Intimate Conversation with Monica Mathis-Stowe

Intimate Conversation with Monica Mathis-Stowe

At age ten, Monica Mathis-Stowe was introduced to the world of romantic fiction by an older cousin who worked at a local library, and it was "love at first read." She simply couldn't get enough. Reading for fun opened her mind to new experiences.

As a teenager, she decided to become a writer on a hot, summer day while reading in her bedroom. Having just finished a chapter where the author described a ski resort so vividly, she got up from her bed and looked out her bedroom window, expecting to see snow-capped mountains and feel frigid temperatures. She wanted that power, the ability to make people feel and experience life through her words and stories.

Instead of just reading novels, she studied them, determined to create entertaining stories like the published authors whose work she enjoyed. Her favorite authors include Jackie Collins, Terry McMillan, Mary Higgins Clark, and Carl Weber. She enjoys reading all genres, but her favorite is contemporary and romantic fiction with strong, independent women as lead characters.

Her novels describe the drama in relationships among families, lovers, friends, and colleagues. She likes to take her readers on a roller-coaster ride of emotions that will make them laugh, cry, gasp, think, and question people and their actions.

Her first novel, Where Did We Go Wrong? is scheduled to hit bookstores in April 2012. In the meantime, she is busy at work on future novels. There is nothing more exciting to her than creating a fictional world with flawed characters who consume her thoughts and tell her how they want the story to play out.

Monica is a native of Washington, D.C., and a graduate of Nyack College with a degree in Organizational Management. When she's not pounding the keyboard crafting her next novel, she works as an investigator in the metropolitan Washington area. She currently lives in Prince George's County, Maryland, with her brave, sexy firefighter husband and their loving, handsome son.

 In her free time, she travels as much as she can, but when she's home, she's surrounded by her family and friends. She is a member of Romance Writers of America (RWA) and several writers' networks and groups.  Life is good!

BPM:  What does your work speak to?

My work speaks to my ability to develop a story line that has a large appeal to a very broad audience.

BPM:  You believe in....

I believe in the "Art of Freedom" Freedom to live, laugh, enjoy the beauty of life..... A freedom that allows me to escape into a work of make belief where I can create and reach my highest zenith of realism.

BPM:  You are humbled by...

I am humbled by the amount of people who have read and commented on my work. You can’t help but to feel humble when you read a review from someone in a country you’ve never visited.

BPM:  Faith allows you to...

Faith allows me to put everything in God's hands knowing that He can handle it all. It is a comfortable, serene feeling that allows me to rest in knowing that with Him, all is well.

BPM:  Criticism makes you

Criticism makes me look inward, re-assess, re-group, take a second look to see what needs to be changed in the way I see, think and act. It's a reality check.

BPM:  A talent mind is...

A talented mind belongs to a person who has been enriched, cultivated and nourished by the diversity in the world they live in. An individual with a talented mind is not afraid to share their knowledge with others and embraces each person’s uniqueness.

BPM:  When you are afraid you will

When I’m afraid, I become impulsive and act without thinking, which often causes me to make mistakes and wrong decisions.

BPM:  Your fondest childhood/college memory

My favorite childhood memory is family reunions in my mother's hometown, Magnolia, NC. There was much gaiety as family members from far and near joined to together to share family stories, feast on foods fresh from the garden, play games, laugh, talk, hug, and show much love to each other.

BPM:  What you learned from your readers

I have learned that my readers are passionate about my writing, and highly opinionated about it. They become involved with the characters and feel free to express their thoughts with me. They are loyal and faithful and I am forever grateful for them.

BPM:  The greatest threat to literary freedom

The greatest threat to literary freedom is not being able to speak freely because of the possibility of censorship.

BPM:  Do you view your writing as a talent or a career

I view my writing as a talent that can lead to a career.

BPM:  What you know for sure

I know for sure that I am going to continue writing while at the same time keeping my family balanced. While writing is a passion, my greatest love, next to God, is my family. I will not jeopardize their happiness. They mean the world to me.