Friday - Laura Strickland is Visiting and talking about writing

 

 

What Were You Before

Day 1

 

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

Before I was a writer, I was a reader, and this has influenced me enormously. Being fortunate enough to have an older sister who loved to read and who took me weekly to our local library, I learned at a young age to enter that world the author had created for me and become lost in a story. There was only one problem—when a story I loved came to an end, I wanted more, longed for more, and imagined more. By third grade, I figured out that if I wrote the story, it could go on for as long as I chose.

A little of all the stories I loved and the beautiful words that went into them became part of me and encouraged me to form ideas and worlds of my own. At a very fundamental level, we are what we read!

 

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

I tend to be what I call a genre-hopper. I’ve written a variety of major and subdivisions of various genres, such as Western, Victorian, Highlander, Viking, Steampunk (all subdivisions of Historical Romance) and Contemporary/Rom Com. I think I do this because I begin feeling stifled if I write the same genre over and over again. Then the words don’t flow, so I begin something fresh. My latest release is an American Historical Romance, also a division of the Historical Romance genre.

 

 

3. What is your latest release?

My latest release is an American Historical, Slow Train to Nowhere: Sean. This is the first in a series of four books telling the stories of five children who came west on the orphan train in 1860, and ended up in the fictional town of Clabber Mills, Indiana. The stories take place when the children are grown, and show how they deal with the scars left by loss and separation, and of course find hope for their futures. Here’s the blurb:

When Sean Hussey returns to the town where he lived as a boy, it’s with revenge on his mind. He’s made a success of himself out west and intends to get even with the farmer under whose thumb he once suffered. He’ll show mercy only to the others who shared his fate in days gone by, especially sweet Jenny whose memory he still cherishes.

Sarah Rupert hasn’t had it easy growing up as a girl from the orphan train, and as a survivor of shocking abuse. Since the death of her husband, she’s had to support her young son by dubious means. When Sean Hussey comes back into her life it’s a miracle, because he’s the boy she always wanted for her own. Trouble is, Sean just may be in love with another woman.

 

 

 

4. What are you working on now?

I am currently working on a Historical Romance series set in the ancient Celtic world, which is one of my favorite places to be. I’ve delved way back to Ireland in the first century AD for the first book. The other four will be set in various ages of historical Scotland.

 

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

Absolutely. I love to read far and wide, everything from Historical Fiction to Romantic Suspense, to Urban Fiction, to Mystery, to Young Adult. I even enjoy a good biography from time to time. What I’m reading at any given time depends on the mood I’m in. Since I love to write far and wide also, I do believe there’s a connection.

 

 

6. Where can we find you?

Author Web site: www.laurastricklandbooks.com

Author Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000002632317

Author Amazon page:  http://www.amazon.com/Laura-Strickland/e/B001KHSACW/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Author Goodreads page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/760146.Laura_Strickland

Author Twitter:

Laura Strickland Author @LauraSt05038951

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/laurastricklandauthor/

BookBub author page https://www.bookbub.com/authors/laura-strickland

Marcia James is visiting andtalking about Who She Was Before #Poetry #writing public sevice notices #PR?Marketing #romance novels

 

 

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

 

I’ve always been a writer, starting in middle school writing poetry. I have a Bachelor’s in Creative Writing from the University of Virginia and a Master’s of Creative Writing from American University. Through the years, I’ve written information and trainings scripts; TV, radio, and print ads; public service announcements; newspaper and nonfiction book articles; PR/marketing materials (such as press releases, newsletters, and brochures); and now romance novels.

 

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

 

I write mainstream romances featuring heroines you can root for, heroes to die for, and funny dogs. I primarily write contemporary romances, but I’ve also written a romantic suspense and a romantic mystery. And I have an idea for a light paranormal series.

 

3. What is your latest release?

 

My last release was Scrooge & the Secret Santa, an enemies-to-lovers romance that is the fourth in my “Klein’s K-9s Service Dogs” small-town romance series.

 

4. What are you working on now?

 

I’m writing the fifth in my Klein’s K-9s series, as well as writing short stories for an anthology I’m planning on publishing next year.

 

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

 

In the late 1990s, I fell in love with Nora Roberts’ contemporary romances, which led me to Jayne Ann Krentz and other wonderful romance authors. So when I decided to try my hand at fiction writing, I wanted to write romances. I think the world needs all the feel-good books it can take.

