Someday Belongs to Us – Author Interview

Kate Caldwell is a 72-year-old romance novelist writing under the nom de plume, Desiree Desire. With more than thirty bestsellers to her credit, Kate is considered an authority on romance. Her personal life, however, has been lacking in the love department for a long time, and she has all but given up hope of finding a true, romantic connection. Her latest series, about a rakish eighteenth-century pirate, has been a struggle. Her struggle with her own creative processes boils over on a stormy night, when Captain Edward Peregrine, a pirate of the Caribbean during the year 1721, begins appearing to her as she sleeps. Convinced that Edward is a figment of her imagination, Kate happily accepts his return visits, and the two collaborate on the first two books of the series. Then, Edward suddenly stops appearing, and Kate is frustrated with her publisher’s demands for the next book.

In desperation, she decides to take a two-week cruise with her granddaughter, Ellie, hoping the chance to relax and watch the waves breaking in the beautiful waters of the Caribbean will reset her creative process. Little did Kate know that troubled waters lay ahead or that she’s in for the adventure of her life, and possibly, true love at long last.

PRAISE FOR MARGIE SEAMAN’S SOMEDAY BELONGS TO US

“A fun and lively read about romance, and the real and imagined adventures of a woman writer cruising through her senior years. Once again, Margie Seaman proves age is no obstacle in this swashbuckling debut novel.” —Lise Olsen, Author of CODE OF SILENCE

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| Stoney Creek Publishing | Amazon |

INTERVIEW WITH MARGIE SEAMAN

Why did you choose to write in your particular genre and sub-genre?

I think the romance genre allows for a lot of latitude in the development of a story. The interplay between the sexes has been a popular subject from as far back as Shakespeare and a writer is not limited in their choice of storyline – it can follow any desired course. I chose a pirate romance because I love tall ships, and it pays homage to my distant relative from the Irish side of my family, Errol Flynn in Captain Blood. As other creative endeavors show, there seems to be an attraction to handsome, sea-faring men who sweep innocent damsels off their feet and into an exciting world of unbridled passion and love.

How did you come up with the book-within-a-book concept?

I wanted to be able to define Kate and Edward in their own time period and life experiences so my readers could better know them. Kate has a life in her time and Edward needed to have the life he led explained as a way to define his character. The concept also worked to add another element of interest as Kate cruises through the Caribbean, visiting some of the same ports that Edward had in his lifetime. This also provided a way to offer historical significance to the area and helped to combine the lives of Kate and Edward who were affected by their time separation.

How long have you been writing?

I had been encouraged all through school and college to become a writer. In my career, I did mostly technical writing for training materials but I did continue to write short narratives. After retiring, I moved into website design and my writing shifted to content text. But I loved making up stories and shared my Grandma Margarita stories with my grandchildren on a regular basis. (As adults, they still talk about them.).

How do you write?

That is an interesting question. I’m a visual writer which means that I see my stories in my head just like a movie. These “visions” usually come around 2:00 a.m. which can make for a short night but after viewing the story, I free-write it on my computer while it is still fresh in my mind.

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

I always thought it was because I loved making up plots for stories, but after writing this book, I think what I like most is the opportunity to meet my characters and spend time with them as they go through their experiences. After getting through the first couple of chapters, my characters were defined enough in my mind that they gave me ideas on plot twists or turns. We spent many nights together laughing, crying, and just enjoying the wonderful things that were going on in the book.

As with most authors, Kate probably is an exaggerated extension of my personality to some degree—either the way I am or the way I want to be (thin!) Her story was easy to write, and as I spent more time with Edward, he shared more of his story with me. As the book progressed, I wanted to make sure that each of my characters was happy with the way I had presented them. It was a very personal experience but a happy one. What I find scary though is putting my thoughts out there for the public to read. There’s always the nagging fear that people won’t like what I’ve written and then I have let my characters down. I know, that sounds weird even to me!

What were you trying to convey about how our society treats older people?

I have always said that birthdays don’t age people; society ages them. Many maturing adults have noticed that after age fifty or so, they feel like they are being looked down on by younger members of the population as becoming obsolete. There are constant jokes about forgetfulness or an inability to keep up with the fast-paced technology of today. I feel older people buy into it and in self-defense, there is a tendency to adopt a “surrender to the myth” attitude. The truth is that only a small percentage of people over sixty-five have a form of dementia or Alzheimer’s. If a person is healthy and has a good blood flow to the brain, mental acuity is not diminished. People should embrace their age and know that every day you are alive provides new experiences and new opportunities to learn. Personally, the only time I feel old is when I catch a glance in the mirror as I step out of the shower. Get me away from a mirror and I’m not eighty-five—more like thirty-seven!

How does your book relate to your faith?

My grandson is an avid reader and we frequently share books for the purpose of discussion. He gave me a book by C. S. Lewis who wrote about using our natural gifts to glorify God. That resonated with me and probably provided the kick in the backside I needed to get started on my first novel at age 84! If, God had given me the gift of storytelling, then I really wasn’t looking forward to standing at the pearly gates and explaining to St. Peter why I was too lazy to show appreciation of that gift by applying the effort it takes to write.

This was your debut novel. Can we expect to see more?

If readers like my story, you can expect to see as many as I have time left to write. Kate and Edward have a story that cannot be completed in one novel—their love is endless. I already have the outline ready for the next in the cruise series. Kate will write her next novel as she enjoys an Alaskan cruise with our new friends from the Someday Belongs to Us book. I have so many ideas floating around in my head that I might have to live to be one hundred to get them all completed.

MARGIE SEAMAN is an eighty-five-year-old, late-blooming author of her debut novel Someday Belongs to Us. After a forty-year career in marketing, she switched to a new venture in website design where she has been the president of Citation Solutions for the past fourteen years. Margie also writes a travel blog for seniors, The Graytripper, that encourages people to get out and explore their world. Margie is the mother of three, grandmother of seven, and great-grandmother of three. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston and lives in Houston, Texas, right down the street from her childhood home. She is currently dogless for the first time in her life but does have some totally spoiled cats that ungraciously allow her to share their living environment.

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