Interview with Marcia Lee Laycock and Kathi Macias

Narelle here. I'm delighted to welcome Canadian author Marcia Lee Laycock to our blog today. Marcia's novella, An Unexpected Glory, is part of the 12 Days of Christmas series with Kathi Macias and ten other authors. The interview below is from Novel Rocket (NR). 

NR - The 12 Days of Christmas is a series of novellas releasing every two weeks as ebooks on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. An Unexpected Glory, by our very own Marcia Lee Laycock releases October 31st. Here is an interview with both Kathi and Marcia about this exciting series. 

NR - First of all, Kathi, please introduce yourself. 

KM - I’m Kathi Macias, wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, author, abolitionist, former Harley-Davidson rider known as “Easy Writer,” and lover of chocolate anything. 

NR - How did the idea of the 12 Days of Christmas series come to be? 

KM - I’d actually been playing with the idea for several months when I mentioned it to Giovanni at Helping Hands. He jumped on it. We started chatting, and pretty soon I decided it would be a lot more fun to have 11 other writers come onboard and help me write this collection/series (one story each) than to try to do them all myself. I’m so glad I did because it’s turned into a really fun project!

NR - Have you collaborated with other authors this way before? 

KM - Not exactly in the same way. I’ve been a part of similar ones Murray Pura put together, and I once co-compiled a women’s devotional with contributions from scores of women, but this one is the first of a fictional series I’ve launched—though more are in the works! 

NR - What did you enjoy about the process and what wasn’t so much fun? 

KM - So far I haven’t found anything that wasn’t fun, though the marketing aspect is always a bit stressful and time-consuming for me. Everything else has been a blast. The only downside was that the slots filled up so quickly I had to start turning people away. 

NR - Do you have plans to do it again? 

KM - Absolutely! When I found myself turning people away, I decided instead to add them to the list for future projects (two per year at this point—a Christmas series and a Mother’s Day series). We are currently filled all the way through 2015! 

NR – We’ll be watching for them. Where can readers go to find the stories in the 12 Days of Christmas series? 

KM - The first story (mine, titled “Rules of Engagement”) launched the series on September 1. It is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. Each new story will launch two weeks apart. 

NR - Thanks, Kathi. Now let’s hear from Marcia: 

NR - To begin, Marcia, please tell us a bit about yourself. 

ML - I’m a pastor’s wife, mother of three beautiful grown daughters and two great sons-in-law. I’m also the care-giver of two loveable golden retrievers. :) I’ve had the privilege of living a short distance from the Arctic Circle, in Dawson City Yukon and two degrees off the equator in Papua New Guinea. I began writing at a young age and now have two novels and three devotional books in print, one of which, Abundant Rain, is a collection of some of the devotionals for writers I’ve done for Novel Rocket. I also love doing a lot of speaking for women’s groups. My heart is to see women encouraged and brought closer to Christ. 

NR - How did you become involved in this series of Christmas stories? 

ML - A friend who had been contacted by Kathi emailed me to see if I’d be interested. I jumped on it right away because I had a Christmas story that I’d really like to get out into the marketplace. But God had a different plan. Another idea popped into my head and once I got going on it I realized this was the one to put into this project. It became An Unexpected Glory. 

NR - Is this the first time you have contributed to a series like this? 

ML - Yes, although I have contributed to several anthologies in the past, the most recent of which is the Hot Apple Cider books, two collections of thirty-some Canadian Christian authors. I also recently contributed to The Story for Scripture Union Canada – a series of devotionals designed to be read on an iphone or ipad that take the reader through the Bible in one year. Working on the 12 Days project has been great because I’ve been in touch with the other writers. We’ve been reading and giving feedback on one another’s stories. It’s been a lot of fun and I’m excited that they are releasing as ebooks, which makes them accessible to so many. 

NR - Do you have other projects under way? 

ML - I’m always working on something. The third expanded edition of my devotional book, Spur of the Moment will release soon on Amazon so that’s been exciting. Right now I’m putting together the first three chapters of a mystery novel for an agent in the US. Hoping that evolves into a fiction series. 

NR - Thank you ladies for being with us on Novel Rocket. We wish you great success with this Christmas series. Kathi Macias’ 12 Days of Christmas novellas can be ordered from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other online distributors. An Unexpected Glory releases Oct. 31st with a Thirsty Thursday party on the Helping Hands Press facebook page.

MARCIA LEE LAYCOCK writes from central Alberta Canada where she is a pastor's wife and mother of three adult daughters. She was the winner of The Best New Canadian Christian Author Award for her novel, One Smooth Stone and also has two devotional books in print. Her work has been endorsed by Sigmund Brouwer, Janette Oke, Phil Callaway and Mark Buchanan. Marcia's second novel, A Tumbled Stone was recently short listed in the contemporary fiction category of The Word Awards. Abundant Rain, an ebook devotional for writers can be downloaded here. Visit Marcia's website.