INTERVIEWWelcome Petey! It’s wonderful to see you again! Thanks for agreeing to this short Q&A!! Has someone been instrumental in inspiring you as a writer?
I'd love to share here and to thank you for allowing me to spend time with your Laurie's Thoughts and Reviews readers today.
Two people have been an inspiration to me, and I have never met either one -- Stephen King and Suzanne Brockmann. Suzanne is one of my all-time favorite authors, and I've read all of her books. Those were the stories that taught me a romance novel can be more than just a straight love story -- that you can throw your hero and heroine into the middle of something thrilling and exciting, and that's what I do.
Stephen King's book On Writing is part autobiography and part fabulous writing text. He said the only difference between published and unpublished writers is the published writers never gave up. So, I didn't. No matter what happened. And I did -- get published.
Tell us about your current release.
My last release was Book 3 in the Mystery Angel Romance series -- The SEAL's Angel. The cast of characters change with each stand-alone love story, but the novels are similar in that an angel has been hidden within each plot. The angel's identity is not officially revealed until the finale unless the reader figures it out first.
In The SEAL's Angel, Navy SEAL Sean MacKay's teammate is murdered after stealing a deadly nerve-gas formula from Syrian terrorists. Naval Intelligence believes MacKay's teammate was a traitor and shipped the stolen formula to his sister in the states for safekeeping. MacKay is given orders to find the sister before the terrorists do and to retrieve the stolen formula at all costs.
Foreclosure looms for Cory Rigatero as she fights to keep her rustic resort near Mt. St. Helens afloat after her brother deserted her to join the SEAL Teams. Cory's whole world dives into a tailspin when Sean MacKay shows up at her resort with the news of her brother's death and the wild suspicion her brother may have sent her traitorous classified documents. No way will Cory trust MacKay -- the man who once seduced her and then vanished into the night without a trace.
When in the day/night do you write? How long per day?
I left my fabulous "day" job at Walt Disney World recently to write full-time, so I'm lucky that I have the opportunity to write anytime. I try to set aside whole work days devoted to my Work in Progress.
While that sounds wonderful in theory, dazzling passages are guaranteed to pop in your head at the least opportune moments -- in restaurants, in line at Walmart, in bed in the blessed moments before you succumb to much-needed sleep. Never, ever assume those passages will still be hovering in the atmosphere when you return to your computer. They won't. They will swiftly dissipate like the smoke from the Pillsbury rolls you burned when you stopped to send a tweet about your latest interview.
I never go anywhere without a pocket pad in my purse, and yes, there's one on the bedside table, too. My husband frowns at it whenever he walks by. *snicker*
Tell us about your next release.
I'm excited about my December release, Cinderella Busted. Not only is this the start of another new series, but I also am blessed to have a second publisher, Soul Mate Publishing. The new series brand is: The Cinderella Romances...fall in love with the fairy tale all over again.
This modern-day Cinderella series will provide unlimited opportunities to retell the famous fairy tale in different locales with different heroines playing the part of Cinderella. How fun to get to retell the fairy tale a dozen different ways. Sometimes you'll know who Prince Charming is at the get-go and sometimes you won't. That will make each fairy tale unique.
In Cinderella Busted, the fairy tale shifts to Jupiter Island, Florida. Lily Foster, owner of an eclectic landscape nursery, is mistaken for a wealthy socialite by billionaire resort developer, Rhett Buchanan. Overdue for a little romance in her life, Lily is anxious for one fabulous date with her handsome prince, so she cultivates the inadvertent masquerade.
Rhett Buchanan has become jaded with the Palm Beach social scene, dominated by scheming women desperate for more money -- his. Rhett falls hard when he meets Lily Foster. She is a breath of fresh air after the smog of gold diggers constantly surrounding him.
For Rhett and Lily, it's love at first sight until her deception comes to light and pitches their relationship into a disastrous tailspin. Well-meaning friends are determined to intercede and resort to inept high jinks to reunite the estranged couple while a wicked ex-girlfriend plays dirty to keep the couple apart.
I've already started work on the second book in the series about an abandoned casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. This one's titled Betting on Cinderella.
Tell us about a favorite character from a book.
