Thursday, November 6, 2014

Author Marguerite Madden's World of Books

I have a confession to make:  I never liked reading as a child. I just wasn't interested in reading. My mother tried to get me interested by finding books I might like and I did find a few that kept my interest but it wasn't until I was way past adulthood that I could not stop reading books.  Marguerite Madden's book Once Upon a Western Way would have been perfect for me to read as a teen.... She also writes non-fiction of her battle for surviving cancer. The other is a teaching experience from a horses point of view and the other is an adventure story of two children's experience.

   Once Upon a Western Way

 In a world where computers rule over everyday life, two lonely children find an old diary. It is an ancient relic left behind in the ruins of the Western Empire, a civilization long extinct. 
Young Susan finds herself moved far away from her childhood home, and betrothed to the prince of a neighboring kingdom. She vows to hate her new husband, but when a destructive force destroys her home and family when they are young adults, he is the only one she can turn to.  
Joseph fell madly in love with her the moment their eyes first met. But her prickly attitude told him that he would have to work hard to win her over. And when circumstances threw them together, he would give up the blood of his loins  to keep her safe. 
Together, are they strong enough to defeat the most unlikely of foes, and free their people from slavery  
forever? Or will they simply vanish in the hourglass of time, two small grains of sand lost forever in history?

                           Keeping a Backyard Horse

 Hay is for horses! Everyone knows that, but do you know how much hay they need? Or how much water? Did you know your horse can talk to you with his ears? Or that he can sleep standing up?

Follow along with Athena the horse as she explains the basics of keeping a horse in your backyard. She’ll teach you the basic necessities of caring for your equine friend, from what kind of fencing you can use, to tips and tricks for keeping water thawed in winter weather, and even fun stuff you can do with your horse. Keeping a backyard horse can be fairly simple, and even if you have a tight budget, it can be done!


















 

This is Markie's latest book:

                           My Butterfly Cancer

 Cancer. It's one of the things we most dread to hear about ourselves or a family member. Many people will think it's the end of the line for them.
Mrs. Madden tells the story of her recent battle with leukemia (AML specifically), and the struggles that she and her family experienced during this tragic time.
Mrs. Madden will donate 20% of her proceeds from the sale of this book to cancer charities, her way of giving back to patients in desperate need.
Find out how her battle with cancer led her to become an independently-published author, bringing her a sense of fulfillment she thought had been lost forever.




 Marguerite Madden "Markie"

 Marguerite was born August 19, 1975 in Midland, TX. She has written most of her life. She is the author of Once Upon a Western Way, a young adult science fiction/fantasy novel, Keeping a Backyard Horse, a self-help guide to caring for horses even on a budget, and My Butterfly Cancer, an autobiography that details her fight against leukemia and how cancer made her a published author. She currently lives with her family in a small southeastern Missouri town, has three dogs and a horse. She is working on a crime romance called Triple Heist, due out summer of 2015, and Fang and Claw, book One in the Undead Unit Series, due out December 2015.


 I had the chance to interview Markie on her work:

1. Tell me a little about yourself!
 I'm a 39 year old, married, mother of two teenage daughters. I live in the small farm town of Fisk, Missouri (population 326!), and I have three rescue dogs and my horse, Athena, who's featured on the cover of my book Keeping a Backyard Horse.
 
2. Wow--that is great you rescue dogs. Tell me about your latest book. What inspired you to write it? Where did you get the ideas for your plot and characters?
 My latest book is My Butterfly Cancer, my memoir detailing my battle with cancer, and how the "butterfly effect" theory started an avalanche in my life that led to me becoming a published author.
3. That sounds fascinating and scary. When did your book come out, and where can readers find it?
 My Butterfly Cancer came out in September, 2014, and is available in print at CreateSpace, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and digitally at Kindle. Soon, it will be available at Smashwords, and as an audiobook through Audible and iTunes as well.
4. Great!! What distinguishes your book from others?
 This is the brutally honest memoir of a cancer patient; I held nothing back even when it came to the most embarrassing situations I faced and the raw emotion I felt when I thought I was about to die.
5. What would you like your readers to take away from your book? What emotions and thoughts do you hope to invoke?
 I hope to inspire others who have cancer, or other life-threatening illness, and encourage them to continue to fight, that cancer doesn't have to be the end of the line and they can still live full, rich lives if they strive to do so.
6. Are you planning a sequel, or another book?
 I have two books in the works, slated for release next summer and winter. Triple Heist is a crime novel, and Fang and Claw is Book One in the Undead Unit Series, a crime/paranormal series. I'm also working to get both Keeping a Backyard Horse (currently in production) and Once Upon a Western Way (accepting auditions) converted to audiobook format at ACX.
7. What genre do you place your book in? 
 I have two non-fiction, and Once Upon a Western Way is a romantic fantasy.

8. How did you publish? Are you independent or do you have a publisher?
 At the urging of a high school friend, I am independently published through Smashwords, CreateSpace, and Kindle Direct Publishing.
9 .What's your marketing plan? Do you use social media to help you? Do you have any ideas for marketing that you'd like to share?
I spend hours a day, whenever I can, utilizing social media to help promote my books. I've also used a few paid ads through Twitter and Facebook when I have special promotions, and I'm on several promotional websites like www.askdavid.com, the Wise Grey Owl based in the UK, Words at Spangaloo, Awesome Gang, and several others. I've also organized an author blog interview that's showing great promise!
10. Are you a member of any writing/reading groups?
 I'm a member at GoodReads, Shelfari, and Scribophile, and I have author profiles at Kindlemojo and Smashwords.
11. What other links would you like me to post?
Universal Book Links
Once Upon a Western Way http://geni.us/26Fb  YouTube: http://youtu.be/0VJIEFC1MdE
Keeping a Backyard Horse http://geni.us47ot    YouTube: http://youtu.be/NbNwM8SOIq0
My Butterfly Cancer http://geni.us/3Xdr    YouTube: http://youtu.be/xLHqEAuxYXs

 
Thank you very much, Markie for answering all my questions.  I'm sure all three books are a great interest to many different readers out there.  Good  Luck.

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