Tuesday, July 4, 2017

Interview with Katherine McIntyre


Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

I always end up with a bit of a message even if I don’t initially intend it—which is probably better I don’t since I’ve got the subtlety of a sledgehammer. One of the big themes I always write into my books is the importance of finding a community, and this hits home in a big way with the final book in the series. Waking for Winter is about healing, about second chances, and about searching for and finding a cause worth fighting for.

What inspired you to become an author?

Two things. Stories have always been a part of my life. When I was little and painfully shy, books were my escape, the place where I could be braver and bolder than I was in real life. My father used to tell me and my brother bedtime stories, but not the average fare—he spun epics, installments that would stretch out over entire months. The second thing is my connection with people—I love, love, love to connect with people any way I can. I love to entertain, love to see a smile, love to help people feel, and writing gives me the ability to do that.

Do you have a specific writing style?

My god, yes. My readers could easily pick my books out of a lineup. On top of a snarky voice that doesn’t quit, I always tend to write deep into the emotional state of things, and my pacing tends to be fast. I unapologetically write strong, complex women and equally varied men.

Do you write in different genres?

I do. My favorite genres to write tend to have some overlap thematically though. My absolute favorites are urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and young adult fantasy. The reason I gravitate towards those genres is because I adore writing character-focused stories rather than politics-heavy books. While mine contain flavors of that, my focus is always on the individual struggle as they navigate through the world, and those genres tend to gather more of those types of stories.

Is the book, characters, or any scenes based on a true life experience, someone you know, or events in your own life?

I never base anything wholly off of true life, but like any author, elements are always woven in. For example, I tend to feature diner scenes in my books, because I’ve been a diner rat my whole life and it’s familiar. Whenever I do a club scene, a lot of the vibe comes from my times hitting the alternative clubs in my early twenties. Aspects of my friends and family weave themselves into the characters naturally, and a lot of times I don’t realize until I’ve already written the story.

Do you have a song or playlist (book soundtrack) that you think represents this book?

Oh hell yeah. I make up a Spotify playlist for every single story I write—it’s an integral part of the process for me. Waking for Winter’s playlist featured a lot of songs off the beaten path for me—I’m not super into rap, but it seemed to fit a lot of the fight scenes for the story, a blend of Lupe Fiasco, Eminem, and Gym Class Heroes. One of the big songs for the sensual scenes was Pretty Girl by Sugarcult, because there’s this seductive darkness to the song that fit so well. Another big one for the dramatic scenes was Bleeding Out by Imagine Dragons, since the nature of the song just meshed with those moments so well.

Do you have any advice for other writers?

Find your tribe. Seriously. I languished at first when my first book, An Airship Named Desire, came out, and since it was a super small press, the community wasn’t really well-established. However, as I’ve worked with other publishers and connected with authors, they’ve been essential for the journey. Because writing not only gets really lonely, but the trials and tribulations of editing and submitting are near impossible to weather on your own. The authors in my tribe are brilliant, brilliant people who I learn from, support, and chat with on a regular basis. We all keep each other afloat, and that’s been one of the greatest joys since becoming an author.

What is next for you? Do you have any scheduled upcoming releases or works in progress?

I’ve got a lot on the burner right now. With the Philadelphia Coven Chronicles coming to a close, I’m currently working on a shifter series to focus on next. I’ve always loved the animalistic rawness of shifter stories, and I can’t wait to share my brand of spitfire and vinegar to the subgenre. I’ve also begun the final book in my Take to the Skies series, The Airship Also Rises, which will draw to completion a journey that began in 2012.

Can you share a little of your current work with us?

Dante Martinez filled her doorway, his biceps bulging as he gripped the top of the frame. Shadows clung to his tan skin and deepened the stubble of his cleft chin. His mussed, dark hair drifted over his forehead as if he’d just woken up. Like her, he was a night owl, so the hour didn’t surprise her. No, what set her on edge was the concerned press of his lips and the fear glittering in those cocoa eyes.

“You called out to me in a dream, in trouble. It felt so much like a vision, I had to come check,” he offered, filling in the silence between them.

Cami lifted a brow as she gestured him inside. “You know visions are more my wheelhouse, right?” Her heart jackhammered, and she fought to hide the tremble of her voice.

