I hope that you are having a wonderful weekend so far! Mine is going well. I have been looking into children’s books for me and my son to read and review together. My seven-year-old will be the one giving his opinions as well. I can ask my two-year-old but you might just get this:

Me: “Did you like the story?”

2-year-old: “YES”

Me: “What did you like about it? The colors? The pictures? The story?”

2-year-old: “YES!!!! Read more book peez” *runs to grab 4 more books, this time paw patrol or vehicle ones*

So…yes my older son will be the one giving his opinion as well. But he does read to his younger brother so he will be able to give some informative thoughts. He was excited when I asked him if he would like to review books with me. I loved seeing the biggest smile grow across his face as he responded “Yes! I want to do that!” It made me so happy that he wanted to be a part of this with me, that he enjoys reading too. Of course, he much prefers video games…mainly minecraft…but he still enjoys reading.

Well, enough about that. Let’s get on to the reason you are all here, shall we? Today, I bring you an author who I have known for a little while now. I actually got to know her because I am one of her beta readers. I fell in love with the series I have beta read for her and through our conversations now and then, knew that she was a great person. When I began Saturday Spotlight I knew that I had to ask her to sign up. Let me all tell you a little about Allie McCormack. I will warn you, this is a long post but stick with it and I promise that it will be worth it!

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About the Author

You can also follow her blog here and if you really want to support her, become a patreon here.
A career medical transcriptionist, Allie McCormack is now writing from home full-time. Allie has traveled quite a bit and lived many places all over the U.S., and also a year in Cairo, Egypt as an exchange student, and a year in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia under contract to a hospital there, plus a short stint with NATO while she was in the Army. As a single mom, she raised a wonderful daughter who’s recently married and there are plans afoot for grandchildren. A disabled veteran, Allie now lives in the beautiful Sorona Desert in southern Arizona with her two rescue cats and writes full-time.

Truck Stop is her first published novel. It’s being produced as an audiobook with an expected release around early January 2019. Her next romance novel, the first of a four-book paranormal romance series, is planned for release shortly after.

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 storylines 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.”

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Allie’s Novels

Wishes in a Bottle (Wishes & Dreams Book 1)

Truck Stop

What inspired you to first pick up a pen or open a word document and write? Was there one person or event that became that final push, the drive to make you write?

It wasn’t any actual choice, there was never one defining moment. I’ve been a reader, and a writer, too, since pretty much as young as I can remember. I’m a sponge when it comes to reading, I just soak up the stories, and when I wasn’t reading I’d be making up my own in my head… daydreaming, really. In third grade specifically, I remember hiding under the bed covers with a flashlight at night, writing down the stories I was making up.

There was a final push, to make me go from scribbling down stories in my head to Writing (TM), so to speak. Pull up a chair and get comfy. LOL.

Early in 2000, I was on AOL on a trial basis (just for fun.. I never had any intention of staying on), and somehow I happened across AOL’s writer’s forums. Talk about a kid in a candy shop! Finally! Other writers! REAL writers! I’d never ever met another writer before… certainly never a “serious” one. But AOL was full of writers… published authors, nonpublished writers with and without finished manuscripts… and forums and classes, and mentors, and critique groups. Needless to say, I subscribed to AOL immediately. Anyway, in the process of finding out everything that was available in the Writers Club forums, and anything else on writing, I discovered Romance Writers of America (RWA). They have chapters everywhere (including online chapters now), and what’s more, RWA chapters (and other organizations as well) regularly sponsor writing contests. So I joined RWA and did some comparative browsing and, taking a deep breath, chose the Undiscovered Writers II Contest, sponsored by the Love Designers Writers’ Club/Rendezvous Magazine, to enter.

The Undiscovered Writers II Contest required the first chapter and synopsis. Yeah. Okay, well….. I had several dozen storylines (112, to be exact, carefully numbered A-Z, AA to ZZ, and so forth up to HHHHH) that I’d come up with over the last 40+ years, most of them no more than a couple of sentences of the premise and maybe a scene or two written. A few… very few… have as much as 2-3 chapters. Out of those few, I chose Truck Stop, pretty much at random and because it was the one that appealed to me just then… totally subjective 🙂

