**AUTHOR FEATURE** Leslie McKelvey

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our next author feature is for the extraordinary Ms Leslie McKelvey! Leslie writes romantic suspense & her "Accidental Encounters" series is fantastic! Please welcome her to the blog! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1) Why did you decide to start writing?

• I don't remember when I decided to start writing. I just know that once I learned to write, I started writing stories. I had all these people and places in my head, which was noisy, so I put them on paper. That helped quiet my brain some, but new people and stories just appeared to take place of the old ones.
• ~~~

• 2) Do you think authors can succeed in multiple genres or should they stick with a single genre?

  
  

  

  I think authors can succeed in multiple genres if they have the aptitude. I have written romance (contemporary and historical), sci-fi, fantasy, post-apocalyptic, but all of them have a romance theme throughout. For me it's not the main thread that changes, just the setting and language (they didn't use contractions in 13th century Scotland). If you have a firm grasp of writing mechanics and a clear vision, tell the story and worry about what genre it falls into later.
• ~~~
• 
  

  3) What do you feel is the biggest reward to you with writing?

  
  

  PEACE, at least temporary peace. After I finished Accidental Affair, Bear started whispering in my ear. Then he started talking. Then yelling. When all that failed, he shut down my muse until I told his story. Characters can be so temperamental! Oh, and being able to say, "I'm an author" is kind of cool, too!
• ~~~
• 4) Who are some of your favorite authors & why?

  
  

  

  Favorite authors. Hmm, that's like asking me my favorite ice cream. It depends on my mood. I love Dean Koontz (his descriptive abilities are second to NONE), Catherine Coulter (her older works), Kathleen Woodiwiss, and then there are the classics like Austen, Melville, Hawthorne, and who could forget Shakespeare? Yes, I'm a book nerd.

  wink emoticon
• ~~~
• 5) What are the biggest hurdles to overcome as an author?

  
  

  

  Biggest hurdles. OMG, time management for me. Some authors give themselves a daily writing goal, which is good, but my free-spirited writing muse HATES structure like that. Getting an agent is another one. I have three published books, two more contracted for publication, but can I get an agent? Hell to the NO. But, I'd have to say that getting one's work noticed is by far the biggest, hardest hurdle to overcome. With e-publishing, any hack can publish a book, even those who can't write a coherent sentence and have NO idea what punctuation, spelling, and grammar are. How does one stand out in a crowd of millions when all people base their book purchases on is a cover and a blurb? When I figure out how to get over THAT bar, I'll write a book about it and make millions. Or not....
• ~~~
• 
  

  

  6) Is there any advice that you can offer for new writers?

  
  

  My advice for new writers is DON'T GIVE UP and NEVER STOP WRITING. But, don't just write to write. Work on improving what you write and how you write. I guess then my REAL advice would be WORK TO BE BETTER, at everything, including life.
• ~~~
• 
  

  7) Tell us a few random personal things about yourself personal & professional!
• Random personal things...I don't know, I might scare some people, lol. I'm a US Navy veteran who was among the first groups of women to work the flight deck of an aircraft carrier. I am married to a cop (22 years), I have 3 sons (the oldest is a US Marine, the middle is a high-school senior and leaves for Marine Corps boot camp June 2016, and the youngest is only 12, so he has a few years yet to decide which branch of service, lol). I have extensive training and experience with firearms, including sniper and SWAT training, and knife-fighting. Professionally, I was Sales & Marketing coordinator at a boutique hotel in my home town of Santa Maria, CA, before I gave up all that glamour to be a domestic goddess (aka stay-at-home-mom). I have a BS in Business Management, and a PhD in sarcasm. I am a gun-toting, Constitution-loving, once-a-sailor-always-a-sailor gal who would rather wear my 5-11 tactical pants and combat boots than heels. My favorite perfume is the smell of gunpowder in the morning....
• ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
• ~~CLICK HERE FOR LESLIE'S AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE~~

     ~~CLICK HERE FOR LESLIE'S FACEBOOK AUTHOR FAN PAGE~~

•