Today’s interview is with author K.W. McCabe. When I asked her if she would be willing to answer some questions, she very kindly said, “Yes.” Ms. McCabe has published two poetry books – Dark and Light: A Small Collection of Poetry, and Fantasies of the Waking Dreamer. She has also self-published two short story/flash fiction anthologies – Dreams Both Real and Strange, and Dreams Both Real and Strange II. She decided to self-publish her first book, “In Light of Burning”, after reading of Amanda Hocking’s success. Sofia Essen: Ms. McCabe, your work is available on Amazon for Kindle. Do you personally read eBooks or do you prefer “regular” books?Ms. McCabe: I read both but after my husband threatened to burn my extremely large personal library of sci fi and fantasy in my absence, I decided to sell them all to a local independent bookstore and re-purchase them on my Kindle.Sofia Essen: A smart move! I’ll have to get a Kindle myself one of these days. Is there a favorite character somewhere in that personal library of yours? Ms. McCabe: I can’t say I have just one favorite character – I have a couple. One is Jaenelle from Anne Bishop’s “Dark Jewel’s” series. The other is Valen from Carol Berg’s book “Flesh and Spirit”. The reason I like both of these characters is also the reason why I like complicated villains… They have complicated, dark histories which inform them as flawed individuals. I like characters who reflect humanity as it “really” is.Sofia Essen: How important do you think book titles and covers are? Ms. McCabe: I think book titles and covers are extremely important. They are the reader’s first exposure to what could be inside. You want your title and cover to say, “I’m awesome! Read me, now!”I’ve always chosen my title and created my own covers for my self-published works. I haven’t yet been traditionally published so I haven’t had the experience of someone telling me I can’t name my book whatever I want.Sofia Essen: What are you working on at the moment? Ms. McCabe: Right now I’m in the middle of editing "The Dragon’s Call". I’ve also started sketching the plot for its sequel, "Dragon Kin".Sofia Essen: Do you have time to write every day?Ms. McCabe: As of right now, I do. But for some reason I can’t write something else when I’m editing a previous project! So I’m currently in an editing rut!Sofia Essen: I’ve been there too. The “editing rut” is sometimes a migraine-inducing place. Along those lines – Have you ever suffered from writer’s block? If so, do you have any tips on how to beat it?Ms. McCabe: Yes, I’ve had writer’s blocks which were so bad I couldn’t write for months. Some of the things which helped were:- Writing something else.- Going back over the story and looking at where I got stuck. Sometimes the plot needs to be re-written from another angle.- Taking a “Writer’s Break.” This involves popcorn, ice cream, wine, and a five hour run of anything from movies to reading to a night out. Anything that does not involve writing!Sofia Essen: Ice cream cures many ailments! When things are going well and you’re not on a “Writer’s Break”, do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?Ms. McCabe: Well, when a story pops into my head it sort of looks like this:-Beginning-Middle-ish-kind-of-we’ll-figure-it-out-The End!I used to write from the beginning without a plot to get to the end I could see so clearly in my mind. Needless to say, I learned that plotting helps A LOT. So now, I force myself to plot out my stories. And the funny thing is the more I plot, the higher my word counts are per day. Once, I plotted out a whole scene and then sat and typed out over 3200 words in that one sitting. I realized that plotting is the way to go!Sofia Essen: How does it make you feel when you hand your work over to an editor once you’ve completed a manuscript?Ms. McCabe: Awesome… just... awesome.And on that awesome note, you can contact Ms. McCabe at her various blogs: K.W. McCabe , Cheap Bookies, and K.W. McCabe’s Digest. She is also on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads. And don’t forget to check out her page for her novel “In Light of Burning”.
