Meet Marlene Dotterer

1-Tell the readers a little about yourself.

I’m never just one thing. Some of my beliefs seem contradictory to people. I have many and disparate interests, and I’ve been known to change my mind occasionally.

I’m married, my children are grown, and I have lots of grandchildren. I teach natural childbirth classes, cook Real Food, and try to live close to nature. There’s always room for improvement.

2-As an author, do you take time to read? If so, what do you like to read and who is/are your favorite author/s?

Oh my, yes. I’ve not stopped reading since I learned how. I read all kinds of things (see #1 above), but mostly science fiction, with fantasy a close second. My favorite authors are the ones whose books I read over and over again because their worlds and characters have become a part of me. I will buy their new books without second thought: Julie Czernada, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, Anne McAffrey, Diana Gabaldon... there are many more, but those are the front runners.

3-How do you stay motivated when the Muse is uncooperative?

The short answer is, I don’t. The only way I keep writing is if I know something is expected by someone. Like this interview. I tend to not put things off if I know I HAVE to get it out the door, but this means that my novels suffer major neglect.

4-If you could go anywhere in the world on a romantic getaway, what would you do and where would you go?

Someplace with a view of the stars. We both love to stargaze, with and without telescopes. One of our favorite memories from our honeymoon was stopping the car along the road between Lahaina and Kihei on Maui, and staring at the Milky Way.

5-What is the hardest thing for you to write?

I don’t know. This may sound silly, but I guess it would be anything I didn’t want to be writing.

6-If you could live the life of one of your characters who would you be?

This isn’t easy to answer. If I could choose a setting, I would live in Moon Over Donamorgh - Irish forest, witches, fairies, and people who care for each other. But while I’d like live with those characters, I wouldn’t want to be any of them.

I think it would fun to be Sandy Tan from Webs, which is the story in the Samhain anthology. Sandy’s part of a larger WIP called Verdandi, and I can totally relate to her. She’s a soil scientist, she’s shy, and she’s attuned to the spirits of planets. She gets to live on an asteroid spaceship and explore the galaxy, she’s part of a polyamorous relationship, and she works with plants. It’s a good life.

7-The tag line on my blog is ‘Indulge Your Inner Romantic.’ What do you do to indulge?

Ever hear of Half Moon Bay? The name alone is romantic. My husband proposed there, at the Old Thyme Inn. We go back often for a night of brandy and chocolate in front of a fire. During the day, we scramble around in the tide pools or hike in the forest. It’s just the two of us, all weekend long.

Samhain marks the end of summer and the preparation for winter.  To many, Samhain is merely Halloween, but to Pagans, it is a day when the veil between the worlds is thinnest, and we can reconnect with our beloved deceased.  Samhain is a joyful celebration where we invite the spirits of our loved ones into our homes to remember and honor them.

Pagan Writers Presents Samhain is a collection of articles, poetry, and short stories.  Forty Pagan writers have come together to express how we celebrate the holiday, to share their thoughts and feelings, and to entertain with stories that take place on or around the last week of October.

Leave your broom by the door and join us at the hearth as we tell you about the Sabbat known as Samhain.

Pagan Writers Presents Samhain is the first anthology in the Pagan Writers Press Sabbat collection.

All proceeds from the sale of this anthology further the mission of the Pagan Writers Community, an organization that seeks to edu­cate, inspire, and pro­mote artists, authors, blog­gers, musi­cians, poets, and writers who follow alternative-faith spiritual and religious paths.

Genre - Nonfiction, Religion, Spirituality, Wicca & Witchcraft

Marlene Dotterer writes science fiction and fantasy from the perspective of science and paganism. She walks a nature path, and feeds her Celtic soul with all things Irish. She is the author of The Time Travel Journals: Shipbuilder, an alternate history of Thomas Andrews, the builder of the Titanic. 

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