#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with J. P. McLean

I’d like to welcome J. P. McLean back to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

Favorite thing that you always make time for:

Responding to reader’s comments. I love hearing their feedback on the books and answering their questions.

The thing you’ll always do just about anything to avoid:

Cold calling anyone to promote my books. This is exactly why I hired a publicist! (Shout out to Mickey Mikkelson of Creative Edge publicity!!) It was the best career move I’ve ever made.

Things you need when you’re in your writing cave:

Though there are times when I can tune out the outside world, I prefer a quiet setting. Coffee is a given, but I’ll take tea in the afternoons.

Things that distract you from writing:

There’s nothing worse than a phone ringing, construction noise, or a car alarm. I’ve been known to unplug the landline and turn off the volume on my cellphone when I’m writing. There’s not much to be done about the other two distractions—construction noise and car alarms—but I don’t often have to deal with them. Thankfully!

The thing you like most about being a writer:

The flexibility to write anywhere, anytime. I can take my laptop on the ferry or into any waiting room and get words down.

The thing you like least about being a writer:

Having to stop when I’m on a roll. But life happens and I can’t go all day without prepping a meal.

Things you will run to the store for in the middle of the night:

Potato chips. Unfortunately, there are no stores here (Denman Island) that are open in the middle of the night. But perhaps that’s a good thing!

Things you never put on your shopping list:

Bottled water, jam, zucchini, and salmon. We have delicious well water, a sister who makes us yummy jams, porch pirates who leave zucchini in the middle of the night, and my husband loves to fish, so we usually have enough salmon to enjoy.

The coolest thing you’ve bought online:

Lee Valley tomato wapper. Actually, it’s called a European Tomato Press, but I call it a wapper because that describes the sound it makes when you crank the handle. It’s made short work of my roasted tomato and garlic sauce.

https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/kitchen/kitchen-tools/presses-and-mashers/food-processors/44040-european-tomato-press?item=EV101

The thing you wished you’d never bought.

Linen shirts. I love linen and couldn’t resist the online photos, but I should have known better. The shirts didn’t fit, and the quality was terrible. But all is not lost. I’m going to make napkins out of them.

The thing that you will most remember about your writing life:

The passion I have for creating stories. It was a surprise to me to discover how much I love writing. I never tire of tucking into my writing nook and letting my imagination loose.

Something in your writing life that you wish you could do over:

I wish I’d started writing years earlier. I may not have written the same stories, but I’m sure I would have found the passion and written even more books.

Something you wanted to be when you were a kid:

A princess. Man, was I fooled. I think it was the pointy hat with the veils that I saw in animated films when I was a kid. https://historicalhoney.com/truth-princess-hat/

Something you do that you never dreamed you’d do:

Scuba diving, which I don’t do as much as I’d like. It was my husband’s idea to get certified, and I love the sport, especially in warm Caribbean waters. Not so much where I live in the Pacific Northwest, but only because I’m a wimp in cold water.

Your best recipe:

Roasted tomato and garlic sauce, which is super simple. Core and quarter enough fresh tomatoes to fill a turkey roaster. Add a head of garlic cloves, salt and pepper to taste, and drizzle olive oil over top. Roast at 350 and stir every hour or so until reduced by 2/3. The skins will blacken, which adds tons of concentrated flavour to mix. When cooled, pass it through a press. Add basil for a tasty pasta sauce, or add milk/cream for a wonderful tomato soup.

Something that didn’t turn out like you planned when you made it:

Oh, so many! Where to start?

Things you always put in your books:

Humour. Even my darker-themed books need a little levity.

Things you never put in your books:

I can’t say “never” but I’d avoid at all costs putting a pet in a situation where they were abused.

People you’d like to invite to dinner (living):

Rick Mercer (http://www.rickmercer.com/). He’s a Canadian comedian, author, and political satirist. He performs clever rants with razor sharp wit and his comedy makes me laugh out loud.

People you’d cancel dinner on:

Almost any politician.

