Interview with Author Margaret Rogerson

Before we get started I wanted to thank Margaret Rogerson for being such an amazing person, and letting me interview her. As well as the publisher Beth Parker from Simon and Schuster for providing me with a copy of the book.

I would also like to add that I really loved and enjoyed this book, and I hope everyone reading loved or will love it just as much. I seriously loved her answer to all questions and that I got to know her just a bit more.

About the Margaret

Margaret writes fantasy for young adult readers. She lives near Cincinnati, Ohio, and when she's not reading or writing she enjoys drawing, watching documentaries, making pudding, gaming, and exploring the outdoors in search of toads and mushrooms.

Q. When and why did you begin writing?

A. I grew up with my nose in a book, so I think I loved stories so much that I just started writing them as soon as I could. I remember being so frustrated, so crushingly disappointed by the stories I wrote when I was younger because they weren’t any good compared to the books I was reading. I couldn’t figure out how to put a plot together or come up with original ideas. I always dreamed of being an author, but getting published seemed impossible.

I can’t remember any period in my life during which I didn’t write, so the “why” is elusive to me—writing has always been my favorite hobby. However, I never took it seriously until a year or two after I graduated from college, when I decided that I wanted to write a book with the goal of publication. Getting published still seemed impossible, but I had to try!

Q. When did you consider yourself a writer?

A. That’s a good question. I guess I’ve always considered myself a writer, just by virtue of the fact that I’ve always done a lot of writing. But it’s not something I necessarily told people about or took pride in until I got a publishing deal, at which point I could finally tell myself and others that I was a professional writer! Incredibly, that fact is still sinking in.

Q. What inspired you to write An Enchantment of Ravens?

A. I love folklore, and I love stories about fairies/fair folk that explore the more traditional aspects of their mythology and present them to some extent as sinister, inhuman beings. I really wanted to write a book that incorporated that type of mythology, and which also felt like a Robin McKinley-esque fairy tale featuring a capable female protagonist. My background as a portrait artist played a role, too!

4. Who is your favorite Author and what really strikes you about their work? 

I have so many favorite authors, but if I have to choose one I’ll go with Diana Wynne Jones. I love how character-driven her work is, and how she has such a deep, sensitive, warm insight into the human mind. Oftentimes while reading her books, I have a sense that I’m gazing into the souls of real people whose flaws only make me love them more. Her talent for characterization is just out of this world.

Q. With your background as an artist, did that propel you to create Isobel's character?

A. Absolutely! I chose portrait art for her Craft because I knew it was something I could write about authentically and from the heart. I used dry media for my portraits, but fortunately my mom is an oil painter, so that helped fill in the gaps in my experience.

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