Getting to Know the ‘Inedible’ Author M.G. Nelson!

Today I have author M.G. Nelson with me. She’s the author of ‘Inedible’ which is full of suspense and thrills. Check out our exclusive interview with the author, where we get to know a bit about her life on a farm, her inspiration, and more!

Tell us a bit about yourself. When did you discover you were a writer?

After I slave over my chicken and cattle chores on a small farm in the Midwest, I plop myself down in front of my computer and pound out reading material for, well, my readers.

My writing talent was first tickled in the 6th grade, when on assignment I wrote an odd but beguiling tale of Martians landing in a rural area. PS. I received an A on that little tale but alas it is lost to history. I blame my childhood cat—a notorious paper destroyer.

Authors who have inspired you and your work?

Man, I have an eclectic reading pattern so it’s hard to pin down just one author. Certainly, the rollicking books of Janet Evanovich influenced the pace and flavor of Inedible—but I found her main character’s social life unbelievable, a difficult concept for a pragmatic person like myself to wrap her mind around.

Lisa Scottoline’s books also influenced the writing style in this manner. Otherwise, The Jungle by Upton Sinclair had a large influence in the underlying theme of this book. Odd mix but I think I made it work in my novel Inedible.

Tell us a bit about Inedible. What was the inspiration behind it?

While the book is entirely a work of fiction, my disclosure is that I am a product of my environment. I worked in a beef packing (slaughter) plant which naturally had an influence on the tale.

An overarching inspiration behind it is the fractured food safety system in the USA and that fact that it is very much influenced by politics (groan) with just enough science behind it that the powers-that-be claim reason over insanity in monitoring our country’s food safety.

What kind of readers will Inedible appeal to?

Hmm….it’s a book of suspense, mystery, and thrills so definitely readers who enjoy those types of books. It gives a glimpse into a veterinarian’s life in a not commonly known career path, the dysfunction of a government agency, and an eyes wide open view of current small town America. Along with some good old fashioned “I’m going to get you” intrigue.

Your thoughts about self and traditional publishing?

Both types of publishing have their sucky points. It’s been difficult to navigate this process. I fell flat on my face with traditional publishing. Inedible has been a book that I’ve worked on for 8 years; it’s been completed for about 4 of those years and it could not find a home with any traditional publisher. My wastebasket was lined with rejection slips—of course I only received a response on maybe 60% of my query letters. Self-publishing is fairly easy—it’s the marketing and sales that are the hard part.

Any upcoming works we should know about? What’s next for you?

Yep! I have written a YA adventure-fantasy-saga novel with a working (and probably final) title of “The Telling Mirror.”  The book is finished and in its first stages of editing and reader comments. Unless a miracle occurs, it will also be self-published with the hopes of having it on the market this spring. I’m working with my illustrator—Nick Nelson (nepotism alert: he’s my nephew)—to have some awesome illustrations included in the book.

You can get to know more about M.G. Nelson through her Facebook page and Twitter.

Check out ‘Inedible’ on Amazon.

Have you read Inedible yet? Let us know!

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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