I’d like to welcome
P.J. MacLayne, author of The Baron’s Cufflinks, to my blog today.
PJM: I’m an old hippie chick turned computer geek
turned in-my-spare-time writer. I live in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains and
love spending my spare time exploring the back roads of the area.
RW: Why did you decide to write? When did you
submit your first manuscript and what genre was it?
PJM: I’ve been writing since high school. (Many
years ago!) I wrote poetry for years, and was moderately successful getting
published in magazines, but at some point the words seem to dry up. Then I
heard about National Novel Writing Writing Month. It sounded like fun, and
there was a story kicking around in my brain that wouldn’t work as a poem.
Well, I didn’t make fifty thousand words in one month, but I found a new creative
release and I haven’t stopped writing fiction since!
RW: Who are your favorite characters among the
books you’ve written?
PJM: It’s normally the heroine of whichever book I’m
working on at the moment! Overall, Harmony Duprie, my main character in the Oak
Grove Mysteries, is my favorite. She’s such a quirky character and I enjoy
hanging out with her. Plus, she has such great stories to tell!
PJM: There’s a lot of me in my writing. The books I’ve
published so far are all take place in the general area where I grew up—the
rolling hills of Pennsylvania. But I’ve lived in several different parts of the
U.S., so I’ve got room to stretch out. (Spoiler alert—the location for my next
Free Wolves book is Wyoming.) I write strong female characters, and I give
credit to my mother for that, because she helped my sisters and me to grow up
as independent women. But none of my characters are carbon copies of me.
RW: Would you like to write a different genre or
sub-genre than you do now?
PJM: I’m currently writing two different series—The
Free Wolves, which are urban fantasy/paranormal romance, and the Oak Grove
Mysteries, which are cozy mysteries. I’ve tried my hand at pure romance, but I’m
not very good at it. I’m better at writing action than emotions. So maybe I’ll
try a pure action/thriller one of these days.
RW: How many books have you written and how many
have been published?
PJM: I’m an Indie author, but I’m picky about what I
release. I’ve written a dozen books, but have only released five of them so
far. (The sixth is coming!) Two more of the unreleased ones have potential, and
when I have the time, I’ll whip them into shape and share them with my readers.
RW: If I were a first-time reader of your books,
which one would you recommend I start with and why?
PJM: I can’t pick one, so I’ll pick two. Wolves’
Pawn is the first book of my Free Wolves Series. Each book in the series is
stand-alone story, but the overall premise for the series came from that book,
so I suggest starting there. In the Oak Grove Mysteries, the plot line through
the series is more linear, so it makes sense to start with The Marquesa’s
Necklace, the first book. As a bonus, it’s only 99¢.
RW: Are you in control of your characters or do
they control you?
PJM: We collaborate. I have the basis for a story,
and my characters tell me how it really happened. Sometimes we disagree, and I
try to trust my characters’ input. Sometimes I have to go back and change
things, but usually they’re right.
RW: What is the single most important part of
writing for you?
PJM: Getting the words on paper in first draft form.
Writing the end is always such a great feeling. Once I get through that, the
rest will happen. Editing’s a necessary pain, but if that first draft isn’t
done, the editing is useless.
RW: Bubble baths or steamy showers? Ocean or
mountains? Puppies or kittens? Chocolate or caramel?
PJM: Steamy showers. I’ve never been much of a
bubble bath person. Mountains, definitely mountains. You only have to check out
my blog to figure that out! I’ve lived on both coasts of the U.S. and in the
middle of the country, and I’m quite happy being where the mountains are only a
short drive away. Puppies or kittens? if I can’t have both, give me kittens. I
know they grow into cats, but they suit my personality better. And chocolate,
always chocolate.
RW: If money were not an object, where would you
most like to live?
PJM: I’ve managed to come close already. My current
job puts me within sight of the mountains so I can escape to them on the
weekends. But if I didn’t need to work, I’d find me a cabin somewhere actually
in the mountains (with internet access) and be quite happy hanging out there.
The internet access is important, because as an indie writer, I need access for
research and to promote my books.
RW
Comment:
I can’t imagine any serious writer living without internet. Whether we’re indie
or we have a publisher, we have to be able to do research and promote our
books.
RW: Tell us about the scariest thing that ever
happened to you.
PJM: I’ve had several experiences that could be
classed as paranormal. Many years ago, I was out camping with a bunch of other
girls, and we were fooling around with a Ouija board. A sudden gust of wind
came up outside the cabin at the same time as a cold chill surrounded us
inside. We ended that session quickly.
Later
on, I was researching Tarot cards for a report, and was loaned a deck by the
friend of a friend. (No, really!) Following the information I gleaned from
several books, I told several people’s fortunes to test my knowledge. Later,
one of the unhappy fortunes I told (involving death) came true. When I found
out, I returned the cards and never told another fortune.
RW: If you came with a warning label, what would it
say?
PJM: Warning: Not good at telling white lies. May be
overly-truthful. Engage at your own risk.
THE BARON’S CUFFLINKS
The Plot
What starts as Girl’s
Night Out ends in murder, and Harmony Duprie is a suspect.
She’s innocent, of
course, but with no alibi, the sheriff’s department won’t remove her from the
list of suspects. It doesn’t help when a waitress from the bar gets beaten up
and the only clue is a slip of paper with Harmony’s name on it. Throw in a
rookie deputy dead set on building his reputation, and Harmony must tread
carefully.
But caution isn’t
Harmony’s middle name, and she plunges head first into danger to defend her
honor.
What she finds is a web
of half-truths and suspicions implicating several law enforcement agencies,
with Jake, her ex-lover, stuck in the middle of it all.
Can Harmony rescue Jake
and find the real culprit before she becomes the next victim?
An Excerpt:
I noticed what appeared
to be a leather-bound book half-buried under some old college textbooks. I set
them aside, picked it up with my other hand, and rubbed my forehead in
puzzlement. As thick as the volume was, it should have weighed more.
I ran one finger across
the gold-embossed title. Wolf’s Knight,
Tasha’s Tale. Another unknown. I
gingerly lifted the cover, half-afraid the book would fall apart.
The book was hollowed
out to create a hiding place. Inside the empty space was a small, purple velvet-covered
box. I hesitated for the briefest of moments before taking the box out and
setting it on top of the nearest stack of books.
My mind
raced as I imagined what the box contained. A diamond ring? A pair of fancy
earrings? Or just some child’s plastic beads? With unsteady hands, I lifted the
lid.
PJ MacLAYNE
Bio
Born and raised among
the rolling hills of western Pennsylvania, P.J. MacLayne still finds
inspiration for her books in that landscape. She is a computer geek by day and
a writer by night who currently lives in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains.
When she’s not in front of a computer screen, she might be found exploring the
back roads of the nearby national forests and parks. In addition to the Free
Wolves’ stories, she is also the author of the Oak Grove series.
Book Links:
Contact PJ At:
Thanks for visiting.
