Member Spotlight: Marc Evan Liebman

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Becoming a novelist is something I’ve wanted to do since I was a young man. Now I can afford to be a full-time writer!!! Seriously, I love to sit and read a good book. So, my novels are my contribution to others who love a good story. Plus, in many ways they are a legacy to those generations that follow. Last, in every one of my books, there are messages to the reader such as the plight of Soviet Jews, the evils of dictatorships, etc. as well as tidbits of history.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? Take a break and walk away for a few hours. If that doesn’t work, I can work through a scene either while working out or walking my dogs, or just being away from the manuscript for a day or two.

What is your favorite time to write? Mornings. I start around 6:30. However, I can write anywhere I have the time and can blot out the world around me.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? One, make your characters interesting and different Two, every passage starts with context, action and then conversation Three, don’t be afraid to write about things you don’t know anything about, just do your research

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? My books are commercially successful. I thought I was lucky to get the first one out in 2012 after fits and starts for two decades. Now, nine years later, nine are out and two more are on the way. And, I am writing an Age of Sail series – C.S. Forester and Patrick O’Bryan, watch out. I have many more books to write!!!

Marc Liebman’s Flight of the Pawnee is out now with Crossroad Press.