Author Sloan McBride Interview and $50.00 Amazon Gift Card Contest LIVE Here
BBB: Tell us 3 things not in your bio we don’t know about you that might make us leery of befriending you. LOL
SM: I never take my Christmas tree down until Valentine’s Day
I still love and watch animated Disney movies even though my children are 22 and 17
My first love will always be music
BBB: What actors would you choose to play some of your characters if your book were made into a movie or a TV show?
SM: Patrick Dempsey for Tom; Evangeline Lilly for Whitney; the blond kid who played Peter Pan in a movie a few years back (don’t remember his name) as Spencer; Josh Lucas as Greg; Jason Statham as Adam; Eric Balfour as Murphy. I have someone in mind for the villain but don’t want to say as it will give insight into who it is.
BBB: How do you keep track of your world building?
SM: Lots of research, lots of notes, lots of pictures in my head; and I have a collage for every book hanging on my walls.
BBB: Please tell us more about Dangerous Heat and the storyline that drives it.
SM: After 9/11 the news media was doing all these stories about the cops, firemen, and people who were heroic during and after the tragedy. It got me thinking that there are people who do things heroic everyday. We had a bunch of wildfires and I saw the hot shots in action. I started doing research and also found out about smokejumpers. Their job intrigued me so I started focusing my research on them.
BBB: How many more books there be in this world?
SM: This is planned as a smokejumper trilogy
BBB: Did you do any kind of research to determine the details of your characters lives / lifestyles?
SM: Years of reading different books about fires, smokejumpers, went to different smokejumper websites, met with a fire chief to talk about the fire academy and all the things they learn about while there. Actually met some hot shots while I was on vacation in 2008 when we were in Arizona. They happened to stop to eat at the same place we were and I talked to them.
BBB: Are you a plotser or a panster? or a Planster (a combo of both – lol)
SM: Pantser all the way. Once I have the 2 characters, the situations and the story kind of flow from my fingertips. I tried to plan before, but the story freezes up, and I get writer’s block. *shiver*
BBB: What types of creatures can readers expect in your world?
SM: In this trilogy you find the human, 2-legged variety. In my Time Walker world, you find gods, demons, and wizards, oh my!
BBB: What’s coming up for you in 2012 and 2013?
SM: If life is fair to me for the rest of the year, I am planning for Book 2 of the Time Walker Series to be out. Book 3 is already started, and Book 4 is in the beginning stages of creation. I generally have about 5 books going on in my head at any given time. I have started a couple of new things on my website. One is McBride’s Moxey Reviews which are book reviews. The second is Scribe Tips which are writing tips. I will also be adding 1 or 2 more chapters to my free online story.
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Learn more about Sloan McBride below
Read reviews of this authors work on Bitten by Books here
Newsletter http://www.sloanmcbride.com/contact.html
Blog http://sloanmcbride.blogspot.com/
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I agree that people do heroic things everyday. I am new to your books. I like the them for this series though.
Thanks. I always like to meet new fans. I hope you enjoy reading the book as much as I did writing it.
Sloan
Congratulations on your novel.
RSVP
Thanks. It’s been a long time coming, but I’m real happy with the end product. I hope you will be too.
Sloan
Hey! Awesome post. I’m curious to know what was it like to write THE END in your book? xoxo
Truly, it was a huge relief. This poor book has been through some ups and downs along with me over the last 3 years. Went through the death of my mother 2 years ago, the death of my stepfather this past Wednesday, and all the other “life” things that have happened to me in between. I was so happy to finally be to the “the end.” With some edits and tweaking though, I’m so happy I waited to put the book out there. I hope fans will be pleased.
Sloan
Who are your favorite writers?
I truly have many all in the romance genre. J.R. Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Kinley McGregor, Kay Hooper, Lynn Viehl, Karen Robards, Iris Johansen, Nora Roberts, and so many more. It’s hard to pick just one. I try to read at least one author I have never read before once or twice a year.
Sloan
What’s your favorite Disney movie? My follow up question is Who is the best Disney movie Villain?
That would be hard too because I love them all, but I really like Anastasia. Tarzan, Hercules, Road to El Dorado, and Quest for Camelot. My favorite villain is Rasputin. I love that he thought he’d be all bad and do this curse then it ended up biting him in the butt. It’s comical all the things that happen to him when he’s trying to get Anastasia. I love the bat too.
Sloan
Do any of you know smokejumpers, personally? No.
Can you readers give me any other interesting occupations? Interpreter. Let’s just say I heard some interesting stories from interpreters who visited at the university and told about their job.
