Friday Mary McFarland is visiting and Talking about Who She Was Before #MFRWAuthor #Technical writing #science fiction #thrillers

 1. What were you before you became an author? Did this influence your choices as a writer?

 

Before I forged a path to my dream of writing novels, I needed to pay the bills, so I earned my keep as a technical writer in the software industry.  Being fascinated with technology, I developed a passion for science fiction and wrote several SF short stories novels.  My enduring love for authors like Asimov heavily influenced my choices as a writer.  Today, I write thrillers whose protagonists are in step with the modern world's technological dystopia but yet who are determined to fight it.  My characters understand how technology can damage us and our environment; thus, they are often techno and geeky, or "brainy," but they are also eco-justice warriors.  So, while I view technology as the window into my thrillers, and not the stories themselves, I hope my works influence readers to think about technology and their world and, when necessary, to take action.

2. Are you genre specific or general? I don’t mean major genres but subdivisions or romance, mystery or paranormal.

I couldn't have answered this question a year ago.  Being a multi-genre author has kept me conflicted.  However, I recently had a major breakthrough and discovered that, while I wrote in multiple genres, my work across all genres was connected by recurring tropes and themes.  Voila!  Lightbulbs!  The same was true, I became aware, in the world of publishing.  Okay, so everyone but me seemed to know this.  Lol.  It just took me a little longer than it should've to see it.  

The other important epiphany, however, was the fact that I didn't have to push myself like a demented book production multi-platform author run amok.  I instead had to narrow my genre choices, and I did.  I chose the thriller, mystery, and suspense genres, and now I get my novels written with focus and passion.  In fact, one novel I wrote, and I love "What Happens in The Vegas Cemetery" more than anything I've ever written, is a YA paranormal thriller with a romantic suspense subgenre.  I'd originally had no clue where to put it genre-wise, but now it fits perfectly.  

 

3. What is your latest release?

February 2nd of 2023, I'll be releasing "Van Gogh Syndrome," a thriller.  It's the first in my three-book Hidden Cobra series about a forensic investigator, whose background in cyber forensics helps her stop a terrorist attack on an American nuclear facility.  

 

4. What are you working on now?

 I'm presently working on five novels for 2023 and 2024 release:

1. First, I'm writing book two in the Hidden Cobra series for a 2024 release, and this thriller's working title is "Starry Night Over Pyongyang."
2. My second project, being edited and prepped for a 2023 Easter release, is a religious historical fiction called "Only Son: Jesus the Magus (Clan of Solomon Book One). 
3. Third, in the Clan of Solomon series, I'm researching and drafting book two, titled "First Wife: Mary."  It will be a 2024 release. 
4. Fourth, I'm prepping "What Happens in the Vegas Cemetery" for a 2023 Halloween release in Salem, Mass at "Gettin' Witchy With It."  "Vegas" is a YA paranormal thriller with a romantic suspense sub-genre.
5. Fifth, I'm editing "Vengeance Is Mine: the Profiler's Passion" for a 2024 release.  This is a romantic suspense, which won the 2010 Golden Pen contest (third place), but I sat on it, choosing not to publish it, since I wasn't comfortable establishing myself solely as a RS author.  Glad I waited, too.  

Two 2025 projects I'm working on for 2026 release are are: 

1. Dubai Bones, a stand-alone thriller, 2025 release.
2. Deeply, Darky, a stand-alone thriller, 2025 release.
3. Family Affair: Mary and Jesus (Clan of Solomon Book Three), 2025 release.
4. Black Sheep:  Lazarus the Leper (Clan of Solomon Book Four), 2026 release.

5. Does your reading choices influence your choice of a writing career?

When I'm not writing I'm reading, and I read everything, depending on my whim.  However, as a professional writer I've learned to focus on writing in my primary genres and, of even greater importance, to trust in my own style and voice.  I choose not to be influenced or to follow the literary trend of the day.  In fact, if I'm writing and someone says, "Oh, have you read so and so," I avoid reading so and so. I don't ignore literary trends.  They're important.  But the favorites of the day have their voice, and I have mine.  

  

6. Where can we find you?

I have carefully crafted my author platform to serve my readers by avoiding making them hop like fleas from one social media site to the other to find me.  I want them to know I'll be here, and in a place where we can connect and interact unfailingly.  My decision to limit my presence on the web is all about serving my readers consistently from a very organized platform.  That doesn't mean I won't be on Instagram or TikTok, if I determine I can serve my readers from those places.  However, for now I'm connecting from my author page on Facebook, my author website, and my blog.  Those links are as follows:

 

1. https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMaryMcFarland.author/
2. www.marymcfarlandbooks.com
3. https://marymcfarlandbooks.com/blog-1