M.M. Paquin's Blog

Normally I post about books, characters, literature in general. Today I am taking a slightly different road. On my way home this morning, I heard an absolutely awe-inspiring thing....A new trend has begun, started in a school in England and crossing the globe.The phrase "Best Friend(s)" has been banned in certain schools. Now, if you are anything like me, you are going to want to read that a second time and let it sink in. Go ahead, I will wait....Ready? Yes, you read that correctly. Children in some schools will no longer be allowed to refer to another child as their best friend, all in the interest of inclusivity. While this may sound like a trivial thing, I believe that it may have further reaching implications than those that are immediately apparent. Some will say, "But it is just a phrase what difference does it make?" Well yes, it is just a phrase. But by banning this are we unintentionally hindering the formation of the bonds of friendship that can be derived from it? Does a child of ten or twelve realize on a subconscious level that even though we don't say it, it is still true? I don't fully believe that. I think that the stating of a fact at that age has some bearing on whether it is seen as truth. To say that it is in the name of inclusivitiy means that on some level the stating of said fact breeds exclusivity. Maybe, maybe not. While we all form certain bonds and friendships throughout our lives, there are those that transcend the traditional lifespan of such things and become lasting, enduring. I met my best friend in the seventh grade. I had attended the same school since first grade, and in a small class we had all known each other forever. Friendships were made, and bonds formed, but they were ones bred of traversing the waters of primary school as unit. On an intellectual level I know that she started school with us at the beginning of seventh grade, but for the life of me when I think back I can't remember actually meeting her. When I delve back into the recesses of my mind, it is like she was always there. There is no real "beginning". There is no first hello or introduction in my memory. Whether this is a testament to my terrible memory, or the unbreakable bonds of friendship I do not know, but it doesn't really matter. What I do remember is that at some point, one of us said "this is my best friend", and it was life altering. Take a moment and think back to the first time your husband, wife, significant other etc. said "I love you". If the feeling was reciprocated, what did you feel? Some call it a sense of rightness, some call it a warm feeling, a moment of clarity, or maybe it was just awkward(that's okay too!). I call it a trigger, the bonds of fate snapping into place telling you are where you are supposed to be, right at the moment you are supposed to be there. While "best friends" is not "I love you," it is the same affirmation of a shared fate, a bond in its infancy.Our friendship has spanned decades. Love and loss, birth and death, heart wrenching agony and spellbinding happiness, marriage, divorce, the good, the bad and the ugly. We have a shared history that never needs an explanation. There were times we didn't talk much, especially through my "bad years"(her words!), but when I was ready to get my life together she was waiting patiently to guide me back. We've planned weddings together, and funerals. She feels like she grew up in my household, and I feel I grew up in hers. Our families are extensions of each other. She is the keeper of my deepest secrets, and I of hers; we will take them to our graves. My children call her Auntie. Over the decades, my best friend became my sister, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Social media has made it easier to reconnect with people from our past, and I am happy to say that I still maintain some contact with people that I met around the same time, and as an adult I have formed close friendships, but it is not the same. I don't know their middle story, the years before the social media age. It may have been told to me, but I don't know it because I wasn't there. But I know hers and she knows mine because it is Ours. Every memory that we share is another thread in our story, and what a story it is. I don't know how our story began, but I can tell you it's first defining moment. It was that triggering, that moment when the bonds of fate snapped into place, acknowledging that we were best friends. I can't say for sure if we would be where we are today if that hadn't happened, but I can say that it did, and I am grateful for it. Those two words spoken 25+ years ago were the start of an unbreakable bond. I know that I never have to face the storm alone, and she knows that it is me and her against the world, always.In a world where compromise is a word used less often and relationships fail far more frequently than they last, should we be teaching our children not to form these special bonds because we need to include everyone? Or should we be teaching them that some bonds are once in a lifetime and they should cherish every moment, every bond that they make, and hope that they find their person, their best friend? I know what I would choose for my children, how about you?~MP.S. As always, I would love to hear your thoughts/stories. Feel free to leave a comment on my website, Facebook and/or Twitter.

In 5 days, The Mark of the Fae: The Gateway will go live on Amazon.  In 5 days, the inner workings of my mind will be put on the internet for all to see.  In 5 days, I will bare part of my soul to the world.  In 5 days, my brain will probably explode.  When I set the date three months ago, it seemed like a lifetime away.  There was so much to be done, so much to focus my mind on, that the reality of what I was doing did not fully sink in.  Today is a different story.  I have done what needed to be done, and the time is fast approaching.  While a small part of me feels some fear and insecurity, and there is an occasional churning in my stomach, the larger part of me is excited.  Is that tummy churning really fear?  I don't think that it is.  If I am to be honest, any fear that I have felt is vastly outweighed by the excitement currently coursing through my veins.  Do I think that everyone who reads The Gateway will love it as much as I do?  No.  While the vast majority of my mind is comprised of fantasy worlds, I am not delusional.  I know that not everyone is going to like my work, and that is okay.  It makes me better at what I do.  It makes me dig deeper, work harder, learn more.  After all, this journey we call life is all about learning, and I hope to never stop learning new things.  I wrote a blog post, my very first one, several months ago.  It was entitled: "Writing the book was the easy part", and truer words were never spoken.  The past few months have been a storm of marketing, editing, Twitter, Facebook, and blogging.  There were many times I thought that I was on the crazy train, going full speed ahead, with no end in sight.  Here is the kicker;  I wouldn't change a thing.  Not ONE. SINGLE. SECOND.   It was crazy and scary.  There were times I definitely thought to myself "I don't know if I can do this."  But I can, and I did.   So the next time you think "I don't know if I can do this", remember, you can, and you will.  In 5 days, I will share a piece of me that I have kept closely guarded, and it feels amazing.  Should you choose to join in the adventure of The Gateway, I hope you love it as much as I do; but if you don't, that's okay.  Please reach out and let me know why.  Who better to learn from than the audience that is so very important to me.  In 5 days...Let the adventure begin!Yours,M.M.Paquin

