Welcome to TRB Lounge. Today, I’d like to welcome MJ Walker, author of Italian By Default, for an author interview with The Reading Bud.
About The Author
MJ Walker
Margaret Walker is a teacher. She lives in Sydney, Australia with her family. Her first two novels His Most Italian City and Through Forests and Mountains were published by Penmore Press in the USA.
You can find author Walker here:
Website | Instagram | Facebook
Interview
Welcome to TRB! Please give our readers a brief introduction about yourself before we begin. We’d love to know beyond what your Author Bio says about you.
Hi Heena,
I’m a teacher (almost retired). I have been reading and writing all my life and have had short stories published in Australia and the UK as well as two previous novels published by Penmore Press in the USA. They are His Most Italian City and Through Forests and Mountains.
Beyond the official blurb, could you offer us a unique insight or a behind-the-scenes glimpse into your book?
Italian By Default is based on my own story about trying to find my identity as an adopted person living with a husband (and his identical twin brother) who were crazy about their own Italian heritage. At the same time, it is about my adoption reunion. In 1960, I and my twin sister were adopted together to my parents. My sister is not interested in adoption. I left her out of the book so as not to cause her distress.
Evey book has a starting point. What was the spark or pivotal moment that inspired you to write this one?
Probably the death of my mother-in-law in 2000. Our house, which had been Italian anyway, became much more so because many of her belongings came to us.
Is there a core message or theme in your book that you wish readers to discover?
You are important regardless of the circumstances of your conception. God knew you before you were conceived.
Of all the characters in your book, do you have a personal favourite? What makes them special to you?
Polly’s friend Felicity, who was based on a lovely friend of mine.
How do you approach character development, ensuring they resonate with readers and feel authentic?
I constantly have that person in front of me when I write. I forget about myself and become them.
What was the inspiration for this book? Was it an idea, an anecdote, a dream, or something else?
I met my birth mother in 1989 but I didn’t meet my birth siblings until 2002. I’d say that frustration with that situation was my inspiration.
How long did it take you to write this particular book?
25 years. I kept writing during the adoption reunion and finally finished with the death of my birth mother in 2020. For example, after a family dinner or meeting or whatever, I would come home and write it up immediately. After that, it was just revision.
Are you working on any other stories presently?
Yep! I have at least 3 manuscripts I am hoping to have published one day, plus a fun one I am writing at the moment just to keep my hand in.
Why have you chosen this genre? Or do you write in multiple genres?
I am most interested in history, and character development in fiction. I also have a history blog, mwalkeristra.blogspot.com.
When did you decide to become a writer? Was it easy for you to follow your passion, or did you have to make some sacrifices along the way?
I can’t stop writing. It’s cathartic for me, if I’m stressed or anxious. I don’t think it matters what you write or how you write. If you practise, you’ll improve.
What is your writing ritual? How do you do it?
I generally write every morning after I’ve walked the dog and had coffee.
Editing can be a gruelling process. How do you approach revisions and self-editing?
If I get stuck, it really helps to put the manuscript away for a few weeks, write something else, then return to the first one. Something I have also found invaluable is to have a manuscript professionally assessed. It is worth every cent.
With the rise of audiobooks and multimedia experiences, have you considered exploring these avenues for your stories?
A lot of people I know read audiobooks while they’re driving. I haven’t got around to that yet. It’s expensive, but a friend of mine did it recently, and it really bought the book to life.
Lastly, if you were to describe your writing style in three words, what would they be?
Not too sure.
How do you prefer to write—computer/laptop, typewriter, dictation, or longhand with a pen?
Everything, plus I always carry a notepad and pen in my bag.
What are your 5 favourite books? (You can share 5 favourite authors too.)
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Madam Will You Talk by Mary Stewart, Exodus by Leon Uris, anything by Dickens. Crime? Ian Rankin, MC Beaton. She looks simple but under the surface, she’s very cluey. I love Bill Bryson’s style. He cannot write a dull sentence.
How do you deal with Writer’s Block?
Zone out and write anyway. Just sit down and write non-stop for 15 minutes.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Join a writer’s group. My writers’ group is fabulous at all the things I’m bad at. I really need them.
Thank you, author Walker, for taking the time to answer our questions and for all your insightful answers!
About the Book
Italian by Default
AN ADOPTION REUNION
– based on a true story –
Meet Polly, her Italian husband Joe and his identical twin brother Cicero. Polly is adopted and wants to find her heritage, but the twins’ passion for Italy dominates her life. She gets more style than Gucci, more opera than Verdi and more pasta than she can eat.
If this isn’t bad enough, Polly’s friends insist that she belongs where she is loved – safe and secure in her wealthy Sydney suburb.
What should Polly do?
She has met her birth mother, but not only will that lady refuse to discuss the past, she has barred Polly from ever meeting her siblings. Then one day Polly reads in the newspaper that her mother has been murdered.
Or has she?
Polly’s longed-for adoption reunion finally happens but not in the way she expects.
You can find Italian by Default here:
Amazon | Goodreads | UBL
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The Reading Bud 