Ask the Author: Marti Ziegler
Answered Questions (4)
Marti Ziegler
I’ve always loved telling stories. I suppose that stems from an overactive imagination, which I’ve always had in spades. Like any craft that involves creativity, one starts to feel twitchy after going too long without expressing that creativity. I definitely notice when I’ve neglected my powers of imagination for far too long. My mind starts wandering toward possible plots and settings, and I find inspiration for storylines in anything and everything, from music to film to memoirs.
Marti Ziegler
I am constantly astounded by history’s blunders. I discovered the source material for my novel by happenstance over a decade ago in an Alabama bookstore. I was browsing the American history section and read the spine of an unassuming volume entitled, “North Across the River” by Ruth Beaumont Cook. It chronicled the ordeals of Georgia millworkers imprisoned during the American Civil War. I read the description on the back and immediately realized the potential was there for an interesting novel. Over the next couple of years, I piecemealed my own research with what I had learned from Ms. Cook’s history book and came up with the first draft of Clingstone. American history is riddled with conflicting testimonies and poor record-keeping, and so I dedicated a couple of more years to editing, a second draft, more research, copy-editing, and eventually a final draft. History truly is stranger than fiction, and I consider myself fortunate that I stumbled across that unassuming paperback in that Alabama bookstore all those years ago; Clingstone would not have existed without “North Across the River.”
Marti Ziegler
I’ve just completed my second historical romance novel Watermark, and so I’m due for a long vacation! It usually takes me about 1 ½ to 2 years to complete a novel because of all the historical research involved. I’m not sure what my next book will be about, but rest assured, there will be a next one!
Marti Ziegler
I view writer’s block much the same as I view insomnia: I don’t fight it. Instead, I revel in my many other interests. I’m not terribly bothered when my writing suffers from a lack of inspiration. I spend my time reading authors I love, binge-watching favorite shows, landscaping my yard, and socializing with friends and family. Writer’s block never seems like a curse, rather a benign hiatus. Eventually any obstacles to my writing falls away. When I’m meant to tell a new story again, I somehow always find my way back.
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