Interview with Michael Mardel

Published 2013-08-29.
Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I grew up in a seaside suburb of Melbourne. I have written a short story of a boy who holidayed at Ebden House, an historic place at the end of our street. Firstly, I incorporated the story in Computer Walkabout for grade 6 whereby students practice typing and learn about computers with lots of short cuts thrown in. Secondly, I incorporated the story into a textbook for grade 6 called Storyteller Walkabout. Students are shown how to write characterisation and how to conduct an interview for the Australian Curriculum..
When did you first start writing?
I suppose I should say that I started writing at school. This was followed by work for university with a poem or two thrown in. I wrote my first novel for the 50,000 word November competition in 2001 and have incorporated parts of the story into my Australian Short Stories for Boys (& girls). This was published in 2011. I have a published poem from a trip to Western Australia where I now reside.
What's the story behind your latest book?
My latest book has a working title of A Journal of Paul O'Leary: from Melbourne to Broome and back again. It follows my story of packing up and going 4,000 kms away to be with my wife. The protagonist is 10 years old and his father is based on me and his mother on my wife. Broome is a frontier town on the coast of Western Australia, 3,000 kms from Perth. I've already written in his joining a tennis club and will add his adventures with the Scouts. The family go on weekend and day trips while the dry season is present and there's a few adventures with organised tours and a major incident.
What motivated you to become an indie author?
It seemed like the way to go after rejects from local publishers and children's publishers in the States. I have found the journey fairly easy though expensive at times, e.g. designing a cover. On the whole, I found Catherine Ryan Howard's book Get Printed to be invaluable. I even started a blog though one guru suggested not doing one until one had a following.
How has Smashwords contributed to your success?
I am always pleasantly surprised to get a payment every quarter as I have not promoted my books. Whatever they do, it works for me though I would like to know how to do more - hence this interview.
What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
Seeing a paperback copy, getting orders, having editors approve of my work.
What do your fans mean to you?
Fans mean a lot as they obviously think my work is a big deal. The proof is in the pudding if they buy my new book.
What are you working on next?
I'm brainstorming the story of a nun so it's adult fiction. It's past history of life in a convent that is no longer standing. Medieval practices are carried on in the Novitiate while they're disappearing in the professed communities. We follow one nun as she comes to terms with living in community with a dour Novice Mistress who has only two years to go. Recreation is a favourite time to let one's hair down, figuratively speaking, as the postulants and novices are training to be ladies as well as brides of Christ. There will be plenty to entertain with our protagonist playing the Lord High Executioner from the Mikado for a very select audience of parents and nuns from two communities. And then there's the two week's holiday in the bush at Beechworth where more drama unfolds.
Who are your favorite authors?
JK Rowling, Catherine Ryan Howard.
What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
To write. To edit my latest book. To market my work. To check if any orders have come in.
When you're not writing, how do you spend your time?
Watching the tennis on pay TV, shopping, going to the beach to let the dogs off the lead, going to the movies, hanging out with my wife.
How do you discover the ebooks you read?
I'm on a mailing list that delivers mainly free books each day. This morning I read a list of new books and ordered one of them.
Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
Not from school but the one from the November comp. I named it a Seahorse Tale because the main protagonist was a seahorse who adored a mermaid and her alabaster breasts. He doesn't understand why the sailors keep smashing their boats on the rocks. The Rainbow Serpent turns up and the tale wanders round Australia and to a Caribbean island where they retire, with the mermaid holding the seahorse in her mouth.
What is your writing process?
I have a broad outline with conflicts thrown in to keep it interesting and because I learnt that on a Children Writers course. Usually I type straight onto the computer though if I have an idea I will write it out in a notebook. When I was working on the Journal of Paul O'Leary I struggled to keep going. I came up with the idea of doing 1,000 words a day in one hour. I often read a few pages beforehand and once I got going I was over 1,000 words.
Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?
My first recollection is being six years old and reading a reader called Playmates to my father. The word 'suddenly' was a stumbling block and then I got it. My mother said Dad wasn't a good speller so I didn't take after him. We only had one reader for the whole year in grade one and it wasn't until I was in grade five when I could read Enid Blyton's Famous Five. When I was a teacher-librarian, I had a whole library to share with the students and my favourite is The Jelly Bean Queen and the Sad-eyed Monster. The story is about a queen who sails to an island where there is a gloomy monster upstairs. She eventually gets him to smile then laugh and they spend many happy days together.
How do you approach cover design?
I used 99design for about $300. There is a competition amongst the designers and I chose different ones each day for over a week.
What do you read for pleasure?
Murder mysteries.
What is your e-reading device of choice?
Kindle.
What book marketing techniques have been most effective for you?
Marketing to schools.
Describe your desk
Not an inch to spare, printer, router, laptop, notebooks. In a shoebox on the floor are more notebooks, including a dictionary of files and where to find them. Next to that is a folder of invoices from marketing.
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