So I started to “get it ready” to submit to the contest. Mind you, I had three scattered (not consecutive) scenes and a basic idea for the main conflict. That’s it. And certainly not the *first* chapter. It was about a week before the deadline for the contest. I’m not sure where the idea for the opening scene came from, presumably right out of thin air. I guess my Muse decided to kick in just then 🙂 So I wrote one chapter. Then I needed a synopsis, about three pages. Oh yuck. Geez, *I* didn’t know three pages worth of what the story is going to be!!! So I spent a day brainstorming and came up with something or other. More like, I hammered out a storyline from almost nothing, with lots of mental anguish and an overdose of caffeine! And when I was done, I was actually feeling pretty pleased with myself…. after all, I’d never written a synopsis in my life! And it actually looked to shape up to be a pretty good plot as well. I had the pleasant feeling of having surprised myself 🙂

So I stuck the whole thing in an envelope, along with a money order, took a deep breath, and trotted out to the mailbox.

Here comes the old SASE manila envelope. Now, I know the manuscript is going to have been judged, and maybe critiqued. I stared at it, wondering if my self-confidence level was really ready for this. Oh well. Being a glutton for punishment, I ripped it open. There’s a letter (parchment, even!) in the front and I pulled it out. The first thing that met my eyes was the big caption:

C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S!

(and yes, the text actually was in red in the letter, LOL)

Oh my god. I… WON???!!!! <<<palpitations>>> I read the letter. I re-read the letter. I re-read the letter. And let me tell you something. Reading it for the hundred-and-fifteenth time, 18 years later, it feels JUST as good as it did the first time!

Now, the PRIZE for this contest was to have the winning manuscript read by a Senior Editor at Silhouette. According to the letter, they’d already notified her of the winning manuscript and author, and she’ll be expecting me to contact her. ZOWWIES! So I called her. I figure that’s okay because they gave me the phone number to call! I got her right away (Wow, a Senior Editor answers her own phone? Way cool!). She knew my NAME, as soon as I said it! Yes, she has the letter from Rendezvous right in front of her. Do I have a complete manuscript? No? Well, just send her what I’ve written so far then.

Well (ahem), all that I had actually written at that point was the one chapter. And a couple of scenes from various points farther along the plot line. Remember, I hadn’t *expected* to win the contest! I’d just wanted to see what would happen if I entered! I didn’t tell her that, of course. I told her I had three chapters, and she said to send them. So I wrote off two more chapters real quick and sent them in.

When I got the response from them, the envelope was thin, obviously just one sheet of letterhead in there. My first rejection letter. <<<palpitations>>> Okay, I told myself. I expected this. Heck, I even cleared off a wall in my office to hang them up on (I figured I could always take up darts as a hobby). Still… I’d never quite managed to quench that dim spark of optimism, of hope. I reminded myself that NOBODY gets accepted the first time around. How many times did J.K. Rowling get rejected? And John Grisham 77 times, I’d heard. Not that I even pretend I’d ever be a Rowling or a Grisham…. or Anne McCaffrey or Dick Francis, for that matter… Oh, on with the story. So anyway, I carried the envelope around in my purse for a couple of hours, steeling myself. Lunch. That’s right. I’ll take it to lunch and open it there. I’ll have a good book along with me, one of my old tried-and-true favorites that never fail, and after I read the letter I can just stuff the letter back in my purse and lose myself in the book. I can stop on the way home and buy some darts. Great plan 🙂

Only, it wasn’t a rejection letter. “Dear Ms… Congratulations on winning the Undiscovered Writers….” yadda yadda… “We would be interested in seeing your completed manuscript.” WHAT???!!!!! <<<palpitations>>>

Anyway… there’s even more but that’s basically the start. They didn’t wind up buying Truck Stop, but continued to be interested and asked for everything I was writing. For me, that was what got me started on writing as a career path, or at least, an avocation 🙂

Wow! What a story. I love that you took that letter to lunch, even that you never wrote more than the first chapter before submitting it. I am happy that you had such good luck. They might not have bought your book, but you really got that push you needed. I am happy that you continued writing. By the way…I also really love your ideas list. I have not gotten that far, I am focused mainly on my first ever book…I really need to finish writing that…

I know you write a variety of novels, some I have had the pleasure of beta reading. I would love to know what your process is. Are you a planner, pantser, or plantser? Give us an idea of your typical process from idea to finished book.

