Emily McKay Interview

Emily McKay

The lovely author Emily McKay was kind enough to agree to do an interview with me. However, because of the current situation going on in the world we were unable to do this interview in person, so have relied on the use of email instead. Below are the questions I asked Emily and all of the answers she kindly replied with. 

Storybound is a novel about travelling inside a book. What book or book series do you wish you could travel inside?

First, off, the series that inspired the idea  behind Storybound, The Dresden Files, by Jim Butcher. Definitely. Even though it is a very scary world, it’s a world where there are so many good people fighting to defend the weak. I think that’s what I love about it. Oh, and everyone is smart and snarky. Who doesn’t love that?

As for other worlds I would to visit,  Narnia … because it was my first love. I think I spent my whole childhood opening wardrobes and trying to climb inside. Pro tip: they must have had some super sturdy furniture in England, because the wardrobe I begged my parents for was not big enough to get lost in.

Hogwarts. Obviously. Based on the amount of HP fan fiction in the world, I’m not the only one. And, if you haven’t stumbled over it, The Setup Wizard is amazing. I’m totally ready for Universal Florida to build a Hogwarts hotel, so that we can go there without having to walk past all those damn muggles on the way to the park!

Also based on Storybound, who is your ideal book boyfriend(s) and why?

 Okay … the book boyfriend question is hard for me. Because once an author sells me on a relationship, in my mind, the guy is off limits. Like, there’s no way I’m breaking up Mr. Darcy and Lizzie! Or Harry and Ginny! Which, of course, is part of where the conflict in Storybound comes from. But, that’s also one of the reasons that Harry Dresden works as a book boyfriend … because even though I believe he belongs with Murphy, they aren’t together yet. If they ever get together, he’ll be off the table. Does that make sense? 

Out of all the genres you have written (supernatural, fantasy, romance) what has been your favourite to write?

Oh, that’s a hard question!

They all have good things and hard things about them. 

I mean, romance is my first love. And there will always be a romance in everything I write. 

I mean, I’m the person who can read what is obviously a children’s story and be like, “Oh! I think there’s chemistry between that badger and that bunny! I wonder if they’re going to get together???”

So I guess that’s the answer. I love writing the romance no matter what I’m writing. 

Having said that, it is so hard to get the chemistry right between characters sometimes. So that is always hard. But so much fun when you mail it!

Are there any standalone books or book series that you wish you could of written? 

Yes!!!! But then this is hard too. 

Because inevitably, there’ll be a moment when I’m reading where I’m like, “OMG. This is so good. I wish I’d written it.” But then, when the book is really good, I always end up thinking, “OMG. I’m so glad I didn’t write it! What if I’d messed it up???”

I think that’s the writer’s biggest fear. That you’ll have an amazing idea and then suck the fun out of it because you’re a talentless hack.

Your the Farm Trilogy is about vampires. What are your favourite vampire books, TV shows or films?

          

Okay, so here’s the funny thing (giving that The Farm series is considered horror), I am a big wimp and can’t read a lot of the classic vampire literature.

But I do love Twilight. Yes, it has it’s flaws, but I really do love it. (Though, I like The Host way more, and wish more people had read it, because I’d love a sequel!)

And, Tracy Wolff’s Crave is totally awesome. I’m reading it right now (well, listening on Audible) and love it!

And then, for movies, I love The Lost Boys. And Buffy (both the movie and the TV show). We just watched the movie What We Do in the Shadows and it was amazing!!! 

I think, I have to have a balance of horror and humor, otherwise it’s too intense. Not that What We Do in the Shadows was true horror.

So maybe I just always want humor. In everything. Always.

If a movie or TV show was made of Storybound,  who would you want to play the main characters Kane and Edie?

Oh, this is easy! Because I always “cast” actors when I writing. For me, it’s a little about how they look, but mostly about the kind of “energy” they have, if that makes sense. Well, I didn’t really have the parts “cast” for most of the writing. Then when I saw The Kissing Booth, I was like, “OMG! That’s totally Edie and Kane!!!!” 

So, short answer: Joey King and Jacob Elordi. 100%

When writing your novels are there any places in particular you like to sit and spend time writing in? 

I know it’s now exciting, but I have an office in my house. That’s where I do most of my writing. 

Writing is so much about routine. About creating a space where you are prepared to work and where you’ve done good before. My office is what works for me.

Now, the other thing I like to do is wake up slowly and lay in bed and let my mind stay in that almost dream state as long as I can. I believe our brains do a lot of work while we’re asleep. So I try to lay there and think about my dreams and what my subconscious brain might have been working on while I was asleep. I know that sound very hippie-dippy. But a lot of good stuff comes from those Theta brainwaves you generate when you’re dreaming.

In regards to your romance novels, are there any job roles (police, fireman, swat, etc) you want to write romance novels about?

Well, for years, I wrote for Harlequin Desire. And for that line, it was all “Rich guy, businessman, billionaire!” While I loved writing those books and writing for Harlequin, I feel like that subset of heroes just done for me for a while. 

I’m working on a romance right now where the hero is a professor studying soil microbiology. Maybe I’m over correcting?

I always wanted to write a romance about a guy who writes horror novels and looks very scary and intimidating and the heroine is hired by his publisher to give him a makeover. I could never sell my editor on that idea when I wrote for Harlequin. So maybe I’ll work on that someday.

If Kane and Edie were in a TV show which show would they each be in? 

I would love to see a Storybound/Supernatural crossover! Wouldn’t that be fun? Edie and Kane pairing up with Winchesters for an episode!

What are your writing plans for the future? 

Well, I’ve got StormBound — the sequel to StoryBound — up next. And I can’t wait to get that story out in the world. And then SoulBound will be the final book in that series. 

I’ve some romance projects I’m going to work on after that. There are lots of books to write!

Thank you so much for having me!