Interviews

Heart to Heart Interview with Katie MacAlister

Heart to Heart: We've had a lot of fun reading Even Vampires Get the Blues. Is it true that you created the hero, a Scottish vampire, in response to a big plea from fans on the message board of your web site(www.katiemacalister.com)? What did they ask for exactly? And were they as specific about the heroine?

Katie MacAlister: I try very hard to please my readers, so when a group of ladies on my message board got together and made eloquent pleas for a Scottish vampire hero, I caved. OK, part of my caving was due to my love of Scottish men, but I prefer to think I was being altruistic in giving my readers what they wanted. Their demands weren't too specific -- they wanted him to be Scottish, wear a kilt, and be played by Gerard Butler in the movie version of the book. I felt obligated to point out that the dramatic rights hadn't been sold, but that really didn't matter to the ladies. They believe in planning for all eventualities. Oddly enough, I get very few requests about heroines. Generally, any requests refer to height and weight. Most readers who write to me about the female leads like the fact that the heroines in my books are "real" women, not necessarily svelte and gorgeous, and they encourage me to write more heroines who are plus-sized, short, and believers in "girl power." I try to accommodate them, since I'm a firm believer that women of all shapes, sizes, and colors are equally capable of achieving what they want in life.

HtoH: Heart to Heart readers are delighted you are so prolific with your contemporary, paranormal, and historical romances, not to mention the YA romance and historical mysteries. But are you Superwoman -- how do you keep them all straight? Do you have a favorite among the different series? And what do you think is the common denominator?

KM: It's sometimes a bit difficult to shift gears when one month I'm writing a young adult, and the next I'm deep into a hot-and-heavy paranormal. But for the most part, each book has its own personality, and that helps me keep stories fresh. I love writing historicals because I'm a big fan of history; I love writing young adult books because my inner 16-year-old is very mouthy and demands equal time. I've had a lot of fun writing contemporary stories for a number of reasons, one of which is the opportunity to explore things I'd love to do (but probably won't), like jousting, playing a pirate in virtual reality, or just falling in love at first sight with a dishy Englishman. Right now, my attention is primarily focused on paranormal stories, and I'm having an absolute blast with my fictional paranormal world called the Otherworld. Fantasy and sci-fi writers know how much fun it is to world-build, and I have to say that populating this world is one of the highlights of my life. What's even more wonderful is the reader response to the people I write about in the Otherworld -- reader demand for information about the dragons in the Aisling Grey books became so overwhelming, I recently created a web site just for readers to play in (www.dragonsepts.com). Since I tend to write humorous books, one of the common denominators in my books is the heroes' and heroines' senses of humor. They overcome even the most exacting challenges (not to mention people) because they have the ability to laugh at themselves, and life. They enjoy life and don't hide from adversity, finding ways to solve problems rather than running from them. I like to think my heroines are strong but still appreciative of the power of love.

HtoH: Tell us what led to your first publication. Was your book really drawn right out of the slush pile?

KM: Ah, the infamous "first book published without almost any effort" story that will have new writers everywhere pinning up my covers to the dartboard. My first romance, Noble Intentions, was indeed pulled from the slush pile by Kate Seaver, who was then working at Dorchester. I had submitted the book six months before she read it, acquiring my agent somewhere between the time I submitted it and when Kate made an offer. Noble was my first experience writing a romance, and I recall being horribly embarrassed about writing the first love scene for it. I ranted to a couple of writing friends about how hard it was to write love scenes, how I blushed the whole way through it, and that I would never, ever get used to doing them. I joked that I disliked doing them so much, I'd be ready to hire a love scene ghost writer to do them for me. When I finished the book, one of my friends who had suffered through my complaining asked how many love scenes I'd ended up doing. I was a bit embarrassed to admit that, somehow, there ended up being seven or eight. I was forbidden to complain about writing love scenes after that.

HtoH: What are you working on now? What's coming out in the next few months?

KM: In September [2006], I'll have a novella titled "Bring Out Your Dead" in the Just One Sip vampire anthology for Dorchester. In November, the third Aisling Grey book, Light My Fire, will be out. Right now I'm elbow deep in my fifth Dark One book, which will be out May 2007. On my writing schedule for the next year is the first book in a new paranormal mystery series, which I'm excited about writing for a number of reasons -- one of which is that my mystery editor is Kate Seaver (now at Berkley). Also on the list are a couple of paranormal novellas, and the fourth Aisling Grey book. It's true I get a bit twitchy when I look at my publishing calendar, but I consider myself incredibly blessed to have supportive editors who accommodate my writing whims, and readers who are willing to let me take them on whatever ride my muse provides.