 

6. Where can we find you?

 

I love hearing from my readers, who tell me they enjoy my monthly blog interviews and newsletter subscriber contests. (There’s a newsletter subscriber box on most pages on my website.) Here are my links:

 

Website: https://marciajames.net/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarciaJamesAuthor

Twitter: http://twitter.com/Marcia_James

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marciajamesauthor/

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/marciajames/

Amazon Author Central page: www.amazon.com/author/marciajames

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/marcia-james

 

 

Ella Braeme is visiting and talking about Who She Was Before #MFRWAuthor #Writing #author #contemporary #small town romance

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

I used to be a high school teacher. That job can be tough, and at times I took refuge in reading romances. So in a way I'm just giving now what I used to take. My books are meant to be a breather from everyday life—we all need that every once in a while.

 

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

My books all are contemporary small-town romances, they are all novellas, and there's always a little steam. In my new series, the heroes are mountain men. I suppose that's become a subgenre of itself by now.

 

3. What is your latest release?

My latest book out is Fake Fiancé Santa in the Season's Sweethearts anthology. It's the first time I share a book with other authors, and I am a little excited about it. I hope that doesn't come across as uncool—we all want to be cool, right?—but collaborating instead of doing everything myself is thrilling. I'm happy to be in that collection.

Fake Fiancé Santa is a novella with a Christmas setting. I never had tried that before, as I was worried it might end up being corny. Writing it, I realized that Christmas romance simply is a corny genre and decided to go with it. I'm quite happy with the outcome.

4. What are you working on now?

After writing Fake Fiancé Santa, I've written another book, that will be released December 4th: Butting Heads with Her Mountain Man. So I deserve a vacation right now. My husband and I will huddle in front of the fireplace in a beach cabin. That's going to be awesome. Peaceful. Energizing.

My next book is in early planning stages—I've got stacks of index cards with ideas and sketches lying everywhere. Maybe I will take them all with me to our cabin so that I can organize them into a proper plot. I will start writing right after the vacation.

That new book will be part of another anthology: Mic Drop. It will be released in March.

 

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

Writing in a genre that I have been reading in for years seems to be a neccessity. I can't write what I don't read. I read other genres too, mostly fantasy or science fiction. Writing romance can be daunting, but it's doable. I know myself—I'd get lost in the world building of fantasy or science fiction and would never get even a single line written. Maybe some other time, but honestly, there is so much within the genre of contemporary romance for me to discover... I don't think I'll ever write anything else.

 

6. Where can we find you?

I hang out on Instagram @ellawritesromance, I've got a website ellabraeme.com, and a newsletter. And of course, an email address, ella@ellabraeme.com. I actually do read my emails and as of now, I still have time to answer.

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/

 

Amber Daulton is visiting and talking about Who She Was Before #MFRWAuthor #Romance #contemporary #time travel #historical #paranormal

 

What Were You Before

 

Day 1

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

 

I’ve wanted to be an author since I was twelve years old, but of course, life and responsibilities got in the way. By day, I worked in the dreaded service industry, at restaurants and retail stores. At night, I continued to write and included some of my personal work experiences as back stories and on-page action for my characters.

 

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

 

I’m a romance author, but I don’t stick to just one sub-genre. I write contemporary, suspense, time travel, historical, and paranormal. Currently, I’m focusing my efforts in romantic suspense.

 

3. What is your latest release?

 

Shea O’Bannon and Trevor Madero co-star in Trevor’s Redemption, a steamy romantic suspense novella in my Arresting Onyx series. Onyx is an underground crime organization with a foothold in several American cities, and Trevor is a reluctant, guilt-ridden enforcer among their ranks. Shea is a graphics designer with no clue about her new boyfriend’s gang affiliations, but she knows he’s hiding something from her. The return of his manipulative ex puts their relationship—and their lives—in jeopardy. When his secrets come to light, Trevor and Shea will have to find a way to work together, or kiss their love goodbye.

This brand new book was released on Tuesday, August 22^nd, 2023, and it’s only 99 cents until August 29^th. You can find it here: https://books.amberdaulton.com/trevorsredemption

 

4. What are you working on now?

 

I’m revising a New Adult Christmas romance for re-release (it’s currently with my publisher, but I’ll get the rights back to it soon), and I’m getting Arresting Alan, book 4 in the Arresting Onyx series, ready for its April 2024 release date.

 

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

 

Yes, I suppose. I mostly read romance, all sub-genres except Inspirational and poetry, but I have read a few thrillers and mysteries, which makes me want to write those kind of books. My writing schedule is full for the foreseeable future, however, so I probably won’t be dipping my toes into those genres anytime soon.

