The Floating Writer
What’s New?
Current Book
Mimi
MIMI is a standalone psychological thriller. It will appeal to readers who enjoyed the morally complex antiheroes in Caroline Kepnes’s You, the female con artist in Julie Clark’s The Lies I Tell, the high-stakes thriller with a dangerous target in Ashley Elston’s The First Lie Wins, and the twisty theme of Frieda McFadden’s The Housemaid.
Mimi Stone lives with a cat she inherited from an estate she stole from a dying friend. He’s her only companion; except for the younger brother she’s protected all her life—the closest thing Mimi has to a conscience. She makes a living emptying families of their fortunes. She moves from target to target, methodically winning over one member of the family in order to gain access to their estates.
But when Mimi sets her sights on Hunter, a local wealthy businessman, things begin to change. As she works to earn his trust, she breaks her cardinal rule and falls for him. He proposes and she accepts. This is turning out to be the heist of her life. She’s getting the man, as well as his money.
Until she realizes there’s another woman. When Mimi tries to follow Hunter out of the country as he leaves for a business trip, she finds all of her credit cards have been cancelled and her passport is missing. She must go to extreme measures to get herself on a plane and follow him to the quiet English countryside. Feeling love for the first time, she’s desperate to find out who the other woman is and why Hunter is so desperate to keep her away.
But once there, she finds all of her bank accounts have been wiped out. Stranded and broke in another country, a strange man shares a ride with her from the airport, and she later learns it wasn’t by chance. She’s being tracked. Her past is catching up with her, and the terrible truth is that for the first time, she’s not the hunter, she’s the target.
Upcoming Projects
Book 3
I have not titled this story yet, but it’s another thriller…stay tuned.
I also have anothervbook I’m working on which I’m not sharing until it’s finished, as I’m experimenting with a second or combined genre.
Possibly a bit more literary, or a combination of thriller and magic realism. The writer who inspired me most in adulthood, was Alice Hoffman, yes, of Practical Magic fame. I absolutely love her prose, characterization, setting, and a how she can make magic feel so normal and natural…believable. I aspire to be as good as her someday.
Because of this, I’m toying with the idea of bringing some literary and magic realism into my writing. We will just have to wait and see if I succeed at that.
I love writing on my boat. My favorite time is early in the morning and sometimes at night. But something about the water and the gentle rocking that gets my mind thinking about all sorts of ‘what ifs.’
My blog is another work in project. Once I get that page up and running with comments enabled, I will be able to share more of my journeys on the water as I write in real time.
Please subscribe to my newsletter below in order to receive updates. I do not spam, I promise. I’m hoping you will just get a weekly email of what’s new and come on over here to read it!
Stay tuned and stay with me on this crazy journey!
Ideas
Writing is Hard Work
If I had known just how hard this journey was, I would have done it anyway.
I’m learning that you can be a great writer, yet still not be good enough. There is so much to learn about the craft and you will get varying opinions on your work, which makes it the most difficult part.
One professional in the industry will tell you that you’re a brilliant writer with extraordinary talent and voice, and another will come along and tell you they aren’t getting a voice and that you’re telling more than showing. Another will come along and say, you write like a screewriter, it’s more like I’m seeing or watching the scenes rather than reading them. That to me is the epitome of ‘showing’ not ‘telling’. If I’m being honest, it causes complete confusion. This storytelling is something that will never ever please everyone.
The highs and lows are so dramatic! One minute you’re absolutely sure you are getting an agent and getting published, and the next you are sure you’re the worst writer ever.
Come along with me on this wild ride as I try to navigate this business (art) and get myself published. In the end, I’ll still be here writing every day because it’s what I love to do. I will still ask for opinions and critiques in order to grow, but I will work to keep my confidence in check as I take those in.
Contact
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About
Maria Vogt
The Long Story
I took the long way here…I knew I wanted to be a writer when I was in high school. In tenth grade, we were told to read the Herman Hesse book, Narcissus and Goldmund. I was dreading it, but something different happened. I was gripped by the storytelling. I remember thinking, ‘I want to write like this.’
Then I wrote an assignment for English class. We had to write one page describing doing something we know. A hobby, a sport, etc. I decided to write about my experience on the swim team. As I began, I thought it was boring and decided to twist it up and describe it in a funny way, all exaggerated and some made up. Well, my teacher gave me an A+ and told me I had nailed satire. He said I should be a writer.
I grew up around my father’s library of books which contained every genre imaginable! He was a symphony and opera conductor, but he had books of all kinds. Fiction, non-fiction, text books, you name it. From romance to thrillers to psychology textbooks, (odd right?) as well as autobiographies of every type of person. There were books on music and art as well. I would spend hours perusing through those books, and I knew again that I wanted to write one myself.
I found out later in life that I come from a long line of writers on my mother’s side. I discovered a complete novel bound in leather that my great-great grandmother had written in the 1800’s! Fascinating. Then I found out that my great-grandfather was a well-known editor of the San Francisco paper. He was so well-known that the AP papers found his locking himself out of his house to be a story of interest, and it was printed in the paper. He then bought a local newspaper in Ohio. I later learned that my second cousin who passed away far too young, had been working on a novel before he died. My mother was a great writer herself, although she never pursued it. The writing gene is strong!
Life took me in too many different directions to mention so although I was majoring in English in College, I never started my novel. Then I got married and had three children, including one who at four years old was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Her care was so intensive that I had to be vigilant with it 24/7. I didn’t have the energy to write yet on top of that.
Fast forward to now and having had a few different careers/businesses, kids are grown, and I finally said it’s time!!! I was fortunate enough to be able to leave my full-time job and focus on writing. I have spent the past eight years working on my craft and turned out two complete novels in that time. I’ve been working with professional editors and coaches along the way, as well as taking every craft class and reading every book on craft that I could find. I’m hyper-focused on achieving this goal as it feels like it’s now or never. As many people do, I’m kicking myself for not starting much sooner.
I will continue to work on this goal of getting published until it happens. I am a member of the American Writer’s Association, Women Fiction Writers Association, International Thriller Writers Association and the Italian-American Writers Association.
Stay tuned …
