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Mar Garcia - The Bold Mom
G'day Mar and welcome to... please slow down, you are running way too... fast, for.. me. I appreciate you meeting me out here today. It is always good to step away from the Couch of Chaos even if I am not the one sitting one it. And we get to step away from the writing end of the business and find out what it is like to promote works of Horror. An intergral part of success goes hand in hand with promotion. That hill? OK just let me ask this question first.
What is the greatest challenge to women succeeding in horror?
Well, being a woman ha! They (not always but eventually) think, because you’re a woman you’re not as professional as a man. Actually, as my name is Mar, many English speakers don’t know I’m a woman, so they talk to me in a certain tone, and when I tell them I’m not a man, some of them act like “huh..alright...”
It’s just funny, but I don’t blame them, it’s just the society we’re in.
You have a choice of five people to invite to dinner. Any five in life or beyond? Ok, make that four because it is a given you will invite yours truly. Four friends plus me to your dinner party. Who are they?
Carolyn Jones, Einstein, Charles Chaplin and the Monty Python
How do you determine success for the books you promote and for yourself?
When they are welcomed by the audience and get engagement on social media, so they’re spread widely.
What inspires you to do the work that you do, and why horror?
I fell into horror I don’t know how. I guess one circle pulls you into the other and when I realised, I was working mainly with horror so I decided to specialise, since no one else does what I do, surprisingly.
Now you are not yourself technically a writer, but still you do a lot of writing. I can’t start writing until I have a coffee and digestive biscuits to hand. Do you have a ritual before you start writing, or is it spontaneous venture?
I don’t have a ritual because I got always a mess at home, or the kids, or family etc. So it’s difficult for me to find the space for a ritual, but yes I need to have something hot to drink, whether a coffee or a hot tea. I love the black one with orange and cinnamon.
What are the top two tips you would give to new and emerging writers, or even us older hacks that are struggling to gain traction?
Collab with each other. Help one another. If authors join their audiences even little, the reach grows exponentially. I don’t know why people tend to be competitive. I have never been, since I believe if someone needs help, if it’s at my reach I have the obligation to help. That a reader gives a review to an author it doesn’t mean they won’t give it to you.
Share the others’ material as you would like yours to be shared. Normally people are so thankful and appreciate these gestures, therefore you get not only a favour back but a new friendship. It’s worth it. I always push other horror websites and accounts, I don’t mind at all. I want my audience to be genuine, because they like my content, and not because I’m a shark engulfing everyone around me.
