Interview with Katherine McIntyre

Welcome Author Katherine McIntyre to Coffee Time Romance and More. Hello, hello, hello! We are so glad you are here today. How are things going for you?

Wonderful, especially with the spurts of gorgeous weather rolling in! Despite being of the pale, Irish sort, I love sneaking my moments outside whenever I can. Every author needs breaks from typing away at the computer, right?

Right! So, I went to your website and read your bio. It stood out to me as very quirky and neat. What would you say is your most interesting personality quirk? What kind of writing quirks do you have?

Hrm, interesting is a tough word for me, because I find everyone’s unique sculpt of person to be just that. However, one of my most dominant personality quirks is empathy—I’m incredibly comfortable in emotional situations, good and bad. What does that mean? I’m a hugger, and if someone’s upset, I’m the first to offer one. It also means I’m constantly analyzing groups and if someone’s not talking or keeps trying to speak up and gets squashed, I’ll jump in and point out that ‘X person has something to say.’ As I’ve learned through life, apparently not everyone has this emotional radar, so I try to use my superpowers for good. 😛

As far as writing quirks go, I’m a huge astrology junkie, so most of my characters have zodiac signs assigned to them. To be honest, sometimes it helps me further develop their personalities and flesh out their negative traits. Also, I love writing to music and happen to have playlists for every story I work on.

I love those personal and writing quirks! How has writing influenced your life and directed you to where you are today?

Writing has always been a part of my life, so it’s sort of difficult for me to detach and see the big picture on that one. I will say I’ve shaped my work situation around it. One of the big appeals with being a massage therapist apart from the fact that I genuinely love the work, is the flexibility. So a lot of times when I have a deadline or edits due, it’s not so difficult to figure out the time to cram them in. I’m not a fan of rigidity, so the 9 to 5 never had an appeal for me. I’d like to say reading and writing have helped make me a more empathetic person as well, since I’ve had to put myself in the shoes of a ton of different characters. I’ve also had to relate to experiences I’ve never been through before, so I think it’s helped me grow as a person and come to understand myself as well.

What kinds of creative things do you love to do besides write?

Everything! I’d say I’m kidding, but really I’m not. I love learning and I get in these cycles of wanting to explore how to make things and I’ll fall down the rabbit hole. Because of this tendency of mine, I’ve learned how to make soap from scratch, did a foray into cupcake baking and decorating, dabbled in healing balms and body butters, beer brewing, coffee roasting, and my continued love of tea blending. On top of that, I used to be really into art, so occasionally I like to pick up a pencil or paintbrush and dive back in. While I can’t sew, I really enjoy costuming as well—more in the cobbling unique costumes together out of scraps, corsets, and random shit I find at the Goodwill.

My goodness. You weren’t kidding. You do try everything!

What were you like as a child? What did you want to be when you grew up?

As a kid, I was a super shy bookworm, always hiding away and terrified to speak up. Books were my haven, and I was bursting at the seams with creativity, whether it be drawing or writing. Yeah, I was that kid in grade school when asked what I wanted to be that never changed their answer—I always, always, always wanted to be a writer. Weirdly enough, as shy and socially awkward as I was then, I’m now crazy extroverted, though still a smidge on the socially awkward side. (Best illustration of me as a kid is Willow Rosenberg from Buffy.)

I love Willow from Buffy! So, what kind of books do you write? What do you love about writing in your genre?

I write adventure stories with passion. I write about take charge women, emotionally savvy guys, and ragtag crews who don’t stand a hope and a prayer against their enemies but persevere regardless. When it comes to romance, I was a late bloomer with realizing I loved the genre. I grew up reading speculative fiction, but my favorite parts in any story happen to be the building of relationships, romantic or not. I love to read about how people affect one another and how love can open our hearts, help us heal, and make us stronger. Community and our interpersonal relationships are so important, and I really enjoy how the romance genre highlights and showcases those connections.

What’s your favorite love story from a book? Why did this story touch you so much?

I have LOTS of love stories that absolutely thrill me, and most recently I’ve been reading the Black Dagger Brotherhood and falling in love left and right. However, I have to say one of the ones that always crops up first for me is Kate and Curran from the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews. One of the scenes that always slays me is from early on in book two, I think, where she breaks down and tells him how lonely it gets not coming home to anyone. And the way that book ended with the “As you wish” and cup of coffee from him was PERFECT. Gives me the chills every time. I love it because it’s two strong characters that build up each other’s strengths rather than try to tame or hinder them. And because I’m a sucker for witty banter. Always a sucker for banter.

I love witty banter, too. I’ll have to try the Kate Daniels series. I’ll put that in my tbr pile.

Who is your favorite character you’ve written? Why?

So, I’ve got two and they’re for similar reasons. Bea from An Airship Named Desire, and Jev from Hunting for Spring, and next Scrying for Summer. Both women are some of the most outspoken sasspots I’ve ever written, and I absolutely love them for it. Bea dives into danger headfirst with a devilish grin and some witty repartee, but what I love about her the most is her moral fiber. She’s loyal to a fault and believes the best in folks even when she’s seen the worst. Jev’s the same. She’s got a smart mouth on her and a penchant for getting into trouble, but she’s so emotionally honest and I adore that. Both women aren’t afraid of showing the world their true selves, and have this inner fire and strength that I find so inspiring.

