Today we have author Heather MacKinnon joining us. Thanks so much for being with us. Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I’m a pretty new Indie author currently living in North Carolina
with my husband and two dogs. I’m originally from New York and spent about ten
years in New England before moving down south. I’ve always been a huge reader,
and to this day, read on average 2-4 books per week. After being such a huge
fan my whole life, I finally decided to try my hand at coming up with worlds
and stories that others can get lost in, just like I had for years. Shift is
the second book I’ve published, and both have been in the paranormal romance
genre.
Will you share a short selection from Shift?
“We’re a pack of
werewolves. Wanna’ see?”
Without warning, she
reached for the hem of her shirt, and yanked it over her head. With her dark
brown hair mussed, she stood there proud as a peacock in her lime green bra.
I shielded my eyes when
she reached for the zipper of her jeans.
“Have you lost your
mind?” I shrieked. “What are you doing? Keep your clothes on!”
Another giggle. “I
gotta’ take my clothes off before I shift if I don’t wanna’ ruin em’.”
Dread churned in my
stomach. Was this whole house insane? Who were these people?
“Shift?” I squeaked.
“Sure, silly. Into a
werewolf.”
My hand fell limp onto
my lap.
This is insane.
There’s no way this is
real.
When Evey reached for
her only remaining garment, her underwear, I turned my head the other way.
She giggled again. “You
better get used to this.”
“What does that mean?”
A loud crack
filled the room, and I turned to Evey again. She’d crouched down on all fours, and
I watched in equal parts horror and fascination as tufts of black-tipped gray
fur sprouted from her smooth skin. She tipped her head back as her nose
elongated and grew.
Bones shifted beneath
her tan skin, and a few muffled snaps later, where Evey once stood was now a
very large wolf with dark blue eyes. I gasped, and scrambled backward on the
bed, my heart racing.
For a moment I was back
in the woods, broken and bleeding. I could almost feel the cold, wet leaves
beneath me, feel the razor sharp teeth tear into my skin.
I shook my head to clear
those thoughts and centered myself in the here and now. This wolf has blue
eyes-not black. This wolf hasn’t tried to harm me. This wolf is apparently a
werewolf. But, if she’s a werewolf, does that mean...
Heather, what brought
about the idea for this book?
I read a lot of paranormal books myself, and I was on a werewolf
kick when I began to wonder why the werewolves in the books I read never gave
birth to multiples. If they’re part wolf (or however the specific folklore
goes), shouldn’t they at least sometimes have twins or triplets? From there I
began to build my werewolves world where they’re all born either twins or
triplets or even sometimes quadruplets. Then I thought to center the story
around a set of quintuplets. I figured that many children at once would be a
novelty both in the human and werewolf world. From there I developed the rest
of the story.
Where do you
see yourself in five years?
Still
writing, for sure. I’ve always been a big reader and the whole concept of
writing down my own stories is new, but one I’m in love with. I hope that in
five years, this can be something that’s closer to a job than a hobby for me.
Just keep writing and don't give up. Currently, what are you working on?
This question might get me in trouble, actually. I was busy
working on Shift’s sequel, Howl, when another idea for a book came to me that I
knew I needed to write right away. It’s a second chance romance about a married
couple that struggle with fertility and eventually drift apart and how they
find their way back to each other. This story will most likely be the next one
I publish, but I still plan on publishing Howl in 2018 as well.
What has been
the most difficult thing you have struggled with since you began a career in
writing?
The
biggest thing I’ve struggled with is wondering if what I thought was good
writing, actually translated that way to my readers. Sure, I might think
something sounds funny, or profound, or touching, but will the reader see it
that way too?
I think that something most authors wonder about. Tell us a little bit about your main characters
Like I mentioned above, some of the pivotal characters in the book
are a set of quintuplets. The oldest is Abraham (or Abey, as his sisters like
to call him), the alpha of their pack, next is Beatrice (or Bea), the beta or
second in command, then comes Callista (Callie) who’s the peacekeeper of the
family and super into protecting the environment, then there’s Delilah (Del)
who’s a fantastic musician, and finally, there’s Evelyn (who goes by Evey) the
sweetest, most fun loving woman you’ll ever meet. The heroine of this story is
Elizabeth. She’s a hardworking attorney, solely focused on advancing her career
until Abraham and his sisters come into her life.
What has been the best compliment you have received?
I woke up the other day to a notification on Facebook. Someone had
liked my author page and left a comment. I don’t get tons of comments, so I
checked this one right away and it was a reader thanking me for writing Shift
because she loved it so much. That really meant the world to me.
Do you have people read your drafts before you publish?
How do you select beta readers?
First, I work with a critique partner, a fellow author that I met
on Goodreads. I send her chapters as I finish them, and she gives me her
feedback. Once the book is finished, I’ll send it to a few beta readers. I had
two this last round and three would be the most I’d want to have. I’m a firm
believer in the idea that there is such a thing as too many opinions. Everyone
is different and has differing opinions and it would be really easy to lose my
story if too many people were critiquing it for me. And as to how I choose, I
like someone who enjoys my genre, and who isn’t afraid to tell me the truth.
Thankfully I found two great beta readers this last time who have agreed to
work with me in the future.
Well its good to find what works for you. I can never have to many eyes on my draft. I am always surprised at what one person will notice that another one doesn't. Who designed the artwork for your cover? Or did you
design it yourself?
I found my cover on https://selfpubbookcovers.com/ and it was
made by the username Ravenborn. She also did my second cover for this series,
and I’ll definitely be looking to work with her for the next book as well.
How do you handle criticism when it comes to your writing?
Criticism can be tough, especially to an author as new as I am.
When you only have 40 reviews, and ten of them are negative, it’s easy to think
that a quarter of the people who read your book disliked it, but that’s not
true. Most readers never leave reviews, even if they enjoy your book. I try to
keep that in mind as well as the honest truth that you can’t please everybody.
That's a good way to look at it. I wish more readers would write reviews, but unfortunately it seems to just be a small percentage. Which do you find more challenging inventing the hero or the
villain? Why?
The
hero, for sure! Because they can’t be too perfect, right? Every hero needs some
flaw to make them seem more human and it’s hard to walk the line between just
flawed enough that they’re relatable, and too flawed that they’re disliked. A
villain, on the other hand, is easy for me. Add some sarcasm with some snark,
and a dash of ill intentions and there you have it!
Any last words?
Thank
you so much for featuring me on this blog and thank you to the followers for
reading my interview. I hope you enjoyed getting to know me a little better and
if you decided to take a chance on my books, I hope you enjoy them!
Best of Luck! Don't forget to check out Shift. Happy Reading!!
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/hmackauthor
No comments:
Post a Comment