Do you ever wonder what it would be like to talk to the characters?  Look no more, I caught up with the main character in The Mark of the Fae: The Gateway, Shaylah Derry. She agreed to sit down with me and answer a few questions.Me: Let's start simple.  Tell me a bit about yourself.Shaylah:  I'm 17, almost 18.  I was born in Breen, Oregon and have lived there my whole life.  I love animals and reading.  My best friend is Brina Hallan and we have been friends since kindergarten.  I don't really know what else to say, there really isn't anything exciting about me.Me:  I'm sure that isn't true.  You are 17, graduating high school.  What are your plans for the future?  Are you going to college?Shaylah: I just graduated.  I am going to college.  I want to be a doctor someday, and I can't wait to get out of Breen and see the world.  Small town life just isn't for me.  I want excitement and adventure!  There has to be more out there than this little town.  Me:  Well, it can't be all bad.  Tell me about your favorite place at home.  Is there somewhere you go that makes you want to stay in Breen?Shaylah: There really isn't much that can make me want to stay here, but as for my favorite place?  Well, I guess that would be my room.  I have a window seat, where I spend a lot of time reading.  It overlooks the forest in the back yard.  We have a fence up, and this is one of the only places that I can see over the fence.  I'm not suppose to go near the forest, but there is something about it that just draws me in. Everyone else around here avoids it, but I can't help it.  There is just something magical about the natural beauty of it.  I think that is what I will miss the most when I leave, other than my family, of course. Me:  Only your family?  What about friends?  Is there anyone that you will miss other than your family?Shaylah:  Well, Brina is my best friend, and I will miss her.  We do plan to stay in touch though.  I don't think that I could go a week without talking to her, let alone years while we are away.  She makes life lighter, if you know what I mean.  She just blurts out the first thing that comes to mind, and can make any situation better.  She's a bit crazy, but that is what I love most about her.Me:  She sounds like fun.  What about someone special?  Is there a boyfriend in the picture?Shaylah:  Well, there was.  I dated Evan for a few years in high school, but I broke up with him at the beginning of the year.  He had no intention of leaving Breen, and I don't want to stay.  We were just headed in different directions I think.  It made it a little awkward for our friends, but we got through it.  I did meet someone recently {blush}.  I think maybe there is something there, but I don't want to jinx it!  And Brina is dating his best friend, so maybe it's meant to be, ya know?  I'll keep you posted, haha.Me:  Well, I wish you lots of luck with this mystery boy.  I'll be looking for updates!  I appreciate you sitting down with me, and can't wait to see where your journey takes you.  Shaylah:  It was my pleasure.  Are you intrigued? I am.  To find out more about Shaylah and her friends (and the mystery boy) you will have to read The Mark of the Fae: The Gateway available on Amazon October 1, 2017. If you have any other questions for Shaylah, comment below or send me an email and I'll see if I can get you an answer.  M.M. Paquin

This is one of the most frequent questions that I am asked.  My love affair with books started when I learned how to read.  From the first time I picked up a book and got lost in the story, I was hooked.  Reading has been and always will be an escape for me.  All of the things going on around me melt into the background as I lose myself in a world that someone has created.  I don't know what the experience is like for you, but here is what it is like for me: When I read, I see myself in the world that the author has created (at least if it is a good book).  I go on journeys with characters, I am privy to their conversations and thoughts as though I were right there with them, and I see their world as if it is my world too.  I am no longer a thirty-something woman sitting in her living room, I am an adventurer, a vampire, a fairy, a shifter, a detective...whatever the case may be, it takes me away.  I have traveled to a host of places, real and imagined, through the world of books.  I have hopefully instilled this into my children as well.  It has helped me cope with some of the most difficult times in my life, and been there through the best.  It has been passed down through generations in my family, and hopefully will continue to do so for many more.   So, back to my question, "What are you reading?"  Here is what I am reading right now, EKO (The NINE series, book #1) by Loren WalkerThis is a fantastic read.  I finished this book last week, and am excited to get into the second book, Nadi.  I recently had the pleasure of meeting Loren, and am so excited to continue on with her series.  She does a great job of building her world and characters.  I could not wait to get to the next page. Thank you, Loren, for taking me to a new world.  For more information, visit lorenwalker.net, or click on the book titles above.  Although my stack of TBR books is currently touching the ceiling, I would love to know what you are books you are reading and what you think about them.  Use the comments section to answer my question to you:What are you reading?M.M.Paquin

