Interview with Maggie Blackbird – Kate Hill's Romance, Writing, and More Blog

Would you tell us about yourself?

I’m Maggie Blackbird, an Ojibway from Northwestern Ontario and I write romance starring Canada’s Indigenous People.

How do your family and friends feel about your writing?

My family and friends are very supportive. Since I write under a pen name, I kept it quiet, until my mother and older sister outed me! LOL. But that’s okay. As I said, friends, family, and people throughout the Indigenous community have been very supportive.

What are your favorite genres to read and write?

Romance! I’m hooked on it. My fave sub-genre to read is historical romance, and my fave sub-genre to write is contemporary romance.

When you’re not writing, what do you like to do?

I’m a golf junkie. I play and watch golf. I also enjoy walking my dogs every morning. It’s a peaceful time to enjoy nature.

Do you have any particular writing habits? (Listening to music, best time of day to write, etc.)

I can write with a party going on. Seriously. Mornings are dedicated to writing-related work, and afternoons are when I finally get to write.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I’m what you call a planster. Part plotter and part panster.

What is one of your favorite ways to learn about your characters?

The first draft is a great way for me to get to know my characters. I keep them in my head and daydream about them. When it comes time to put them on paper, they take even more shape as the draft progresses.

Would you tell us about your latest release?

My latest release is The Circle is Small, a cultural romance taking place at an isolated First Nations community. The hero is a former First Nations constable and the heroine is a schoolteacher. It is a second chance romance full of local and internal strife.

What are you working on now?

I am writing a novel for Extasy Books’ Route 66 series. All stories take place on the US’s Route 66. It’s a time-travel romance that is set in 1977.

What makes the hero of The Circle is Small exciting?

I adore Jordan’s strong, silent type persona. But he’s also a kind and helpful man, even though his tight-lips can annoy the heroine, Ellie. And who doesn’t adore a man in uniform?

Do you have a favorite character or characters you feel especially close to?

I would say I simply adore Billy Redsky and René Oshawee from my When We Were Young series.

What are a few of your favorite book covers that have been done for your books?

I’d say my fave cover is Blessed, the first book in The Matawapit Family series.

If you could meet one of your characters, which one would it be?

Emery Matawapit from The Matawapit Family series. He’s an interesting, spiritual man. The bonus is he loves golf.

If you could step into one of your books, which one would it be?

I’d say Born for This, book one in the Maizermeized series. Why? Because the heroine, Edie Whitecrow, travels back in time to 1744. I would love to meet my ancestors the way Edie gets to!

Is there anything else you would like readers to know about you or your work?

Right now I am in edits for my upcoming release Twisted Beauty, a m/m dystopian romance. Not only does it feature a Lakota hero, but he’s up against an Ojibway hero. I adore the enemies to lover trope.

Thank you for stopping by!

The Circle is Small

by Maggie Blackbird

Contemporary Romance

An ex-cop returning to face his horrendous past, the woman who won’t forgive him, and the family who’ll never let him forget that he killed their son.

First Nations Constable Jordan Chartrand’s guilt can’t handle the accusing stares from the family left to mourn their son after that horrible night…so he flees from his Ojibway community and the woman he loves. Two years later, his mother’s cancer diagnosis forces him to return to help her.

Devoted schoolteacher Ellie Quill wants nothing to do with Jordan after he bolted to the city and left her behind. Her life goals are set. As for her secret, she’ll keep that to herself, even if Jordan’s begging to know the truth about her child.

When the two are compelled to work on a community project to address the rampant drug problem, their forced proximity slowly melts Ellie’s icy walls. But no matter how much her heart desires to give Jordan the second chance that he’s begging for, she refuses to because providing a life for her son in the tradition of the Ojibway culture is her top priority now, not moving to the city where Jordan continues to hide.

Excerpt

The noise from a truck rumbling on the gravel road drifted to where they stood. Jordan couldn’t help but inspect the arriving vehicle. Maybe cop mode would never leave him. At the familiar sight of the elder Pemmican’s ride, the paternal grandparents of the teenaged boy he’d shot and killed that awful night, his stomach dropped to his knees.

Ellie had the right idea, he noted. It was time to leave. She’d also craned her neck to the approaching vehicle. Her shoulders tightened. Instead of huffing off, as Jordan expected from her, she stayed put.

The truck rolled up to the diner. Mrs. Pemmican dared to lift her finger to point. “What the fuck are you doing back here?” The pickup’s door banged shut. She didn’t move forward but remained at the vehicle. Her stare full of hate was a fireball, bad medicine meant to induce sickness or death.

“You should get going.” Ellie kept her voice hushed and her gaze locked on the rusted pickup.

“Why don’t we both leave.” Jordan also stared at the truck. He didn’t want Raymond witnessing something that could escalate into more than heated words.

“I thought we were done with the likes of you around here.” A high screech blasted from Mrs. Pemmican’s mouth.

Her husband stalked around the vehicle. “Forget about him. Nothing but a coward. Murders our grandchild and then runs off to the city. Let’s go.”

“I’m not letting it go.” Mrs. Pemmican directed her glare at her husband. “He killed Andy. I’ll never let it go.” She repositioned her face of a pinched nose, scowling thin lips, and slashing eyes back on Jordan. “I told you, I told that damned police service, and told our useless Band Council, what’ll happen if you let the government tell us how to manage our people. You know darn well we had our way of policing before the white man thought to interfere. And this is what happens when we let them tell us what to do. Now my grandson’s dead…all because you wouldn’t honor tradition.”

Author Maggie

An Ojibway from Northwestern Ontario, Maggie resides in the country with her husband and their fur babies, two beautiful Alaskan Malamutes. When she’s not writing, she can be found pulling weeds in the flower beds, mowing the huge lawn, walking the Mals deep in the bush, teeing up a ball at the golf course, fishing in the boat for walleye, or sitting on the deck at her sister’s house, making more wonderful memories with the people she loves most.

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