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An Interview with Catherine E. McLean ~ #mfrworg
Also available at other
online e-book retailers
PRICE: $4.99
GENRE: Paranormal Fantasy Romance
PUBLISHER: Soul Mate Publishing
RELEASE DATE: September 26, 2012
While
investigating a series of murders, warlock Tienan De'Argossi encounters
Janay--a lovely, dirk-wielding, down-on-her-luck ex-peacekeeper who talks to
archangels. When she rescues his brother
from demons, Tienan figures he owes her.
So, other than she's plainspoken and gutsy, what's the harm in having
her as a house guest?
Which comes first, the story, the characters, or the setting?
Actually
a story is always sparked by an idea or question which intrigues me to the
point of asking more questions. For instance, the idea that sparked KARMA AND
MAYHEM, my paranormal-fantasy-romance was: What would happen if someone had two
souls? Followed by many more questions, such as: How could two souls reside in
one body? Who could handle having two souls within them? Who would the second
soul belong to? Why hadn't the second soul moved on to heaven or hell?
Of
course, the answers led me to the idea of reincarnation and good-versus-evil.
And then came the initial "story dump," which was Janay walking the
night, and that made it possible to extrapolate the rest of the story. For the
record, I'm not a pantser or a plotter, but a foundation writer when it comes
to generating a story.
Please tell us about yourself, family, hobbies, education, etc.
I'm
a wife, mother, veteran of fifteen years as a 4-H leader, a horseperson, and a storyteller.
Besides sewing being my favorite pastime, it's one that continues to garner me
many blue ribbons at the local fairs.
My
second hobby, which has also garnered me many ribbons, including a grand
championship, is photography. My favorite subjects are flowers (still life) and
nature. Last year, I upgraded my SLR (single lens reflex) for a Canon eighteen
megapixel digital. Although I post photos on my Pinterest boards, I mainly use
the photos for greeting cards.
As
to being a horseperson, my husband and I have bred, raised, and trained Morgan
Sport Horses. We and our daughter have earned championships in-hand, under
saddle, over fences, in harness, and in dressage. I'm also a Reserve National
Champion Competitive Trail Rider.
As
to my educational background, it's nothing remarkable. Public school, then Kent
State University for Business Administration—and years at the keyboard working
my way up from a Kelly Girl to an executive secretary. I turned to journalism
(University of Slippery Rock) and then short story and novel writing
(University of Oklahoma). I've also taken numerous writing courses from various
community colleges.
What does your husband
and daughter think of your writing?
My
husband will first kibitz that my writing "keeps me out of trouble"
and then tack on "its what I do and I should do what I do to be true to
myself." But, God bless him, he's also a mechanical engineer who catches
my "logic flaws" when I'm writing my women's starscape fiction.
As
to my daughter? She is my greatest fan who can't wait for me to finish a novel
so she can read it.
Do you ever ask your husband or daughter for advice?
Sometimes.
My husband is especially good at listening and telling me why my proposed ideas
for something scientific or mechanical won't or might not work. Since my
daughter is a pastry chef, she's my go-to person when it comes to foods, meals,
wines, liquors, spices, etc. in my stories. She helped me develop the
Choke-berry Shalamiz used in KARMA AND MAYHEM as the "blood of ages"
that the hero (Tienan) "baptized" Janay (the heroine) with in the
book. Another signed and numbered copy of that recipe is part of my
Spring-Summer Giveaway that's in progress at my website.
What about your family, do they know not to bother you when you are
writing or are there constant interruptions?
When
the decision was made that I was going to pursue writing novels, I had a
conversation with my husband and daughter. We agreed that I was not to be
disturbed unless: 1) someone was profusely bleeding, 2) the horses had escaped
their pasture, 3) it was a matter of life or death, or 4) a snake or other
undesirable critter had snuck into the house (I'm not fond of snakes, and I
have dropped pot lids over two so far. It's a century-old farmhouse nestled alongside
woodlands and such things happen).
How much of your personality and life experiences are in your
writing?
I
doubt my personality is part of my characters because I know they must be
individuals unto themselves. However, I do draw heavily on the personal,
emotional aspects of the ups and downs, and triumphs and tragedies, of life in
order to put the feeling and emotions on the page. For Janay's injury in KARMA
AND MAYHEM, I pulled from the aching pain of my own experience when my horse
refused a jump and my hip rammed into the jump standard's base. That netted me a badly bruised hip, which
became arthritic (and the ache can't be walked out).
Are you a member of any author or critique groups?
I'm
a member of RWA and the FF&P and WPRW chapters, Broad Universe, and
Pennwriters (my statewide organization). In Area 1 of Pennwriters (the
northwest corner of the state), there are six different groups that meet, so
I'm no more than an hour's drive from any of them. And yes, I have to drive
that far because I live in the boonies. I appreciate the eclectic mix of
writers in Pennwriters that keeps me on my craft toes and the individuals that
give me feedback.
What book for you has been the easiest to write? The hardest? The
most fun?
My
current work in progress, STARSHINE, a lighthearted, futuristic romance
adventure has not only been the most fun to write but the easiest. It seemed to
write itself.
As
to the hardest? That's KARMA AND MAYHEM because it had an entourage of
supporting cast and complicating characters that included Tienan's partner,
brother, and grandmother. Plus Janay, a host of veeds (energy symbiotes), a
vampire, two archangels, a reincarnated Samaria's soul, and three dastardly
witches. As I wrote, I kept a set of 3x5" cards of who was who and which
veed belonged to whom. KARMA AND MAYHEM is an intricate tale with subplots. To
remove any one of the characters and their plot threads would have unraveled
the entire story.
Do you feel humor is important in fiction and why?
Yes,
humor is important because people are people, and it's human nature to want to
lighten up situations. I had an editor purchase a short story of mine and
comment that sci-fi (space opera) needed more levity. Unfortunately, to
deliberately try to write that doesn't work for me. In other words, if it
happens in my stories, the humor is lighthearted, whimsical, witty even, but it
is always a natural outcome of who the character is. And, yes, I love it when
I'm drafting and a character hits me with a hilarious one-liner that makes me
laugh out loud.
What do you hope readers take with them after reading your work?
That
they enjoyed the story enough to tell someone else that my story was "a
good read."
What are a few of my favorite things:
Dessert - peach pie,
double crust, made from fresh peaches (or frozen) but not peach pie filling out
of the can
City - St. Louis
Season - Spring (life
renewing itself with flowers of all colors to be photographed!)
Type of hero - Beta
(though I've been told my heroes are alphas, I don't see them as that
macho-assertive)
Type of heroine - she's
down to earth, forthright and tends to be a "master sergeant" who
gets things done
Favorite beverage - iced
tea (even in winter I'll drink it)
Where can your readers find you?
Website: www.CatherineEmclean.com
Karma and Mayhem Blog: http://karmaandmayhem.blogspot.com/
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/catherinemclean
What’ your favorite place to hang out online?
Catherine
writes "Women's Starscape Fiction" because she likes a story where
characters are real people facing real dilemmas, and where their journey (their
adventure-quest, with or without a romance)is among the stars and solar
systems, and where there's always a satisfying ending.
Although
Catherine has sold short stories in science fiction, paranormal, and
contemporary to hard-copy and online anthologies and magazines since 1993, her
first novel Karma and Mayhem, (a paranormal-fantasy-romance) was
published in 2012.