Just remember, you asked for the long version! <grins> I am absolutely a pantser. So… typical process. Right. So I wake up in the night with an idea for a story, or a character… it’s like a mini-scene playing in my head like a video. So I stay with the scene in my head and start thinking about how I can work a story around, or out of, this one scene. It’s not always the opening scene, either. In fact, this just happened last year right before NaNo, so I’ll use that as my example. I woke up with this completely new character in my head, but a shapeshifter who was expecting to have her story be the next book in my Wishes & Dreams series, of which Wishes in a Bottle is the first book.

So I consider her, and where she is, and how I can get her to New York, which is where the series takes place. How do I introduce her into the series, to the other characters? Okay hiring her on as a vet tech to replace the late unlamented Beatrice (previous antagonist). WHY would she move from Houston to NY? Lost everything in Harvey, bingo. Wants to make a fresh start somewhere far away from hurricanes, totally reasonable motivation. So on November 1st, I started writing that first scene that I’d woken up with, and her arrival at the clinic for a job interview with Troy (hero of the 3rd book), and meeting Cat (heroine of same) in her cat form and Kester, Cat’s brother and… tada! The hero of this book! Okay, that works. Mind you, I don’t generally write sequentially. So having the prologue and first chapter done, I start skipping around as ideas come to me for scenes… as Diana Gabaldon said in her pep talk to NaNo a few years back: “I don’t have rough drafts; I have finished scenes. They just aren’t connected to anything…”

So that’s what I did for 50,000 words. Every time I’d start to panic because I was coming to the end of a scene and didn’t know what to write next… I’d have another inspiration for something else, and off I’d go. So by the end of NaNo, I wound up with about the first 3 chapters sequentially, then a couple of scenes. Then a brainstorm had me move the whole story to Morocco for about 3 chapters. Generally about halfway through I’ll get (usually wake up with) the scene for the ending, and get that written.

Once I’m about 50k in, I start to have a better idea of the flow of the story. I have a rough timeline worked out, and an outline begins to emerge, with the various scenes docked to a specific place in the story outline. At this point, in between flashes of inspiration, I work on filling in the gaps between the various scenes. I think of it as a Connect-the-Dots.

Then once I have the book entirely written, beginning to end… I go back and look at pacing particularly, and flow. Make sure there are no gaping plot holes. Then I go in and look at each major character, check their introduction into the story, their character development. Since this is a series, it’s not as simple as intro and development; I have to figure out how to intro the character and get some back-story in for new-to-the-series readers, without boring readers who’ve already read the previous books.

Once I think it’s “ready to go” (I use the term loosely), I run it through spell and grammar check and start sending it out to beta readers. Then revise revise revise. Then send it for another round, then more revisions based on that feedback. Once that’s done, it’s ready to be sent to my proofreader/copy editor because that just needs to be done. Then I do one final read-through, which at that point is totally unnecessary and I’m just, like, moving commas around. But my Internal OCD-ness requires that I do it. And then off to be formatted for Kindle and paperback.

That is a long process for sure. I couldn’t imagine writing scenes and then melding them together. Although, I feel you would be a more productive writer that way. If stuck on one scene but know what another will be, just put the one you are stuck on aside and write another. Thank you for sharing that with us!

Who is your favorite character from your Wishes and Dreams series and why? What about for Truck Stop? Are they inspired by anyone you know in reality?

My favorite character, absolutely, is the Djinn, Jacinth. She’s lovable, cheerful and bubbly. She showed up out of nowhere as a secondary character, Julian’s connection to the Djinn in Wishes in a Bottle. Keeping her from taking over the story was the hardest part! In fact, I had to stop writing Wishes and write her story first! I adore Jacinth 🙂

For Truck Stop, it’d be Chuck, Mike’s kinda-adoptive dad, even though he plays a very minor part. A big burly trucker who’s this gentle giant who took in a runaway boy and brought him up as his own.

Generally, I don’t have many characters inspired by someone I know in reality. I’m more likely to be set off by a picture that captures my imagination in some way.

I love Jacinth too! You already know she is my favorite. I will have to read Truck Stop, but Chuck sounds like a very caring character, one I would enjoy reading about.

Which of your books was your favorite to write? Which parts do you like most? Could you give us a favorite quote?

My favorite to write was, hands down When Darkness Falls. Which parts do I like most??? ALL of them! <laughs> Seriously, I am having a ton of fun with this, and every part of it just delights me. It’s a paranormal romance trilogy, one story arc over 3 books, set in the 16th-century middle east between the Saffavid Empire in Persia and the fledgling Mughal Empire in India.