Interpreter. I seem to remember a movie once about an interpreter who heard something they weren’t supposed to and then they went on the run. That might be something to work with.
Sloan
Most of the time in real life -besides doing their job- interpreters have to decide how to deal with out right stupidity of some people and to know when it’s time step outside of the interpreter role and to do something about a bad situation that you see developing while you are interpreting.
Interesting. It just shows there are other jobs out there that people have no idea about, but that are interesting. Those are the kind I like to write about.
You had me at Patrick Dempsey or as I will always call him McDreamy! Too bad they never call him that on GA any more. The cover of your book is really dreamy too!
Sorry it took me so long. I left the link open and it didn’t refresh….LOL You can tell how much I do this kind of stuff.
Anyway, yes I’ve loved Patrick Dempsey for a long time. His picture is actually the one on my collage for Tom. : )
Thanks for being here! So what’s your favorite scene in Dangerous Heat?
Well, I’m kind of partial to the scene where he goes fishing with Spencer. And I like the scene where Whitney goes to find Tom after he calls her and tells her it’s better if he leaves and stays out of her and Spencer’s life. Spoiler: Spencer is their son.
Congratulations on your new book! In Dangerous Heat you write about human beings and in the Time Walker series you write about paranormal beings. Do you find it difficult writing about such different characters? Is one easier than the other? Do you have a favorite?
Truly, I love writing about the paranormal beings because you can make them whatever you want, they can do whatever you want, and I have way more fun with that kind of freedom.
Author’ Question – Interesting Occupations
I always thought it would be interesting to be an archaeologist who travels to remote sites to study buildings and relics of ancient civilizations.
In Book One of my Time Walker Series “The Fury,” the heroine, Reese, is an archeologist. I loved writing that book.
Author’s Question – Smokejumpers
I don’t know any smokejumpers personally, but I do admire their courage and determination.
They are normal, everyday kind of people, albeit a bit crazy….LOL
What do you think make the character in the book most appealing?
For Tom, it is his integrity. Although he lives with the survivor’s guilt, and does/did really stupid, life-threatening stuff, he never puts his team or any other individual in danger.
For Whitney, the love for her son. How she will do fluff pieces just to make extra money to buy her son a horse.
I love the comradarie between the smokejumpers at the base. I love the way Whitney’s brothers are over protective and watch out for her.
When you did your research did you visit fires?
Unfortunately, no. I am not really in a position yet where I can take off and go to the different locales where there are wild fires. Someday, maybe, when I’m a writer full time and don’t have to do a full time, regular day job, I might be able to do a bit more hands-on research. In my second book, “Together in Darkness,” I took the family on vacation to Gloucester, MA where the book is set. While I was there, I went to the police station and talked to the police, the Lt. Joe Aiello, in particular. Over the years, and even now, we talk via email. He was a tremendous help to me in police procedures, how the local cops would act with the feds, and when I was stuck and I posed a question to him like where is there a place that the killer could hide out and not be found for a couple of days, he would provide me with the perfect location. I like that about being a writer. You meet great people.
hi Sloan, is that your real name? I really like it
I loved AZ and need to go back for vacation
I planned a whole big trip that year (2008). We drove to Williams, AZ where we stayed at this quaint bed and breakfast. We caught a train in the town that took you to the Grand Canyon. It was awesome. On the way back, there was a train robbery….LOL
I have a huge respect for people who risk their lives helping in any field of work. It’s nice to see some insight in to a job that I hadn’t even heard of previously.
What are your personal thoughts on individuals who work in such dangerous occupations?
Amazing. That’s the best word. They are regular people who take the risk. Do you know they actually parachute into the fire locations? Many have died, and at the time I did my research, there were only about 450 smokejumpers total, to do the Lower 48 States, Alaska, and Canada. Now don’t get me wrong, I think they are part thrill junkie, part hero, part crazy, but still amazing.
Interesting occupations are a deep sea welder or helicopter journeyman lineman.
Deep sea welder. Now that might be interesting. I’ll have to look that up…LOL After seeing the movie The Guardian with Kevin Costner, I thought those guys might be interesting to do some research on and use in a book.
In my first book “Highland Stone,” the heroine was a volcanologist. I love volcanoes. Mother Nature rocks!!!
I do not know of any smokejumpers personally.
Believe me, I would love to sit down with a few. I do have two more books I’m planning on writing involving these guys. Maybe, I’ll make a trip to Missoula, Montana. They have a group that work out of Missoula.
Are you obsessive compulsive when writing or structured?
