Who Is Mistral Dawn?

Mistral Dawn is a thirty-something gal who has lived on both coasts of the US but somehow never in the middle. She currently resides in the Southeast US with her kitty cats (please spay or neuter! :-)) where she works as a hospital drudge and attends graduate school. Taken By The Huntsman is her first effort at writing fiction and if it is well received she has ideas for several more novels and short-stories in this series. Please feel free to visit her on FaceBook or drop her a line at mistralkdawn@gmail.com

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

My #Interview With KM McFarland!! :-)


Hey Everyone!! :-)

KM McFarland is with us today.  KM, will you tell us about yourself and how many books you have written? :-)

KM:  I live in New Orleans, and my love for New Orleans history, legends and folklore is what inspired me to write about vampires and ghosts set in the French Quarter and the Garden District. I have always wanted to write a vampire novel without the help of every other element of the supernatural but soon discovered that’s easier said than done. I do feature ghosts, voodoo, and black magic, but the story revolves around the vampires. It actually began as an item on my bucket list that I intended to scratch off when the first novel was finished, but instead it became a writing project that resulted in three self-published novels with more to come. 

Me:  Sounds like a great Halloween read!! :-)  What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it? 

KM:  I just released Vampyr: The Complete Trilogy. It’s a collection of all three books: Song of the Vampire, Under a Bourbon Street Moon, and Masquerade. This one is available in paperback only. People kept telling me they prefer the feel of a real book as opposed to ebooks, so now all three are available in one bundle for less cost and, of course, you can still get the ebooks individually for Kindle, Nook, Smashwords, etc. 

Me:  Cool! :-)  What are you working on now? 

KM:  I have two works in progress right now. Vampyr 4, the next vampire installment which remains untitled at this time and another paranormal novel that involves reincarnation and possibly ghosts or witches but no vampires ... I don’t think ... Maybe ... I don’t know. I never know until I start the writing process where it’s going to end up.

Me:  Sounds like fun! :-)  What authors, or books, have influenced you?

KM:  I love vampires. My favorite author is Anne Rice. I’m a huge fan. It all started when I picked up a copy of The Vampire Lestat back in the late eighties when it was first published. I fell in love with Lestat and the conception of the modern day vampire. I still have it on my shelf along with her other novels, mostly first editions because I would buy them as fast as they were published. Another favorite is Charlaine Harris’ True Blood series. I’d say my protagonist, Quinn, is a little bit of Lestat, Louis, Eric, Bill, Stefan, Damon, and (a non-sparkly) Edward among other famous modern day vampires all rolled into one with his own personality and story.

Me:  I confess to having my own Anne Rice collection sitting on my bookshelves. ;-)  What are you reading now?

KM:  The Casquette Girls by Alys Arden. She’s an indie author from New Orleans who built a huge following by publishing on Wattpad. It’s a paranormal story set in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. I’ve started reading and been successfully pulled into Demon Within by Julie Nicholls, so that’s next on the TBR list.

Me:  I've read Julie's books, and they're a lot of fun!! You're in for a great read. :-)  I'll have to check out The Casquette Girls, it sounds interesting.  For those who might consider reading your book, what would you tell them to expect?

KM:  Expect to get into the mind, heart and soul of the vampire. Expect to get to know the vampires as genuine beings as opposed to monsters. Expect Intrigue, suspense, love, sex, romance with a lot of twists and turns. Expect the unexpected. When you think you know where it’s going, you can expect it to take a turn.

Me:  Ha! Sounds like a fun read! :-)   What is your favorite part of being an author?

KM:  Not having to be anywhere. I can work when I want to on my laptop while sipping on a glass of wine if I feel like it.

Me:  I have to agree, that is a great way to work! :-)  Do you have a day job as well?

KM:  No. I wouldn’t be writing if I did. A day job stood in the way of writing for too many years. After several unsuccessful attempts at writing a novel, I came to the conclusion the outside world was too full of distractions. Finally, I got to a place where I’m able to spend my time doing what I love.

Me:  That's awesome!! :-)  What are the hardest and easiest parts about being a writer?

KM:  Writing is the easy part. The downside of being Indie is promoting your work. It’s extremely time-consuming. It’s always a good feeling when someone tells me they liked my books or leaves a nice review, but I honestly don’t worry about making money off of my books. Of course, I want to, but my main purpose for writing is to entertain, and if I can do that, my job is done. I probably give away as many as I sell.

Me:  Yeah, I think most indies would agree with you about promotion. :-) What genre do you place your book in?

KM:  Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance

Me:  Wonderful! :-)  Is there anything else you'd like to tell your readers?

KM:  Thanks for reading my books. Please feel free to contact me via my website, facebook or twitter. I love hearing from readers and reading their comments about what they liked and didn’t like about my stories. When you’re writing a series, it’s good to know what readers want from the story. Positive or negative, I find it all quite helpful.

Me:  I completely agree!  I've found a lot of useful information in both good and bad reviews. :-)  And so these lovely people can find your books, are there any links you'd like me to post?

KM:  Yes. Thanks for having me today, and I can be hunted down at any of these links. 

Website: http://www.kmmcfarland.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kmmcfarland?ref=hl
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KMMcFarland
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/K-M-McFarland/e/B00DR0KLC2/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

You're welcome, KM, and thank you for coming! :-)  Everyone else, thank you for joining us and I hope to see you at the next installment of Mistral Dawn's Musings! :-)

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