Favorite quote, hmmm. Okay, this one just gives me chills:

Nicholas watched Alyssa disappear through the arch into the palace, and breathed more easily. He’d been afraid she would balk, stay to argue with him, demand explanations; explanations he had no answer for. Furthermore, things had just gotten far more complicated than he had anticipated. He recalled the startled look on Maxim’s face as they stood talking. Maxim, the High Magi of the city, who was rarely surprised by anything. Maxim had gripped his arm, pointing up to the balcony. Both men had watched Alyssa hover some inches off the floor for perhaps a full minute. The two of them exchanged a long glance, and then Maxim had returned to the Magi tower leaving Nicholas to approach Alyssa. And now this!
Nicholas stood in the center of the library, facing the main doorway, preparing himself for the encounter to come. And he was very, very sure it would come. Even as the thought formed, the great bronze doors crashed open, and a cold, swirling wind poured into the library. It swirled about the room, disturbing loose parchments and making the candles flicker in their holders, and when it faded away, Lord Damien stood before him, red lights like little flames flickering in the fierce black eyes.
Nicholas inclined his head respectfully. “Salaam, Lord Damien.”
Damien apparently had no inclination to waste time on pleasantries.
“Who is she?” he demanded, that dark gaze sweeping the library. His rage was palpable, radiating off him in waves.
Nicholas didn’t pretend he didn’t know what Damien was talking about. “Her name is Alyssa, and she is no one of interest to you. She is newly arrived in the city, a young woman barely out of childhood.”
Damien’s lips parted in a snarl, sharp white fangs visible. “I was glamoured, yet she saw me.”
Nicholas winced inside. He had hoped that fact would have escaped the Dark Lord’s notice. He should have known better.
“Yes,” he admitted. “I believe she is… sensitive.”
“Tell me about her.” It was an imperious demand.
Nicholas sighed, sweeping one hand through his long silver hair. “In all honesty, Damien, there is not much to tell. She arrived with the Great Caravan yesterday, seeking work. She is little more than a child, filled with hopes and dreams like all young people. I discovered she could scribe, and the Sultana took the girl under her wing. She is to be Royal Scribe.”
He paused, meeting Damien’s fierce gaze squarely. “Leave her be, Damien. She may be very young, but I believe she has had much trouble, much pain in her life. She is wounded, and although she has been under our care for only a day, already she is healing, blooming before our eyes. I swear on my honor that she is no threat to you. In all our long acquaintance, I have never asked anything of you. I ask this of you now. Leave her be.”
Damien’s black eyes narrowed, locked onto Nicholas, his voice low and dangerous. “Who is a threat to me, Nicholas?”

It is fantastic that you are having so much fun writing it! From the quote, it sounds intriguing. So, everyone…keep an eye out for this.

When writing a series, how do you keep things fresh for you and your readers? Any tips for those who aspire to write a series?

Even though the books are part of the series, and there’s a continuity of characters… each book is still an entirely different *story* in and of itself. Each hero and heroine have lives and experiences entirely different from other characters in the same series. The connections and ties are there, but they have their own unique story and it’s not just a mirror of what happened before. “Unique,” I think is what’s important. Having characters from previous stories show up and interact is important too… as a reader I ADORE when I see a character I know and love from a previous book, and I definitely think that’s important.

I have to agree with you here. I also love seeing older characters show up again. I get giddy and it makes my day because I already love those characters and have developed a relationship with them.

We’ve just begun the new year and there have been many posts circulating that discuss resolutions. Do you have any special goals or resolutions this year?

Ah. There’s nothing like making a resolution to make me dig my heels in and NOT want to do something… so no, I don’t set resolutions <laughs> Goals are a different thing. I plan to bring out at least 4 books this year… the first two of each of my series, Wishes & Dreams and Sons of the Desert. I still need to finish major revisions on A Cat for Troy, the third in Wishes & Dreams, and bring that out also is a possibility (but not a goal). The other goal is to finish major revisions on When Darkness Falls, my trilogy, and get that through the second round of beta reading. While I’d LOVE to bring that out this year, it’s not really very likely.

I love making goals. I always try to think of resolutions as goals that than something I want to change. That way, I am more likely to adhere to them.