Great answer. What is your go-to entertainment when you aren’t working or writing? What are you watching or reading to relax?

I love talking about what shows and books I’m obsessing on right now, but that’s the geek in me popping out. I’ve been watching The Flash and The 100 like crazy and just recently got into Lucifer. (What can I say? I’m a sucker for snark.) As for books, holy jeez, the Black Dagger Brotherhood sucked me in big time. I think in a matter of a couple months I went through 11 books. In other words, I highly recommend.

Yeah, you really can’t go wrong with J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series. So true!

What do you feel is the best thing you have done in your life? Is your writing what you feel the proudest of?

I think my best thing is yet to come, to be honest. Not to say I’m not proud of where I’m at, but no giant superhero moments stick out. I didn’t dive into a river to save a drowning kid, or rescue a puppy from imminent doom, or any sort of big heroics. My impact on others has always been more of the listening, hugging, and comforting variety, which is a lot more subtle. I will say I’m incredibly proud of my stories. The moments that I take the most pride in are when my words can impact people, can stir them, can help them feel. I want to give people a reason to love, not to hate, and to reach out, not to isolate themselves. I’m a big believer that despite the sadness, hate, and horrors that we experience, there’s a lot of good out there, and a lot of beauty to discover. 

Give us a description of yourself without using the word writer.

I got this! When I was a kid, I was small, timid, and shy. While I’m still small, I’m a hell of a lot louder now and pretty chatty. However, I still get residual shy spurts as well as awkwardness. I’d say if I had to define myself in a word, it’d be healer. I love helping people emotionally and physically, and my jobs have sort of stepped in line with that. If I were to define myself by zodiac, I fit in the Aries-Taurus cusp perfectly, and my Meyers Briggs is ENFJ, every time.

I had to look up Meyers Briggs. That’s your personality test profile. ENFJ stands for extraverted, intuitive, feeling, judging, right? We could dig deep in all that, right? Lol.

What would it surprise readers to know about you?

I’ll be honest, I fit a lot of stereotypes about writers—bookworm, coffee/tea addict, cat hoarder. (Is that a writer stereotype? I feel like it should be.) I also feel like my readers would be unsurprised that I’m a huge geek since I tend to add little inside geeky jokes into my work and attend all of the steampunk events. So I guess while the artsy stuff isn’t a shock, what would be kind of unexpected is that I really love budgeting and finance. I’ve got a natural knack for finances and how to cut corners and save money. Even weirder, I really enjoy it. I’m the first person to offer to help someone budget if they’re having financial issues.

That is surprising. Does that mean you are left and right brain dominant? Lol.

Tell us about the tea blends you do for your books.

So, since I blend tea as well, I figured why not combine the two? The tea blends I do for my books either fit the spirit and style of the book, or happen to fit certain characters. For example, my Soul Solution tea is a jasmine green with pear, and lemongrass. The jasmine I chose specifically because it’s the scent of Mina’s perfume in the book, and I thought the delicate flavors fit the tenuous nature of the relationship throughout the story. Both Erik and Mina exhibit such a sharp longing for each other, and yet the whole thing could so easily crumble and fall apart.

Would you like to leave us with a teaser for your next release? Is it available yet?

My latest release came out January 12th with Loose Id—Hunting for Spring. It’s an urban fantasy and I’m absolutely in love with the world and characters.

“You didn’t burn them. Why?” he asked.

She blinked, startled by the question. The idea hadn’t occurred to her. Not because she couldn’t commit violence—she’d be dead if that were the case. But in that second, she hadn’t resorted to deadly means even though they were willing to blow her brains out. The worry creases on Conor’s forehead and the slight downturn of his lips spelled trouble. Her answer was clear as dew.

“Because despite your dad being an ignorant prick, he’s all you have. Even though we can be better than the blood we’re born from—and trust me, you’re better—we still have those tethers. And I didn’t want to rob you of your resolution, because you deserve the chance to sort through the mess with your father, even if it’s as simple as you standing your ground and changing direction.”

She understood that sort of conflict, because her relationship with her mother amounted to nothing short of complex. The woman’s mind had been scrambled from the moment she first encountered Brenna’s father, the fire sprite, as most human and fae interactions went. So while she’d been aware enough to birth a child, over the years, her memory faded and her patience found company with the fallen leaves.

Conor opened his mouth but paused. Had she offended him? Before she could interject, he spoke. “Thank you.” Simple words, but the understanding in his eyes and the gravity in his voice proved how deeply he meant them. “You’re a rare breed, darling.”

Sounds good, Katherine! Do you have a message to leave for your readers?

Readers have a unique sort of magic, a power they may not realize. Writing is not only a very lonely journey at times, but there are a lot of obstacles. While there are highs, there are a lot of downs, and over time and certain bad stretches, it can become really difficult to put the words on the page and keep persevering. Readers are the reason we keep writing. When I’ve had my rough spouts—slow sales, rejections, a publisher closing—it’s tough to take the beating and keep plodding forward with enthusiasm. Last year, it was the perfect serendipity of the right words at the right time which is what led to me writing the sequel to An Airship Named Desire. The kind review from a reader, the person who just discovered one of my stories and shared their enthusiasm—these were my bright lights, my motivation. As a writer, I’m keenly aware of how powerful words are, and to my supportive and wonderful readers, yours impact me in the best of ways.

Thank you so much for visiting with us, Katherine. Come back soon