An interview with Margart Millmore author of The Doppelganger Experiment

Hello Margaret it's great to have you onboard with Books and Novels to Read.com, thank you for taking the time to be interviewed by BNR and answer my questions. BNR - How long have you been writing MM: I’ve always made up stories, some of which I even jotted down, but life in general and a demanding career kept me from doing anything serious with it. But when the opportunity to write came up three years ago, I jumped at it and I’ve been working at it ever since. BNR - Where did the idea for your latest book spring from? MM: The basic idea had been with me for a long time, so I started with that (a person waking up without any memory of their recent life), but it expanded and turned into what it is today due to something my father-in-law said. He had been dozing on the couch and mumbled in his sleep; he said ‘stay away from the green building on the left’, that one mysterious comment sparked my imagination and stuck with me the entire evening and I woke up with the idea of the Doppelganger Experiment.

BNR - Have you tried getting your books published by the conventional route or did you go straight into self publishing, what are your experiences? MM: I did query traditional agents and publishers with a vengeance. After many rejections I read an article about ‘small press’ publishers and began to research them, that’s how I found World Castle Publishing (this is a traditional royalty paying publisher of trade paperbacks and e-books for on-line retailers). Being with WCP, I’m not self-published; they edited the novel, and have done the press releases, publisher advertising, etc. BNR - How many books have you written, what are they and are they all in print or eBooks? MM: I’ve technically written two books, however I decided that the first book I wrote wasn’t ready to be published and the Doppelganger Experiment was rearing its ugly head in my imagination, so I worked on that, it’s currently my only published novel. Doppelganger Experiment is available in both print and e-book. BNR - Would you say your writing career has been successful, have you sold many books? MM: I can’t really say, I certainly hope it will be successful, but only having the novel released for two months, I don’t really have any sales statistics yet. BNR - How have you promoted your books, social media, advertising, book fairs? Which method of promotion would you say has been most successful? MM: As a new novelist, I’ve worked very hard trying to promote and connect with an audience, so I may be doing too much in one regard and not enough in another, its trial and error. I have joined several social media groups and have been connecting with other authors in hopes that they will help promote my work (which they have done, I also in turn promote their work). I do know that Amazon.com is a good resource, having reviews and the ‘like’ button hit in Amazon is very helpful and helps guide readers to the book. BNR - Do you have any new writing projects in the pipeline? MM: I’m working on a new book now, however it’s very much in the ‘infant’ stage, so there really isn’t much to tell about it yet. BNR - What do you see in the future for the book industry? Will print books disappear as eBooks take over? MM: I don’t see that print books will disappear entirely, there are so many people (like me) that need the feel, the smell and the comfort of a printed book. But I do see e-books as a rapidly growing trend. Let’s face it, if you travel a lot, go to the gym, commute on public transportation, all those things make an e-reader very attractive. And of course there are those that love to read but don’t see why paper should be wasted on a book when they can download it. BNR - Which authors in particular are you influenced by and what genre do you enjoy reading? MM: That’s a tough one, my earliest love was CS Lewis’ Narnia books, but I’ve been a die-hard Stephen King, Ray Bradbury and Dean Koontz fan for as long as I can remember. I read a great deal, and almost every author I read inspires and influences me. BNR - In a desert island disc scenario, which book would you want to have with you? MM: From a practical standpoint, I think I’d want the Boy Scout Survival Guidebook, from an entertainment standpoint, I’d want the Dark Tower Series from Stephen King (okay, that’s seven books… but you really need them all). BNR - What age range are you in? MM: Personally? Not telling. But my genre is for ages at least 16 and over. BNR - Do you have any inspirational words for all your fellow self published authors? LH: Since I’m technically not self-published (although the ‘big’ publishers do frown a bit on the ‘small’ publishers that do not market directly to bookstores) I would say the same thing to them as I would to any new author. Don’t give up! Write your book, edit and revise as many times as needed until its perfect. Use all the resources around, the internet can provide you with so much advice from how to write, to how to find an agent or publisher. Don’t let the frustration and rejections get you down, it will take a while, but you can do it! Meet Author Margaret Millmore I was born and raised in Southern California; I moved to San Francisco in 1991 and currently reside there with my husband. Reading is an addiction for me, and one I’ll never give up. I’ve had an active imagination since childhood and often made up stories that I only told to myself. After ending a successful career, I found myself with the time to pursue those stories, and the floodgates opened. I love just about every kind of story, but especially fiction, throw in some supernatural or paranormal overtones and I’m in heaven. I’ve written two short stories which appear on Bay Area artist, Kenny Mencher’s blog (http://kenney-mencher.blogspot.com/2010/10/flash-fiction-piece-based-on-bunch-of.html, http://kenney-mencher.blogspot.com/2011/02/write-story-about-luke-n-goode-and-win.html ). BNR: Thank you so much Margaret, whilst you are not truly a self published author we at BNR support all writers trying to become an established author. We wish you the very best of luck for the future. Amazon Reviews of Doppelganger Experiment "To Margaret Millmore, the author. Great work. I was paging through my kindle looking for books that were not $15 or $20. I decided to place a limit. My limit was $6.00. I am still learning my Kindle. Anyway, I came across your book and the girl on the cover looked familiar so I clicked, "more info". I bought the book. Wow!! Am I impressed with your writing. Clear, short sentences that grip me. I have a consulting company and it irritates me when I get an email prompting me to do some work because I want to sit in my soft chair and continue reading your book. I hope you write more novels. If you do, I will raise my limit up to $15 or $20. Good luck to you. For a first timer you did great. Thanks." "I was engaged and entertained from start to finish. I kept being surprised by the twists and turns of the story. It is a great first effort and I'm looking forward to more from this author." "This type of book is not usually my "bag", but I loved it! It only took me 2 days to read, which is by far a record for me! I can totally see a major movie studio wanting to make a movie out of this. I live in SF and I absolutely loved the details of the city, I have been to just about every place mentioned in the book and the author did a great job of capturing the vibe of this great city. I cant believe that this is the Author's first book, seems like she has been writing for years. I cant wait for her next book!"

To buy a print copy of Doppelganger Experiment in U.S. Dollers click here. Doppelganger Experiment

To buy a print copy of Doppelganger Experiment in British Pounds click here. Doppelganger Experiment

To download an ebook copy of Doppelganger Experiment in U.S. Dollers click here. Doppelganger Experiment

To download an ebook copy of Doppelganger Experiment in British Pounds click here. Doppelganger Experiment