 

6. Where can we find you?

 

I love hearing from readers. You can visit me through social media here: https://linktr.ee/AmberDaulton or go straight to my website: https://amberdaulton.com.

Jill Piscitello is visiting and talking about Who She Was Before #MFRWAuthor Mysterues #holiday romance

 

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

I am also a teacher. This career does impact my choices as a writer. I don’t use a pen name. Knowing that young eyes might happen upon my books, I keep my writing clean and lighthearted.

 

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

I have written two sweet, holiday romances and the first in a cozy mystery series. My romance novella, Tinsel and Tea Cakes, included a hint of mystery. A Sour Note offers a dash of sweet romance with a high school sweetheart and sprinkle of the mystical in the form of a clairvoyant cousin.

 

3. What is your latest release?

A Sour Note is the first in the Music Box Mystery series and is scheduled for release June 26, 2023.

 

4. What are you working on now?

I am currently working on the second installment in the Music Box Mystery series.

 

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

I am always rotating at least three books and read across multiple genres. But there is always one cozy mystery in the mix. I love a cast of eclectic characters set in a close-knit community. Sometimes, it’s nice knowing I can expect a few twists and turns and a nice tidy ending without any graphic violence.

 

6. Where can we find you?

My social media links are:

Website ~ Twitter  ~ Facebook ~  Instagram  ~ Amazon ~ GoodReads ~ BookBub

 

 7. Who are your favorite authors? What about a book you’ve enjoyed?

Right now, I’m loving anything by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Elin Hilderbrand, and Kristin Hannah. Timeless favorites for me are Jane Austen, Jennifer Weiner, Lisa See, and Maeve Binchy. I’m currently reading It Ends with Us, by Colleen Hoover and understand the hype surrounding this author. She is a gifted storyteller who creates vivid, raw characters who suck you into their lives and break your heart.

J. Arlene Culiner is Visiting and Talking about Who She Was Before #MFRWAuthor #photographer #contemporary romance #mysteries

 

Blake’s Folly Romance with J. Arlene Culiner

 

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

 

I was—and still am—a social-critical artist and photographer. Some years ago, I had a photographic show in Canada, and the curator asked what my next project was. I told her that I would be tracing 19th-century Romanian immigration, and she said, “That’s not a photo idea. It’s a book.” I realized she was right, and that’s what finally convinced me to take my writing seriously.

 

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

 

I never know what I’m going to want to write. Lately, I’ve been writing contemporary romance as well as non-fiction, but I’ve written mysteries, too.

 

3.       What is your latest release?

 

A recent release was A Room in Blake’s Folly, the first book in my series, Romance in Blake’s Folly, but the second book, All About Charming Alice is being released on April 3, and the third book, Desert Rose, will be out on May 3.

 

4.       What are you working on now?

 

Whoa! That makes three books in a short time, plus I’m waiting to hear from a publisher about a non-fiction travel/history book that I just finished. Now, all I need is breathing space and a holiday away from my computer.

 

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

 

Yes and no. I tend to read non-fiction, and some of my books are also non-fiction. But it’s more my lifestyle choices that have made me into a writer;

 

6. Where can we find you?

Everything can be found here: https://linktr.ee/j.arleneculiner

 

Friday Tena Stetler isVisiting and Talking About Who She Was Before #MFRWAuthor #paralegal #Paranormal Romance/Mysteries #magic

 

Day 1

1. What were you before you became an author? I was a paralegal for a criminal law firm for almost 14 years.  Then I was a IT Manager for an electrical contracting firm for 14 years also. Did this influence your choices as a writer? Sometimes.  I’ve written a book about lawyers, A Witch’s Quandary, they just happened to be in Scotland. LOL I’ve written a few books involving computers, cyber security. Security Force of Two, etc.

 

2. Are you genre specific or general? I don’t mean major genres but subdivisions or romance, mystery or paranormal. I write Paranormal Romance/Mystery. Recently l’ve dabbled in western, historical, timetravel, in addition to romance. But there is always a bit of mystery and magic in all my novels. 

 

3. What is your latest release? Security Force of Two - A former CIA agent and a Special Forces vet return to their small hometown for different reasons none of which includes involvement in an investigation of the new police chief’s murder. Release March 20, 2023.

 

Set for release July 10, 2023, Raven’s Hollow Spring Magic - Spring is in full bloom in Raven’s Hollow, a unique, small town in the Colorado Rockies when a powerful witch’s mother goes missing and her dragon shifter fiancé travels back in time to find her.  Was the antique jelly bean machine to blame? 

