Saturday, August 3, 2013

Susan Mac Nicol




Location:  ESSEX, ENGLAND UK

 

Question:  How long have you been writing?

I've been writing for publication for about 18 months now. I've always written- poetry, short stories snippets of novels. But, it was only when I had the inspiration to write my first novel, "Cassandra by Starlight", that the bug really bit.

Question:  What was the name of the first book you ever published, and when was it published?

My debut novel, "Cassandra by Starlight", was published in August 2012. It's the first book in my Starlight trilogy. It's the story of Bennett Saville, actor and Cassie Wallace, a woman who's ten years older than him. The couple goes through quite a lot, and it's a romance suspense.






Question:  Was this book published by a publisher; or did you self-publish?

All my books are traditionally published, and I've been very fortunate to have a wonderful publisher. Boroughs Publishing Group is based in Ventura, California and as authors we have a wonderful support team led by the Editor in Chief, Chris Keeslar. It was only the second publisher I submitted to, and I was really fortunate to have the lovely Jill Limber see the story beneath my questionable formatting and she decided she wanted Cassie and Bennett's story.

Question:  Tell our readers about this very first book.  (For example:  What was the inspiration for writing it, and what was it about)?

And, therein lies a tale; at the beginning of last year, I read a newspaper article about some fool standing on a motorway foot bridge and throwing a concrete bucket down into the traffic on the motorway below. The woman in the car was badly injured. After the initial rage at this idiot’s actions, I started to think. What if that has been someone throwing themselves off the bridge? What if they landed on a car and the person in that car was rushed to a hospital? What if the person who died in the suicide attempt had a family member who went to see the woman and they fell in love?

This was the basic premise for the book. All I needed were the heroine and hero. The heroine was easy enough for reasons I’ve already mentioned above. The hero started out being a professional business man and ended up being a younger man, in the film and theatre world, inspired by someone I was watching on TV at the time. Anyone that knows me knows of my passion for Benedict Cumberbatch and he was the inspiration for Bennett Saville.

From there, the book just grew and grew and eventually I had a trilogy.

 
Question:  Can a person still buy this book?  If so, where?

Absolutely the book can still be purchased. The links are all below.

Boroughs Publishing Group
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
All Romance ebooks
Kobo
Smashwords
Barnes and Noble



Question:  How many total books have you published?

I have 3 full-length novels published and 2 novellas. "Cassandra by Starlight" and "Together in Starlight", the first two of my trilogy; my latest bestseller "Stripped Bare", which is my first M/M Gay romance; "Confounding Cupid", a novella with a Valentine's theme and "The Magick of Christmas", another novella obviously Christmas based.

(All available at the below url):



Question:  Any future writing projects in the works?  If so, tell us about it, and any pertinent dates to go with it.

Oh good heavens, yes. There's a lot in the pipeline at the moment. I have a schedule that means if I get three hours sleep a day, it's a lot...  I will need coffee and a lot of focus. The current plan is virtually a book each month up until the first quarter of 2014. I've been very busy writing and I have a lot of finished material, which my publisher is now ready to publish.

So, this is the plan but it's subject to change dependent on my mental health (lol).  I'd definitely give or take a month or two after November.

(Here is a listing of my scheduled releases):

Oct 2013  WAITING FOR RAIN - My second M/M book

Nov 2013 STARLIGHT AND PROMISES - The last book in my Starlight trilogy

Dec 2013 SAVING ALEXANDRIA - an S and M themed M/F romance

Jan 2014 WORTH KEEPING - my third M/M book

Feb 2014 DOUBLE ALCHEMY - a two book paranormal romance suspense series


Question:  What is the title of your current book, and tell us a little about it.

My current release is "Stripped Bare" and it is currently in the Amazon best seller rankings in the Gay Romance category. It tells the story of Matthew Langer, lawyer and Shane Templar, escort and hacker. The two men are thrown together when a mutual friend is injured and the sparks fly between the two men.

The blurb is below, to give you more of an idea about what it's about.

    Though two years past, Matthew Langer is still getting over the death of a loved one. He's steered clear of serious relationships, but when he meets the ir-resistible, dirty mouthed and tempestuous Shane Templar that decision has never been harder. Shane is sexy, warm and funny, and Matthew finds himself trying like hell not to care about him. Especially, when Shane, with his quick wit and hacking skills, is quick to stand up for justice and avenge wrongs. Then Shane strikes at the wrong target, and Matthew realises just how far gone he already is. At the threat of losing for good, yet another man who’s broken through his armour, Matthew finds his heart stripped bare. He must face the demons of his soul or a future without love.

 
Last question, if someone comes across this article and reads it, what would you like to tell them about why you think they should try reading your book or books? (Basically, what can you offer them in the way of information or entertainment)?

I am first and foremost a story teller. I write stories with real characters who are flawed, human and, I hope, believable. I try and bring a sense of realism to my plots and make readers experience something and somewhere that perhaps they haven't been before. Overall, I want to entertain readers, so when they put the book down and think, 'Oh my God, I really enjoyed that and I really loved those characters.' Hopefully, I achieve that.

Anything else you'd like to add that I didn't ask you, but you would like to share with our readers? 

I like diversity and I enjoy putting underlying threads into my books that may titillate a reader’s imagination and perhaps even make them go find out a little bit more about the subject mentioned. "Cassandra by Starlight" deals with the more serious subjects of child abuse, female on male rape, schizophrenia and the seriousness of celebrities being stalked.

Other topics in my books include the Razorgang wars in Sydney in the 1920’s, a seventeenth century ghost story in the Val theatre, spousal abuse, the London gang scene, the psychology and influence of cults, hacking and the practice of S and M.

So there's always underlying threads that I hope will interest a reader and make them think.



 
Twitter - @SusanMacnicol7
 
 



Blog Writer's Note to Author: It seems like you have quite a busy writing schedule ahead of you, but I can tell that you truly love what you do in creating a story.  I realized this even back when I first met you out on Twitter during your interview on "Writerskaboodle".  I knew then, as I know now that you are an amazing writer with a lot of interesting story ideas, and I hope people who read this interview here will consider reading one or more of your books.  Thanks for the interview.

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