Author Spotlight: Susan Macatee, American Civil War Romance Author

Hello and Merry Christmas to all! Please welcome this week's guest, Susan Macatee. Hello, Susan! Hope you've managed to get all your Christmas preparation done, LOL  Are we ever done?

What inspired you to write your first book?
Reading great books written by others. When I was a kid, I loved books so much, I imagined what it would feel like to actually write and have my name on the cover of a book and have people read stories about characters I’d created. As I grew older, although I never thought of being an author as a real career option, that vision of writing novels never completely left me. It was through reading and my love of novels that made me want to write a book of my own.

How many books have you written?
Not that many, actually. I started out writing short stories, so as of today, I’ve written four complete novels and just completed the first draft of a fifth. I have another completed first draft put aside, awaiting revision. The first novel I wrote was never published.

What works best to keep you focused and on track?

Schedules. LOL. I list all my writing goals. I have yearly goals, monthly goals, weekly goals and even daily goals. I also belong to an online challenge group where I record my daily progress in a database. This keeps me from frittering away my time, when I know I have to account for what I’ve done each day, whether it be words written, pages edited or hours spent plotting or researching a story.

Do you write to make money or for the love or writing?
Although I’d love to make money from my writing, I’d have to say that’s not the reason I’m doing it. If it was, I would’ve quit long ago. I just love putting words to paper, creating characters that live and breathe in both my and my readers’ heads. And mostly, I want readers to be uplifted by my stories, so if only for a short time, they can get away from problems and escape into a fictional world with a happily ever after.

What type of stories to you like to write and why?
My favorite genres are historical and paranormal. And a mixture of both genres is ideal. I love the Victorian period, American Civil War and also have a thing for vampires, the idea of reincarnation, soul mates, time travel and pure adventure. But the main ingredient is the love story. I want my characters to fall head over heels in love and, no matter what the obstacle, end up with that happily ever after ending.

When do you write (daytime, nighttime, on your lunch hour, before the kids get up, after everyone is asleep? In large chunks of time or stolen snippets?
Early afternoon is my most creative time, so on weekdays, I spend early afternoon hours on new projects, like first drafts and plotting out stories. I also like to squeeze some late morning time on weekends to write too. Since I don’t have an outside job and no longer have kids underfoot, I divide my days between household tasks and writing projects. So, late morning and afternoon is reserved for edits, book promo, proofreading, checking email and other writing related stuff.

Do you write every day? Or when the muse strikes?
Generally, I write at the same time every day. Knowing that I’m supposed to write at that hour, makes it that much easier to dive right into the project at hand and make the most use of that time. Otherwise, I might fiddle around all day and not accomplish anything.

Why do you write?
I write to be happy and sane. Enough said. LOL.

Do you have an upcoming release? You do! Oh please tell us all about it.
While I don’t have any upcoming releases, 2009 has been my year of releases. I’ve had five in all. Besides a Christmas novella in an anthology, my latest stand-alone release is a vampire novella, Sweet Redemption out last month in e-book format from The Wild Rose Press. This story is set during the American Civil War, my favorite historical period. My hero is a Union infantry captain and an ex-Catholic priest. The heroine is the widow of a Confederate soldier. She’s left alone on a farm just after her father’s death, trying to keep from starving when the hero shows up on her doorstep. The villain is a centuries old vampire, who stalks them both.


Blurb: On a cold December night, Union infantry captain, Jonathan Hackett, is pinned down on the Fredericksburg battlefield trying to escape Confederate fire. But a creature of the night, more dangerous than any enemy soldier, stalks him. Jon must fight for his life as well as his soul.
Maddie Emery has lost everything dear to her. Her husband and parents have passed on and her brothers are off fighting in the Confederate Army. She’s alone, trying single-handedly to hold onto her family’s farm, when a Yankee soldier collapses across her stoop.
Maddie and Jon soon form a bond of love and tender desire. But when Jon begins to exhibit signs of becoming the creature he fears most, is their love enough to fight off the evil of a centuries old vampire bent on destroying them?

Where can we find your upcoming release? When will it be available?

Sweet Redemption is available now at:
http://www.thewildrosepress.com/sweet-redemption-p-3750.html?zenid=744a80ff8a416037d43a4dd470786511

If you would like to read a review please visit the Long and Short Reviews at the below link:
http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.com/2009/11/sweet-redemption-by-susan-macatee.html

More about Susan:
Susan Macatee writes American Civil War romance, often with a paranormal twist. Along with her husband, she's been a Civil War reenactor for a number of years. Her other loves are sci-fi, watching major league baseball, camping and baking.

Susan loves to hear from readers. You can find her at her website:
http://www.susanmacatee.com/
and her blog:
http://www.susanmacatee.blogspot.com/.

Author, Susan Macatee discusses: "Vampires, My Favorite Creatures of the Night."

Happy Halloween, everyone!

In honor of Black Rose month at The Wild Rose Press, I’ve been invited by Dayana to blog about my favorite night creatures, vampires. I’ve been hooked on vampires since my grade school days when I rushed home to the TV to catch the next episode of the daytime soap, Dark Shadows. Since then I’ve always wanted to write a vampire story and finally did a few years back. A short story for the vampire magazine, Dreams of Decadence. Unfortunately, it was sent back, not because they didn’t like it. They didn’t even read it, because they were overstocked. And no other magazines wanted that type of story. So, I put it in my drawer, figuring I’d do something with it someday.

A few years later, I discovered The Wild Rose Press. They published stand-alone short stories and they had the Black Rose line where it would fit in nicely. I decided to revise and submit and now, Eternity Waits, is a stand-alone Black Rosette. And as you can see, they designed a fantastic cover for it.

Here’s the blurb: Alexandra Ivanov has wandered the night alone for the past three hundred years. The only man she truly loved had been taken from her on a bloody battlefield centuries ago. Now she finds herself drawn to Caleb Weathers, a virile soldier who sets her heart racing.

Caleb, a Confederate soldier stationed in Gettysburg in 1863, is intrigued by the beautiful, exotic woman who calls him by the name Dimitri. When she touches him, she sets his body and soul on fire. But is she the devil in disguise?

I’m now working on a new vampire story that I hope to sell to the Black Rose line called Sweet Redemption. Like Eternity Waits, this one’s also set during the American Civil War. Sweet Redemption is about a Union infantry captain, who at one time was a Catholic priest, but lost his calling. He’s attacked by an ancient vampire and collapses on the back stoop of a Virginia war widow, who takes him in. But the vampire stalks him and threatens her. They must find a way to defeat him as our hero starts to exhibit vampire qualities and fears he’s becoming one. I hope to have this finished and submitted to my editor at TWRP by the end of this month.

In the meantime, just leave a comment on this post and tell me the name of Alexandra’s lost love and I’ll enter you in a drawing to win a $10.00 TWRP gift certificate. And one big hint, it’s not Caleb. The winner will be announced on Halloween.

Susan Macatee
www.susanmacatee.com