Mary McFarland is Visiting and talking about Who She Was Before #MFRWAuthor #technical writer #fiction writer #thrillers

 

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

 

Before?  Is there a before (crazy laughter in background).  From the moment my mom gave me a piece of chalk and said, “Now, go outside and do something,” and I defaced several sidewalks with “stories,” I knew I was destined to become a writer.  And that’s exactly what happened.  Prior to becoming a fulltime fiction writer, I was a technical writer in the industry, but my passion was always fiction.  In college, I wrote short stories and, afterward, climbing the executive ladder, I kept writing at night, creating wild stories, most of them discarded, and dreaming of the day I could retire and write.  I’ve never stopped.

 

Being a technical writer fueled my belief that humans, not robots, are the creators and the rulers.  I’m an earth mother, a Virgo, so my passion as an eco-justice warrior was always at odds with my life as a geek.  I can way, however, that the conflict definitely influenced my choices as a writer.  My most recent release, Van Gogh Syndrome, is a technothriller that involves a cyberattack on an American nuclear facility.  My understanding of technology supported my research into the technology, while my stance as an eco-justice warrior informs every page and, especially, my main character’s desire to “save” the world.

 

2.     Are you genre specific or general?  I write primarily thrillers; however, I’ve happily genre-hopped at times, including my first novel up on Amazon, Jump the Line, a romantic suspense.  My upcoming release, Lila’s Ghostly Obsession, is a ghost thriller with a YA paranormal romance sub-genre.

 

3.     What is your latest release?

 

My latest release is Lila’s Ghostly Obsession, an October 2023 release.  It’s got all the elements of a ghost thriller, but it’s packed with paranormal and some fantasy elements.  I wrote the novel in 2005, following my nephew’s suicide; hence, it’s tag line, “Love never dies.”  I love the book because, while it does explore dark themes (teen suicide, teen obsessive love), it’s main character, Lila, is just so me when I was eighteen, and very hopeful and focused on overcoming sorrow and personal loss.

 

4.     What are you working on now?

I’m working on three upcoming releases.  My first release in 2024 is in April, and it’s titled Qumran Conspiracy: The Thorny Death of  Jewish Rebel, a historical romance and heist novel that explores the historical Jesus, while following the romance of a philologist and a Mossad agent who go after a heisted grimoire of Solomonic magic, allegedly written by Jesus.

Book two is titled Dread, a psychological suspense about an aging lawyer coping with divorce and a grandson with autism.  The story involves a murder in a derelict New Jersey skate park, and Liz and her grandson, Bently, must work to solve them.  Liz, of course, explores the joys—and ills—of post-divorce dating from her wheelchair.  It’s a rocking story and, I love to imagine, filled with my particular dry humor.   

Book three, slated for a September 2024 release, is The Confessor’s Burden.  It’s a fantasy with a parallel historical timeline, one set in the present day, and the other in Medieval England, during the reign of Edward the Confessor.  My own confession (ahem!): this novel is my favorite ever to write.  It’s about a single mom caring for her diabetic son, Gryffyd, but her evil magician husband from 1065 shows up a thousand years later and kidnaps Gryffyd and holds him ransom—unless Diva Mayhawk hands over the formula for King Authur’s fire.  Diva has no clue, of course, but she must return to those terrifying times and learn how—and if—she ever possessed the fabled elixir of immortality.

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

As a writer, one of my biggest challenges has been finding and honoring my own voice, and I’ve reached the point in my career where I’m solidifying those principles with regard to my career.  So: no!

6.     I’m on Facebook and Twitter a lot, so I can always be found there.  For any information about upcoming book signings, or to get to know more about me, my website is the best source of information.  I’ve recently ventured onto Instagram and TikTok, too.  Links below:

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMaryMcFarland.author/

https://twitter.com/McFarlandAuthor

https://www.marymcfarlandbooks.com

https://www.instagram.com/mary_mcfarland_thriller_author/