I don’t think I’m either. I’m definitely not structured because I don’t work that way, but I’m not obsessive compulsive either. The most important component for me and the story is the romance. I am a romantic and have been my entire life. I put down that story first, then layer in all the rest in later.
Do you have any unusual or special talents excluding your storytelling abilities?
Nope. I’ve been a creative person as far back as I can remember. Now I’m determined and I don’t give up, but I don’t think that’s really a talent…LOL I do sing a little, and I used to be pretty good at dancing, but that was then and this is now….LOL
What is your favorite thing about the writing experience and why?
The most exciting thing is watching the story come to life on the page. I love how I become the characters and all the scenes play out. I get wrapped up in the emotions. I love the friendships, the heroic decisions, and the females who make the heroes have to work harder.
Congrats on starting a new series especially hard, I assume switching genre’s, from paranormal to “real life” hero’s.
Well, Dangerous Heat is still a paranormal. All my stories have some paranormal level to them. Now, it isn’t as paranormal as the Time Walkers because there you are dealing with Gods, Demons, Wizards, etc., but I still have some paranormal aspect in my stories. In this book, the paranormal is the Storm empaths. If I did my job right, it is such a part of their lives that it doesn’t seem over the top.
Hi,
apart from writing, what other creative outlets do you like to pursue?
Well, before I got really heavy into writing professionally, I used to do all kinds of crafts. Because of working full time, I am limited to only a couple hours a day to write, so there isn’t any time for any other creative outlet. But, when my kids were in school (daughter just graduated from high school in December), I did all the school stuff, and kid stuff. I still have one more thing to finish which will be done the end of March, and then I’m free to focus on writing again. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still fully involved in their lives, but not on the same level.
Hi!
Okay, gotta ask, since this is the section that just stuck out for me from above… how in the world can you have something like 5 books in your head at once and not either a) get them all mixed up or b) go nuts!? LOL Well, I guess if they are all in the same world, but different people, might be one thing, but still… 
Lois
and answers to your questions — a) smokejumpers, nope – can’t even say I heard of the phrase until now… and b) sure wouldn’t mind seeing more astronauts in books, myself…
Lois
They don’t get mixed up because they are all different. Now the going nuts part, I won’t deny it gets me sometimes. I’ll be like okay today I’m working on Book 2 of Time Walkers, but the characters from Book 4 want to be heard and they will kick around in my brain until I agree to listen.
Astronauts is a good idea too. With the world building that I do, it could get interesting. Have you ever watched FarScape? Awesome show. I love Ben Browder. The concept was unique and the characters were loveable. I have all four seasons on DVD….LOL
Hi, I was wondering if you had ever modeled any characters in your books after someone you know/knew?
No, but I use my life experiences and relationships with people to help me in the relationships in the books. I dedicated Dangerous Heat to my son. I used the years of being his mother to help me in the relationship between Whitney and Spencer.
I still love watching Disney movies as well.
I know, right? You can’t find anything better than Disney movies. When I see what they are putting out today, and what they are putting on TV, I would switch to a Disney movie with no problem.
I am really excited for this book!! But I have to tell you I just about knocked my chair over jumping for joy when I read the part about you planning book 2 of the Time Walker Series to be out this year (maybe/hopefully)!!!!
How come you take your tree down in February?
I love Christmas, and I figure if you go to all the trouble to put the thing up, you should enjoy it longer than just a month.
LOL, Holly. I know it’s been a while. I’m so sorry. I have to apologize to everyone who has been waiting. Life has been kicking my butt the last couple of years and I just haven’t been able to get them done as quickly as I would like. I stopped working on Book 2, “The Treasure,” to finish Dangerous Heat and get it out. I would love it if I could do nothing but write. The book is about 2/3 done though, so it looks promising to have it out in 2013.
No reason to apologize at all!! I loved The Fury and am just glad there will be more to go along with it!!! =)
More to come, definitely.
a smokejumper series sounds fascinating
I did enjoy writing this one. The research was interesting. I didn’t realize how much I had actually done until I was listing them at the end of the book….LOL I hope everyone finds them fascinating.
How about a lumberjack?
Yes, lumberjack is another occupation you don’t hear much about. I have some definite visions of what the hero would look like.
don’t know any smokejumpers
what are you thinking of coming up with in your series after this?
