Meeting Margaret part 2
my visit with the legendary author who inspired my own writing
Part Two
Part One of Meeting Margaret ended with my somewhat chance conversation with an employee of Historic Scotland, working that day at Smailholm tower, the setting of my favorite childhood novel,
The
way I remember it (and I won’t swear memory is 100% accurate), I
spoke to one of the Historic Scotland employees at Smailholm. Did he
ask me what brought an American there? Did I wave
my arms and commandeer his attention to volunteer the information
because I was so excited to be there? However it happened, I told
him about In the Keep of Time being
the reason for my visit. He
said other visitors had mentioned it and wondered if I knew how to
get ahold of print copies that he might get into their store. I
told him I would see what I could find and get back to him.
This encounter got me thinking. I had read the book so long ago! I had no idea what the author had written since or whether she might be online at all. With the Magic Internet—lo and behold I found Margaret was alive and well and even had an author site with a contact form! On August 5, 2015, I sent a message, telling Margaret I had been to Smailholm and they were interested in her book. I added that her children’s novel had had a great impact on my own writing.
I went on to other things, never really expecting to hear back from a Famous Author! I figured at best, I would get an auto reply or a form response from an agent, thanking me in auto response terms for my interest.
Imagine my surprise when, six days later, I received a personal response from Margaret herself! Imagine my greater surprise when she apologized for her slow response and said the reason was she was busy reading my books! (And enjoying them!)
She also mentioned that my
message got her thinking about bringing out a new print version of In
the Keep of Time with Book Baby.
She already had an e-version out. I am very pleased to say that there
is now a new edition of In the Keep of Time,
and as much as I loved the book, as much as it captured my
imagination and was perhaps a first step in bringing history alive
for me—as compared to the dry bones that school textbooks make it—I
am proud if I have been any part of bringing this wonderful novel
back to a whole new
generation of readers.
Several years passed. Our communication drifted off, maybe in part because I feared being some sort of stalker fan! But I had lived in Washington State years before and always hoped to go back to visit friends. More and more, I thought—it’s not that hard to book a plane ticket. What’s the worst that can happen if I ask? Hearing no, not a good time?
So I dug up one of the old emails from 2015 between me and Margaret and asked...If I were in the area, could we get together for coffee? I was surprised and delighted when I had an almost immediate answer—and even more amazed when Margaret invited me to her home in Oregon.
Despite having a poetry anthology just released, I immediately started on plans for a trip west. In a strange fluke, my attempt at booking a flight fell through. (Trust me, this was very weird.) I looked at Gas Buddy, remembered how much cheaper it is to drive anyway, and put out a request on Facebook—anyone want to drive with me?
I booked some airbnbs, and within hours, my friend Bob, from my writers’ group, and I were scarfing down hamburgers on a Friday night—our last hot meal in many hours—in his kitchen and settling in for a twenty-four hour drive through the night.
This encounter got me thinking. I had read the book so long ago! I had no idea what the author had written since or whether she might be online at all. With the Magic Internet—lo and behold I found Margaret was alive and well and even had an author site with a contact form! On August 5, 2015, I sent a message, telling Margaret I had been to Smailholm and they were interested in her book. I added that her children’s novel had had a great impact on my own writing.
I went on to other things, never really expecting to hear back from a Famous Author! I figured at best, I would get an auto reply or a form response from an agent, thanking me in auto response terms for my interest.
Imagine my surprise when, six days later, I received a personal response from Margaret herself! Imagine my greater surprise when she apologized for her slow response and said the reason was she was busy reading my books! (And enjoying them!)
 |
| Margaret J. Anderson |
Several years passed. Our communication drifted off, maybe in part because I feared being some sort of stalker fan! But I had lived in Washington State years before and always hoped to go back to visit friends. More and more, I thought—it’s not that hard to book a plane ticket. What’s the worst that can happen if I ask? Hearing no, not a good time?
So I dug up one of the old emails from 2015 between me and Margaret and asked...If I were in the area, could we get together for coffee? I was surprised and delighted when I had an almost immediate answer—and even more amazed when Margaret invited me to her home in Oregon.
Despite having a poetry anthology just released, I immediately started on plans for a trip west. In a strange fluke, my attempt at booking a flight fell through. (Trust me, this was very weird.) I looked at Gas Buddy, remembered how much cheaper it is to drive anyway, and put out a request on Facebook—anyone want to drive with me?
I booked some airbnbs, and within hours, my friend Bob, from my writers’ group, and I were scarfing down hamburgers on a Friday night—our last hot meal in many hours—in his kitchen and settling in for a twenty-four hour drive through the night.
Watch for PART THREE
In the meantime, if you're interested in this book--which I enjoyed reading again just this past June, even as an adult, take a look at the book and visit Margaret's website! I've also discovered Searching for Shona, From a Place Far Away, and To Nowhere and Back, as I work through Margaret's books. (Wait....there's more! But I'll tell you about that in Part Three!)
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The Battle is O'er is now available!
Start from the beginning: Prelude One
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