Maren Anderson
Welcome, Maren Anderson, to Birds and Books. When I learned that Maren’s latest release was a romance involving alpacas, I recalled the first time I saw this llama-like animal. My husband and I were touring San Juan Island in Washington and came upon a field with odd looking creatures with camel-like faces. We stopped on the side of the road and the owner of the property came over to the fence and invited us to tour his ranch. That was just one of the wonderful discoveries we found that day. Years later we decided to take a break from the real world and moved to San Juan Island. Whenever friends would visit, the first place I showed them was the alpaca farm. When Maren contacted me about being a guest on my blog, I responded with a big “Yes!”
It’s time to get your protagonist out of her/his comfort zone. You want to present her with a challenge and you’ve given her the following choices: climb Mount Everest; run a Marathon; trek across the Sierra Desert with a tribe of nomads; or sail around the world alone. Which would she choose?
Meg would run a marathon. She’s not much of an adventure seeker–she’s happy with her animals on her ranch. She satisfied her travel bug long ago when she was in college.
However, while she’s fit, she’s not marathon fit. It would be a good challenge for her.
If Meg could live in another time period, which would she choose and why?
The future. Eventually, men treat smart women as equals, right? Right?
If Meg could change anything in her life, what would it be and why?
Meg will tell you that she can be indecisive and afraid of doing things on her own. She sees both these things as signs of weakness, so she strives to change those parts of herself. For example, she ditches her old life in the city and buys a literal farm in Oregon. She is a bit of a contradiction, but all interesting people are contradictions, aren’t they?
What do you and Meg have in common?
Well, we ditched our old lives in the city and bought literal farms in Oregon. 🙂
Also, many of the alpaca-related things that happen to Meg in Fuzzy Logic happened to us on our farm.
But I think Meg might be braver than I am. At least, she’s braver than I ever hope I have to be.
If you and Meg had an argument, who would win and why?
Meg. No question. I don’t argue. I don’t even get revenge. But I do wait on the sidelines until Karma comes back. I get front-row seats for payback time.
But Meg would totally win an argument because I stink at arguments.
What’s in store for Meg in your next book?
I’m writing a prequel for Fuzzy Logic right now that explains the reasons why she decided to buy an alpaca farm. The “next” book will have Meg going to an alpaca show. Alpaca shows are awesome and weird, as all niche shows are. I think I’d like to write an alpaca-switching plot a la a Dick Francis story in Field of Thirteen.
Bio:
Maren Bradley Anderson is a writer, teacher, and alpaca rancher in Oregon. She teaches English at Western Oregon University and novel writing to new authors. She fills her days caring for alpacas, playing with her kids, and reading books that make her laugh. Her novel, Fuzzy Logic, was released in 2015 by Black Opal Books, and her adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream for children was performed in July 2015. Her poetry has appeared in The Timberline Review.
Blurb:
After divorcing her unfaithful husband, Meg Taylor buys an alpaca ranch to finally do something on her own. Almost as soon as she arrives, she meets not one, but two, handsome—and baffling—men. She thinks choosing between the shy veterinarian and her charming securities co-worker is her biggest problem, until life and death on the ranch make her re-evaluate more than her love life. At least her new life is nothing like her old one.
Links:
Fuzzy Logic on Amazon link: http://amzn.to/1RrDlnw
Maren’s Website: http://www.marens.com
Newsletter sign up (free story with sign-up!): http://www.marens.com/MarensWorld/Newsletter.html
Twitter: @marenster
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarenBradleyAnderson/
