Interview with Meredith Stoddard

Published 2014-06-19.
What are your five favorite books, and why?
Voyager - Diana Gabaldon - It's the third book in the Outlander series and it's a roller coaster ride with tons of adventure and heart.

Jane Eyre - I knew Jane was a kindred spirit the first time I read it. I even had a professor tell me I reminded her of Jane.

Mansfield Park - I think all writers have a sadistic streak, because we make characters that we love and then we torture them with whatever trauma our imaginations can devise. No one tortures her characters quite like Jane Austen and I think Mansfield Park is Austen at her most sadistic.

Checkmate - Dorothy Dunnett - The final book of The Lymond Chronicles and it gives all the emotional resolution you could ask for for these characters. Francis Crawford is James Bond but 300 years earlier and minus the gadgets and the state support. He's an incredibly compelling character. Also, Dunnett's voice is AMAZING. If Shakespeare wrote prose it would sound like this.

The Wayward Bus - John Steinbeck - I love all Steinbeck, but I actually have a physical reaction to this book. It's such a simple premise, but the tension the he evokes between the characters sets the standard for this type of story.
How do you discover the ebooks you read?
Lately, I've been getting some great recommendations from my reading friends. But I also like to browse and explore different genres according to my mood. I definitely like reading good independent fiction.
What do you read for pleasure?
Anything. Reading is like oxygen for me. I need it live. I'm inherently curious about almost everything, so I don't rule out much. I just love to read and learn. I learn something from everything that I read, even if it's how not to do something.
What is your writing process?
I'm big on planning. I like to first mindmap the plot lines with a snowflake diagram. Then I convert that into an outline by putting things in the order that I think will work best. I'll expand that outline with whatever scenes I think need to be added to motivate the characters to do the things I want them to do.

Then I start writing and hope for those moments when the characters take over. I use those early steps to wrap my head around the story so that when it comes to putting words together, I'm ready for those magical, organic things that happen when it just flows.
Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
I vaguely remember writing a story for a class in fifth grade that was a sort of fairy tale loosely inspired by Snow White. I remember my Dad reading it before I turned it in and telling me that it sounded like I had copied it from a book. Naturally, I took offense at the implication that I would plagiarize, but he really meant to say that it was as good as a book. I think that probably lit the fire.
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Books by This Author

Unfit (A Once and Future Short Story)
Price: Free! Words: 6,940. Language: English. Published: October 1, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Literature » Literary, Fiction » Women's fiction » General
When she left Kettle Hollow, Molly MacAlpin hoped never to see her remote mountain home again. She returned eighteen months later angry, pregnant and abandoned by the man she loved. So, she threw all her energy into making sure her daughter had the best life possible. Until one spring day a brief conversation with her little girl brings her world crashing down around her.
A Fond Kiss
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 14,260. Language: English. Published: March 5, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Historical » USA
Nancy Manney is the bright, bookish daughter of one of Beaufort's most prominent families who longs to experience the world outside their small seaside town. She finds a kindred spirit in the adventurous young family tutor, Charles French. The only thing standing in their way is her father's pride and determination that she marry into one of the state's leading families.
The White House
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 10,260. Language: English. Published: November 17, 2011 . Categories: Fiction » Historical » General
(5.00 from 1 review)
Two women reach for happiness amid the dangers of an eighteenth century colony. Annie Simpson is captured by Blackbeard and taken to an inn called The White House. There she meets Lizzie Poole, the innkeeper's daughter who longs for happiness of her own. Based on the legend of the Hammock House in Beaufort, North Carolina.