Hello dear readers!
Welcome to my 'Super Special Samantha MacLeod Issue'. Where I, your humble blog host, will interview author Samantha MacLeod on her book The Wolf's Lover!
So lets get right into it, shall we?
Jass: Thanks so much for joining me on my wee blog Samantha! I'm super excited to talk to you about your book, The Wolf's Lover. First of
all, are you a pantser or a planner? Or
little bit of both?
Samantha: I’m a total
pantser! I never know what’s going to happen in my book until it’s over.
Sometimes this is really fun and exciting. Sometimes it’s terrifying!
Jass: I totally agree! I'm a pantser and I'm always both a little nervous and a little revved up at the same time. I wish I were a little more of a plotter sometimes, but I think I'm addicted to the pantser rush at this point! So I have to say, I'm a huge fan of urban fantasy, and am thrilled you happen to be writing it: Your book
is a romance urban fantasy, what drew you to this genre?
Samantha: I’ve always been
a huge fan of the fantasy genre in all its many incantations, from Tolkien to
magic realism. And, to be honest, I have a really hard time writing a “normal” story
with no fantastical elements. Even if I’m trying to tackle a difficult theme,
like grief or depression or overcoming your past, I’m always thinking, “Yes… but
what if I add a dragon?”
Jass: That is an excellent 'But what if'! I think many things could be improved with a dragon or two! Besides what is "normal" anyways right? I'm so glad you like to add a little fantasy (and dragons) into your work, because I love reading it! Speaking of your work...Lets get to
the details, what is your book, and what can readers expect from it?
Samantha: My book, The
Wolf’s Lover, is an urban fantasy set in Yellowstone. It’s about wildlife
biologist Karen McDonald and what happens when the wolf she tranquilizes turns
into a man. Along the way, there are lots of forays into Norse mythology, a bit
of the end of the world, and (of course) a dragon.
Oh, and it’s
free until 2/15! Happy Valentine’s Day!
Jass: Everyone got that right? It's free until the end of the week! I repeat FREE until the end of the week! Dear readers please take advantage of this! I'm definitely intrigued by your combining of norse mythology into your story- That pantheon gets into all sorts of strange to play with! So, with so much to draw from, and tons of possible elements to mix, what was
your process in writing this book?
Samantha: I’m usually
working on several projects at once. When one project gets overwhelming, I tend
to start something new to keep from going nuts. I began The Wolf’s Lover
when I was finishing my first novel, The Trickster’s Lover.
Then we moved
from Buffalo, New York to Maine. My writing took a backseat to a bunch of real
life concerns, and I almost didn’t finish this particular book. If it weren’t
for my husband telling me it really was a solid story, I don’t think I ever
would have pushed it out into the world.
Jass: Oh wow! Well I'm so glad you got that encouragement, because now it is in the world for others to enjoy! It can be hard balancing life and writing as it is, I can't imagine a big move on top of that! I'm glad you were able to overcome that challenge, was that the most challenging aspect? or were there other things?
Samantha: For this
particular book, the very end was a total mystery up until the day I wrote it.
That really terrified me. The hardest part about being a pantser, for me at
least, is that sometimes you’re not sure if you can actually pull this one off.
The end of the
book did eventually come together. You’d think that might keep me from
panicking about writing the next book, but so far, that hasn’t been my
experience!
Jass: I have that same fear when I'm writing my plays: Will this finish? Will this make sense? Is this actually a story people care about? The self-doubt is real! But lets forget about the struggles, what brought
you the most joy from writing this book? Were there any favourite moments
you'd like readers to watch out for? Or favourite characters you enjoyed
writing?
Samantha: Oh, there are so
many things I loved about writing this book!
I lived in
Bozeman, Montana for seven years, and it was just delightful to pull on my
experiences to capture that part of the world. Yellowstone National Park is one
my my favorite characters in The Wolf’s Lover. I also loved being able
to write a book about a successful, independent, female scientist.
And I stole
Karen’s graduate students, Zeke and Colin, straight from real life. They were
two of my best friends when I lived in Bozeman. I probably owe them both an
apology!
Jass: That's amazing! I'm so glad you were able to put things you love and experienced into the book. I know as a reader, I enjoy something more when I can tell the writer was fully into what they were doing. It's like their pleasure, of writing, goes straight into the reader via the book. I suspect it probably has something to do with, when you love something, you want to work on it and put in that detail and connection...or I'm just talking out of nowhere! I have a tendency to blather on! Well Samantha, we've talked about struggles, and successes, so lets talk about surprises! What was the
biggest surprise when writing this book?
Samantha: One of my
favorite characters in the book ended up being Karen’s ex-husband, Barry f’ing Richardson.
He starts off as such a caricature but, when Karen is desperate, Barry is there
to help.
It was important
to me to give as realistic a portrayal of divorce as I possibly could. When you
have a serious relationship with a person, I think your connection to them
remains, even if the relationship ends. Ideally, that means you’d still band
together to stop the end of the world, even if you didn’t make a great team as
husband and wife. (See? I add fantasy to everything. I can’t stop myself!)
Jass: I love that! I can already tell from how you surprised yourself, and what you wanted to convey, that Barry is a developed character, not just an 'ex' cliche. Which is wonderful, because I personally get tired of the "bitchy ex-wife" or "douchey ex-husband" trope. Some people split amicably because they still like each other, but don't fit together in a certain type of relationship, and neither is the "bad" person. I also love that the stakes are as high as saving the world. I mean if something is going to make you put your differences aside, I hope this is it! Also, what a sell to read this book! Who doesn't want to read about the fate of the world and how it (hopefully) survives? But because we don't want to give away spoilers (get the book!), lets switch gears to what happened post writing: What was it
like publishing your book? Challenges? Successes? Etc.
Samantha: This book came
out a year ago, February of 2018. It was my second independently published
novel, and readers really liked it. Tina Williams of A Reader’s Review Blog
named it one of her top books of 2018, which is such an honor. To celebrate the
first anniversary of its publication, I thought I’d offer The Wolf’s Lover
for free for a week.
Jass: What a lovely thing to do! Congratulations on the anniversary of your book, and I hope it continues to be successful. I can tell you put a lot of heart into it, and plus it has a dragon! Thank you again for talking about your novel with me! Before we say adieu, do you have
any advice for people who want to write in this genre, or in general?
Samantha: Some of the best
writing advice I’ve ever read comes from Stephen King, and I’d say it’s doubly
true in the romance and fantasy fields. Don’t be ashamed of what you write. I
spent thirteen years not writing anything because I was ashamed that none of my
ideas were serious or literary. I’m much happier now that I’ve given myself
permission to write books with gods and dragons.
And you know
what? People like to read books with gods and dragons. :)
Jass: Yes they do! Or at least I do, and in case you haven't heard...Jass Reads Books! One more time, thank you so much Samantha MacLeod for agreeing to this interview. I super appreciate it, and I believe my readers do to! Please dear readers get her book (and it's companion The Trickster's Lover). The book has everything: Fantasy, gods, dragons, shifters, and science! All things great!
Find Samantha's book at:
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