What is your favorite thing to do in your spare time, what little time you are not writing in?

I’m addicted to SecondLife, an online immersive video game. I used to roleplay, but stopped doing that because it’s addictive and I want my writing to have priority, and I can’t do both… .although, the premise for When Darkness Falls actually came out of an old roleplay I did there back in 2009. I have a Moroccan villa for a home, with a swing on my balcony and a fountain, and a tiger and horses and a peacock and ferrets. I ride horses, take hot air balloon rides, I even have my own Zeppelin. I’ve built several libraries for writing in, where my SL roleplay mom and RL best friend and writing buddy hold weekly in-world write-ins (Saturdays 1-5 pm PST if you’re interested in joining us), and even a Catacombs where I hang upside down with the bats when I’m writing scenes that take place in the Catacombs in When Darkness Falls!

Honestly, writing (including thinking about writing, planning writing, outlining, research, tweeting about writing, procrastinating about writing…) takes probably 90% of my waking hours. There really isn’t time for much else, other than reading which I tend to do at night before bed, to bring my brain “down” from writing enough, hopefully, to be able to sleep.

I always see you talking about second life but never really knew what it was. I love that you do in-world write-ins, that is really awesome. I too am thinking about or planning my novel most of the day but I have two little monsters who I care for also.

Do you snack while you read or write? If so, what are your go-to choices? Drinks?

Yes! I live on iced tea, with raspberry lemonade and Dr. Pepper Cherry now and then just to keep from being bored. But iced tea is my poison of choice.

Snacks tend to be high energy. There are several main types:
A. Swiss Colony sausages and Hickory Farms Sharp Cheddar Cheese Ball and Dijon mustard on Pepperidge Farm butterfly crackers. I keep these in stock (both the sausages and cheese balls freeze well, and I have a stand-up freezer so I buy in quantity).
B. Quesadillas… I just toss some shredded Cheddar-Jack into some corn tortillas and fry them, then eat with salsa. Quick and easy and tasty.
C. Lil Smokies, about a dozen quickly browned in a skillet and simmered with Sweet Baby Ray Hickory & Brown Sugar BBQ sauce.

Now…I’m hungry! That sounds delicious.

I know that there might be some cooking in a few of your books. So, just for fun, could you share with your readers, a recipe that one of your characters might make?

PILAFI ME KREAS

Meat:
1 lb steak, tender cut (I use ribeye)
1 Tbsp. Greek seasoning
1 tsp. powdered garlic
1/4 C. Olive Garden Italian Salad Dressing

Cut raw steak into bite-size pieces. Sprinkle with Greek seasoning and garlic. Add salad dressing and toss; cover and place in refrigerator 20 minutes

Pilaf:
Prepare Near East Rice Pilaf mix per directions (I use 1/4 C butter, not the 2 Tbsp the instructions call for)

About 10 minutes before rice is ready, stir-fry meat quickly, browning it in a hot skillet (no additional oil is needed). Lower heat and simmer until the meat is cooked to your preference.

On each plate (soup bowls work great for this), place a mound of rice pilaf, and top with meat.

This sounds really good! I think this might be in my future someday but minus the rice…trying to stay healthy!

What advice would you give to a new author who wants to write all of the story ideas in their head? How do you keep them straight and organized?

You’ve come to the right person to ask 🙂 🙂
1. Organize all your ideas: First, have a file folder in your Documents that is nothing but your stories. Create a file folder for each story, even if it’s nothing but a premise. Write it down, give it a working title (no you don’t have to stress over this, just name it something or other), and put it in its folder.
2. Make a Master List of all the stories/ideas.
A. Consider EACH story/idea, looking at it in terms of its *potential* to be written into a full novel (or short story, or whatever). Also, consider how much this story appeals to you. Because the more you LIKE a story the more likely you’re going to be to hang in there and finish it.
B. Choose several, 3 or 4, that have the highest potential and highest personal appeal. Read through what you’ve got on each of those.
C. Pick ONE. Yes, just one. You can’t write them all at once. You MUST focus on just ONE to get it written, or they’ll never ANY of them get written. So pick ONE… then sit your butt in the chair and WRITE it 😛

Thank you so much for those wonderful tips! I know many people who really appreciate all the advice they can get. I am going to start making a master list of story ideas. I do not have many but I have a few floating around and it will feel nice to get them onto paper.