Please welcome Colleen McMillan author of The Falls
Colleen McMillan will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
The Falls
by Colleen McMillan
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GENRE: Supernatural/Thriller
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INTERVIEW:
2. What elements are necessary components for this genre?
This genre is difficult to pin down. It's part mystery, part horror novel, partly a book about grief and how it can destroy a family. For a good mystery, I think it's important to seed the novel with clues, so the reader doesn't feel cheated or duped by the reveal or ending. For horror, an element of unease is absolutely necessary. I enjoy suspense, that feeling that you know something horrible is about to happen but there's no way to stop it. Like watching an accident occur right in front of you. When delving into a layered topic like grief, you need to pull from your own experience as well as be conscious of how others experience it. No one goes through the same “steps” while grieving, and they often do things that aren't good for them. A character experiencing grief shouldn't be completely on the ball, unless that's the charater you're going for, someone who can compartmentalize. Just know who your characters are and what they would do in a given situation.
3. How did you come up with your idea for your novel?
This novel has been brewing since my early twenties. I started writing short stories about a small town where a lot of weird stuff happens. I wanted the stories to be interconnected, like in Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio, which was a big inspiration for the novel. Stephen King's town of Castle Rock also inspired me. A place that might seem idyllic but has a dark underbelly.
5. What would you want your readers to know about you that might not be in your bio?
I'm a massive geek. I adore fantasy and science fiction, particularly Star Wars and Harry Potter. I'm actually a podcast host on two podcasts, Bohemian Geek Studies and Yet Another Star Wars Podcast. I'm currently (gently) berating my friends to watch anime that I enjoy.
6. As far as your writing goes, what are your future plans?
I've been working on an idea I've had for a long time, a YA concept. I have a lot of the characters figured out, the world I want them to inhabit, some of the plot. That is currently my next project, though that could change at any moment. The Fallsis technically a sequel story, though I always wanted to tell it first. I might get started on the prequel to that. I envisioned a quartet of works, each corresponding with a season. The Fallsis set in the spring, and its prequel would be summer. I have ideas for winter and autumn but nothing concrete.
9. Do you belong to a critique group? If so how does this help or hinder your writing?
I haven't been part of a writer workshop for a while now, but I loved doing them. In undergrad and postgrad, it was important to hear other voices, to get good and bad critiques. It really prepares you for the rejections that come with putting your work out there. They make you take good, long looks at your writing and how you can improve. You can get inspiration from unlikely people. But you do need to find the right group for you, because getting into a group of yes-people is just as bad as one filled with jerks who are only there to tear other writers down.
10. When did you first decide to submit your work? Please tell us what or who encouraged you to take this big step?
I tried querying agents almost the second I finished my first novel. I knew I couldn't just launch my manuscript at publishers and hope for the best, so I tried to get an agent. I got a few interested emails, but none of them panned out. I self-published and thought that might be enough. I could keep writing and self-publishing. Enter my mom. We were at a book festival, checking out some panels and such, and she approached a publisher who was presenting at the festival. After talking animatedly with her, my mom called me over, very loudly. I was so embarrassed, but it was easy to talk with the publisher. She liked my ideas and asked if she could look at my work. After about a month of hemming and hawing, I decided to give it a try. What was the worst that would happen? I'd get rejected. That had happened plenty of times, so I sent her my first novel. And now we're on my second!
11. What is the best and worst advice you ever received? (regarding writing or publishing)
I've gotten so much advice over the years. The worst I ever received was from an ex-boyfriend. He said my work was too descriptive and that I should never write male characters. Luckily, I ignored him. As someone who wants to write fantasy or other genre work, description is very important to world-building. And if I never wrote male characters…that's just preposterous.
The best advice I received was from my undergrad creative writing professor. She told me that writers who get published aren't necessarily the best writers. They're the ones who didn't give up. There were so many talented writers in my undergrad and postgrad, some of them much better than me, but they didn't keep going. People choose what lives they want to live, and I wanted to be a writer. So I followed my professor's advice and just kept going.
12. Do you outline your books or just start writing?
I'm a huge outliner. I like structure, having a framework. I still get surprised while writing, and I have to change my outlines sometimes, but having the support behind the story id preferrable to me.
