Interview with Author Rie McGaha:
Hi Rie. Thank you for doing this interview. I would like to welcome you to the Romance at Heart Interview and Author Grilling session. *bg* We are interested to find out as much about you as we possibly can, so lets get started...
- Please tell us about your latest book.
Calen is the first book in the My Soul To Keep Trilogy. It’s a paranormal, time traveling, mystical fairy tale for grown up girls!
- What can we expect from you in the future?
Caleb and Arion are the next two books in the trilogy and I’m working on the sequel to Blood Line, which came out last October.
- How do we find out about you and your books?
You can visit me at www.riemcgaha.com or www.myspace.com/novelsbyrie
- How may readers contact you?
Drop me a line at riemcgaha@gmail.com or leave me a message on my space
- Why did you decide to write romance novels?
I grew up on fairy tales and always loved the idea of happily ever after, and as an adult I’ve loved reading romance novels, so writing them was the next step.
- How much of your personality and life experiences are in your writing?
That really depends on the story. I’ve done a lot of things in my life so I have a lot to draw on. Calen is pure fairy tale, but Blood Line was a dream my husband had. We both drove big trucks cross-country, and this story is about a truck driver and his wife being attacked by a werewolf.
- When did you first think about writing and what prompted you to submit your first ms?
I’ve been writing all of my life. Even as a child I used to write my own stories. I wrote my first romance in the 8th grade, but as I grew older, married and had children, the struggles of day to day life replaced thoughts of writing professionally. I continued to write stories for my children, but it wasn’t until they were moved out on their own that I began thinking of writing for publication again.
- Generally, how long does it take you to write a book?
Again, that depends on the book. Blood Line took about a week of actual writing, but the rewrites and editing took over a year. Calen began as a single book but kind of took on a life of its own and wound up being so long it had to be broken into three parts and it works much better that way. I’ve been working on it for about two years. And the sequel to Blood Line, Ancient Blood, isn’t quite finished, but I’ve been working on it for about two years as well. I wrote Grounded, a short story published last fall, in about two hours.
- Do you have a set schedule for writing or do you just go with the flow?
I’m a go with it kinda girl! All of my kids are gone now and my husband does his own thing and that leaves me with lots of time to myself.
- What is your writing routine once you start a book?
Now that depends on the book and the voices in my head! When the voices start talking about characters and a storyline, I have no choice to write until they run out steam. Sometimes, like with Blood Line, I wrote for 8-10 hours a day for a week straight until it was finished. For Calen, My Soul To Keep Trilogy, there were days at a time when I didn’t write at all and then the voices started again and I’d write for hours or days, depending on how much they felt like telling me!
- What about your family, do they know not to bother you when you are writing - or are there constant interruptions?
Since the kids are gone, I don’t have them interrupting me, but I have three indoor dogs and a cat who worse than the kids ever were! Harley Davidson is a French bulldog, he’s my baby. Mitzi is a Boston Terrier, who was very near death when I found her, and Sonya is my husband’s Chihuahua. Snickerdoodle is my kitty baby. I rescue abandoned animals and have 18 others who are up for adoption.
- What do you do to relax and recharge your batteries?
I have a 3-person Jacuzzi in my bedroom. I fill it up, get a glass of wine, a book I want to read, and a paper and pen. I drink, I read, and I relax and sometime the voices chat away about new characters or storylines, and that’s what the pen and paper are for!
- What truly motivates you in general? In your writing?
In general, the dogs. It’s like a daycare, someone has to take care of them, feed them, clean up after them, and of course, I also have to play ref when they get into fights and I play vet when they’re injured. They sometimes come to me in pretty bad shape, scared, and I have to tend their wounds, give them shots, and nurse them back to health. In my writing, I really don’t know. Inspiration can hit at anytime or anywhere.
- Where do your ideas come from?
Ha! The voices in my head is all I can say!
- Do you feel humor is important in women's fiction and why?
Absolutely, but not just in fiction, in life! I think if we can’t laugh at each other, and ourselves the world would be the worse for it.
- What are your thoughts on love scenes in romance novels, do you find them difficult to write?
I don’t find the love scenes difficult to write, but I find the actual mechanics of sex difficult to write. Sometimes I can see in my head what I want the characters to do, but getting everyone to do it and getting it written out so it flows and feels real can be a problem.
- What kind of research do you do?
That depends on the storyline. For Deadly Dreams I did a lot of research on crime scenes, crime scene units, the medical examiner etc., on Blood Line there was little research on the story itself, but geography became a factor and I had to research that aspect.
- Would you like to write a different genre than you do now, or sub-genre?
Genre? Seriously, I pay no attention to genre at all. Some of my novels cross genre lines back and forth so much I don’t even know which one I started in!
- What does your husband think of your writing?
He thinks it’s cool and gives him something to brag about!
- Do you ever ask him for advice?
Absolutely. He’s a weapons expert so whenever I have fight scenes, guns, swords or knives, he’s the one I ask to make sure I’ve written everything accurately.
- Please tell us about yourself (family, hobbies, education, etc.)
