Allie McCormack is a disabled U.S. military veteran, now pursuing her lifelong dream of being a writer. A long-time member of Romance Writers of America, she has lived all around the U.S., as well as a year in Cairo, Egypt as an exchange student and a year working in a hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. After a somewhat nomadic life, she settled in Tucson, Arizona with her two rescue cats. You can visit Allie’s website at www.AllieMcCormack.com.

Allie says: "A writer is who and what I am... a romance writer. I write what I know, and what I know is romance. Dozens of story lines and literally hundreds of characters live and breathe within the not-so-narrow confines of my imagination, and it is my joy and privilege to bring them to life, to share them with others by writing their stories."

Interview:

1. Will you tell us about your most recent published work?

My most recent novel is SwanSong, the first of a contemporary multicultural romance series, Sons of the Desert. The first series is built around 4 brothers, sons of an Arab diplomat and an independent American artist. Khalid, the eldest, is a professor of Arabic literature and language, and takes a position as visiting professor at University of California Santa Barbara. He’s intrigued by the lovely bellydancer he sees one evening at a smoky café downtown. He pursues her, unaware that she, too, had been raised in a world of wealth and privilege, and fled to the small coastal town to escape it.

2. What personal challenges do you face as a writer?

My biggest challenge, I hate to admit, is procrastination. I’m disabled and so I can write full-time, but it’s absolutely amazing the variety of distractions my brain can come up with when I need to sit down and get some work done, whether it’s writing or revising. I also have chronic pain issues, and am constantly having to work around that, but really, it’s the procrastination issue that is the biggest challenge. Another challenge is the kitten I got a few months ago who feels that petting him is a better use of my hands than typing, and he’ll either drape himself across the keyboard, or just walk from the desk onto my chest so I have to leave off typing to hold him!

3. What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?

Coming up with just the right words to convey emotions, to get across to the reader what the character is experiencing. 

4. What one thing would you give up to become a better writer?

I’d definitely give up procrastination, if I could! LOL!

5. How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?

It gave me a confidence that I had lacked in the years that I spent writing up to that time. When I published Truck Stop, my first book, it was an incredibly emotional experience... “OMG! I did it! I really did it!” I became in that moment, a Writer in my own mind, rather than just someone who’d always wanted to write. It didn’t only change my process of writing, it changed ME.

6. How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have? Will you tell us about them?

Um (counting on fingers)... 
•    1 unpublished that’s being released June 4th; A Gift of Jacinth is the 2nd in my Wishes & Dreams paranormal romance series. Jacinth is a 900 year old Djinn (genie) who agrees to help out her magic vessel’s owner by temporarily acting as nanny to his two young children.
•    2 finished books that need one more pass of beta readers and revisions before I can publish them; One is A Cat for Troy, the 3rd in the Wishes & Dreams series, the second is Castles in the Sand, the next book after SwanSong in my Sons of the Desert series, about the youngest Al Mansour brother.
•    A trilogy that’s written and I’m working through beta reader feedback now. It’s a 16th century paranormal romance in an Arabian Nights type setting, in a fictitious desert city set between the Persian Empire under the Saffavids to the west and the budding Moghul Empire in India to the east. It features Djinn, vampires, mages, shapeshifters, with the occasional demon, angel, nymph in walk-on parts. I’ve had a TOTAL blast with world building with this one.
•    Two spin-offs from Sons of the Desert series

7. Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?

Absolutely, I do! Not that I get many, but still. The good ones, I whoop it up and feel that wonderful glow of having done what I set out to do. For the bad ones, I call to mind all the popular books that I absolutely hate, and the wonderful books I love that others don’t, as a reminder that reading is an intensely personal experience, and NOT everyone is going to like all books, just as I myself don’t like all books. It’s an irrefutable fact. It doesn’t necessarily make me feel any better, but it does keep me from beating myself up and/or losing confidence in my writing ability. 

8. Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?

No.

9. What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?

I have loads of friends who are authors, but my very best writing buddy is Jennifer Bradshaw, and we help each other. For one thing, we call each other on procrastination, and hold each other accountable for productivity. We share info on resources, and when one of us is stuck or has some problem, the other drops whatever they’re doing to help talk it through. 

10. If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

You ARE a writer, and you CAN do it. You CAN finish a book, and go on to finish many more.

11. What are common traps for aspiring writers?

•    Nay-sayers, those who’ll undermine whatever confidence they may have. 
•    Listening to way too much advice from way too many people, lots of it conflicting, which will have them spending their time trying to figure out what’s the right way to proceed, rather than just sitting down and writing.
•    Listening to those who insist you have to have web presence, social media, website, blog, to be accepted as a writer before you’ve even written your first book. I’ve seen writers who’ve never finished their first book, because they’re in this huge time-suck of all the things “people say” they have to do to be a successful writer.

12. What’s the best way to market your books?

Ugh. If you find out, PLEASE let me know!

13. What is your favorite childhood book?

The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett :)

Social Media:

Website: www.alliemccormack.com
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/AllieMcCormackK/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/AllieMcCormackK
Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/alliemccormackk/
Blog: www.alliemccormack.com/MyBlog
Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/alliemccormack
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Allie-McCormack/e/B00JJG8ULM/