Mother, daughter share writing passion

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This article was published 23/03/2017 (3331 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Maybe this mother and daughter duo can write each other’s sentences.

Marie Pugh and her daughter Morgan have a way with the written word, and share some commonalities beside the fact they’re published authors. The Minnedosa writers draw upon the rich tapestry of a historical western for the worlds they create, and like to write a series of books through the vantage point of different characters.

Oh, and there’s a healthy combative streak just under the surface.

“She’s pretty competitive when I write more words than her,” said Morgan, 13, as her mother laughed.

“I don’t like to let her beat me,” Marie added.

If the competition is how many books one can write, Marie has the upper hand.

After her first book was self-published less than two years ago, Marie has already released 11 more books independently, each a family-friendly love story inspired by the Westerns of lore.

Varying plots touch on mail-order brides, gambling and betrayal.

“It’s not straightforward, you got to make it a little more exciting,” she shared.

Marie has wanted to write books for as long as she can remember, but she didn’t put pen to paper until beating breast cancer four years ago.

“It makes you realize that there’s no sense sitting around and waiting, because all those things you say you’re going to do some day, you may as well do now.”

Since then, she has taken a course on the ins and outs of book publishing, and is writing away. On an average day, she’s penning about 5,000 words.

Publishing a book does not have to be the time-onerous process it once was, she explains.

“The barrier to entry to do this now is a little bit fairer for people who want to get into writing.”

In a matter of months, she can go from conceptualizing a narrative to writing her book and making it available for sale online as an e-book through Amazon. She has a couple editors she uses and relies on a cover artist.

Much of the battle for an independent author is advertising.

Many first-time authors are lost in the shuffle, she said, and require regular promotion to get their book in the face of prospective readers.

It has meant offering her first book in a series for free on a popular email mailing list, and hoping people are compelled enough to buy the next.

Marie has now developed an audience, with the average book garnering between 1,200 to 2,500 sales.

Her e-books usually sell for $2.99 and she gets a cut of every rental from Amazon Kindle readers.

“I make probably as much as what some people do in a full-time job.”

Inspired by her mother, Morgan is a self-published author before she can even ride a car.

“I find that it’s kind of like reading, but I get to make all the decisions,” she said.

Morgan has since written two books. Her first, published last summer, chronicles a young girl in the Wild West trying to raise her siblings after her mother passes away.

Her friends at Tanner’s Crossing School in Minnedosa are impressed.

“They think it’s pretty cool,” said the Grade 8 student. “When we’re at school and we do essays, they always get me to read them over.”

The teenager has also won over readers fond of her mother’s stories.

“I’ve had a lot of my fans reach out to me that have read Morgan’s book and said how impressed they were and how they can’t believe she’s only 13,” Marie said.

The mother and daughter intend to keep writing. Summer break is when the most time is available for Morgan.

For her mother, book-writing efforts have become a full-time job, and a fulfilling one at that.

“It’s nice to hear that the words you’ve been working on and the worlds you’ve been creating, that people have been enjoying them,” Marie said.

The Pugh authors go by pen names, Kay P. Dawson for Marie and Morgan Dawson for the teenager.

Find out more at facebook.com/kaypdawsonauthor and facebook.com/morgandawsonauthor.

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