What's in a name?  When a character comes to me, you would think that they would come equipped with a name.  You would be wrong, at least part of the time.  Sometimes, there is this vision, this imprint of a character.  I know what they look like, I know their personality, and I know the role they will play.  I do not, however, know their name.  No matter how much they speak to me, the name is for me to decide.  It is a painstaking process, painful in that I know it has to be just right.  For instance, Finn was not Finn for the first ten chapters of The Gateway.  The more I typed the original name, the more I disliked it.  So I changed it, as is my prerogative as the author.  He liked it better as well, as his character developed and thrived with his new name.  Shaylah has been so since the beginning, and will be until the end.  I had no choice in the matter, that was how she introduced herself to me in the recesses of my mind.  If only they were all so easy.A new character has been hovering at the edges of my brain.  Until recently he was shrouded in shadows, and I could not see him clearly.  Recently, he stepped out of the shadows and presented himself to me.  There is only one problem, he has no name.  Well, that's not entirely true, he actually has several.  I'm just not sure which one suites him best.  Obviously, I cannot give much away.  I cannot tell you his appearance, his role in the book, or his background.  What I can tell you are the names that I am contemplating for him.  I am putting it out there in the universe in the hopes that you, the reader, can help me.  Leave a comment on my website,  comment on Facebook, or vote on Twitter and let me know what your choice would be.  I hope that you will take a minute to let me know your thoughts.  I have listed the options here.  KANE          LUCAS         MALACHI        DEVLINYours,M. M. Paquin

Time.  Time is a funny thing.  I wrote earlier that writing the book was the easy part, and that becomes more apparent to me with every day that passes.  It took me sixteen months to write The Mark of the Fae: The Gateway.  That seems like such a long time, but it was a labor of love, and I enjoyed every second (or at least the majority of them).  Now that the book is “done”, it needs to be prepared.  By that I mean all of the formatting that needs to be done.  As the release date approaches (the one I hold out hope of moving up), it seems like this part of the process will take forever.  Every time I think that I am done, then realize it is not quite right, it feels like I am running out of time. Do you know the scenes in movies where they speed everything up?  The character is sitting there doing something, and in the background you see the sun and moon rise and set, yet the character doesn’t move?  That’s me.  I sit in my office, and I swear that days go by before I come up for air.  I know that is not really happening, but you get what I am saying, right?Now, back to time being a funny thing; as this mystical experience of time flying is happening, I want to WRITE!  Shaylah and her friends are traipsing through my brain on their adventures, and I am setting margins.   There are days that it feels like I will never get to the point where I can go back to where my heart really lies, in actually writing the book.  Some days Shaylah is in my head, yelling at me, asking when we are going to get on with it.  She feels ignored, and she does not like that one bit.  I have to agree with her, I don’t care for it either, but I will do what needs to be done and she will just have to wait it out.  According the the current voice of reason in the house, my husband, throwing the computer out the window will not solve this problem, so I refrain from doing that and just yell at it instead.  Come to find out, this does not help either, but it does make me feel better.  All of this being said, time and I are not friends right now.  We are currently not speaking.  Do you feel the same way?  Leave me a comment and let me know about your adventures with time.  M.M.Paquin

I sit here on this rainy Friday in New England working on my website, begging my teenagers for help with this thing called technology, and I think to myself "writing the book was the easy part."  Now I know most people will say that writing a book is not easy...well no, it isn't.  Not in the traditional sense. But the words, the worlds, and the characters are.  Let me explain....The worlds that my books take place in, the characters they portray...They are a part of me. They tell me their story, so that I, in turn, can tell you.  It is like a living, breathing thing.   Getting lost in the world of imagination is nothing new for me.  I have devoured books since I was a child, and the experience for me is all consuming.  I can picture myself there, with the characters, on the epic journeys, feeling their heartache, joy, accomplishments and failures as if they were my own.  The difference between reading a book and writing one?  I have to put pen to paper and translate it so that the reader has the same experience.  And I truly hope that you do.  Now, the hard part.  The part that comes after.  I have to have someone else edit.  I am too close to the story, the characters, I am not, nor will I ever be, impartial to it or them.  This is one of the most stressful parts.  Not everyone is going to like it, and I have to take that into consideration.  I have to be willing to accept criticism, and it is hard.  This by far is the hardest part.  Knowing that there are people that will not connect with the characters, that they cannot immerse themselves in this world I have created.  The next part comes with the technology.  I am an author, my mind does its best work in fantasy.  Now I have to create something real.  Something to invite others into my world.  It has to be done, but man, it is not easy.  What will people see when they look at my website?  An author who loves what she does, or someone who is lost in the minute details of marketing and technology.  I truly hope that it is the former, and you anticipate the release of the first book in The Mark of the Fae series as much as I do.  Coming soon to an eReader near you, The Gateway.  M. M. Paquin