Topic: Author Interview
Today marks a very special day it is not only my son's birthday, but I get to present my 100th Interviewee, and winner of my Grand Prize!!! Congratualations, T.C. !!! Everyone, please stop back on Monday to find out the additional three prize winners!!!!!
T. C. McMullen the person:
1. What three words do you think describe you as a human being?
open-minded, dreamer, giving
2. How do you think others would describe you?
Friends would describe me as a compassionate deep thinker who thinks too hard about everything and feels too much about it all. Acquaintances, though, often mistake me as being a bit stuck on myself. I'm a social misfit, taking more than a few minutes to feel comfortable enough to actually talk sense to anyone and often times people take that the wrong way.
3. Please tell us what you are most passionate about outside of writing.
Art and philosophy.
4. Do you have any pets? If so, introduce us to them.
Well, not sure I can claim them because technically they all belong to my girls, but since they live with me right now too... My oldest daughter has a 3 year old Sheppard/Lab/Collie mix who patrols our yard and watches over everyone, including the neighbors. Then there's our 1 year old Bambi, the cockapoo with no toes on her right front paw who rules the house with just a few flicks of her lashes beneath her curls. She will leave with my middle daughter when the time comes (unless I can talk her into letting me keep Bams J) Then there's Cookie the rabbit for my youngest. Oh, and the 10 gallon aquarium full of Tetra fish.
5. What is your most precious memory?
Just one? Okay, has to be the time my girls and I started hiking off the beaten path at a nearby state park and got "lost." That was the day the water looked like the end of the world to my oldest (in her defense, the sun was so bright, the water was just one glaring white sheet that did look surreal through the trees) and my girls realized Mom does have a good sense of direction. We reached the car exhausted, a bit muddy, and with all kinds of neat pictures and memories.
6. What is your most embarrassing memory?
Hmmm, I embarrass over the stupidest things, but the worst in near memory was the time I passed out at the dentist's office. Sinus infection and couldn't eat and hold it down, but there was no one else to run the kids to their appointment.
7. If you weren't a writer, what would you be doing with your life?
Art and gardening - which I do anyway.
8. In two paragraphs or less write your obituary.
Here lies T.C., she lived life to the fullest, never stopped laughing, and showed the world a new way of thinking
T. C. McMullen the writer:
9. Can you describe the time you realized you were indeed a "real" writer?
When the first review came in for my first book. It was from a reader, not a relative or friend but was full of praise just the same. But now, looking back, I was a real writer long before that and on occasion I knew it, I just let it keep falling to the wayside.
10. What is going on with your writing these days?
I've just released my first novel in two years, Rise of the Arcadians a stand alone story already receiving great reviews. I have another book finished, Daughter of Gods, the first to a planned series. And Among the Ancients, another stand alone story is in the making.
11. What are your future goals for your writing?
Honestly, just to keep creating new ideas. I hope to never get stale, never have "stock" characters. If that happens, it's time for me to stop writing and focus more on my art. To date I hear my characters are similar in some ways, but all very different too, so I'm still on track.
12. Can you describe a typical writing day for you?
Get up, kids off to school, breakfast, work, work, work, help with homework, supper, kids in bed, and then I pull out the laptop if I'm not falling asleep. That's when I'll get some writing done, but to be honest, it's mostly only happening late Fridays and Saturdays now.
13. Why do you write?
Because I don't want to make my family miserable. The other day my daughter asked me why I was so cranky. My answer was that my latest character was storming around in my mind, creating all her scenes to the point it was jamming up my mind like a computer without enough RAM and I didn't have any time to sit and tromp it all out on any keyboard. I'm better now, I got twenty pages written last night.
14. What writer most inspires you? Why?
Stephen King for his ability to make anything, no matter how crazy, feel utterly real. Terry brooks for his views on where humanity could be heading.
15. How do you define your writing?
Entertaining puzzles that thrill as well as provoke deep thinking about seemingly typical things.
16. In one sentence-what do you want people to say about your writing in fifty years?
Stories of hope and passion that helped us all get through the years and better our lives without us even realizing it.
T. C. McMullen the details:
17. Can you tell us where to find more information on you? Website? Blog?
My main website with everything is found at http://www.tcmcmullen.com/. I also have a website just for my Manipulated Evil Trilogy at http://manipulatedevilseries.com/ and my blog: http://tcmcmullen.blogspot.com/
18. Is there a place where readers can reach you?
Sure thing, all my contact information is on my website, mailing address and email.
19. Can you list all your book titles so people can look for them?
Whispers of Insanity
Gone Before Dawn, now only available through me at my website or used from bookstores
The Manipulated Evil Trilogy:
The Unseen: Book One
Scattered Souls: Book Two
Scorching Eden: Book Three
And just released:
Rise of the Arcadians
20. For new readers-what can they expect when they read your book(s)?
They can expect a little bit of everything. They'll meet intense characters they can't help but love, faults and all, tied up in interesting and twisting plots, all of it with just a dash of ancient history and thinking beyond what's known J.
In conclusion:
21. Take as much space as necessary to speak to our readers-what would you like them to know about you and your writing?
My first priority with my writing is to entertain while teasing thoughts to reach beyond the ordinary. It's why it takes me so long to write a book. It has to grab me when I pick up something I've written because I know how precious time is these days and it's hard to make time for a book. My books don't take time, they enhance it, and you reach the end before you even realize it. I invite you to meet my characters and experience their lives full of trials and hope. My stories are not just one genre. They are for everyone, not just fantasy and thriller readers, but for those who like romance, drama, coming of age, and adventure too.
