manner, the author may not have a prize available. Get Lost In A Story cannot be responsible for an author's failure to mail the listed prize. GLIAS does not automatically pass email addresses to guest authors unless the commenter publicly posts their email address.

DON'T FORGET to FOLLOW us on Twitter #GetLostStories or LIKE us on Facebook to keep up with all our guest authors and their prizes. Join me on Monday when I host Abigail Sharpe. ~Donnell