I want to welcome Kim
McMahill. First I’d love you to
introduce yourself.
Thank you for having me on your blog.
I grew up in Wyoming, which is probably where I developed my
sense of adventure and love of the outdoors. I started out writing non-fiction,
but my love for exotic world travel, outrageous adventures, stories of
survival, and happily-ever-after endings soon drew me into a world of romantic
suspense. Along with writing adventure novels I’ve also published over eighty
travel and geographic articles, and contributed to a travel anthology and
cookbook. I’ve recently relocated to Colorado, which I’m very excited about.
Not only am I right next door to my home state and much of my family, I’m back
in my beloved Rocky Mountains. When I’m not writing, I enjoy gardening,
traveling, hiking, and cheering on the Wyoming Cowboys and Denver Broncos.
Tell us about your
latest release.
A Taste of Tragedy is the second novel in the Risky Research
Series. In the first novel, A Dose of
Danger, a researcher and her team believe they had discovered a miracle
weight loss pill, which makes them the targets of a deadly group intent on
controlling the multi-billion dollar-a-year diet product industry. In A Taste of Tragedy, a company uses and
promotes a potentially deadly sweetener in its Healthy and Delicious Foods
line. The product turns the company into a global powerhouse, but when their
newest vice president uncovers evidence that the healthy foods she’s been hired
to promote may be dangerous, she is forced to reevaluate her priorities. As
questions mount and the body count rises, she finds herself caught in the
crosshairs of an organization that will stop at nothing to hide its secrets and
protect its profits.
Now I have a few
questions for you – I have found readers do like to know fun things about us
writers.
1.) Who is your
favorite author? Do you feel you write like them?
Clive Cussler is my favorite author and the king of
adventure novels. I would love to write like him, but our different life
experiences and my female perspective on the adventure novel will always
provide a unique spin on any story.
2.) What was your
favorite book growing up?
Charlotte’s Web
3.) Are you a plotter
or a pantser and why did you choose that method?
I’m a little of both, and the degree of each depends on the
story. Shrouded In Secrets had so
many complex scenarios to keep track of that I had note cards and maps pinned
to a cork board and a fairly detailed chapter-by-chapter outline. I always keep
a running chapter-by-chapter cheat sheet at a minimum, but if the story is
flowing, I just let it go and see where I end up.
4.) Do you consider
writing a career or a hobby? Why?
Definitely a career. I put too much time and effort into my
craft and into marketing to consider it anything less.
5.) What are you
working on now?
I’ve got the basic plot fleshed out in my third novel in the
Risky Research series, A Foundation of
Fear. The fourth is still in my head. The series explores the lengths a
deadly group of criminals will go to in order to control the 40 to 100 billion
dollar-a-year diet product industry.
6.) What one piece of
advice would you like to pass on to an up and coming author?
Keep your expectations realistic. No matter how good your
work may be, the competition is tough and getting noticed takes as much work
and skill as writing that great novel.
7.) If you had the
ability to time travel and your first visit was to see a younger version of yourself
what would you say to that younger self?
Don’t sweat the small stuff or worry about the future. You
will be one of the fortunate few who find the love of your life and soulmate,
and you’ll get to experience a magnificent journey together.
8.) You just got a
million dollars, whether it’s from an inheritance, the lottery, or a sweet book
deal doesn’t matter. What would be the first thing you would buy for yourself?
I would take my husband on a very long exotic cruise.
9.) If you could
un-invent one thing in the world what would it be?
The smart phone has changed society in immeasurable ways,
and I can’t say very many of them are good. The device has made certain things
easier, but it seems almost like a drug and being addicted to anything is
scary.
10.) What is your
favorite movie/TV Show? Why?
One of my all-time favorite movies has to be Sahara. It is
based on a Clive Cussler novel of the same name. It is an entertaining
adventure where the characters are trying to stop an ecological disaster of epic
proportions, yet somehow Cussler always weaves in a few things that make you
laugh or at least smile. I’m also quite fond of The Secret Life of Walter
Mitty. Everyone always dreams of a little adventure, but it takes strength to
go outside your comfort zone and grab it.
Blurb:
Morgan Hunter sacrificed everything for her career.
She had yet to encounter anything she wasn’t willing to do to succeed . . .
until now. When she uncovers evidence that the healthy foods she’s been hired
to promote may be dangerous, she must reevaluate her priorities. As questions
mount and the body count rises, she finds herself caught in the crosshairs of
an organization that will stop at nothing to hide its secrets and protect its
profits. With no one else to trust, Morgan is forced to seek help from the man
she drove away, but whom she never stopped loving.
Excerpt:
“Here, let me help you,” Morgan said as she draped Devyn’s
arm around her shoulders.
Morgan tried to relieve as much weight as she could from
Devyn as she helped her hobble to the waiting vehicle. Once Devyn was seated in
the cramped back seat, Morgan dug out her emergency supply bag. She handed
Devyn a blanket and a bottle of water. “I have a first aid kit, but I think you
need something a little more than a bandage.”
“It’s just a few scratches. I’ll live.”
Morgan could see why Nick trusted Devyn with his back. As
she looked at the battered and bruised woman, who had taken off into the desert
in the middle of the night in bare feet to prevent a criminal from getting
away, she had to admire her. Devyn had to be in extreme pain, yet not a
complaint escaped her lips.
“Make room in the back,” Nick huffed.
Morgan looked up to see Nick trudging toward her with an
inert Aaron slung over his shoulder. She raced to the tiny back cargo area and
moved a few items around so Nick could squeeze the body in the vehicle.
“Is he dead?” Morgan whispered.
“Not quite, but we need to get him medical help A.S.A.P. The
bullet didn’t hit any vital organs, but I’m not sure how much damage he
suffered from the knock to the head”
Morgan watched as Nick set the man down in the vehicle, and
then she joined Devyn in the back seat. Turning around and kneeling, she was
able to lean over the seat and assess Aaron’s injuries. She folded up a
handkerchief and placed it over Aaron’s gunshot wound and applied pressure. She
wasn’t sure which was bleeding more, the bullet hole or the bump and cut to the
head, but she had to try and slow the blood loss any way she could.
“That’s all we can do for now,” Nick said. “Just keep the
pressure on the best you can.”
Morgan nodded as Nick secured the back and then got behind
the wheel.
“You okay?” Nick asked as he turned to face Devyn.
“I’ve had better days, but sadly, I’ve had worse.”
Buy link:
Social Media Links:
No comments:
Post a Comment