1. What were you in your life before you became a writer? Did this influence your writing?
I’ve been an actress, a vet tech, a singer, a biologist, a teacher, and a dog trainer. What I love about this background is I have so many things I can write about with some personal experience! Because I work with animals, I tend to have animals in my stories—probably what attracts me to writing shifters. I have several degrees in biology and science, so I love writing sci-fi. But I love performing, too. I can bring authenticity to stories about community theater and large choirs. A varied work experience is fertile ground for writing.
I used to wonder why I couldn’t stick to one career and make a go of it. I used to envy people who had a calling and followed it passionately. Now I know it was all preparation to be a writer.
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.
I wrote for many years under another pen name, and while they were all romances, they fell into a wide number of subgenres: contemporary, paranormal, urban fantasy, historical, science fiction… These are all subgenres of romance I enjoy reading, so the pull to write them was strong.
I realized having so many different subgenres made it hard to have an identifiable brand, so when I created the McKenna Dean pen name, I decided to limit myself to paranormal romance and urban fantasy.
3. Did your reading choices have anything to do with your choice of a genre or genres?
Definitely! While I enjoy a good contemporary romance, most of the time, I want something that’s going to have an extra element to the story—I love world-building, and certain subgenres, such as paranormal and sci-fi, lend themselves to political and social commentary. I love mysteries, so I’m looking into doing a series of paranormal romances that are centered around a Shifter Crimes division within my Redclaw Security agency.
I love romantic suspense as well, hence the creation of the Redclaw universe—a series of standalone stories centered around an elite paranormal agency that retrieves alien artifacts and deals with shifter issues. Think X-Files meets Warehouse 13.
4. What's your latest release?
I am so close to being able to provide a buy link for my newest release, Ghost of a Chance, but it looks like I’m not going to get it published until the second or third week of July. It’s the second standalone in the Redclaw Security series. Here’s the blurb:
At sixteen, Sarah Atwell walked away from her love of horses and a promising career as a competitive rider after discovering she’d inherited the family curse. Years later, her grandmother stunned everyone by leaving Sarah her horse farm—worth millions—but with conditions Sarah might not be able to meet.
A former Redclaw agent, Casey Barnes retired when a security assignment went bad, killing his partner and leaving him as a partial amputee. His inner wolf is in hiding. He’s been living quietly as a horse trainer, but June Atwell’s death now pits him against her granddaughter for rights to the stable.
With both of them snowed in at the farm, a series of increasingly serious accidents draws Sarah and Casey closer together, but they both harbor secrets that might tear them apart.
This story has a lot of personal meaning for me. Like the heroine, I’m a fangirl who loves cosplay, and I also used to compete horses.
At the moment, I just have one story out, the first book in the Redclaw series: The Panther’s Lost Princess.
As part of the run up to releasing Ghost of a Chance, The Panther’s Lost Princess is only 99 cents!
In the Panther’s Lost Princess, Ellie is a waitress seeking to change her future. What Jack knows about her past changes everything.
5. What are you working on now?
I’m just putting the final touches on Ghost so I can format it and get it published. I’m also working on the first in a series of stories about the origin of Redclaw, set in the 1950s and featuring a pair of agents who find themselves in over their heads when they agree to work for Redclaw. Bishop Takes Knight should be released in early 2019.
6. Where can we find you?
If you check out my blog, all my contact information is right there in the sidebar, including my Bookbub page.
Following my blog or signing up for my newsletter is probably the best way of finding out the latest about book releases and sales.
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