Yesterday, I talked about a fountain my friend and I had seen on our trip to Phoenix. Now, I need to tell you about what we saw on the way back from there.
First, we decided to go to Sedona. She had never been there before so we went a scenic route I ‘d never taken. Both of us were pleasantly surprised to find it nice even though their seemed to be a lot of traffic. Once we had gotten into Sedona though I was floored.
When I had originally gone there, it was a sleepy bedroom community where one could communicated with the beauty of nature. Who was I kidding? This place was a hubbub of activity. There were no places to park and no way did we even want to do so as people were everywhere. It was no longer serene or peaceful and we went straight through very downtrodden as we couldn’t even get out and take in the beauty of the place.
As we went up Oak Creek, a winding road which takes us to the top of the mountain, she could at least see what I was talking about. We climbed and climbed for what seemed like hours. The traffic this way wasn’t as bad. At the top, there is a place where Native American artisans sell their wares and I was excited it was still there. I had first been to the place in the ‘90s coming home from the same conference. I was amazed it was still there and a stable of the area. It was wonderful and magnificant. I even managed to pick up some new, well priced pottery for my collection.
By coming this way, we made it so that we went through Flagstaff, one of my favorite places in the world. Flagstaff is one of only three places, other than Scotland, I’ve ever wanted to live. The other two are anywhere in Montana where the mountains are and Los Alamos, New Mexico. Those two will be left for later blogs as I have plenty to say about them. LOL!
Now we decided that we were going to eat in Flagstaff and take a break from the drive. We didn’t necessarily want to do it in the new section of town because they have a wonderful old section with lots of cool things. It took us a while to get the lay of the land as we drove around the many one way streets in old downtown but finally we found a parking spot close to where we wanted to eat. We visited a candle shop where we purchased various little aromatherapy items for home then moved on to a place called Charly’s Grill in the Weatherford Hotel.
Wow is the first word that comes to mind when we entered the hotel. It was built in 1899 and opened its doors to the public in 1900. It’s had its share of trials and tribulations but is now owned by a family who lovingly restores it bit by bit. When we went in, my friend and I just looked at each other. See, both of us get feelings I guess is the best way to describe it for lack of a better description. We could just feel the history ebb through and around us as we sat there eating our meal in the comfortable surroundings.
While we sat there, we noticed the mirror at our backs and I kept staring at it. Out of the blue, she tells me she’s seen that mirror before. My heart clutches as I tell her I feel the same but can’t put my finger on it. It is an ornate, top to bottom, mirror from the early 1900s and is beautiful. It reminded me of a lot of the antiques I’ve received of my grandmother’s. But as we sat there we both had a sudden urge to leave yet something wanted us to stay. We’d have loved to stay in one of the restored rooms to better explore those feelings but alas, we were on our way home and needed to be on our way.
We both had to go to the bathroom before we left and as we went through the bar and stage area, both realtively unchanged since they were built, we kept feeling the pull of the place. Here’s the website so you can explore http://www.weatherfordhotel.com/ nd a couple of pictures of the mirror we saw at the top of the blog.
What does it say to you? Have you ever been in a place where you felt deja vu or something else? What were those experiences like for you?
See you tomorrow!
Lynn
At what age did you realize you wanted to be a writer?
I don’t really know because I don’t remember there ever being a time I wasn’t writing. From the time I could make letters, I was writing stories!
What has been your biggest influence on becoming a writer?
There was just something inside me that demanded I write whether it was little girl stories, or morose teen poetry, or song lyrics, or bedtime stories for my kids, I had to write.
How did you feel when you got your first publishing contract?
Stunned! I couldn’t believe anyone would want to publish me, let alone actually buy and read something I wrote!
How many novellas/novels have you published to date? When did you have your first sale?
I have 5 works out right now. Three are novels and two novellas. Sheesh, I don’t remember when the first sale was.
Tell me about your latest release. Please include if it is part of a series or a stand alone book.
TWO FOR HIRE was released 9/28. It’s a novella where the lead characters are introduced by the male leads sister trying to marry her brother off. The two like each other, have hot sex and could probably fall madly in love, except there’s one little thing standing in the way…
ANCIENT BLOOD is being released 10/19 and it’s the sequel to my paranormal werewolf book BLOOD LINE that was released a year ago.
What was your inspiration for this book?
LOL Every time someone asks me that question I feel like I’m supposed to have a wonderful inspirational story behind the book. Unfortunately, TWO FOR HIRE has no such story, it’s really just a funny look at a situation and a really good excuse for hot sex!
ANCIENT BLOOD however, is a different story—so to speak! BLOOD LINE came from a dream my truck driver husband had about being attacked by werewolves while on the road…he’s a big sci-fi fan! So while I was writing that one, the character of Ganda became a story in herself and ANCIENT BLOOD picks up her story where BLOOD LINE left off. And there’s probably a third book in this line because Ganda’s uncle, Garan, is now demanding his story be told. After all, even a 2,000 year old werewolf deserves happily ever after!
How do you categorize yourself: pantser or plotter?
Kinda both! I don’t sit down and write out a plot or outline, but I roll the story around in my head for a long time until the characters begin to take on a life of their own and start telling me what to write about them. Once I start writing the voices in my head take over and, depending on the story, I sometimes write it straight through. Other times the characters go to the Caribbean and lay on the beach for a while, so the story sits until they finish partying and come on home to tell me the rest of their story!