“Couldn’t take the risk,” he said, shutting the door behind him. His gaze traced her up and down, the look sending a flush to her cheeks as she tugged the bottom of the tee that only made it mid-thigh. “Not with the love mark the Caoranach left with you. We still don’t know if that’s traceable.”

Ah yeah, that. Dante was the one other soul who knew about the brand the creature had given her. 

She slid her fingers along the raised skin. Two parallel lines rose up, and a slanting one connected them, traced by a trail of black ink. Cami hadn’t even told Alanna, because she couldn’t risk getting kicked out. The Coven felt like home, the first place to settle in her bones since her mom died years ago, and she couldn’t afford to lose the lifeline. A half-breed like her had to cling to whatever tethers she could find.





Waking for Winter
Philadelphia Coven Chronicles
Book Four
Katherine McIntyre

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Loose Id

Date of Publication: July 4th, 2017

Book Description:

The Philadelphia Coven has thwarted the Order of the Serpent’s every attempt to destroy their city only to draw out the scariest nightmare from the Otherworld, the Caoranach. One of the Coven’s own, Cami Akiyama, has already met this creature—the very monster who tortured her, branding her with a mark. Given Cami’s history with the big bad, the Coven leader assigns her a bodyguard, none other than the gorgeous and lethal necromancer, Dante Martinez, the ex-boyfriend she disappeared on years ago. One conversation confirms the spark between them never died, and based on the way Dante flirts, he won’t allow that flame to extinguish out without a fight.

No one has ever compared to Dante and the incendiary passion he inspired in her, but the Caoranach broke her—Cami’s too damaged for any sort of relationship. Not like that stops him. If anything, he fights harder for the memories of a love that kept her sane on the bleakest nights. And despite every effort to distance, she finds herself falling for him all over again. Except the Caoranach isn’t finished with her—the branded mark holds the secret to the city’s destruction or salvation, and Cami stands in the center of the storm.




Excerpt 2:

He sucked in a harsh breath. “So it had nothing to do with us?”

So, so complicated that phrase. It had everything to do with them, with how bright their flames burned when they were together and how their fire threatened to consume survival and reason alike. The aching intensity he inspired in her had reached the fervor of consumption, to the point she wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to extricate herself. In their time apart, she’d grown. Fallen down, scraped her knees, and fucked up, sure. But she’d learned to stand on her own and had become a woman who could fight her own battles. Had she stayed back then, she risked not only losing him but herself in the process.

“You’ll always have the place you carved into my heart.” Her words came out quiet while the enormity of the realization crashed through her. As much as she tried to distance herself, as much as she’d tried to move on, the second Dante entered her life again, his presence returned her to a home she’d been away from for a long, long time. His uncharacteristic quiet unsettled her nerves, but after the bombshell she’d dropped, she didn’t expect quips or quick conversation.

The inches between them grew agonizing since she wanted so badly to reach out and stroke his arm or squeeze his hand and close the distance. To indulge in the comfort his mere touch allowed. However, the silence reached a deafening crescendo, and for once she couldn’t read his gaze.

Dante sat up on the bed, a bandage over his side where he’d been patched. The doctors had cut off his shirt but left his jeans on. His mouth tightened with pain at the motion, and he moved carefully as he slid to the end of the bed to grab her hand. So close, the scent of his smokes and metal surrounded her, intoxicating in his nearness and his heat a blossom unfurling in her chest. His dark, honeyed skin looked good enough to lick, and her tongue darted out to wet her lips on instinct.

He traced his fingertips down her cheeks to lift her chin, the slight touch electric, an awakening that traveled through her body in a way that brought her into the present for the first time in too long.

Closing the distance between them, he leaned down and brushed his lips to hers.

About the Author:

A modern day Renaissance-woman, Katherine McIntyre has learned soapmaking, beer brewing, tea blending, and most recently roasting coffee. Most of which make sure she’s hydrated and bathed while she spends the rest of her time writing. With a desire to travel and more imagination than she knows what to do with, all the stories jumping around in her head led to the logical route of jotting them down on paper. She writes novels with snarky women, ragtag crews, and guys with bad attitudes. High chances for a passionate speech thrown into the mix.






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