#AuthorInterview with @mmcshanewrites #CQWeek2017 @CuriosityQuills #Giveaway

  Welcome to day three of this years #CQWeek!  Today we have a wonderful interview with author Melissa McShane and I have to say that if you haven't seen her covers you should totally click the link and check them out on Amazon. She has some of the best and most fantastic covers I've seen!  So pretty!!! Make sure to check out the giveaway below and come back later for more! 

Melissa grew up a nomad, following her family all over the United States, and ended up living in the shadow of the Wasatch Mountains with her husband, four kids, and three very needy cats. Her love of reading was always a constant during those uncertain years, and her love of writing grew out of that. She wrote reviews and critical essays for many years before turning to fiction, and was surprised at how much she liked it. She loves the fantasy genre and how it stretches the imagination.

Where can readers follow you?

Blog: http://melissamcshanewrites.com/blog/

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/melissamcshanewrites/

Goodreads author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/11882525

Twitter: @mmcshanewrites

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2sNFNBy

1.  What is your name, where were you born and where do you live now?

I’m Melissa McShane, I was born in Portland, Oregon, and now I live in Riverton, Utah.

3.  When did you first consider yourself as a "writer"?

It was when my third book, Servant of the Crown, really took off. It blew my mind that anyone wanted to pay me to write books. That was also the point where I was able to write full-time. But it’s taken me a long time to get comfortable introducing myself as a writer, because it didn’t feel quite real until then.

6.  What is the name of your latest book, and if you had to summarize it in less than 20 words what would you say? 
The book is Wondering Sight, in which a woman who can see the future fights counterfeiters in an alternate Regency-era London.

10.Which of your books were easier/harder to write than the others?

The Extraordinaries books are alternate history fantasy and required a lot of research into the Regency era. For Burning Bright, I also had to read about piracy in the 18^th century (such a hardship, I know!). Writing the books was a challenge because I wanted them to feel historical, so I had to pay attention to word choice and the sound of the dialogue.  Between the research and the writing, Burning Bright turned out to be the book it took me the longest to write—eight weeks of writing preceded by several months of reading and research.

16. Do you have a favorite character from your books? and why are they your favorite?

My favorite character is Telaine North Hunter from Agent of the Crown. She’s a spy for her uncle the King of Tremontane, accustomed to spying on the rich and powerful, who’s sent to pretend to be an ordinary person in a tiny village far from the capital. She’s my favorite because I spent many, many years developing her book and got to know her very well. She’s smart, but not a fighter, used to solving problems by her wit, and her journey is one of self-discovery as well as protecting others.

17. If you had to choose to be one of your characters in your book/books which would you be? and why?

I have always been fascinated by pyrokinesis, so I would love to be Elinor from Burning Bright. She has to fight to make a place for herself in her world, and has tremendous power. Unfortunately, she also lives in a time without much indoor plumbing, so it would be more practical to be Zara North from the Tremontane novels.

27. Do you choose a title first, or write the book then choose the title?

What I mostly do is write the book, then agonize for several days over choosing a title. Titles are hard. I’ve done it the other way twice when I was really stuck for what to write next. I generated a huge list of possible titles, then picked the ones that intrigued me. That’s how I came up with The Smoke-Scented Girl and The View From Castle Always.

31. Do you basic plot/plan for your book, before you actually begin writing it out? Or do you let the writing flow and see where it takes the story?

I’m a plotter. I do extensive planning for a couple of days before I start writing. I find if I don’t have at least a third of the book worked out in my head, I just go around in circles. So I outline as much as I can, then I start writing. Usually the rest of the book starts to suggest itself before I come to the end of what I have outlined, and I take a break to outline some more, then go on, repeating that process until I reach the end. For some of my books I’ve had as many as four different outlines for different stages of the book.

Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate or White Chocolate?
Dark chocolate with chili—rich and with a bit of a bite!

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Posted in: Curiosity Quills Press, Giveaway, Interview