“Some days are the merry-go-round, some days are the bumper cars, and some days are the roller coasters. You just have to buckle in and hold on for each ride.” Book Four, A Sleaze on the Seas.
These words came knocking on my noggin one night and are scrawled in the notebook I keep beside my bed. (When I become famous, I’m sure it will be framed, and people will come from all over the world to see the illegible handwriting that formed this quote.) Seriously, I wish I had allowed the creative side of me to come out earlier. Repeating this to myself would have saved me a lot of heartache (and some knee-jerk decisions).
The vivacious MJ Mac uses the skills she learned in the hotel and resort industry in corporate America to write cozy mysteries on board cruise ships and snappy blogs. With a voice as lively as she in in person, Mac brings a new setting to mysteries and not just murder ones.
Lyndi: How does a corporate executive transition from the hotel and resort industry into becoming the author of a four book cozy mystery series?
MJ: I’ve been an outliner since the sixth grade. I wrote a blog about this, and my mother’s response was, “See, I told you so.” As I got older, the outlines got better (I sold my notes in college for gas money), pro-con lists helped answer questions, and plans, backup plans, and backup to the backup plan became a part of my overly-organized yet loveable self. Although I was a Girl Scout, the Boy Scout’s mantra, “Be Prepared,” was imprinted on my brain, and it made me successful in the corporate world. Whatever the situation, I could be counted on for a well-thought-out plan.
Leaving corporate life was tough. I don’t miss the meetings, the meetings about meetings, the meeting before or after the meeting, the terrible coffee, or the three hundred emails to read and answer each day because, of course, they must be answered. But the dream of writing this series was like the wind-up monkey banging the cymbals in my brain. On my last day, my office wasn’t quite bare. I had left my mark, in a manner of speaking. I turned in my badge, laptop, and keys but took something with me I didn’t have before—painter’s tape. You see, throughout all of the projects I tackled, I used painter’s tape and an outline to be successful.
There is something peaceful in the chaos of looking at a wall covered in blue tape and paper showcasing the beginning, middle, end, timelines, alternate options, and potential challenges that always gave me a sense of calm. It’s why I can’t write by the seat of my pants as some of my fellow authors do. (Gosh, wouldn’t that be a vacation!) I’m so tightly wrapped I have to know how I’m going to get to the end of the story before I start writing it.
When I start a new book (or episode as I like to think of them), before I even begin that first keystroke, I head to the hardware store for a fresh roll of painter’s tape so I can tack multiple things on the white walls of my office. Everything has a section—characters (boy is it good to get them out of that space in my brain and onto the wall), the prequel with snippets of what is to come, day one, day two (you get the picture), and the end where we tick, tie, and wave goodbye (or where I drop the bomb for the next book). Then I begin filling each section with more blue tape as pictures, post-its, mini plot lines, pieces of fabric, articles and pictures I’ve torn out of magazines and scribbled “use this for book X”, character inspiration photos and descriptions (both physical and emotional), cocktail recipes, snarky quips are plastered on the snowy white walls. Someone once remarked that seeing my office when I start a book reminded them of a police murder board, and snarkily retorted to be careful of them checking my search history. But doing this allows me to “see” the story and outline it so I can bring the characters, locations, and scenes to life one section at a time. Phew!
Lyndi: Your readers comment on the liveliness of your characters. Are your characters inspired by real people or are they strictly from your imagination?
MJ: Oh, there are so many people racing around under this blonde mop. My characters are a mixed bag, but they are very much real. First and foremost, I’m an avid people watcher. No, not a creepy one wearing a raincoat but one who picks up on the nuances, behaviors, and physicalities of people sitting in restaurants, standing in the grocery line, and waiting for their plane to be called. We live in such a colorful world. Irritable, scared, happy, sad, bored, angry they are all there just waiting for me to describe them. I’ve also been lucky to have had the opportunity to live and work in many places, allowing me a buffet of people to interact with, whether for the long term or a split second. For the most part, though, the characters come from a very vivid imagination. (The storylines for my Barbies were very thorough—and let me tell you, from the outfits Barbie had, she lived a very interesting life.) But for the record, I’m not Kennedy, but oh, to be Vera Jameson.
Lyndi: Authors often banter about branding. Do you see this as important and how does it factor into your presentation of self as an author?
