Mariam is someone I've been chatting with on Twitter for about a zillion years. Since she loves coffee as much as I do, we're always sharing a cuppa in Twitterland. Which is harder than it sounds, because she lives in Germany, several time zones ahead of me. When I'm having my first cup of the day, she's having her mid-afternoon cup. We have lots of fun, and lots of laughs, and I hope you'll enjoy getting to know her the same way I have. Please welcome the lovely and talented Mariam Kobras to Friday Friends!
Of all the characters you've created, which one is your favorite? (*pokes other characters in the eye* There. They won't see your answer now.) Why do you love them best?
Okay - I’ll have to say Jon Stone. He’s the reason I started writing in the first place. I wanted to explore how a famous rock star would deal with loss, sorrow, love, and yearning, and how he would discover what really matters in life. CLUE: It’s not fame, or wealth. It's not even Hollywood parties! Jon learns the hard way that there’s a price to pay for fame, and it’s not the kind of price he expected.
And although it's not a character per se, I love music, I love the creative process of writing music, and I love writing, all of which play a part in my novels.
Wow, you write music too? I'm definitely a slacker. What's your go-to "writing avoidance" technique? (Because it makes our writing better. No, really, it does!)
Can I say Candy Crush?
No, it’s really Pinterest, Facebook, and twitter. I spend a lot of time on these social platforms. Many of my friends live in the UK, Canada, or the US, and I’m stranded in Germany. A chat and a cup of coffee always make me return to my writing with a glad heart. And I write better when I’m happy.
I think the thing that I like least about writing is the loneliness. I’m not good at being alone. That’s why I love the #amwriting sprints with Johanna Harness and my fellow writers on twitter so much! It feels as if we’re in a big office, each of us at their desk, and twitter is the coffeemaker where we all hang out for a break.
Yes, that's exactly what Twitter is like! Although sometimes my breaks last longer than the work. LOL If you were able to go on a writing retreat (and bring all of us along, of course!), where would it be?
On a retreat. Interesting idea. Somewhere on a beach would be nice, but not a sunny and comfortable beach. It would have to be a cold and slightly rough beach. A shore somewhere in the north. Norway would work for me. Or maybe British Columbia.
My first ever book, The Distant Shore, was set in a little town on the Norwegian coast, and the one I’m working on right now, Sunset Bay, is set on the Pacific in British Columbia.
Heat makes me sluggish (so it can’t be the Caribbean).
Of course, it could also be a nice boutique hotel in Manhattan, but not in summer. As far as I’m concerned, no air conditioner in the world has a chance against NYC humidity.
Or maybe a picturesque village in Cornwall?
Dang. Now I don't know which suitcases to bring! What's the word you love to use (and overuse, so you have to take it out of your book during edits)?
I honestly don’t know. In my first book, it definitely was “because”, but those sentences ended up on the cutting room floor soon enough. I’d written them to explain stuff to myself and hadn’t thought about others reading it at all. All that changed, of course, when my publisher Buddhapuss Ink asked for the manuscript. I had to whip it into shape in record time.
I had a teacher in grade seven and eight who put a lot of emphasis on avoiding repetition in our creative writing. When you learn something at that age you never forget it.
That's so true! Which is a good thing, since my memory is getting sketchier by the minute. Name the first thing you'll do when you make a million dollars from your books.
Buy a new car, I think. And after that, I’d take my family traveling. They’ve stayed home so often to make my trips to the US possible. I’d like to show them all my favorite places in America: New York City, Washington State, Boston, Long Island. Oh, I’ve always wanted to see California and Alaska. I think it would be a three month road trip.
And while we’re traveling, I’d have our apartment renovated.
Oh, and I’d take my publisher out for dinner! A very nice dinner.
We better make that a FEW million dollars! (So you don't have to skimp on anything. Like coffee. LOL) Okay, here's a lightning round we'll call the Tasty Ten, where we get to know you in a speed dating kind of way:
Coffee or tea? Totally coffee
Drafting or revising? A bit of both, and editing while I write
Twitter or Facebook? Both, and Pinterest, too.
Winter or Summer? Both, but no weather extremes, please. And never, ever, the heat and humidity of summer in New Jersey. Ever. Again.
Heels or flats? When I was young, heels. Now, flats. (Because we’re vain when we’re young, and clever when we get older.)
Pirate or cowboy? Oh dear. Can I cheat and say, someone in a tux?
Day or night? You mean, for writing? Definitely day.
Rare or well-done? Rather well-done, but actually medium.
Pecs or abs? Uh…brains?
Biter or licker? (Hey! I'm talking ice cream cones here!) Licker if it’s a cone, biter if it comes as a sundae.
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Author Bio
Two-time Independent Publisher's Book Award Winner, Mariam was born in Frankfurt, Germany. Growing up, she and her family lived in Brazil and Saudi Arabia before they decided to settle in Germany. Mariam attended school there and studied American Literature and Psychology at Justus-Liebig-University in Giessen. Today she lives and writes in Hamburg, Germany, with her husband, two sons, and two cats.
The Distant Shore
Winner of the 2012 IPPY Bronze Medal for Romance
#2 on Amazon Bestseller List
There's nothing like receiving a letter from a teenage son you knew nothing about, but that's what happens to international rock star, Jonathon Stone. He drops everything to find the boy, and his mother--Naomi, the girl he loved so many years ago who left him when his rock n roll life became too much for her to bear.
Seeing her is like falling in love all over again, and everything seems perfect, until someone sets out to destroy their idyllic life.
The Distant Shore is Book One in the Stone Trilogy, and part of the Stone series.
All my books are available on all Amazon sites!
Excerpt (opening of The Distant Shore)
THERE IT WAS . . . Jon found the letter among the pile of mail he had carelessly tossed on the counter the night before. The corner of the envelope was soaked through from the puddle of milk it had landed in, and it stuck to the counter when he tried to pick it up. With a mug of coffee and the letter in hand, he wandered out onto the deck.
Beautiful morning sunlight greeted him. He felt the fragile warmth of a late February dawn on his face. The sea had a pearly sheen to it as it retreated, the surface quiet despite the gentle breeze. Under his bare feet, the wooden boards creaked softly as the house adjusted to the rising temperature of the day.
Social Media Links
thank you for having me. Donna! This was great fun!
Posted by: Mariam Kobras | January 24, 2014 at 09:07 AM
Thanks for being here, Mariam! *clinks coffee cups* Now I've got to re-arrange my suitcases. . .we've got a lot of writing retreat stuff to pack for. :)
Posted by: Donna Cummings | January 24, 2014 at 09:19 AM
Hi, Miriam, nice to meet you :) I loved your answer to the heels/flats question. Right now, I'm still stumbling around in heels but some days I tell myself "you're x-number of years old. Isn't it time to be comfortable?" LOL!
The Stone Series sounds very interesting. I love the premise and am off to investigate at Amazon!
Posted by: Mae Clair | January 24, 2014 at 01:47 PM
Hi Mae, thank you very much! I think I kicked out the heels when I was in my mid-thirties. My feet thanked me for it!
Let me know how you like my books, would you?
Cheers, Mariam
Posted by: Mariam Kobras | January 24, 2014 at 05:00 PM
Mae, thanks for stopping by. :) I haven't worn heels for a while, and I was looking at a pair in my closet the other day -- thankfully I snapped out of my trance before I decided to wear them to work. LOL
Mariam, you're right about your feet thanking you. We should probably thank THEM, for putting up with all our craziness!
Posted by: Donna Cummings | January 25, 2014 at 08:01 AM