McKenna Grey Interview Published on: 06, Oct 2020

I was born in southern California, and lived there for a short while, but we spent so much time in the Rocky Mountains that I don’t remember a lot about beach living in those days. I spent most of my youth in Colorado and Idaho.

What did I want to be? So many things! I went from wanting to be a princess (as a job), professional shopper, K-9 cop, lawyer, baker, and a few things in between. As I got older, I knew I wanted to spend my life being my own boss in a creative profession. Things worked out well.

I write under two names, so by the time I wrote my first McKenna Grey book, they were used to my writing, but the romantic suspense was something different. I was a bit apprehensive about sharing, at first. Luckily, it was well received among them.

I do, though I don’t have a favorite. I read such a variety of historical and contemporary genres, so my favorites change, and there are a lot of fantastic authors out there. I read books by my favorite authors, but I like to mix things up and try something new. Catherine Coulter, Nora Roberts, Julie Garwood, Mary Stewart, Daphne de Maurier, and Toni Anderson have all written books I’ve enjoyed in the genre.

Just like in my reading, I enjoy variety in writing. I always knew I wouldn’t be the type of writer who could pick one genre and stick with it for my entire career. I had been writing historical and western books for four years before I decided I wanted to “dust off” some of my contemporary ideas. Because the books are so different from what I normally write, I decided a new pen name was needed to avoid having my existing readers say, “Whoa, what just happened?”

I had the four siblings in my mind first; my writing often starts with the characters. I started to see them as individuals and then as a unit. Their likes and dislikes, professions, and more slowly came into the picture, and the series was built from there. The general idea and a rough outline were in place before I started working with my co-author, Everly Archard, who co-wrote the first two novels. Together, we fleshed out the outlines, sharing lots of ideas, and got to work. It was the first time I collaborated, and it was nice to have someone to share the process with, who could say, “No, that doesn’t work,” or “Yes, I really like that.”

Christmas in the Rockies is a collection of three novelettes, but they are all about second chances in romance. I wanted to write some shorter contemporary works for the holidays, because I love holiday books, and second-chance romance allows me a shorter time frame with which to work since the characters already know each other. “McKensie’s Christmas Gift” features a female lead who is a descendent of a character in one my historical pen name’s Christmas books. Talk about confusing myself, but it was a lot of fun to share her story. “Christmas in Moose Creek” came about because I once thought about owning a Christmas tree farm. I don’t recall from where the idea for “A Snowy Falls Christmas” came. The elements were all suddenly there (writing, baking, Scotland, and horses) and I found a way to combine them into a novelette.

A general plan for the series was always in place before we started, and I always knew there would be four books, one for each sibling. The first two novels were planned out with full outlines, which was necessary to keep me and my co-author sane and on track. I wrote only a loose outline for book three because my normal writing style does not involve detailed outlines. I like to know where the stories are going, but I also like to be surprised along the way. The fourth book will follow the same process as the third. The short story prequel, “Blade of Death,” had zero plan. I just sat down and wrote it to introduce the Kyndall siblings.

I haven’t, and it’s unusual for me to write about a place I haven’t lived in or visited. I have a friend who loves Alaska, and he talks about it often, and even more often about returning. I also have friends who moved there after living in Montana, or moved to Montana after Alaska, and I asked a lot of questions about the differences, similarities, what they loved most, and so on. When I created the fictional town of Stewart’s Crossing, which is featured or mentioned in each book, I studied a map of Alaska, and spent a long time looking over terrain, travel scenarios, proximity to cities, the ocean, etc. I found the general area I wanted, looked through masses of images, and I kept coming back to that region. It is stunning in its beauty.

I have no idea. Well, no idea because she wasn’t inspired by anyone I know. Her character was largely influenced by her brothers and how she was brought up, because a woman raised with three brothers is going to have different personality traits than one raised with sisters. Going into her character, I knew that she would be an FBI agent in the beginning, and then would leave that life behind. I also knew some of her decisions would be influenced by a tragic event in her past.

That’s a good one, and I’m not sure how to answer. Wait, which alter-ego? Both of my pen names are me, so I think of . . . me. �� I don’t think about myself too often because whether I’m writing historical or contemporary, everything is about what I’m writing at the time. Sure, I’m the puppet master behind the books but it is all about the characters and their stories.

I am far from expert on the subject, but it depends on what you’re writing. Suspense in a book about an assassination plot is going to be different from that in a book about a man hiding in a cabin alone who hears voices and sees ghosts. The suspense genre also allows a lot of freedom to the writer that straight-up mystery does not, which is helpful. Adrenaline from action always works great, as does “racing against the clock.” Giving the reader the perspective of both protagonist and antagonist provides the heightened emotions and anticipation of knowing what has happened or may happen before the protagonist does. High stakes, obstacles, and pressure to find the truth can all keep the heart racing or the mind ticking away at clues. A big one for me is making the protagonist flawed. They should make mistakes, and by making mistakes and stumbling to reach their goal, the reader, I believe, can better relate. Each writer must find what works for them, their characters, and the plot.

The mountains! Seriously, I love mountains of any kind, and I tend to stick with nature when exploring. Each forest or range runs into the next, so there is a lot to see. I was only in North Carolina for a few months but saw enough to appreciate the area. The waterfalls, forests, hiking trails, and drives through the mountains are all beautiful . . . and make a great backdrop for a bit of murder and mayhem.

Aside from loving what I do, it is knowing that a reader has connected with a story or character, because whether they love the book or not, I want the reader to experience a rainbow of emotions. If they’ve done that, then I know I’ve done my job well.

I’m working on a few books for my historical pen name, but in the works for McKenna Grey is the fourth Kyndall Family novel, which will be Owen Kyndall’s story. He’s the youngest sibling who works for the forest service in Alaska. I don’t share much about works-in-progress until I get farther along. Beyond that is what I hope will be a long-running romantic suspense series, but it is still in the planning stages.

I joined as a Pro Member in 2020, but had been using the site since 2019, I think. I was impressed with the free benefits available, and after having been a Pro Member under my other pen name since 2018 (yes, I get confused sometimes with two names), I decided to make the upgrade. AllAuthor is a terrific website with some great benefits, and you get a lot of value for the membership, which is a big plus. The support team is wonderful, and I really like (this is a big one) that I am not inundated with emails. That may seem like an odd thing to appreciate, but it’s important to me. There is the Magic Tool, mockups, featured banners and tweets, cover contests, plus an author page that features my full collection of books. It’s a great deal for the cost.