I don't know if she's my favorite, but I had the most fun writing Lila Tumson, the town slut in my second release, Catch of the Day. Stuck living in her tiny backwoods hometown of Loon, Alabama, Lila makes a memorable pass at every red-blooded male that passes through town including the story's sexy hero, Coast Guard Capt. Gage Connor. Lila provides the perfect nemesis to heroine Cody Ryan's burgeoning love match with Capt. Gage Connor.
Here's a little Lila snippet from Catch of the Dayto wet your whistle:
Gage couldn't get Lila back to town fast enough. The woman made two forays across the console in his truck trying to get her hands on him, and the second time she managed to peel his wet tee shirt part-way up. He wondered what had possessed him to go for dry clothes with the town octopus offering her favors if he would just pass on the tournament. Give up the opportunity to spend two days straight with Cody? Not a chance. He'd been livid when Cody dunked him, but only because she'd taken the upper hand in their battle of wills. Paybacks were hell, and he could give as good as he got. He grinned before he could stop himself. "Did you change your mind, handsome?" Lila cooed, and one of her tentacles stretched across the console. "You're smiling. You thinkin' about lovin' on little ole Lila?"He buried his grin with a resigned sigh. The woman's self-confidence reached Olympic proportions. He caught hold of the tentacle before it could attach to his pants. "No, I'm thinking about landing the catch of the day."What was one of the most surprising things you learned while writing your books?
Years back, when I finished my first novel and was offered a contract, I squealed, sighed, and then marveled over finally accomplishing my goal. I thought, "My work is done." Once my publisher placed my precious release on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, I could sit back.
That thought lasted until I dug around Amazon and discovered there are 7.5 million other books waiting to be bought, of which 3.5 million were digital books like mine. "Well, how many of those could be contemporary romances like mine?" I muttered.
Only 320,000. Yikes!! My surprise? There's no sitting back -- ever -- in publishing.
What was the scariest moment of your life?
I'm a biologist by education/vocation, and early in my career, when I surveyed lakes for the state of Florida, the Department of Natural Resources held an annual training course for the regional biologists at a lake in north Florida. We spent the week on airboats, being tested on plant identification and mapping techniques.
We had no TV or entertainment at the church camp where our training session was held, so one evening, two biologists and yours truly decided to go for an airboat ride after dark. I wasn’t afraid to go since I hadn’t seen a gator on the lake all week. Well, the buggers had evidently been hiding. The airboat we had chosen was a small one, a one-seater for the driver. Two of us stood next to the driver’s seat and held on.
I had to aim the single lantern-type flashlight we brought to use as a headlight as we drove out across the lake, which left the area around us darker than the inside of a cow. And full of dozens upon dozens of shiny red eyes. Devil eyes. Alligator eyes.
We stopped the airboat about half-way across the lake, having decided our excursion might not have been the brightest of ideas. The gleaming red eyes were everywhere. That was when the other biologist standing next to the driver’s seat said, “Why are my feet getting wet?”
The boat was taking on water in the pitch-black dark, and the dozens of red eyes were closing in. Holy Cow! That was the scariest moment of my life.
Do you have any suggestions for beginning writers? If so, what are they?
Stifle the overwhelming urge to send your newly-created novel out on query as soon as you are finished. If that is painful, take Advil, but don't send the manuscript out! Every manuscript should go through four or more complete edits first -- and a week or more should elapse between edits, so the story can percolate.
One of your edits should be done as a read-aloud. You'll be shocked at how many dialog changes you will make while reading your story out loud. Then, when the 4+ edits are completed, hand over the manuscript to the crotchety aunt or uncle or know-it-all friend who are the first -- and happy -- to tell you when your new haircut looks odd or your clothes don’t match. If they love your story, then it might be safe to send the manuscript out to an agent or editor on query.
I didn't do this and ended up with enough rejection letters to wallpaper my guest bedroom.
The SEAL's Angel (Mystery Angel Romances #3) by Petie McCarty
Navy SEAL Sean MacKay's teammate is murdered after stealing a deadly nerve-gas formula from Syrian terrorists. Naval Intelligence believes MacKay's teammate was a traitor and shipped the stolen formula to his sister in the states for safekeeping. MacKay is given orders to find the sister before the terrorists do and to retrieve the stolen formula at all costs.