MJ: As an author, we are our brand, especially now as there are over three million books coming out each year. So, it’s up to us to be the cheerleaders and marching band for our stories. And while you struggle with throwing yourself out there, once you release that first book to the public, you are out there, ladies and gentlemen, standing on the stage with the spotlight beaming on your itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini.
Lyndi: You’ve almost completed your four book cozy mystery series. What comes next for author MJ Mac?
MJ: I had another avenue I wanted to tackle for the last year, and at some point, I will immerse myself in it. It’s a YA book that takes place in the 70’s in the South. Nora, the main character, has a way of worming her way into my head in the wee hours of the morning before the sun comes up, and I find that I am putting my pen to the notebook beside my bed many times in the dark. My handwriting is atrocious so it’s always entertaining to puzzle out what my sleep-addled brain was trying to say. However, as I got to the end of book four, Kennedy and the gang on the Helio informed me that the show/series had more to figure out. I left a knotted ball of yarn on the last page, and now I’m going to have to untangle things and figure out what we do next. Nora says she’s cool with it, but when Kennedy is done being on center stage, she’s kicking her to the curb.
Lyndi: What methods have you found effective for marketing your books.
MJ: Unfortunately, marketing is not a one size fits all, magic potion kind of thing. It’s overwhelming, and what works for me might not work for someone else. I whine a lot that I just want to write and not deal with marketing, but if you want your books to sell and not sit in the corner of your closet quietly decomposing, you have to put in the effort to market them. The key is to know and understand your target audience. Who you are writing for is as important as what you are writing, and that rubs many authors I know the wrong way. But with the competition out there, we have to keep it in the back of our mind. Knowing your target audience is the key that turns the marketing engine on. And once you know who they are, you can learn how to market to them.
Something that many don’t realize is that your book signings are as much of your marketing plan as any ad or social media post you do, and I love these events. It’s a chance to connect with my readers. I loved when a woman came up to me and said she was mad about the end of book two. Why? Because she bought book three to find out what happened next, and she let me know, in no uncertain terms, she was not only miffed about the end of book three, but she would keep reading the series. Wait until she reads number four! I might have a bounty on my head.
I try to think outside of the box for places to host them. Bookstores are great, but they can be a little sterile, but as every Kennedy Reeves book has at least two cocktail recipes in them, I find that bars and pubs are great places to do events, and the proprietors of these venues are always usually very agreeable to making one of the cocktails a special that day. I’ve also been lucky enough to have done them in private homes, libraries, and a hotel that was designed around the arts!
But then you have to take the next step. How will you get people to give you more than a sideways glance and make the effort to take the ten extra steps it takes to come up to your table? Look at it from their perspective. A white tablecloth and your books sitting on a six-foot folding table are as exciting as watching paint dry (unless, of course, it’s that ceiling paint that is pink and turns white when it dries. Now that is entertainment friends.) I had a boss who would tell us to make our banquet food displays sexy. Seriously? How can you make mashed potatoes sexy? Ever thought about serving them in a martini glass? Oh look, I caught your attention, didn’t I?
You have to do the same thing with your table. Lure that reader over just like a fisherman with an artificial fly dancing on the water and that trout might just buy a book. What’s the kitsch that might bring a stranger over? The seven-foot pop-up banner? A pineapple wearing a pair of sunglasses? Getting something for nothing – a bookmark and a giveaway for your next book? (Because if Joe Schmoe wins, he’s going to tell his friends and family and will now have to buy my other books to play catch up.) And don’t forget the readers that don’t have the space or budget to get a physical copy. Make sure they know they can download your book electronically.
Then there is the thank you. After every book signing, I thank my host by gifting a copy of one of my books and writing them a thank you note. We’re authors. We write. That’s what we do! Take the time, friends. I also plug them after the event on social media with photos which, if you are lucky, you’ve taken tons of so that your readers can find themselves on your website and social media pages.
Before embarking on a writing career, MJ Mac was a “Jill of all trades” in corporate America for forty years. MJ was a master juggler in her three-inch heels and lipstick, pulling the ropes from behind the curtain to seamlessly make magic happen. In 2021, a story about a cruise director, her coworkers, and their zany passengers began to formulate in her head. She traded in the corporate world of useless meetings, meetings about meetings, high heels, and suits for the sand, flip flops, and a sarong to pursue writing full-time and hasn’t looked back. MJ and her husband Dan (her biggest supporter next to their adorable albeit scruffy dog Elvis) are living their best life on the beach, where she spends her time plotting what drama Kennedy and her friends will find next.
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