Margaret Daley has been writing for twenty-five years and loves to tell stories. When she’s not writing, or teaching, she loves to read, travel and go to lunch and a movie with a friend.

Magaret is a gifted teacher and mentor, and I’m proud to call her my friend. Welcome!

Tell us a little about your family and your call to write.
I have a husband and one son who now has his own family. He has two adorable stepdaughters and is expecting his first child this summer. It is great being a grandmother.

I didn’t start out planning to be a writer. I went to school to be a teacher. I teach high school students with learning disabilities English. Writing just sort of happened. I’ve always loved to weave stories. I used to as a child playing with my dolls. Then one day I thought I would try writing one of those stories down on paper. Ever since that day I’ve been writing. When I think about where my books come from, I can’t really say. They just happen. I think it’s a God thing. The whole process amazes me at times.

Tell me a about your recent contracts and up coming releases.
I signed a three-book contract at the end of August, and then in November I was offered the third book in a Love Inspired Suspense continuity series. I will be busy for the next six months completing those contracts. I have finished the first book on the three-book contract. It will be out in October 2007 and is called Buried Secrets. It is a Love Inspired Suspense. Right now I’m working on my second book called Heart of a Family, the second one in my Fostering by Love series for Love Inspired. The first one will be out this April called Once Upon a Family.

When and how did you get your first “writing break.”
I went to a conference where an editor wanted to see my work. I sent it to her. She didn’t buy the book, but she recommended me to my first agent. Not long after that I sold my first book to Silhouette Romance in 1981.

What do you write and why this genre?
I write inspirational romances and romantic suspense books. I think love is what makes the world go around. At the heart of all great stories is usually a love story. I write romantic suspense because my favorite books to read are adventures and suspense books. They are exhausting to plot and difficult to write, but they are my favorite stories to write.

What do you hope to accomplish through your novels?
To entertain and share my faith

Do you think it’s possible to give yourself fully to raising children, writing, working full time, and keeping in shape?
No, something usually has to give. While raising my son, I worked full time as a teacher and a writer. Not easy to do. And in the middle of all that trying to keep in shape is very difficult to do. There isn’t enough time in the day to do all I need and want to do. I try not to be too hard on myself when I can’t get something done the way I want, but I’m not always successful in accomplishing that.

How do you balance being a mom, wife, and writer?
Sometimes not well. There are times I feel pulled in too many directions because I want to do everything and do it well.

How do you position yourself to HEAR God’s voice when all the noises of life are swirling around you?
I try to have some quiet time with God. I often prayer when I first wake up while I’m still lying in bed. What I am afraid of is that I will miss something important that He is saying to me. But then if it is important, He’ll repeat it until I hear.

If you do feel your priorities slipping, what do you do to get back on track?
I try to slow down (take a day off) and take a deep breath.

Has there ever been a time God told you to set aside your writing to focus on other areas of your life? If so, how did you handle that?
I had a long dry spell and during that time I went back to school and got my masters. I didn’t sell and I didn’t write as much as I did before. I didn’t give up on writing. I just put it on the back burner to further my education. I feel an important part of my ministry is my teaching and helping teens who need it.

When did you find the time to write, and did you ever feel like you neglected your child when you write?
I’m sure there were times I have neglected my child. When my son was little, I would write when he slept which sometimes wasn’t long. I learned to write in short snatches of time because that was all I got.

Tomorrow I’m babysitting my two granddaughters, but I’m so looking forward to it after spending five intense days writing. I need the break.

How did you handle interruptions in your writing life?
As calmly as possible. As a teacher I’ve learned to expect the unexpected. I like order, but I’ve had to learn to go with the flow as a teacher and a writer. It hasn’t always been an easy lesson, though.

How did you get back into the flow of writing after you’ve been interrupted?
You just have to plunge back in. I read what I wrote last, or if I have finished a book, I start developing a new one. At first it is slow go while I’m coming up with characters and a plot.

What advice would you give to writing moms who are where you were six months ago?
Keep writing. Perseverance is so important in the writing business.
There are a lot of things you can’t control, but you can control writing the best book possible for you at that moment. If you have done the best job you can, then that is all you can ask of yourself.

Is there anything else you’d like to share?
As much as I wish it wasn’t, rejection is a part of this business. I have received many of them over the years, and I will continue to receive them. Allow it to get to you for a day, then put the rejection in a drawer and move on. Work on your current project or start a new one, but continue to write.

Thank you so much for sharing with me and all the other writing moms. You’re an inspiration and encouragement to us!

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