Author Spotlight: Margi Preus
Margi Preus is a New York Times bestselling author of the Newbery Honor Book HEART OF A SAMURAI and other novels and picture books for young readers, including the Minnesota Book Award-winning WEST OF THE MOON and the Midwest Booksellers Choice Award book THE CLUE IN THE TREES, part of the Enchantment Lake mystery series. Her books have won multiple awards, been honored as ALA/ALSC Notables, selected as an NPR Backseat Book Club pick, chosen for community reads, translated into several languages, and have been sold for Japanese stage and television. In ordinary times, Margi enjoys traveling, speaking, and visiting schools all over the world. She is currently offering virtual presentations and workshops.
Q: Your very first novel was HEART OF A SAMURAI. What sparked its writing?
A: An ancient temple bell, a trip to Japan, a librarian friend, and the book SHIPWRECKED by Rhoda Blumberg. All these things converged to introduce me to the remarkable life of Nakahama Manjiro, the first Japanese person to come to America. I was inspired by his spirit, his unlikely friendship with a whaling captain, and his message of peace between nations, and I felt his was a tale worth telling.
Q: What was it like to win the Newbery Honor and hit the New York Times bestseller list your first time published?
A: Mind-blowing! I was so thrilled just to have gotten my novel published that I didn’t think beyond that. In fact, I was so convinced that no one would ever even read the book, much less give it any awards, that I had not attempted writing anything else. (I was teaching and directing a theater company, so it’s not like I was twiddling my thumbs.) More importantly, the Newbery Honor and bestselling status gave me the confidence to take myself seriously as a writer.
Q: What is your writing routine?
A: Thanks to the pandemic, I actually kind of have a routine. Otherwise, I rely on having a story that has so taken over my psyche it requires me to compulsively work on it, whenever and wherever. Nowadays, though, I often go out to my writing house in the morning—now that it’s cold I have to make a fire in the woodstove to warm the place up first. At some point I eat lunch and take a hike with my dog and maybe go back to work or get side-tracked by something else after that. (see the next question)
Q: What lies at the heart of all your writing?
A: Questions, probably. Mostly unanswerable ones: Why do some people rise above adversity while others are crushed by it? What makes some people willing to risk their lives to help others? What is our responsibility toward one another and the world in which we live? How do our choices shape who we become? Questions lie at the heart of every story—and in that way, every story is a mystery.
Q: Do you have any advice for beginning writers?
A: Read, of course. But read like a writer—the first time for pleasure, and the next time to analyze how that writer has made your heart pound, or the tears flow, or made you stay up way past your bedtime because you just have to keep turning the pages. How has that writer created that kind of bewitchery with just some lines and squiggles on paper? Pick it apart until you see how they did it. The real magicians are so good at it you can’t figure it out. Some of us keep trying to, anyway!
Keep an eye out for Margi Preus's forthcoming books, LILY LEADS THE WAY (Candlewick, 2022) and SNOWSHOE KATE (Abrams, 2022). For more info about Margi and her upcoming works, visit www.margipreus.com.
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