13. How do you maintain your creativity?
I read a lot. And watch a lot of television and films. I think it's important to read and watch work by other creators. There might be a limited number of stories to tell, but there are millions of ways to tell them. I never get tired of seeing new ideas, new characters, even if they're following established tropes. A good creator will find a way to make it their own.
15. Are your plotting bunnies, angels or demons?
Ha! My plot bunnies are angels who slowly fell down to the demon realm, almost as though they didn't realize it was happening. The best part about a new idea is that it's exciting and fresh in your mind, but it can also pull you away from finishing the project you need to complete. I love getting new ideas, and I write them all down. The problem with ideas: I usually get them at inopportune times; in the shower, in a work meeting, finally falling asleep. Those are the demon ones.
BLURB:
Every small town has secrets...
...most won't get you killed. Maddie Decker escaped Sterling Falls just after high school and never looked back. She was sure nothing could convince her to return. Until an urgent message from her high school best friend arrives begging
Maddie to come back before he dies changes everything.
Maddie can't refuse.
Once there, tattered relationships and long forgotten memories are pushed aside when a mysterious presence appears, Maddie uses her professional training to help discover who is killing the residents of Sterling Falls, even if no one wants her there.
Can Maddie survive the homecoming she never wanted?
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EXCERPT:
When they reach the paddock, the gate is open, ripped apart. Boards lay shredded on the ground, splinters everywhere. It looks as though a tornado tore through, demolishing the wood. The ground is destroyed as well, mud and grass everywhere.
They get out of the truck, and the smell hits Charlie like a hammer. Alpacas are very clean animals, and their manure is not as pungent as other livestock, but the scent of twenty animals all emptying their bowels at once will knock a person flat. There is also a whiff of metal in the air, like copper or iron. Charlie runs through the decimated gate.
Flies buzz around the paddock, their wings beating a rhythm in Charlie's head. The insects settle on the bodies, feeding in clusters. They swarm, forming vaguely alpaca-shaped lumps so the animal fur looks black.
They are scattered around the paddock, but Charlie isn't sure if all twenty bodies are there. The ground is stained dark red with pools of blood. Limbs are scattered, as if each animal exploded. Some of their necks are twisted completely around, and bowels litter the area. Something tore each of their bellies open and spread the organs; half-digested hay and grass steam in piles near some of the bodies. Charlie has a horrible thought of nightmarish pinatas spilling morbid candy.
He walks into the paddock toward the nearest body, pinkish white and brown. He thinks it might have been the pregnant one. Her eyes have been removed, and her tongue dangles from an open mouth. Her body is shredded, and Charlie has a view inside her torso, but there is no baby. He leans closer and touches her leg near the hoof. She is cold. The blood is sticky, and he tries to wipe it on his jeans, but the maroon color spreads.
He takes a step back, leans over, and pukes.
Jemma runs over to rub his back, and when he's thrown up everything from his stomach, Charlie screams.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Born and raised in Minnesota, my writing focuses on the Midwestern United States. I've been a writer since I could pick up a crayon, pencil, or pen; there are more than a few stories about my macabre grade school writing interests, to which I just shrug. You can't blame a second grader for wanting to set a scary scene!
I attended the University of WI, River Falls for my undergraduate degree and completed my Master's degree in creative writing at the University of Kent, Canterbury, in the UK. For my dissertation research and inspiration, I lived in Canterbury, Paris, and Edinburgh. Paris is my second home and favorite city, so don't be surprised if it turns up in my work.
My two most influential authors are Stephen King and Flannery O'Connor, and my dream is to establish a Midwest Gothic tradition.
I currently live in Minnesota with my jerk of a cat, Duncan. I love living in the most beautiful state in the country, but I always feel Europe's pull...
https://www.facebook.com/ColleenMcMillanAuthor
https://twitter.com/ColleenWritesMN
https://www.amazon.com/Colleen-McMillan/e/B07Z55JWP1
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13357673.Colleen_McMillan
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE:
Colleen McMillan will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
welcome to the blog. I hope you have a great tour. Allana Angel
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for hosting! This book is near and dear to me, and I hope everyone enjoys it!
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