"Q&A With Maggie Doyne: “Between the Mountain and the Sky"

April 14, 2022

Photo Courtesy of Maggie Doyne

Author: Maggie Doyne

Author Bio:

"Maggie Doyne, co-founder of the BlinkNow Foundation and Kopila Valley Children’s Home and School (Surkhet, Nepal), and author of Between the Mountain and the Sky"

1. Overall, what was your writing process like for “Between the Mountain and the Sky”?

I had loads of material (too much material) from journaling and keeping notes and writing letters for some many years. The process was all about putting it together and finding the narrative arc. I needed help and was so lucky to find Shannon and a really strong team because as my editor said “it was like a big messy closet that needed organizing.”

I happened to be taking a hiatus from Nepal on an island in Canada where my in-laws live during COVID which was really nice to just rest and reflect on the journey from the past 15 years.

2. What do you hope people get from reading this book?

I want people to feel inspired and hopeful. I want people to feel like they can make a difference and that one day we can live in a world where children are safe scared and loved.

3. What does your ideal writing environment look like?

I have learned over the years to write in all kinds of environments. The most important thing is just to write!!! I’m so grateful that I took notes and wrote all these years. It’s a way to process complex thoughts and emotions and freeze time. I wrote often after a long day when the kids were asleep. I also wrote on buses and planes and when I was working through a problem in my head.

4. What is your advice to people who are hesitant to leave their lives behind and go out to experience the world via traveling?

Traveling was a magical tool for me to learn more about the world and myself- it’s not for everyone! For me it’s been one of the best decisions I ever made.

5. Please let us know more about the BlinkNow Foundation and how can those unfamiliar get involved?

BlinkNow's mission to change the world by empowering Nepal’s children. What started as enrolling one girl in school, has grown to a Children's Home for over 40 children, a school with over 400 students, a Women's Center empowering the women of our community, sustainable farming programs, a health clinic, and so much more. Readers can visit BlinkNow.org or follow us on social media to learn more about our work and the amazing community we serve in Nepal.

6. How has the response to “Between the Mountain and the Sky” been from readers?

The response has been wonderful. People tell me they laugh and cry! I really wanted young people to read it and I’m happy to see it’s also finding its way to a young adult audience.

7. Where is the most exhilarating place you have ever read a book?

Probably the Himalayas! I mean nothing more exhilarating than those beautiful mountains.

8. When did you fall in love with writing?

First I fell in love with books. We didn’t have a TV growing up so we read a ton. I loved books! Then in school I was lucky to have some incredible teachers who told me they saw potential in me.

9. What’s your best advice for getting over writer’s block?

Just sit down, butt in the chair and write. Words on paper. Eventually something decadent will come out.

10. What’s the best book you have read this year so far?

I really loved Aarti Namdev Shahani’s memoir "Here We Are".

11. What’s the best advice you have ever received on happiness?

In Nepal I learned that true happiness comes from human connection. The Nepali community are some of the happiest people I have ever met.

12. Do you plan on writing more books in the future?

I would love to do a children’s book about Kopila.