If you mean the smokejumper trilogy, I will be telling Tony “Moondoggie” Calhoun’s story, and Matthew “Flyboy” Boone’s story. I have the collages made already and they are up on my wall. My focus now that “Dangerous Heat” is out will be the Time Walkers for a couple of books. “The Treasure” is Dane and Celeste, and it is set during pirate times. “The Tempest” is Killian and Mia and is current day. I also have one which I started way back in 1998, but put aside because it has two heroes (Seth and Conrad) and one heroine (Isabelle). Back then that was frowned upon, but today the industry has changed so much that I just might be able to make it work. Still, it will be sometime before I get back to that one.
interesting occupations =?
Coastguard or Nave Seal
Coast Guard definitely a very good option. I do have one Navy Seal book that I have toyed with, but I’ve decided “maybe” to turn it into a Time Walker book instead.
Don’t no any Smoke Jumpers
What was your favorite childhood book?
Winnie the Pooh. I know it’s not Disney…LOL but I love that silly bear.
Have you ever written fan fiction? For what fandom?
No I have never written fan fiction. As it is, I only get a couple of hours a day, sometimes not even every day, to write so I stick with writing my books.
I always found that veterinarians have a really interesting job – their patient can’t talk, so vets have to figure out what’s wrong just by their knowledge.
That’s funny that you say veterinarian. Mia in Book 3 of Time Walker Series is a vet. She can sense what the animal is feeling, find the injury or illness, and treat it. That is part of the paranormal. Of course, Killian is a Sumerian God, so there you go.
I don’t know any smokejumpers personally, but I think what they do is admirable, I certainly couldn’t do that.
I think even some firemen think smokejumper is a cool and crazy job….LOL
What is your favorite Disney movie?
Animated Disney movie would be Anastasia. Regular movie, jeez, there are so many, many good ones. I do kind of like The Three Musketeers movies with Kiefer Sutherland, Charlie Sheen, and Oliver Platt. And no one (well maybe Jack Nicholson) does a better bad guy than Tim Curry. LOL
Hi Sloan,
Always ready for new stories, your look intresting.
Do you generally set one large or many small goals?
Me and my critique partners do yearly goals. Me, personally, I set smaller goals. Of course life is always interfering so smaller goals are more easily attainable.
What do you do to reward yourself when you reach your goals?
Generally, it depends on what’s going on in my life at the time. I might take myself to lunch or buy me a nice shirt or something. Sometimes, I don’t have time to do that so just the satisfaction of achieving the goal has to be enough.
Do you keep track of random plot bunnies as they pop up, or do you let them run free and grow until you need them?
No major plotting. My stories start out a man and a woman, a situation, and happily ever after is the goal. From then on, the story just writes itself. I kind of like it that way. I never know what is going to happen next and that’s exciting to write. It surprises even me…LOL
Do you have a favourite genre to read?
Paranormal is my favorite genre. I read others, but always come back to paranormal.
How did you feel when your book was ready?
Relief. Dangerous Heat has been through a lot with me. When I went in and started editing I was really pleased with what came out.
Sloan, we always keep our tree up until January 6th for two reasons: it’s “little Christmas” and my youngest sister’s birthday.
I love it. I like sitting late at night and watching the white lights on my tree.
Do you plan to write any music-themed books?
LOL. Well Whitney does love to skate and there is music involved. You see some form of music in all my books. I imagine there will be a singer or musician or dancer of some sort down the road. You never know.
I always thought that turkey breeding was interesting, even though certain aspects are better not to think about. And I’ve never heard the term “smokejumper” before today, so I guess I don’t know any!
Oh my, turkey breeding? Now I do have a book that I wrote about 7 pages for back in 1998 called “Montana Memory” which involved a rancher. But turkey breeding? I would have never thought of that one…..LOL
Do any of you know smokejumpers, personally?
I don’t. I have a son who has been a volunteer fireman for about 20 years
I do not know any smokejumpers personally. I would like to meet one or two though.
- Can you readers give me any other interesting occupations?
Race car drivers, Medical Examiners, Water water rafting guides
Cool, race car driver is good. Medical examiner is good, but there are several of books and tv shows out there right now about those. Water rafters would be good too. Been with a few of those on white water rafting trips that me and the family go on when we take vacations.
If you could live in any literary world (including your own) which one would you choose)… In that world and you can change places with any character of that world who’d you choose.
Do any of you know smokejumpers, personally?
Sadly – no I do not know any smokejumpers personally…
Whoa, that’s a loaded question. I have never really thought about it because I get lost in the worlds when I read the books anyway. I’m partial to Sherlock Holmes though. Have been reading those books since I was a kid. But the writers today create such amazing worlds, I could imagine myself in many of them. I live in my own worlds when I’m writing too. I really couldn’t give you one answer. I love them all.