What’s important to me?

1. Faith.

My personal belief in, commitment to and relationship with Jesus Christ is central to my life and that means it affects both what and how I write. I write secular fiction, and do not use my writing to ‘preach’ or to impose my beliefs on anyone else, but you won’t find either explicit sex or strong language in any of my writing, and although in Turn of the Tide – a novel dealing with the issue of living within conflict – there is some necessary violence, it is a very small proportion of the book (1 1/2 pages out of c 400). Once past the first chapter the worst is over!! Graphic, yes. Gratuitous, no. (If you want to see whether you agree, read the sample here.)

2. Family.

I am a daughter, wife, mother and grandmother. Do any of my family feature in my writing? Well perhaps some of their character traits pop up now and again – or so they claim – maybe even some of mine (the best ones of course…) but in both cases it’s more likely to occur in short stories than in my novels.

3. Fun.

Fun shouldn’t be the prerogative of the young. I’m a board game addict and our best family times are when we get together to play games, with the obligatory chocolate (my personal favourites are chocolate mint and chocolate ginger) and snacks! I’m also still not averse to the occasional water fight and refuse to part with the ‘super-soakers’ in my attic. All we need is some hot weather…

4. (Random) Facts.

I am a bit of an adrenaline junkie and the most exciting things I’ve been fortunate enough to experience are:
1) riding (aged 12) down a 2-mile long hill on a bike which turned out to have no brakes,
2) jumping off the top of a mountain in Turkey – attached to a paraglider, and
3) the best birthday present from my children ever – a flying lesson in a WW2 Tiger Moth. It was amazingly simple to fly – very responsive to the slightest movement of the controls and a fabulous experience. (Not least because I had an uncle, who died quite a long time before I was born, but who learnt to fly in one.)

I was also privileged to take part in a Charity walk on ‘wild’ sections of the Great Wall of China – was I glad I’d taken the 16 week training programme seriously! For six+ hours per day we climbed up and down hundreds of uneven, irregular steps, through, round and over innumerable guard posts – I got stuck in one and had to be rescued – and navigated (with difficulty) the rough terrain on the sections where there was hardly any wall still in existence. It was an amazing week, the scenery was immense, and I could have stayed there, on what felt like the top of the world, for ever.

I am actually quite reserved, but people don’t usually realise that, because in a new situation (such as a conference for example) I push myself to initiate conversations and to try to involve others who may be struggling on the fringes. However within my wider family I have a reputation for general jammy-dodgery, or as I prefer to say, serendipity, but I suspect that’s because they’re jealous of, for example, my free, for the asking, brand new bed settee from MFI, and loan (from a random stranger that I’d met for 10 minutes in a library) of a beautiful harbour-side apartment and Range Rover in Boston so that I could research possible relatives… I found them in a day and a half, and then had 3 weeks fabulous holiday with them in Boston, Maine and surrounding areas. Definitely a result.

Finally

More seriously, for me writing is an important part of my life. I feel a responsibility to use my God-given talent wisely and privileged that my writing gives pleasure to others. I hope to be able to continue doing so for many years to come.

This Post Has 19 Comments

  1. Ann Wilson

    Please write another novel in the same genre. I loved it.

    1. margaretskea

      Writng the sequel now, Ann – if you leave me your details I’ll keep in touch! Though publication date is likely to be spring next year. I have an historical short story coming out in the Historical Novel Society forthcoming anthology – if you want to keep your eye out for that – it’ll be an e book (I think).

  2. hasansinhouston

    Landing on your feet is not what we’d call it! I’ve never known anyone else to get a free trip to Boston after just striking up a conversation in a library – the rest of us are not jealous, just embarrassed!

    1. Margaret Whittock

      Margaret, as a newcomer to your work I look forward to reading Turn of the Tide. Many congrats from another N Irish writer.

  3. Darius Stransky

    I accepted your invitation to pop on over. Nice site. Nice lady. I wish you even MORE success.

  4. TulipGirl

    Hello, Margaret! I saw your comment on the Martin Luther Podcast website — I’m excited about your historical novel based on Martin and his wife! What a great idea!

  5. Megg Anne

    I love board games as well! 🙂 Your books sound great.

  6. Halita

    Your books sound pretty amazing….:)

    I love board games, card games, computer games…..

    1. Hi Halita, our family all love board games, they are an integral part on any holiday, and now we have grandchildren who we are encouraging to also catch the bug! Re the books – if you do get a chance to read on, please do let me know how you got on – feedback from readers is great.

  7. Diane

    Hello, I’m wondering about your book Katharina and whether it is written from a Catholic perspective. I see that you mention that you are a Christian…you are a born-again believer? 🙂

  8. Elizabeth Russon

    Hi Margaret,
    I really appreciate you delving into this little known part of Scottish history. I am both a Montgomerie descendant and also have ancestors from Northern Ireland. My obscure line of Montgomeries held land called Meikle Cloak just outside of Lochwinnoch. I imagine it was much like Broomelaw. There is still the remnants of the tower house on the farm. Once again thanks so much for these novels.

    1. margaretskea

      Hi Elizabeth, lovely to hear from you – I am so glad you’ve enjoyed the novels. And what a wonderful name for a holding – I have friends in Lochwinnoch and I must ask them if they know of the farm. Have you visited Meikle Cloak yourself?

      I wonder if I could ask you (if you haven’t done it already) if you could possibly pop a line or two of review on Amazon – it makes a huge difference to an author’s visibility – and especially if the review is recent. (Sword and Storm particularly is lagging way behind in terms of reviews and ratings.)

      Thanks again for getting in touch, I really appreciate it – it is so encouraging to hear from readers.

      Margaret

  9. Mary Ellen Kubo

    Thank you for your help to VEH Masters; I learned of you only tonight while reading through her acknowledgements in her 3rd book. Now I am eager to continue to learn more from that time period through your writings. I am delighted that you reverence the Lord and His Word and am comforted that in reading what you write there will be a clean history without unnecessary graphic scenes of violence.
    You seem to be cheerful, lots of fun!

    1. margaretskea

      HI Mary Ellen, thank you for your visit to my website – everything I write is written from a Christian worldview and I do try to honour God in my writing.

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