This past Saturday I spent most of my day in bed just reading. And, oh, let me tell you how relaxing that was! I haven’t been able to do that in months. What’s even better? It was a book based in Hawaii, so while I emerged myself into the plot and characters, I felt a little bit of the easy Hawaiian life join me. My review of Sweet Life is up on the Review Blog, but over here I wanted to introduce you a bit more to the author, Mia King. The more I read about her through her novels and website, the more she’s quickly topping as one of my favorite authors! I had the privilege to ask her a few questions about her life and I hope you find it inspiring as I do.
1) You moved to Hawaii in 2000 leaving the corporate life behind, why did your family make this decision? Has it been everything you thought it would be?
My husband and I definitely felt the call to come to Hawaii — some people say the island beckons you and if that’s true, it was certainly what happened to us! We were here on vacation when I was 5 months pregnant, and just felt that we wanted to be here and raise our kids here. So, we took the plunge without really thinking about it too much. All three of my kids were born in Hawaii, and I’ve loved giving them this island to grow up on.
In retrospect, we thought it would be easier — the move itself wasn’t the problem, but figuring out how to pay the rent was! We spent most of our savings the first couple of years trying to launch our golf business and it was rough. But it also pushed us to write and get published (my husband, Darrin Gee, is also a published author on the mental game of golf) and we’ve learned so much being here. It was a huge gift.
2) As a writer, how did you get to where you are today? Have you always wanted to write? I’ve always written, and I actually had a shot at publication almost 15 years ago but I got so anxious about it that I self-sabotaged the whole thing! I took a long break and then, after we moved to Hawaii, went for it again. This time my desire was so much stronger and I think it helped me find the time to write even when I didn’t really have the time. I also didn’t give myself the pressure of everything needing to be perfect–I just wrote the best story I could in that moment and did my homework about finding a good agent and getting published.
3) What advice do you have for writers who dream of being a published author?
First of all, WRITE! Finish your novel and polish it until there’s no more that you can do. Don’t overdo it, of course, but really give it your best shot. Then find an agent (there are lots of books and strategies on the web that can help you with this) and make sure that agent is committed to you and your writing, because if they’re not, it’ll be hard for them to sell you. Then, while you’re waiting for your agent to sell your book to a publisher, start on your next book. Write, write, write, because if this book doesn’t sell, maybe your next one will. And don’t give up — persistence makes a big difference in this business. Believe you can do it, picture your book on the shelves!
4) You also include Hawaiian recipes at the end of your books, do you love to be in the kitchen when you aren’t writing?
When I’m not writing, I love to hang out in bed or in a hammock and READ! :-) Not always possible with the kids, but it’s something that I definitely love to do!
5) As a Mom, how do you manage it all? Writing novels, homeschooling, cooking, teaching…you sound like a super mom! How do you make it work for your family?
Writing with kids isn’t easy, but my husband and I find ways to make it work — I’m a fast writer, which helps, and there’s a lot of flexibility in our household. Having a newborn in the house is what has really changed things for me: I just can’t do it all, even if I want to and have the best intentions of doing so. So I’m giving myself a break on trying to do it all, and putting my attention on what I really want. Ironically, I seem to be a more productive writer WITH kids than when I didn’t have them … each of my books was written in conjunction with having another child (I have three books officially in the pipeline, and three children). But I’m not as tight about the daily grind and trying to do more self-care and introspection these days.
Thanks to Mia for taking the time to answer my questions (despite feeling sick) and to you, my readers, I do hope you check out her books. I highly recommend them for your reading pleasure :-)
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