 

 

4. What are you working on now? The second book in the Mountain Town Mystery Series.  Security Force of Two was the first book.

 

5. Does your reading choices influence your choice of a writing career? No I don’t think so.  I am kinda eclectic in my reading choices.  I love a good mystery, some contemporary romance, but usually whatever it is has to have magic. Reality is over rated.

 

6. Where can we find you?

Website: https://www.tenastetler.com

Authors’ Secret’s Blog - https://www.tenastetler.com/category/authors-secrets-blog/

My Say What Blog - http://www.tenastetler.com/category/my-say-what-blog/

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/tenastetler.author

Twitter Page: https://www.twitter.com/TenaStetler  

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14187532.Tena_Stetler

Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/author/tenastetler

Newsletter: https://www.tenastetler.com/newsletter-signup/

Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.com/tenastetler

Tribber - http://triberr.com/TenaStetler

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tena-stetler

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tenastetler/

Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tena-stetler-10057978/

 

 

donalee Moulton is visiting and talking about Who She Was Before #BWLAuthor #communications #freelance journalist #poems #short stories

 

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

 

I feel like I have always been a writer. In university, I wrote and published poetry and short stories. I was a student journalist with the university newspaper. I was also completing a Master’s degree and preparing to get a PhD in sociology, with an emphasis on research. Two seemingly different paths. I chose the former and for most of my career I worked in communications writing everything from brochures to annual reports to websites to manuals. I was also a freelance journalist writing hundreds of articles a year for online and print publications across North America. Topics included everything from money laundering to fibromyalgia to champagne. What I was not writing during this time were short stories, poems, and other creative endeavors. My current path is taking me – wonderfully – in that direction.

 

 

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

 

I’m testing the waters. Last year, I had a non-fiction book published by Business Expert Press. The Thong Principle: Saying What You Mean and Meaning What You Say is a reflection of the work I did as a communications professional and trainer. This month my first mystery novel was published by BWL Publishing. It’s a traditional whodunit in many ways with a very untraditional main character. I have also recently published three short stories, two traditional mysteries and one with hints of the paranormal or the unknown.

 

3.    What is your latest release?

 

My new book – yeah! – is Hung Out to Die. The main character is Riel Brava. Attractive. Razor-sharp. Ambitious. And something much more. Riel just wants to be left alone to do his job and one day run for president of the United States. He has a plan. Murder keeps getting in his way. It isn’t easy being a psychopath.

 

Raised in Santa Barbara, California, Riel has been transplanted to Nova Scotia where he is CEO of the Canadian Cannabis Corporation. It’s business as usual until Riel finds his world hanging by a thread. Actually, several threads. It doesn’t take the police long to determine all is not as it appears – and that includes Riel himself.

 

Pulled into a world not of his making, Riel resists the hunt to catch a killer. Resistance is futile. Detective Lin Raynes draws the reluctant CEO into the investigation, and the seeds of an unexpected and unusual friendship are sown. Raynes and Riel concoct a scheme to draw a confession out of the killer, but that plan is never put into place. Instead, Riel finds himself on the butt end of a rifle in the ribs and a long drive to the middle of Nowhere, Nova Scotia.

 

 

4.    What are you working on now?

Hung Out to Die was a surprise for me. I would not have expected to create a main character who was quintessentially male. I also discovered that having a main character who is not in law enforcement or connected to that world becomes problematic for future books. How many murders can you stumble across if you’re not Jessica Fletcher? I have just finished a second mystery that has three main characters, all women, who meet in a morning yoga class. So now instead of having one character who isn’t in some branch of law enforcement I have three. Go figure. The writing takes you where it wants you to go.

           

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

 

Absolutely and always. As a child I read Charlotte’s Web and realized, I believe for the first time, how powerful the written word could be – how it could create a singular world, how it could clarify critical issues, how it could change you fundamentally as a person. As a tween, I discovered the Nancy Drew mystery books and was drawn into a new realm: clues, red herrings, suspense, and fun. Today, I read as wide and varied a selection of books as possible. I am inspired by what I read and in awe of the writers who took me there.

 

 

6.    Where can we find you?

 

 

Website: donaleemoulton.com 

 

Amazon Author URL: amazon.com/author/donaleemoulton

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/donaleemoultonauthor

 

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/donaleemoulton

 

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/donaleemoulton/

 

Twitter: @donaleeMoulton

 

Instagram: donaleemoulton

 

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