Author Interview: Anitra Lynn McLeod



VR: Would you like to start off by telling us a little bit about yourself?

ALM: I love to read, write, and white-water raft.  I also love to cook, craft, and work with stained glass. 

VR: What is one thing about you that your readers would find surprising or never guess about you?

ALM: I have never owned a cell phone.  I know, it’s shocking!  But I work at home so I just have never needed one.

VR: Would you like to share a favorite fact or piece of fascinating information about your upcoming book Overlord (goodreads.com) (book 2 in your Fringe series) that is out on May 3, 2011? Teasers are more than welcome.

ALM: When I started writing Overlord, I had no idea that Mary had a nickname--not until she called herself Remarkably Average Mary--I had no idea why or what it meant until much further into the book.  I find my characters do things or say things that leave me scratching my head.  I always trust them, though, because they eventually tell me what the deal is.  With Mary, the nickname and how she got it shaped her entire character.

VR: Have any of your Fringe characters been more difficult to write than the rest or did you find that one was more pleasant and easier to write than the others?

ALM: I had a very tough time writing Jynx Brennan from Runner, which will release in January of 2012.  She’s a doctor and a lady, neither of which I am, so capturing her voice was difficult.  On the other hand, writing Mary, who is a total smart ass, was almost effortless! 

VR: I am a bit of an author stalker, love going to various book & author events. Do you have any upcoming signings or appearances at any of the upcoming conventions?

ALM: My favorite kind of reader!  I usually do blog tours for my books so if anyone is interested they can contact me via my webpage at www.AnitraMcLeod.com but I am not scheduled for any conventions. 

VR: Do you have interesting writing quirk? If so, what is it?

ALM: I have to have water and ChapStick near me while I write.  I can’t focus without those two things!

VR: Can you share anything interesting about a current work in progress?

ALM: I’m working on two novellas that have the same basic premise but one is for the m/m romance market and the other is for the m/f romance market.  Both will release this Christmas.

VR: Do you have a favorite series you read, or perhaps author or genre?

ALM: I will read anything!  I love to find books when I travel; most small gas stations in the middle of nowhere will have used books for sale.  I can’t tell you how many authors I’ve discovered this way.

VR: Was there anything that inspired you to create your Fringe world books?

ALM: I’ve always loved sci-fi novels, especially Larry Niven’s Ringworld, but I also love sci-fi shows, like Joss Whedon’s Firefly (which was cancelled WAY before its time).  Blending elements appeals to me so in the Fringe series you have Thief, which is a futuristic western, then Overlord, which is a futuristic medieval, then Runner, which is a futuristic contemporary.  I like the idea of merging those elements with romance.

VR: How many books do you have planned for your Fringe series? Can you tell us who will be the main characters of the next one?

ALM: I have nine books planned now but I could see writing in this world indefinitely.  I’d like to examine the next few generations.  As a young woman I loved reading those sweeping historicals that spanned three or more generations; I’d like to do the same thing with the Fringe.  

Here is a bit about the next book in the series:

RUNNER

             Foster Nash is a triple-platinum Runner, a bounty hunter, who didn’t mind rounding up rowdies, and he’d never failed to deliver.  It didn’t take much of his considerable skills to apprehend Jynx Brennan, a woman accused of a horrific crime he discovers she didn’t commit.  Locked into a contract he can’t get out of, Nash has no choice but to deliver Jynx to the IWOG, who will publicly execute her for treason.

Anitra Lynn McLeod (website)

Anitra Lynn McLeod (goodreads page)

Buy Overlord, out 5-3-11 at a great price here.

Anitra Lynn McLeod's books at Amazon.com 

theJeepDiva's review of Thief