Indie Fall Fest: Interview with T.C. McKee

First off, Happy Halloween! And boy, do I have a treat for you! Today I have my guest, T.C. McKee, author of The Bone Treaty here! She was nice enough to allow me to interview her. Check out the questions and her answers below!

Don't forget to drop by the kick-off post and enter our HUGE giveaway!

Over on Pretty Little Pages, Rae Hachton is being featured today! So don't forget to stop by!

1.           If you could have coffee with any character from your novels, who would it be and why?

I would have coffee with Conal. He’s gorgeous and dark with this eloquent air about him that leaves him both mysterious and alluring at the same time. His eyes alone could keep me captivated for hours. Having the chance to speak to someone who can shift into anything imaginable, and who has lived through 3 centuries has got to be the Starbuck’s encounter of the year. Sex appeal and wing potential meets caffeine. How could I not be all in?

2.           At what age did you decide you wanted to pursue a writing career?

Probably about 13, although I don’t think I truly realized it was possible until I was 35. I just thought I’d dabble and daydream forever. By the time I turned 35 I really started taking it seriously. I had that, what are you waiting for moment. I think we all have those at some point in life. When you realize that you’re the only thing standing in your own way. We really can do anything we want to do if we really choose to do it. Why wait?

3.           Do you remember the first book you ever wrote? And if so, what was it about?

The first book was The Bone Treaty. Conal happens to be one of the main characters. It’s a book about a seventeen-year-old girl who envisions the auras of others. It’s a little trick she likes to call color-vision, a power passed on to her from King Solomon himself. When the US is attacked and the power grid is shut down, Addie must do the one thing she’s never truly wanted to do, and that’s learn all she can about her power, something she’s never really cared to do. She might possess the only element that can save the US, and everyone she loves at the same time. But there are other elements that want to stop her, one that wants to keep her safe, and one that wants her all for himself.

4.           Are you an outliner or a pantser?

I’m a tad of both. I have some weird, semi neurotic Post-It note fascination. I write, then get random ideas at random times so I jot things down, stick them all over my office, and then spend more time trying to decipher what in the hell all those notes actually mean. It’s disturbing. As long as I don’t start writing the Number 23 all over the place like Jim Carrey in said movie, I think I’m good.

5.           How long did it take you to write The Bone Treaty?

The first draft took about 8 or 9 months. The editing process however, was a whole other story. That part took about three more years, a lot of crying, wine, coffee, maniacal laughter, several hundred oatmeal cookies, and an occasional rock in the corner. Voila. It’s out there. No problem.

6.           What is your favorite social media site and why?

I love Facebook the most. It’s so easy. There are a lot of groups. People are so willing to share and spread the good news. An update is done in seconds, and I can creep on laughing babies, or laugh out loud at some cool dog video for a nice break. It’s like Disneyland without ever leaving the chair. That. Is. Just. Awesome.

7.           What is your favorite genre to read and why?

I love all things paranormal, especially YA paranormal. I love historical romance. I know. Totally unrelated. I also love romance in general, and an occasional contemporary romance. For some reason, I seem to be stuck on romance with or without the fur and fangs, in this century or not doesn’t seem to matter. Somebody has to kiss somebody or I’ll just die.

8.           What is your writing process?

Oh. I should get one of those. I don’t really have a process or a schedule. I’m afraid of clocks. They tick. Tick equals danger in my opinion. So, when I have a moment to steal away, or a scene is just pounding in my head, I grab coffee or herbal tea, preferably pomegranate green tea, and I just pick up where I left off. Either that or I try to figure out my Post-It notes and then go from there.

9.           What would you say has been your biggest accomplishment since you began writing?

Learning to take criticism. And yes, I do see that as an accomplishment. Writing is easy if you’re made for it. Coming up with new stories is as easy as a quiet moment in a public place. We always find inspiration. Publishing has so many avenues now. If you want your work out there you can literally make that happen in an afternoon. But taking criticism, and seeing it for what it is, well, that’s the hardest part. You have to be able to recognize that without it, you cannot grow as a writer. What used to hurt my feelings, I now view with appreciation. If I know what’s wrong with a story, what a reader needs to feel, or see from one scene to the next, I can make that happen in the next book, or even change that in the current work. So I think the acceptance of criticism is a great accomplishment. 

10.       What gives you inspiration?

Everything. People. Life. The sky. A kiss from my husband, a funny comment from a stranger. A situation, you name it. I’m inspired everyday by someone, or something. I think writers are just in tuned to the world around them in ways that no one else is. We don’t see things in black and white or even in color, but in facets that hold endless possibilities. I love that the most about writing. We can make our imagined worlds and the characters in them whatever we want them to be. How cool is that?

T.C. Mckee lives in small town Virginia. After several adventures and a few misadventures, she decided to follow her dreams and write a book. While penning The Bone Treaty, she opened two small businesses, one of which has nothing at all to do with writing, and the other which has everything to do with writing. Owner of BookFish Books, a small publisher of middle grade, young adult, and now new adult, T.C. hopes to help other authors follow their dreams. She drinks too much coffee, checks in with her grown daughter, says the most random things, and gladly shares her space with a doting husband, and one incredibly needy Great Dane.

Connect with T.C.:

Website – Goodreads – Facebook – Amazon – Twitter