Interview with Forged In Fire Author–Trish McCallan

I can’t tell you how excited I am about this interview. This is like Christmas for me because this lady is absolutely gifted. I have no doubt what so ever that she will be on many bestseller lists in the future and  will fondly recall this interview as one of my “I knew her when” moments. Thank you so much for agreeing to the interview and I just have to mention that I love the fact that your very first heroine rode off into the sunset with her horse. I adore strong independent heroines and the authors who create them. Thank you for making my life easier and please forgive me for gushing over you so much.


Hey. I’m a big fan of gushing. *BG* Feel free to gush as much as you’d like.

First of all, can you tell us a little about yourself?


I’m single. No kids, but a house full of pets. I tend to rescue things, from animals to people. At the moment I have a black lab mix that was minutes from being put to sleep – only, yeah, I had to go pick her up. My biggest rescue was a half thoroughbred/ half Belgium mare from the slaughter yard. I live in Columbia Basin of Washington State, and my day job is bookkeeper/office manager to a huge farm.


When I read that Forged in Fire came as a result of Nyquil, A Black Dagger Brotherhood marathon and a dream, I felt a kindred sisterhood type vibe. I sooo have been there. What came first the story or the characters?
With Forged in Fire, the characters definitely came first. Originally the second scene in the first chapter, the one from Beth’s point of view was the opening of the book. And that scene followed my dream almost exactly. In my dream this blonde woman arrives at the airport departure gate and almost faints when she sees the three tall, lethal looking men leaning against the wall. I was a silent observer  in the dream, kind of like watching the opening scene in a movie. Except. then I started getting her thoughts and memories of the dream she’d had the night before. I eavesdropped on her confusion and disbelief. This was a very practical, very pragmatic  woman who didn’t believe in psychic phenomenon or premonitions. Yet there was no question her dream about the plane being hijacked was coming true and if she didn’t do something to stop the hijacking, a lot of people were going to die – including the three men across the departure gate. In Forged in Fire – Beth, Zane, Cosky and Rawls stepped fully fleshed from my original dream onto the page. There were still surprises as the scenes unfolded, but from the onset they were fully dimensional.











     Who knew??









How did your characters feel about their story?
Zane would have preferred a couple of more chapters with Beth, including more loves scenes. LOL. It was so hard to achieve the right balance between the development of the romance and the action of the plot arc, since everything happened so fast. Basically Forged in Fire takes place in 16 hours. And a ton of stuff happens in that time frame. After I finished the book, the plan was to have a sub plot wind through the next book which would continue the romantic development between Zane and Beth. Unfortunately, Mac seems against that possibility and is trying to take over Forged in Ice (the second book in the series) just as he tried to take over Forged in Fire.


He was a pushy SOB. I guess you have to be if you command Seal teams for a living though. Still, I’ve met friendly porcupines.


Which character do you feel most connected to?
The character that resonates with me the strongest is Mac. Which is odd because he wasn’t one of the original people in my dream. Originally Mac was supposed to be a stock character. He wasn’t supposed to have a reoccurring part in the book. He was supposed to serve a purpose (warning the FBI about the planned hijacking) and then fade out. Except he came to life in the first paragraph of his first scene, and he just took over. I remember emailing his first scene to my CP’s and getting such negative feedback on him. LOL. Everyone thought he was extremely well drawn, but such an asshole. Two of them told me they hoped I didn't intend to give him his own book, because with his attitude   towards women he’d be impossible to give a happy ever after to. It’s interesting though that he is the character that gets mentioned the most in reviews and that gets the most fan mail. Apparently he resonates with everyone, not just me.


Oh, he resonated with me all right……hmmmm ( Seriously though, I loved them all, but Cosky is my boy. I almost had heart failure at certain parts of  Forged in Fire)


If you could spend a week hanging out with a literary character, who would it be and what would you be doing?
You know, I wouldn’t want to hang with any literary characters. Lol. I like nice, calm boring life and the books I read are full of angst and danger and emotional turmoil. That’s fine in fiction, but I’d rather keep it between the pages and out of my life. LOL. Yes. I am a boring person at heart.


Nope, just modest. Nobody who rescues is boring….nuh-uh, no way.


What authors do you read and have any influenced you?
I read pretty much everything within the romantic suspense and the paranormal sub-genres. Way too many authors to list. But the two authors who influenced me the most were Linda Howard and J.R. Ward. Linda Howard because of her sexy alpha heroes. And J.R. Ward because of the strong bonds between her male characters. That bond of total commitment and love (although they won’t admit that’s what it is) is something I want to explore in my Forged series. I want to explore the length men will go to honor those bonds. I love Ward’s books as much for the sense of brotherhood between the warriors as for the love story between the hero and heroine.


Very well said. What’s in your TBR?
Cynthia Eden’s Never Cry Wolf, All three of J.R. Ward’s Fallen Angel books, Caris Roane’s Guardians of Ascension, all of Christy Reece and Pamela Clare’s books. 


Whew! Heavy hitters, and excellent reads.  So, what’s next? I know Forged in Ice is next in this series, anything else on the horizon?
I’m hoping to publish Yesterday’s Child, which is a paranormal romantic mystery, sometime in December of this year. Yesterday’s Child is a much darker, more emotional book than Forged in Fire. Quick blurb: Nine years after the disappearance of Deborah’s son, her baby comes home: wearing the same clothes he disappeared in, without aging a day and with no memory of where he’s been……


OMG, I need that now.


  
                ****Rapid Fires****



1. Tea or Coffee?  Coffee -- about a 3/4 of a cup, then fill to the brim with French Vanilla creamer. If no creamer available. Black! No coffee! Switch to emergency Pepsi.


2. Morning or Night?   Morning!


3. Comedy or Drama?  Comedy


4. Stilettos or Boots?   Neither – sneakers


5. Skydiving or Room Service?   Room Service, along with gorgeous room attendants


6. Gourmet or Hot Dogs?   Cheddar Dogs


7. Summer or Autumn?   Autumn


8. Top or Bottom?   Both, in rotation. 


9. Honky Tonk or Jazz Club?   Honky Tonk, but only if a Rock club isn’t within driving distance.


And finally the MOST important question I ever ask anyone……..



 DUKE or carolina?  Duke! I read and write to get into the hero’s head!



You can find out more about Trish and her books by clicking on the links listed below:


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