How do you handle the editing/revision process?
Sometimes I edit as I go, sometimes I write straight through and then go back and edit. But I’m one of those writers who love it when an editor gets going on one of my stories. I constantly learn new things about writing and readers perception from being edited, and I love that!
You’re received some fantastic reviews...how do you feel about them and why?
The first time I was reviewed, it was a great review and I cried. I was like, oh my, somebody likes what I wrote! Now that I’m a reviewer as well as a writer, I am able to see reviews from both perspectives. I think honest reviews are important, but there’s a difference in an honest review and a bad or mean review. I think any reviewer who writes mean reviews is a very petty person and probably jealous of the fact that they aren’t a writer. A review can be honest, point out the faults of the work, but also point out what was good about the work. I don’t mind getting a review that says, I loved the story, but didn’t buy the logic in why John and Jane disliked each other so much…as an example. To just say, this author wrote an illogical story that had John and Jane disliking each other for no real reason just didn’t do it for me…isn’t constructive. And from the authors I know, a constructive review is very much appreciated.
Did anything odd happen while you were researching this story?
As far as TWO FOR HIRE…hmmm, the research was more of a closed session! LOL For ANCIENT BLOOD, there was a lot of research on Egypt, pyramids, etc. but nothing odd happened, unless you count that 3,000 year old mummy I found. (Kidding!)
Did you do anything special after that first sale?
Not really. Unless doing the naked happy dance through the house for a week counts as special!
If you could take the place with one character in your books, who would it be and why?
Ganda from BLOOD LINE & ANCIENT BLOOD. Ganda is half witch and half wolf. She is one of a kind. She’s beautiful, (I kinda modeled her after Catherine Zeta-Jones), she’s soft spoken, a real lady who takes care of everyone and is more concerned with others than herself, but piss her off and the consequences are swift and severe! Ganda also fell in love only once and when he was killed, she never loved again, never had another lover, and longed only to join him. What she gets is something she never expected!
If you could time travel, where would you go?
There are so many eras I would love to travel to. The city of Atlantis (before it was lost), ancient Scotland to the Highlands (Karen Marie Moning made those Highland men so sexy, I want one of me own!) I’d travel to Pompeii, to Israel during the life of Christ, ancient Greece, and I’d love to see America before any white man ever stepped foot on it!
Share a little bit of the ‘real’ you with our readers. What do you do besides writing? Any hobbies? Dark secrets?
The real me! lol I always said I’m 1% evil but my husband told me I’m 10% evil and I think we settled on 9%!
I have 12 kids, my 25th grandchild is due later this month, and I’m going to California to be there for the birth. I rescue abused and abandoned dogs, get ‘em nursed back to health, shots, spay/neuter, and try to find them good, loving homes, but usually wind up keeping them! My youngest daughter just got married in September, so now I am living alone! YAY! Now we can spend all our time naked and not just special occasions!
I don’t have an evil day job. I used to drive big trucks cross country, and I worked as a drug and alcohol counselor for the Dept. of Corrections—yep, you don’t know what life really is until you’ve been the only female on a unit with 120 male inmates! Lol
But mostly I’m a wife and Nana who finds time to write on occasion.
Is humor important in today’s women’s fiction?
Absolutely. And not just women’s fiction, but all fiction. Sure some things are serious in nature, but so is real life and I think it’s the humor we find in every day life that gets us through the serious parts.
Here’s Rie’s bio:
Rie McGaha was born and raised in northern California along the shores of Humboldt County where her grandmother often took her to search for seashells and watch the humpback whales migration. Though her father was a bit of a gypsy and moved his family all over California and Oregon, Rie always enjoyed the trips back to Eureka, California where many of her 12 children and 24 grandchildren still live.
As a dreamer of dreams and being born with a a gypsy soul, Rie has lived all over the United States. Settling in SE Oklahoma with husband, Nathan, she enjoys a quiet life in the Kiamichi Wilderness where she takes in abused and neglected animals, nurses them back to health and tries to find them new homes. The ones that don’t find new homes remain with Rie and she currently has 18 dogs and 2 cats.
Between her husband, children, grandchildren and all of the animals, Rie tries to find a few moments to write. Ancient Blood, the sequel to Blood Line, is due out in the fall, along with Caleb and Arion the second and third installments of the My Soul To Keep Trilogy.
Her latest work, TWO FOR HIRE was released on September 28, 2009. She is also one of the authors featured in the western anthology, Cocked & Fully Loaded, due out in the fall.
Where can readers find out more about you and your work?
www.riemcgaha.com
Twitter me!
www.twitter.com/Rie_McGaha
My Space
www.myspace.com/novelsbyrie
Face Book
http://www.facebook.com/RieMcGaha
Erotic Romance
http://eroticromance.ning.com/profile/riemcgaha
You Tube
www.youtube.com/NovelsByRieMcGaha
Author Offerings
http://authorofferings.blogspot.com/
Review Site
http://riesreviews.blogspot.com/
Yahoo Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eroticpromo/
Rie is having a contest that’s running through Halloween, the info can be found at www.riemcgaha.com/contests.htm
Thanks Rie for taking part in my 2 for Thursday promotion. I will let you know when the interview is up.
Lynn