I have 7 daughters and 5 sons and 23 grandchildren with number 24 coming the end of this month and number 25 & 26 due the end of October. I’m married to the greatest man in the world, Nathan, and I like to sew and bake and spend time with my grandkids, I garden and wrestle with the dogs too! I have an eclectic educational background and have worked at a lot of jobs. As I said earlier I drove big trucks cross-country, I worked as kennel master at a no kill animal shelter, I’ve waitressed, tended bar, and I was a drug and alcohol counselor at an all male prison where I was the only female on a unit with 120 convicted men. I’ve worked in drug court, and I was an LSI Assessor for probation and parole, which means I assessed drug and alcohol offenders and wrote treatment and sentencing recommendations for the courts.
- Fill in the blank favorites –
Dessert: Cannoli and Tira Misu
City: San Francisco, CA-I love everything about that city! Pier 39, the Palace of Fine Arts, the restaurants, the zoo, and the people there are awesome. I especially love hearing all the different accents and languages of the different tourists.
Season: Fall. I’m an October baby and fall is a lovely time of year with the leaves changing, the weather is a little cooler but not too cold yet. I just love it.
Type of hero: 15th century Highlander, I just love all that brawn and the whole ancient culture of Scotland
Type of heroine: Strong, funny, bold
- What are some of your favorite things to do?
Depends on the season, but with summer coming, I look forward to having BBQ’s, going to the lake, riding the 4-wheeler, and riding the motorcycle on day trips
- Do you have a favorite author?
James Patterson-I love his Alex Cross series
- Favorite book?
Of Mice and Men, I just love that book and cry every time I read it
- Who are some of your other favorite authors to read?
Alyssa Day, Lynsay Sands, and Sherrilyn Kenyon
- Who, if anyone, has influenced your writing?
Mr. Hollihan, my 9th grade English teacher at Nova High, Redding, CA. He was the toughest teacher I ever had and the loudest. And I learned more from him in the 9th grade than I did all the rest of high school. Recently, my editor, Jill Noble, has been awesome at teaching me the technical side of writing. She’s also the owner of Noble Romance Publishing and she’s a published author as well. www.nobleromance.com
- Are you a member of any author groups - RWA, critique groups, etc.?
Romance Writers United, and I belong to several on line groups
- What do you think of critique groups in general?
I think they are terrific. No one sees their own flaws, so its great to have an outside source read your material and give you constructive criticism
- Where do you see yourself in five years?
Older? And with many more grandchildren!
- How long have you been writing - have you always wanted to be a writer?
I’ve been writing since I was old enough to make the letter “A”. But I didn’t always want to be a writer, I first wanted to be an English teacher.
- How many books have you written, how many have been published?
I’ve written eleven or so, but have probably twice that many in various stages of completion. I have 4 published works, counting Calen.
- After you've written your book and it's been published, do you ever buy it and/or read it?
No. I have my author copies that I use for promotions, and I will pick excerpts here and there, but I never sit down and read my own books.
- Among your own books, have you a favorite book?
My favorite book hasn’t been published yet, but I’m hopeful.
- Favorite hero or heroine?
They are in the unpublished book and I love both of the lead characters so much.
- What book for you has been the easiest to write? The hardest?
The easiest was Grounded. It’s a short little romp with a Greek god and took me about 2 hours to complete. The most difficult has been Ancient Blood. I couldn’t find the right place for the werewolf body to have been kept for centuries, but then archeologists found a pyramid that is nearly 5,000 years old buried near Thebes, so I’m back on track!
- The most fun?
I have fun with all my books. There’s certain scenes and characters in each book that I just had a blast writing.
- Which comes first, the story, the characters or the setting?
That depends on the story. Sometimes I will hear the voices telling me about a character and I’ll jot that down, and then I’ll hear the storyline, or sometimes the storyline will come first and that’s always the easiest for me. Once I know the storyline, the rest is just filling in the blanks.
- What are the elements of a great romance for you?
I like a great love story but with conflict between the couple. I don’t think anyone’s love story comes easily. I think it’s sometimes just learning how to live with the person you’d most like to kill!
- What is the hardest part of writing/the easiest for you?
The hardest is coming up with new sexual encounters, and the easiest is the sarcasm and I love doing murder/crime scenes.
- Are you in control of your characters or do they control you?
Again, that depends on the character and the story. I like to think I am always in control, but I find that somewhere down the line, they seem to take over and I’m just fingers on a keyboard.
- Have you experienced writer's block---> If so, how did you work through it?
I personally don’t ever get writer’s block, but the voices in my head do and then I just have to wait them out! LOL
- What is the most rewarding thing about being a writer?
Being able to live in my own worlds, be what I want to be, create my own situations and resolutions…it’s like playing God!
- If you weren't writing, what would you be doing?
I would probably be driving my husband crazier than I already do, and I’d probably still be working with Department of Corrections in some capacity.
- Are there any words of encouragement for unpublished writers?
Keep at it. Develop a thick skin early on because those rejections feel personal sometimes. Join writing groups, get to know other authors, ask questions, and keep learning.
Thank you very much for taking the time with us and answering our questions. I really appreciate this interruption to your busy schedule. Good Luck, and we will be looking forward to the next delightful creation from your talented imagination!
Yours in good reading,
Rose!
Author Links:
Rie's Website Rie's MySpace Email Blog
RaH Links:
Review
Purchase Links:
Buy Rie's Books at Noble Romance