Blogger Interview: Margot Kinberg

‘Because I’m a writer, blogging
doesn’t really feel like work to me’

© Margot Kinberg

Indefatigable is the word I’d use to describe Margot Kinberg—academician, writer, and blogger. Not a day goes by when Margot does not write about crime and mystery fiction on her blog Confessions of a Mystery Novelist..., visit other people’s blogs, and leave thoughtful comments. The mystery novelist and Associate Professor at National University, La Jolla, CA, has written three Joel Williams novels and is currently revising the fourth. Margot has been blogging since 2009, introducing her readers to the pleasures and treasures of crime and mystery fiction.

In the first of a new series of interviews with book bloggers, Margot Kinberg gives us a ringside view of what blogging means to her and how it has influenced her reading and writing.

Margot, when and why did you start blogging?
I started blogging in August 2009. At the time, my first novel, Publish or Perish, had recently been released, and I wanted to introduce myself and my work to readers. I thought blogging might be a way to do that without being obnoxious or intrusive about it.

What was the motivation, the single impulse, that prompted you to become a blogger?
I think the most important motivation for me to start blogging was the desire to be a part of the crime fiction community. I wanted to join the group of crime fiction readers and writers, and blogging is one of the best ways to do that.

Why did you choose to focus on crime and mystery fiction and pick ‘Confessions of a Mystery Novelist...’ as your blog title?
I’ve been a fan of crime and mystery fiction for nearly my entire reading life. I’ve read more crime fiction than I have other genres, and that’s also the genre I write. So I was hoping that I might be able to share something of interest to other crime fiction fans. And I wanted to learn about other books and authors that are out there. There is far too much fine crime fiction for any one person to know about it all.

As far as my blog’s title goes, I wasn’t sure exactly what to call it at first. I wanted to make it clear that I’m a crime writer. In these days, authors really do have to do their own promotion. At the same time, I wanted to show that the main theme of my blog is not me, but crime fiction. Since I started the blog, I’ve thought a few times about changing the name. But so far, it’s working.

“...blogging has given me very helpful discipline of writing every day. Every time you write, you get better at it. Keeping a blog is, in my opinion, an effective way to plan, focus, write, revise, edit and publish. All of those are things authors need to learn to do well.”

How do you manage to blog every single day and also visit so many other blogs without fail?
That’s not an easy question to answer, actually. It’s a bit like asking a cook how he or she decides how to season a certain dish. The answer you sometimes get is, ‘I don’t know. A little of this, a little of that…’ There is so much depth, breadth and variety in crime fiction that there’s always something to say about it. And since I’m a writer, I’m also an observer. So as I think about the genre, and what I see, hear and read, and what happens to me, I get plenty of inspiration.

As far as visiting other blogs, I learn far too much from other bloggers not to visit them. I get great ideas for books to read, interesting perspectives, and more. So it’s worth it to me to make the time to visit other blogs. I learn with each visit. 

Are there days when you feel, “God, I'm so tired of blogging. I want to give it up and just sit and read books like I used to.”
Not really, to be honest. Of course, there are times when I’m not feeling well, or when work or other commitments crowd me. And I get exhausted, like anyone else does. But because I’m a writer, blogging doesn’t really feel like work to me. It helps me to focus, and it allows me to go on about a topic that’s of real interest to me. What more could you want?

First we had work-life balance. Now we have work-life-blog. How do you balance blogging with your personal and professional commitments? 
Aye, there’s the rub! And, since I’m only human, I’ll admit that I don’t always balance everything perfectly. I don’t see how anyone can. But I do try to plan carefully–I think that’s vital–so that everything gets done. Some days I’m more successful at that than I am on other days… I also try to streamline my life, so that I don’t end up driving myself too hard. There’s nothing wrong with meetings of reasonable length, easy-care clothes, simple recipes and automatic posting of blogs to all of one’s social media outlets. And coffee.

What has blogging done for you, and especially for your own reading and writing? 
Now you’re touching on the real reasons I keep blogging. For one thing, blogging has introduced me to some truly fine people, such as yourself, who have taught me much about books and reading. Whether I’ve met them in person or not, the other members of the book blogging community have enriched my life. I’ve learned so much from everyone. Of course, there is that little matter of the TBR, but I am very grateful for the friendships I’ve formed and the things I’ve learned.

And that leads me to your question about reading. I’ve become much more informed about crime fiction as a result of my blogging. I’ve gotten to know many new-to-me authors, and read all sorts of books that I wouldn’t otherwise have done.

Reading more, and more varied, crime fiction has also made me, I hope, a better writer. In fact, that’s advice I’d give to any writer: read. Read a lot. It does improve one’s writing. I also think that blogging has given me very helpful discipline of writing every day. Every time you write, you get better at it. Keeping a blog is, in my opinion, an effective way to plan, focus, write, revise, edit and publish. All of those are things authors need to learn to do well.

I’ve also learned a lot from the writing-related blogs I follow. Other writers face the same challenges that I do, and have found interesting ways to meet them. And I’ve gotten a wealth of information about the entire writing process; that’s helped me, too. Blogging has given me access to invaluable writing resources. With all of that benefit, how could I not keep blogging? 

Thank you very much, Margot.