A STORM OF INFINITE BEAUTY is now available! Thank you to all my amazing readers who have already posted online reviews. I appreciate it so much and it makes a world of difference in the success of a book. If you haven’t read the book yet, you can read the prologue for FREE here on the blog. If you prefer to listen to your books, it’s also available in audio.

And check out this snippet from my interview with The Reading Cafe:

TRC: When writing a storyline, do the characters direct the writing or do you direct the characters?

JM: For me, it’s a little of both. I usually have the broad plot points figured out before I begin writing a novel, so I know the main events that are going to happen, but within each scene, and while getting from one major plot point to the next, the characters lead me there. Sometimes I’m not sure what will happen within a scene until the characters start talking and interacting.

TRC: The mark of a good writer is to pull the reader into the storyline so that they experience the emotions along with the characters. What do you believe a writer must do to make this happen?  Where do you believe writers fail in this endeavor?

JM: At the most basic level, I think a good writer needs to write cleanly and clearly, and that’s where craft is important….

Read the rest at The Reading Cafe