AN INTERVIEW WITH JOYCE MAGNIN

 

New author, Joyce Magnin’s debut novel, The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow, is garnering lots of great reviews. Joyce has agreed to chat with me about her book, and a few other things.

Welcome, Joyce! I’ve been anticipating this interview for awhile, and I’m thrilled to have you.

Joyce, on your Web site, you state that you’ve known since the third grade that you were a writer. Can you expound on that? How did you feel about it at that age? Did you proudly announce it to everyone? Did you keep it to yourself? Were you surprised at yourself?

My teacher asked us to write a story. I wrote about Martians who come to earth and knock over For Knox because, apparently Martians eat gold. Who knew? She liked my story so much she asked me to go around the whole school and read it to the other grades. By the time I finished my palms had sweated so much on the pencil-written story it was nothing but a blur. But my teacher took me aside and said, "You are gifted. God gave you the gift of words." And that was all it took. I never wanted to do anything else.

Will you share with us about your aversion to elevators?
Uh, small, tight places you can't get out of or control give me the willies. It's like slow motion for me every time and I pray like mad. Big fear to get stranded in an elevator one day. I know it will happen. God likes to teach me lessons that way. So I always make sure I have a book with me when I know I must use one—just in case.

I’ve read that you like needlearts. What type do you like?
Counted cross stitch mostly. I liked pulled-thread techniques. I've been known to spread all my threads or fibers on the floor and just look at them. I love the colors especially hand-dyed fibers.

Please share with us a little about The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow.”
It's a story about a town with some miss-placed priorities and a woman who prays and miracles happen until a stranger calls, and let's just say things go pretty awry then. But it's full of fun and laughter and some sadness. And a prize-winning pumpkin and pie.

How did you come up with this story, and the refreshing character of Agnes?
Uhm, I'm not sure. She just kind of appeared one day. She might be a kind of representation of other things. I really don't know.

All of your characters are unique and quirky. Are they inspired by people you know?
Ha! Sometimes. Let's just say if you were able to step in Mr. Peabody's WayBack Machine and visit the church I grew up in, you'd be going, "Hey he reminds me of so and so in Joyce's book." And my mother was always baking pie and we always had the oddest dogs.

What can we expect from you next, Joyce?
Charlotte Figg Takes Over Paradise will release next fall from Abingdon. It's about a recent widow who sets off to discover meaning in her life and ends up creating quite a stir in a dysfunctional trailer park.

Where can readers find you on the internet?
Joycemagnin.homestead.com
Joycemagnin.blogspot.com
Facebook
Twitter (although I freely admit I don't twitter regularly)

I read your recent blog post about your mom’s memorable phrases. It looks as though she provided a lot of love and laughter for you growing up. Did she in any way inspire your passion for writing?
In a round about way. Mom was an artist and the funniest woman I have ever met, anytime anywhere. And like I said, she was always making pie, could talk to animals and plants, believed in the power of imagination to get you through any of life's problems. I love you Mom.

Thank you so much for stopping by, Joyce. It’s been a pleasure speaking with you, and I wish you all the best with your future projects.
Thank you, Debbie, this was a lot of fun. So glad you thought of me. It was a pleasure, and hey, have a piece of pie today.

If you’d like to win an autographed copy of The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow, just use my contact page, and type “drawing” in the comments box. The deadline to enter is October 24th.

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