Featured Interview With Maggie Toner
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised all over Canada as the child of a military family. I also married into the military which makes me a gypsy of sorts. I currently live outside of Ottawa with my husband, a dog, two cats and my four beloved horses.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I remember writing stories very early on. A high school English Teacher told my parents that I should become a writer. So of course, logically, I became an accountant. I have continued to write all my life and have produced not only my first book but many short stories and blog posts.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
John Irving, Margaret Atwood, Khaled Hosseini, Michael Ondaatje, Harper Lee, Peter S Beagle
Tell us a little about your latest book?
I started writing my book because I kept having recurring dreams that basically make up the first of five sections. As I wrote the dreams would change and lead me onward.
The result is a Historical literary fantasy in five parts. Four brothers die a violent death in early Iron Age Orkney, in the very north of Scotland. The energy of their passing is so strong that they spend four more lifetimes together, changing bodies and locations. The book travels through Scotland, Ireland and Canada. The reader should recognize many of the characters from section to section. In each lifetime, the characters are more complex, and the interactions between them are more complicated.
The book took me three years to write, including extensive research into each period. Several of the characters are real people. Try googling Maurice Fitzgerald, the 9th Earl of Desmond; Alasdair McDonnell, the first Laird of Keppoch; and LCol John Bly, who built the Rideau Canal from Ottawa to Kingston in Ontario, Canada.
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