2: What inspired you to write?
I don’t really know. It’s just something I have always done, I guess it’s the same way with any art. Being a writer is who I am, not what I do.
3: What do you like the most and least about writing?
I like being able to create worlds that exist only in my mind. I like being able to create characters and put them in situations of my own doing. It’s kind of like being omniscient.
4: What do you for fun and relaxation when not writing?
Writing is fun and relaxing…I’m not sure I understand the question.
Seriously, I have 28-½ grandchildren and I like spending time with as many of them as I can. I also rescue and care for abandoned and abused animals, so I have plenty of companions. My husband is a truck driver, so he’s gone quite a bit, but when he’s home we like to take long rides on his motorcycle, going out to dinner, picnics or whatever strikes us.
5: Which authors do you like to read?
Anyone who knows me, knows I think James Patterson is tops when it comes to authors. I am so in love with Alex Cross. I also like to read Sherrilyn Kenyon, Karen Marie Moning, Jesse Fox, Bryl Tyne, and many others.
6: What’s the one thing you’d most like people to know about you?
That’s funny…I don’t want anyone to know anything about me. I hate it that I have to have any type of publicity. I’m a very private person and I like to go unnoticed. Unfortunately, I have had to come out of my shell and be a public person. Compared to when I first got published, I’m a diva!
7: Tell me about your current novel, where I can find it and your website/blog.
Ancient Blood is the sequel to Blood Line and picks up the story line with Ganda’s adventures. This is a werewolf story and began as a dream my husband had. After he told me about the dream, I thought it would make a good story, and Blood Line was born. Ganda was a secondary character, but such a strong one that everyone fell in love with her, so she got her own book.
My website is www.riemcgaha.com and I have three blogs where I interview other authors.
8: Do you have any tips for aspiring authors?
This is a tough business, so get that thick skin early. You’re going to get rejected, you’re going to get bad reviews, and not everyone is going to like you. Above all learn this business, all aspects of it, not just the writing part.
9: Do you base your characters on real-life people?
Sometimes they wind up sounding like people I know, but I don’t create them to be like anyone in the beginning. Well, that’s not completely true, in Closure (coming in September from Champagne Books), I did kill off my ex’s, so those characters were created after some men I know. My upcoming book, Comes An Outlaw (from eXcessica publishing), was inspired by the first man I ever loved.
10: Where do you get your ideas and what inspired you to write this book?
My ideas come from the voices in my head, but I don’t know where the voices are from. Ancient Blood, like I said, is a sequel, but there’s really no telling what specific thing, place, or event might start a story line rolling around in my head.
11: What are you currently working on?
I am working on my dream book—I am co-authoring with William Maltese, The Wine Diaries. I am contributing a section on the wineries of Oklahoma, which is something I’ve wanted to do for a while. I am laughed at every time I mention Okie wines, people just don’t seem to believe we have good wine here. Even William Googled them to make sure I wasn’t pulling his leg!
12. Is there anything else you’d like us to know about you?
I would like to thank you for having me on your blog, and right now everyone can go to my website, click on the Ancient Blood tab and get in on the contest to win free reads, a T-shirt, and a poster.
Excerpt from Ancient Blood by Rie McGaha www.riemcgaha.com
Ancient Egypt 1997 BC
The entire country had been decimated by a civil war that had raged for the past hundred years. The land had once been green with fertile valleys watered by the great river. Crops had grown and the people had been happy. Once filled with gold, silver, and jewels, the king's treasury now lay nearly empty. The fertile valleys lay barren and the great river choked with debris, and there seemed to be no way to win a war that continued day after endless day, the people screamed for peace, for relief, and for rescue, but were met by silence.
King Mentuhotep IV inherited the debacle from his predecessor and had been largely unsuccessful in his attempts to quell the rampage. His friend and advisor, Amenemhat I, had stood by his side for the past twenty years, helped him, and prayed to the god, Amun, for intervention on Mentuhotep's behalf. The King valued Amenemhat's opinions and was thankful to his friend for all his help. Mentuhotep hadn't the slightest idea that Amenemhat also prayed Amun would make him successor to the king. Amenemhat was not of royal blood, would normally never be able to succeed the throne, a position reserved for an eldest son, but he would never let a little thing like rank and order stand in the way of becoming the next ruler of Egypt.
The dais resided in Memphis, the last stronghold of the war that raged throughout the country. Little was left, the gods knew. Nearly everything that could be used to fund the king's campaign had been sold or melted down as weapons. Egypt had little left worth fighting for and Mentuhotep knew it wouldn't be much longer before the factions were fighting at his gate. He also knew he had precious little left to fight with, little ability to keep the gates from being destroyed and with them, the last shreds of his dynasty, his kingdom, and his life. A desperate man in the middle of desperate times, he would turn away no idea, no suggestion. If anyone presented an idea with the possibility of turning the tides of war, he would willingly accept them. So when Amenemhat excused himself to travel to Thebes to pray before his god, Amun, on behalf of Egypt, on behalf of its one true ruler, Mentuhotep wearily nodded his consent.
Amenemhat traveled under the cover of darkness, knowing the danger he would face if recognized, and knew it would surely end his life. The people would welcome no consort of the crown. They were hungry, their children were dying, and they had little will left to help themselves, but they would have no problem killing the right-hand man of the dynasty they blamed for their deplorable lives.
After traveling most of the night, he reached Thebes by early morning light. Exhausted as he entered the temple to pray and be fortified, he stood before the altar of Amun, and Amenemhat felt a shiver run over his flesh and knew he was not alone. Slipping the knife from his waistband, he held it hidden in the folds of his robes. He turned slowly, and then involuntarily sucked a breath into his lungs at the sight he beheld.
The woman was ethereal in her beauty. Dark, thick hair fell to her knees in glorious, shining waves. With eyes as black as night, she peered at him from beneath heavy lashes. The faintest blush against alabaster skin highlighted her cheeks. Red and full, her perfect mouth nearly curved into a smile, but not quite. Her gown appeared to shine like silver, held beneath her firm, full breasts with a girdle of braided gold. The long sleeves fell like bells past her wrists, covering her hands as they lay loosely at her sides. Standing with bare feet, she observed him as if he was the intruder. The knife in his hand clattered on the marble floor.
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