Author Interview: Mindy MacKay

I love how many author we get to know cause of the BLB E-book Tours! My favourite parts are the Fun questions XD Anyway, today we have here Mindy McKay, author of Falling From Disgrace which is currently on tour. Once again enjoy!

-Try to describe your book in one sentence.

Cain and Abel meets Crime and Punishment meets The 120 Days of Sodom…with a bus chase thrown in.

-Your genre in Fallen from Disgrace is psychological thriller right? You did that on purpose, or you just start writing?

Psychological thriller is the jumping-off point I use for most of my work. I like to play around with convoluted plots and twist endings. Oftentimes I know my story is going to be a psych thriller before I know whether it's going to be a tragedy for a romance. The case of Fallen was no exception.

-What inspired you to write, you took any ideas from other books, movies etc?

I'm a real sucker for archetype, especially the tropes I come across in old classics I read. As an old-literature nerd, I've stockpiled quite an arsenal.

-Did you do any research before start or during of the writing of the books?

Usually I write in more fantasy settings, which I can bend to suit my needs, but this time, since I was going realistic, I had to do some research on a number of topics, most notably law enforcement and retrograde amnesia. I also looked into Freud and the Oedipus complex, which actually factors heavily into my earlier work, even though I didn't know about it back then. I guess Freud was right.

-Which scenes were the hardest to write?

Rosella's strategic machinations were a bit of a roadblock at times. Writing a character who was smarter at age 6 than I am now was particularly disorienting, and it's not enough to just say she's a prodigy of manipulation and not show her in action, so I had to make up all her schemes myself. I'm not a schemer. I actually consider myself quite nice. So you can see why this gave me trouble J

-How long has it taken you to write a book ?

Typically it takes me 6 months to write a full-length MS and another 6 to edit before it's ready for submission…and then, of course, come even more edits with expert help and advice.

-What’s the best part of writing for you?

Reader feedback. I love hearing what people have to say about my work.

-Are you reading or writing something else at the moment?

Currently, I'm working on a steampunk/scifi story that may or may not end up being book-length, a long with a lot of poetry for my Monday night poetry club. I'm reading an English translation of El General en su Laberinto by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

-Did you have support at the beginning and/or during your writing?

My parents and friends have always been super supportive of my writing passion. At this time I'd like to send out mad props to all of them. Thanks Mom and Dad, and all my various beta readers!

-Did you always had in mind to be a writer or it just happened?

Actually, I've always had it in mind to be a medical doctor, and recently I've been strongly considering getting a Ph.D in genetics along the line. Writing is a passion of mine and I love doing it, but I by no means intend to make a day job out of it, and I never expected to get published at any rate. I write for fun.

-How important you find the communication between you and your readers? Do you reply to their messages or read their reviews?

I Google myself and my work quite often and I love hearing what readers have to say. For me, the greatest reward of writing is having people be able to connect to my work.

-Are you working on any other projects except writing, right now?

I'm in the middle of learning a number of songs on the piano.

-Something special you want to share with us?
Brownies are special. /*attempts to shove brownies through the internet connection to everyone out there*/ Aww. It's all over my keyboard.

Now some simple questions and more fun^^

-Your favourite books and author?

Favorite book: A Clockwork Orange.

Favorite author: Chuck Palahniuk.

-Your favourite band/singer?

Green Day.

-Twitter or Facebook?

Facebook.

-Favourite place in the world?

New York.

-Last movie you watched at the cinemas?

Water for Elephants.

-The last book you’ve read?

Snuff by Chuck Palahniuk.

-Have you ever googled yourself?

Yes, frequently.

-Writing, reading or hanging out with friends?

All of the above. I can't survive off only one.

-If you wouldn’t be a writer, what you would be?

The same thing I am now: a high school senior getting ready to cut 'n' run to college.

-And last one....printed or ebooks?

Ebooks! They're cheaper, they don't use paper, they deliver instantly, they're easier to make, and now you can store them on a phone. 

Rosella Cartwright wakes up in the hospital after a yearlong coma with no recollection of who she used to be. Her only clue is that everyone around her despises and avoids her. Then, she discovers the truth: before she was hospitalized, she was the most wanted maniac of New York's criminal underbelly.

Disgusted by reports of her own heinous crimes, she attempts to reform herself, but her efforts are in vain as society continues to cast her out in hatred and fear. All the world seems against her until she is offered a job by Daniel Ryan, a rising executive and self-made success who hides a lifetime of inner turmoil behind a façade of cool indifference. Drawn to his mystery as he is by her irrepressible darkness, Rosella starts falling for Daniel, but love can't save her from her past. A former victim of hers wants revenge, and will stop at nothing to get it. Her partners in crime want her back by their side, though she wants nothing more to do with them. And a sinister plot of her own design, buried beneath her amnesia, is, unbeknownst to her, still very much in progress. These are the monsters she will have to fight off alone, and if she doesn't watch her step, she might not make it out alive.

Official Site || Goodreads