ForeclosureNavy SEAL Sean MacKay's teammate is murdered after stealing a deadly nerve-gas formula from Syrian terrorists. Naval Intelligence believes MacKay's teammate was a traitor and shipped the stolen formula to his sister in the states for safekeeping. MacKay is given orders to find the sister before the terrorists do and to retrieve the stolen formula at all costs.
Foreclosure looms for Cory Rigatero as she fights to keep her rustic resort near Mt. St. Helens afloat after her brother deserted her to join the SEAL teams. Cory's whole world dives into a tailspin when Sean MacKay shows up at her resort with the news of her brother's death and the wild suspicion her brother may have sent her traitorous classified documents for safekeeping. No way will Cory trust MacKay -- the man who once seduced her and then vanished into the night without a trace.
Goodreads Amazon
Angel to the Rescue (Mystery Angel Romances #2) by Petie McCarty
Child psychologist Rachel Kelly isn't quite sure how to handle the situation with her newest client -- a six-year-old boy who says he can talk to angels and one is coming to help Rachel. She already has her hands full of trouble this Christmas season, and things quickly take a turn for the worse when a stalker crashes Rachel's Christmas party and takes her young clients hoChild psychologist Rachel Kelly isn't quite sure how to handle the situation with her newest client -- a six-year-old boy who says he can talk to angels and one is coming to help Rachel. She already has her hands full of trouble this Christmas season, and things quickly take a turn for the worse when a stalker crashes Rachel's Christmas party and takes her young clients hostage.
Police negotiator, Lt. Jake Dillon, walked away from his fiancee Rachel when she suddenly balked at having kids. His kids. Yet as the hostage crisis erupts, Rachel calls Jake first. Now he has a choice to make -- stand back and wait for the cavalry to save Rachel or step in and try to save her himself. Time is running out, and Jake may be their only chance for rescue.
Unless Rachel's little angel-spying client is telling the truth...
Goodreads Amazon
No Going Back (Mystery Angel Romances #1) by Petie McCarty
Kellen Brand's inheritance turns out to be a whopper -- one dilapidated farm in West Virginia and one guardian angel! Since Kellen is convinced no sane woman would choose to live in Riverside, she vows to sell her farm and quick.
Her handsome and reclusive neighbor Luke Kenyon must block the farm sale or risk exposure of his family's secrets. While Kellen has located one Kellen Brand's inheritance turns out to be a whopper -- one dilapidated farm in West Virginia and one guardian angel! Since Kellen is convinced no sane woman would choose to live in Riverside, she vows to sell her farm and quick.
Her handsome and reclusive neighbor Luke Kenyon must block the farm sale or risk exposure of his family's secrets. While Kellen has located one potential buyer, she faces a town full of objectors. Someone is trying to frighten her off, and Luke is forced to step in and rescue her more than once.
Unfortunately, Kellen can't seem to stay out of trouble. She stumbles onto a clandestine hazardous-waste-dumping operation next to her farm, and she prays Luke has one more rescue up his sleeve. It's her only hope of staying alive.
Unless her mother really "did" leave her a guardian angel...
Goodreads Amazon
New Series coming December 2015The Cinderella RomancesBook 1, Cinderella Busted
Meet The Author
Petie earned a zoology degree from the University of Central Florida and received many unique assignments during her career as an aquatic biologist, including performing aquatic plant surveys in Florida lakes and streams by every type of floatable craft - including airboats. She even spent a few years collecting and identifying aquatic macroinvertebrates, aka "water bugs."
Petie spent the bulk of her career as a biologist at Walt Disney World,"The Most Magical Place on Earth." She had the fun of working in the land of fairy tales by day and creating her own romantic fairy tales by night. She eventually said good-bye to her wonderful "day" job to write her stories full-time.
She is proud to be a member of the Florida Aquatic Plant Management Society as well as a member of Romance Writers of America and an author with Desert Breeze Publishing Inc.
Petie shares homes in Tennessee and Florida with her horticulturist husband, a spoiled-rotten English springer spaniel addicted to green olives stuffed with pimento, and a talkative Nanday conure named Sassy who makes a cameo appearance in Angel to the Rescue. She loves golf, running, and reads voraciously. That's Petie, not the conure.
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