1. What were you in your life before you became a writer?
Did this influence your writing?
In some ways, it's fair to say I've
been a writer since grade school. I wrote a historical essay in sixth grade
that won a local award. The first short story I wrote was in eighth grade. In
high school, I began my love affair with poetry. I wrote poetry until a few
years ago, when, after a long dry spell, I turned to fiction.
None of my writing has been enough
to support me, however. I've been a waitress, a camp counselor, worked for some
youth agencies, and I'm currently working in IT. What's the one thing they all
have in common? Interaction with people. The more people I talk to, the wider
range of characteristics I have to draw my characters from.
However, I will confess that my
heroes might be a bit geekier than is normal. I do work in IT, after all.
2. Are
you genre specific or general? Why? I don't mean genres like romance, mystery,
fantasy etc. There are many subgenres of the above.
My writing seems to skirt the
boundaries of genres. The Free Wolves series is close to paranormal romance but
the books have a lot less sex and the themes may be slightly unexpected. The
Oak Grove Mysteries are close to being cozy mysteries, but don't quite fit all
the major criteria. I write what the stories demand. One thing all my stories
have in common are strong female characters.
3. Did
your reading choices have anything to do with your choice of a genre or genres?
I actually avoid reading books from
the genre I'm writing in. I want to keep my stories true to the characters and
not be influenced by someone else. Other than that, I read a wide range of
books, everything from bibliographies to science fiction and romance. My
favorite books (fantasy/science fiction) aren't even in the genre I write.
4.
What's your latest release?
The Baron's Cufflinks, book 3 of the
Oak Grove Mysteries. Harmony Duprie, one of my favorite characters, is up to
her usual antics. This time she's a person of interest in a murder and has to
prove her innocence, while, at the same time, keep her ex-lover out of big
trouble. It's probably the most complicated plot I've tackled, but I'm happy
with the way the story turned out. Harmony and I had a major argument about the
storyline in this one, but we compromised and I think it turned out pretty darn
good.
5. What
are you working on now?
I'm working on two projects. The
first is a 10,000 word story for a compilation with other authors. It's
tentatively titled “Love on the Dunes” and is a followup to the story “Love on
the Rocks.” The other is “Wolves Gambit” the third book in the Free Wolves
story. I've got the first draft completed, but it needs a lot of editing before
it's ready to release. A few chapters in, the plot changed from what I planned
so I need to make sure I don't miss anything as far as the story line goes.
6.
Where can we find you?
You can
reach me at many of the usual places.
Facebook https://facebook.com/pjmaclayne
Blog:
http://pjmaclayne.blogspot.com
Thanks for hosting me!
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