We were lucky to catch up with M.J. Schiller recently and have shared our conversation below.

M.J. , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

I have always been a writer. I wrote my first book in second grade with Mary Ellen Murphy. It was called “The Black Cat” and was written on some blue hotel stationery my dad had brought back from a trip. The pages were hole-punched and tied together with thick white yarn. It was a page-turner, let me tell you! But writer isn’t a job in the same way that other professions are. Sure, you can be a journalist, but no one pays you to write fiction; you have to make your own money. So I wasn’t encouraged to pursue it. I became a teacher, had children, and went back to work when they were old enough to attend school as a lunch lady. A perfect job. You’re off work when your kids are off school. You can take a nap everyday before the kids get home, and you don’t take your work home with you.

The only time I utilized my writing skills was when I wrote our family’s Christmas letter. People seemed to enjoy those letters and told me that I needed to write a book. When I turned forty, I thought, if I’m going to write a book someday, perhaps I should get on it. Do I wish I’d started sooner? Darn tooting! I’m fifty-eight now and still have a half-dozen or more books to write. But I feel like things probably played out the way God wanted them to, so I don’t worry about it alot.

M.J. , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a romance author. I’ve written love stories with rock stars, waitresses, princes and princesses, construction workers, and even futuristic knights. In my book, everyone deserves a romance! I think what makes my writing unique is its ability to be humorous while at the same time moving. It can be hot, and it can make you cry. I love words. I love playing with words, and I love the power words can have to make people feel.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

I met my business partner at a bar. He’s also my husband. I don’t know how writers do it without support. My husband does the taxes for me, which isn’t an easy thing to do when I have revenue coming from Barnes and Noble, Kobo, iTunes, Amazon, Amazon UK, Amazon Australia, Amazon Canada…you get the drift. He also has to keep track of payments to myriads of advertisers, cover artists, and editors. He helps me make decisions about whether or not to travel to cities for book signings. He puts up with me being in front of the computer for hours, and hours, and hours. It is definitely a team effort.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

There are a number of rewarding aspects of being a writer. One is when you’re holding the finished product in your hands and you can say, I–and my editors and cover artists–made that. Another thing that’s rewarding is knowing that there are people out there who spend time with your work and enjoy it. It adds to their life in some way. That’s rewarding. But, bottom line is, as a creative, you don’t have a choice. It’s part of you and you are happiest when you are creating.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mjschillerauthor.blogspot.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/mjschiller
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RockingTheWorldOneReaderAtATime/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/mjschiller
• Other: Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/M.J.-Schiller/e/B009JOQFQQ
  BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/m-j-schiller
  Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mjschiller/
  Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6479377.M_J_Schiller
  Books2Read: https://books2read.com/MJSchiller
  Newsletter signup: https://maryschiller.wixsite.com/contact-page
  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mjschillerauthor

Image Credits

Francessca Wingfield, Wingfield Designs
Barb Hoeter, Coverinked Book Cover Design