Margaret Johnson- Hodge April 2000

An avid reader since the age of five, when I was twelve I read Maya Angelou’s "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings," and it changed my life. I saw the incredible journey of a little black girl who grew to be this magnificent woman, who told stories with beauty and truth and grace and I wanted to do that too, So at twelve, without know much about anything, I started my first novel. I also began to write poetry, exploring my own heart and trying to make sense of the world. Later on I took the "music" of poems and incorporated it into my novel writing. I always try to hear the music inside my stories.

2) What process did you go through to enter the writing industry? Was it a difficult journey?

Getting published was a road that started with me thinking it would never happen to actually being offered my first book contract. I took a writer’s workshop with a wonderful woman by the name of Brenda Connor Bey in 1989 In 1993 Brenda made me attend a "Meet The Agent" affair and as a result I got my first agent. From 1993 to 1996 I went through two agents, thirteen publishing houses and a ton of rewriting. It was a very exciting time and a very depressing time as well. I would have editors call me excited about my book only to have the publishing house pass. I’ve had meetings with two of the biggest publishing companies out there, did rewrites to their specification and had my book turned down anyway. Then my agent disappeared on me for a couple of months and I didn’t know where she had gone. She eventually contacted me but I knew then she was not the right person for me. In 1995 I ended our relationship.

I did not have an agent, had no offer, but I kept writing. In 1996 I received a call from on old friend who told me an editor at St. Martin’s Press was looking for black fiction. I sent a query letter and could not believe it when I got a letter back. The editor was Glenda Howard. When she made me an offer, I got a new agent Neeti Madan, and have been with the both of them ever since.

Getting published wasn’t a difficult journey, but it was not an easy one either. I’d had endless days where I waited for the phone to ring and it didn’t. Three years is not a lifetime but when you just want your "big break", it can feel like thirty years. I received dozens of rejections letters in the process, but I just kept on writing, believing that one day I would sell my first novel and I did.

3) I am a huge fan of your works. I love your style, rhythm, and how your stories deal with painful relationship issues in a realistic manner. How would you describe your writing style?

I would describe my writing style as "lyrical." I try to bring a certain flow into my wording. I am fanatical about being too wordy and like to drop off words like "He" or "she". I will write a sentence like "Mya had to get out. Just couldn’t stay." as opposed to "Mya had to get out of there. She just couldn’t stay." To me it sounds better. It has rhythm, that music I look for.

With regard to what I write about, I’m always try to explore real life with real people in real situations. No knight in shining armor for my characters. It is much more powerful for someone to save themselves instead of looking for someone else to do it for them. It’s unfortunate that I have been penned as a romance writer because I do not adhere to the genre. I consider myself more a relationship writer and I’ve had readers hate my work because it wasn’t a romance novel.

4) What is your goal when writing stories?

My goal is to take a situation and lay it bare. Expose all that is going on and isn’t. Tell the story in truth, good, bad or indifferent.

5) Which writers influence your style?

The two writers who influenced me most is James Baldwin and Maya Angelou. James Baldwin was a prolific genius, and talk about music? You read his words and you can hear the jazz, fusion, spirituals and hymnals. There is none greater than James Baldwin when it comes to laying down the melody of a excellent novel. Maya Angelou influenced me because after reading her book, it gave me the hope and belief that I could write too.

6) We are aware that Butterscotch Blues, your first hardcover, will be released soon. What is this story about?

Butterscotch Blues is the deepest stories I’ve written to date. The premise is this: What do you when you meet the man of your dreams, who not only loves you with everything you possess, but elevates you as a woman, casts off all your personal demons, loves you like no other has, only to discover he is HIV positive? That’s what Butterscotch Blues is about. It’s about meeting the man you wanted forever and finding out that he may infect you or die soon. Does your heart allow you to leave? If not, how do you stay?

7) Thinking of your books, who are your favorite characters? What process do you go through in developing your characters?

My characters are supposed to be like children, I’m supposed to love them all. But every now and then I get attached to someone. Carol-Anne was one of my favorites. I rooted for her, cried with her, prayed with her and hoped for her. Sandy, the lead female in Butterscotch, is another. I wept with her. My heart just ached as I wrote the book.

With regards to developing my characters, I play the "what if" game with my stories. With The Real Deal, I thought "What if a Sista from Harlem meets a white man from LA? Could she get with that? Could her black upbringing, black self love and pride allow her to peel back the curtain and let him in?" A New Day came from a need to explore secondary characters in The Real Deal. With Warm Hands I asked myself "Why would a woman jeopardize her own happiness?" Butterscotch is "How do you walk away from a man you love with all your heart who is HIV positive?"

8) Based on your experience, what do you love most about being a writer?

Being able to "go to work" in my pajamas is the best thing about being a full time writer. Being home for my children, my husband on his days off and helping out my mother (she’s 84, God bless her heart), are the other. I must take this moment to say that my biggest supporter is my husband Terence Anthony Hodge. He gave me his blessings to stay home and write back when I wasn’t making a dime from my writing. He has been there, behind me all the way. He is my backbone, the man I love and I am so appreciative of him.

Okay, back to the question. What I love about being a writer is I can take a nap when I want, get up late, don’t "go to work" at all, and don’t ever have to call in sick. But the flip side of that very very lovely coin is when it’s just me and my computer and I have to fry my brain to get through a chapter, or figure out what’s going to happen next and there’s no co-worker to chat with, break up the monotony, then it gets tough. But I have the best job in the whole wide world and I am very truly blessed.

9) Have you been touring in support of Warm Hands? If so, where will your tour take you?

I will be at my local Borders Bookstore at the end of April, and have been invited to book clubs to discuss my books. I’m not certain what is planned for Butterscotch Blues in regards to touring, but I am happy to say that it will be mentioned in the July issue of Essence Magazine.

Thanks for taking the time to listen.

Books by Margaret Johnson-Hodge:

In addition to seeing how Sandy fares, we're privileged to witness the journeys of Britney a mother and wife, who realizes that she's blessed and is not afraid to acknowledge that, Janice, a woman who seems to have made strides but who must cope and overcome setbacks, and Martha, a lady who battles demons in the only ways she knows how.

As with all her previous works, Margaret Johnson-Hodge has once again penned a story that delves deep beneath the surface of relationships. In this novel, MJH gets down and dirty, from telling the wondrous things of life, to revealing those shocking and unexpected incidents that make us cringe as we realize everyone goes through troubles and must seek to find deliverance. The writer has done an excellent job in bringing forth this sequel, unmasking numerous emotions, showing the strength and downfall of the human spirit, and still providing hope by the story's end. Bravo, Margaret. I'm ready for the next one!

Review of Warm Hands

Warm Hands by Margaret Johnson-Hodge offers a realistic contemporary relationship story about a woman named Mya who's forced to evolve after making some tough choices. A relationship with Vincent has ended incompletely but she's open to begin a new love with Jeff, a runner whom she meets on the track. Jeff adores her and Mya feels the same towards Jeff, that is, until they are engaged to be married and she runs into her former flame Vincent, a man who's still on her brain. One poor decision later she's found herself in a psychological place where it doesn't seem as if she'll survive.

What is wonderful about this story is that the writer puts you there. You can see Mya and feel her every emotion, every step of the way whether painful or joyous. This story covers the gamut and the writer did a superb job. -Hodge.