Meet J. C. McKenzie

My guest today is J. C. McKenzie. Please tell us a bit about yourself, like where are you from,

what are your interests and how did you start writing? 

I grew up on a remote set of islands, called the Haida Gwaii, off the west coast of Canada. I love to play volleyball, drink coffee and make things up. I’ve been writing since I was seven, but only started writing seriously for publication about 3 or 4 years ago after I won the Inspirational Category of a flash fiction writing contest (Sands of Time ©2010).

What is the weirdest thing that has ever been said or done to you by a fan?  (Internet stalkers count)

 I’ve had a few creepy strangers on Facebook, spouting randomly inappropriate comments, but the strangest comment came from one Facebook “fan” who sent me a private message and asked me to show him my “sexy writing ways.”


What scares you the most?

Something happening to my son and being unable to prevent or fix it.
What is the hardest scene you have ever written?

That’s a toss-up. There’s a few. The break-up scene at the end of book 3 where my main character picks a guy was pretty hard. I felt like I sentences that character to a literary death, even though I didn’t. There’s a very violent scene in book 3 as well that left me very raw. I had to go down a path into the deep recesses of my imagination and put myself in my main character’s place to try and bring forth authentic feelings. There’s also a scene in book 5, which I haven’t got to yet which will rip me to shreds. I’m dreading it, which is why I think I haven’t started writing book 5!


What was the darkest moment in your life?

When I gave birth to my son he wasn’t breathing. It was the scariest minute (or two) of my life. They suctioned his airways and I heard his healthy cry shortly after, but I don’t think I breathed for the entire time. My heart stopped.


Going back to your writing, who would you say is the favorite monster/villain in your books?
 Ooooo. I find a perverse joy in writing some of my villains. Clint, from the Carus Series and George, from The Shucker’sBooktique were incredibly fun to write. They’re such jerks!

Imagine your characters are on the TV program, Survivor.  Who will they vote out of the book?
 In Shucker’s, they’d either vote off Willa’s mom or George. There’d probably be a split vote and they’d have to do a head-to-head fire-making challenge to see who had to leave.


Remember the notorious author threat?  ”I’m going to write you into my book and kill you off.”  Describe how you would kill off this person. 
I’d have a pack of wolves rip the person to shreds while they were alive and a flock of seagulls pick up the remains to smash against the rocks of a storm-ridden cove.

Tell us about your upcoming new book.

The Shucker’s Booktique is a paranormal short story romance and it released on October 15^th, 2014. I really enjoyed writing this story. It’s straight up romance, and because it’s a short story, I didn’t have to put my characters in a lot of unending conflict.


Tell us about your book cover. Who did it? How did you or they come up with the concept?

Debbie Taylor, from DCA Graphics has done all my covers and I absolutely love her. She takes my warped, convoluted ideas and somehow creates something that manages to tick all the boxes of what I wanted, yet come out even better than anything I envisioned.


How did you come up with the idea for this story?

My publisher announced a new project called Lobster Cove. It's a fictional town on the East Coast of Maine where any writer can base their story. I immediately got the idea of a shifting water sprite and it wouldn't leave me alone. I stopped writing my Carus series for two months to focus on this project, and I'm glad I did!
 

Tell us about your hero and heroine and how you came up with them?

Lon Devlin is a Tempest, a water sprite who can take the form of a human only during severe thunderstorms. He's a trust-worthy, loyal friend. When he finds one of his only human friends missing, he immediately suspects the pretty woman who claims to be his friend's niece.
Willa Eklund is a reclusive thirty year old who has spent her entire existence under the thumb of her aunt and more recently the control of her fiancé. When her fiancé dumps her and her aunt goes missing, Willa leaves the life she knew to search for the one person who has always been loving and supportive to her. When a mysterious man shows up in the middle of the night in the middle of a thunderstorm, she thinks he has something to do with her aunt's disappearance.

Sounds like a great story! Thanks for being my guest!

 

Thanks again for having me on your blog! :-)

 

Now here's a blurb and the buy links for The Shucker's Boutique.

 

After her fiancé dumps her and her beloved Aunt Jenny goes missing, Willa Eklund travels to Lobster Cove with a broken heart to search for Jenny while running her bookstore. When a mysterious man visits the Shucker's Booktique on a stormy night drenched in rain and covered in mud, Willa's heart melts under his stormy gaze. She wants Lon and the answers he may have, but he also has a secret. Can Willa trust him?

Lon Devlin is a Tempest, a water sprite who can only take a human form during stormy nights. He rides the waves, lives by the tides, and nothing can hold him down, not even a beautiful woman. When he visits his mortal friend, he discovers she's missing and her intriguing niece has taken her place. He wants Willa, but he also wants answers. What happened to Jenny? 

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://www.amzn.com/B00NU7H6YI

Wild Rose Press: http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=195&products_id=5883

Contact Information:

Website: www.jcmckenzie.ca

Blog: www.jcmckenzie.blogspot.ca

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/j.c.mckenzie.author

Twitter Page: www.twitter.com/JC_McKenzie

Amazon: www.amazon.com/author/jcmckenzie

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

And here's a special offer!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway