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Today, I am delighted to welcome one of my fellow Crazy Ink authors, McKenzie Rae to the blog. She has a new release called "You, Me, and The Dragon" coming soon and took some time out to get into the author hot seat.
1. HRR – Hey, McKenzie. Can you start things off by telling us a little bit about yourself.
I’m McKenzie Rae, and I’ve been a published author since November 2017, but I’ve been writing stories for much longer. Being an author has been a dream of mine since I was a kid and my mom would read me stories before bed. My favorite genres to write are contemporary fantasy, dark fantasy, mystery, and horror.
2. HRR – What is your most and least favorite part of the writing process?
My favorite part of writing is getting to create worlds, characters, and scenarios that get my imagination pumping. I love to dive into those worlds and play around however I want. My least favorite part of the process is probably revising. When I find something that isn’t working, it isn’t always easy to deconstruct that aspect of the story and rework it, especially because that can create a domino effect in other parts of the book. I once rewrote ¾ of a novel just because I didn’t like how it ended.
3. HRR – How do you develop your plot and characters?
Sometimes, I develop characters first and then find a plot that fits them. Other times, I create a setting or a scenario first and have to find characters that will fit in there. I don’t really have one way that I go about doing this, but music is always heavily involved.
4. HRR – How many books have you written, and which is your favorite?
I’ve written twenty-one books and participated in four anthologies. I don’t know that I have a favorite. Usually, my favorite is whatever book I’ve written most recently.
5. HRR – Which of your characters do you relate to most, and why?
One of my characters that I can relate to the most is a girl named Sally Talbot from my Dysfunctional trilogy. I put a lot of my own personality into her sense of humor and the way she interacts with her friends. I can also relate a lot to my character Daria Halifax, from my most recent book. I deal with a lot of anxiety in real life, and I took all of that anxiety and gave it to her.
6. HRR – Tell us a little bit about Delian City.
Delian City is a fictional place that I created. It’s very vaguely somewhere on the East Coast of the US. I wanted to make a fictional city where I could write any genre that I wanted, so it’s kind of a crazy place for my characters to live.
7. HRR – What do you need in your writing space to help you stay focused?
Music generally helps me write. Also some form of caffeine.
8. HRR – What is your kryptonite as a writer?
Being sick is my writer’s kryptonite. If my brain is foggy and my body is uncomfortable, I can’t focus.
9. HRR – If you could choose one of your books to be made into a movie, which would it be, and who would play the lead characters?
I would love to see my most recent book You, Me & the Dragon turned into a movie. I wasn’t picturing anyone specifically for the main character Daria, but I think Alexandra Daddario looks pretty similar to how I pictured Daria.
10. HRR - Finally, please do tell us where we can find you online and what you have in the works.
You can find me on Instagram, Goodreads, BookBub—I’ve got a linktree where you can find those links, plus links to my website and Amazon page: https://linktr.ee/mckenzierae
I have two books that I’m currently working on. One is a contemporary fiction novella, and the other is a YA horror novel that will be set in Delian City.
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