The funniest thing that happened to you in an airport:

I was on a layover in Calgary and decided I had time enough to grab a meal, but forgot about the time difference. Panic set in when I heard my name called over the loudspeaker in one of those last call for boarding messages. I dropped cash on the table and raced to the gate. Happily, I caught my flight, but it took ages to catch my breath and settle my heart.

The most embarrassing thing that happened to you in an airport:

My husband and I were going to the Cayman Islands when my luggage didn’t pass muster on the x-ray belt. An agent called me aside and searched my bag. She asked me a few times if I’d packed the bag myself, which I had. She put it through the x-ray machine twice before dumping everything out of it. I couldn’t understand what she was looking for, and she wouldn’t tell me, but she finally found a small penknife in an outside pocket that had been travelling around unbeknownst to me for years. It was mortifying, especially as I had to repack everything in front of an audience.

The best job you ever had:

I’m probably being repetitive with this answer, but the best job I’ve ever had is this writing gig. I still get excited by the prospect of a few hours to myself to get words down, and hope I never grow tired of it.

The worst job you ever had:

Staffing in a hospital. And that was long before the current staff shortages. That staffing job would be a nightmare right now.

The one thing you cook/bake that is better than a restaurant dish:

Spaghetti and meatballs. It’s my mom’s meatball recipe and everyone I serve it to loves it. (Either that or they’re afraid to tell me they don’t care for it!)

The one thing you cooked/baked that turned out to be an epic disaster:

Deep-dish pizza. It turned into a pizza casserole. Had to eat it from a bowl. Memorable in all the wrong ways.

About JP

Short bio: JP (Jo-Anne) McLean is a bestselling author of urban fantasy and supernatural thrillers. She is a Global Book Award winner, a CIBA and Page Turner Award finalist, and has received honours from the Eric Hoffer Book Awards, the Wishing Shelf Book Awards, the NIEA Awards, and the Whistler independent Book Awards. She lives on Canada’s West Coast.

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#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with J. P. McLean

I’d like to welcome author J. P. McLean back to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

Hardest thing about being a writer: Writing on beautiful days. Those days are temptresses that lure me outside to play in the garden or stroll on the beach instead of writing.
Easiest thing about being a writer: Not having to commute to an office!

Words that describe you: perfectionist and ultra-organized.

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: perfectionist and stubborn. Both traits get in the way of life in general, and often my writing, which will never be perfect and is often better with flaws.

Favorite music or song: When I’m not writing, I enjoy pop/rock music, but when I’m writing, lyrics distract me. I’ve recently discovered a few French café music stations, which are perfect! I love the jazzy sound and because I don’t speak French; the lyrics don’t distract me from my writing.

Music that drives you crazy: heavy metal. I know many people love it, but I find it jarring.

Favorite beverage: Red wine—preferably Cabernet Sauvignon, Amarone, or Zinfandel.
Something that gives you a sour face: grapefruit juice.

Favorite smell: Ooh, so many! Fresh laundry is right up there at the top of my list.
Something that makes you hold your nose: Low tide on a sweltering hot day.

The last thing you ordered online: A USBC to headphone jack converter for my smartphone. When I’m selling books at conferences and markets, I sometimes use Square’s credit card swiper to take payment. The Square swiper uses a headphone jack, and the new phones have phased out this feature.

The last thing you regret buying: An expensive pair of Italian leather sandals. They were beautiful, but they didn’t survive an unexpected run through the rain. 

Things you’d walk a mile for: A hug from my dad, and my mom’s pea soup.

Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: Negative people and their never-ending stream of complaints, perceived mistreatments, and poor-me attitudes.

Favorite books (or genre): My favourite genres are supernatural thrillers or urban fantasies. The thing I like most about those genres is the unexpected, whether it’s a superpower, or a magical talisman, or a new world. I love inhabiting those worlds and imagining the possibilities of superpowers and magic. Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen series is one I recently enjoyed.
Books you wouldn’t buy: Political memoirs don’t appeal to me.

 Favorite things to do: I love sitting down to a leisurely meal with friends and family, sharing laughs and anecdotes and just catching up. The pandemic restrictions have severely curtailed that for us, but it’s opening up now and we’re slowly getting out again.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Grouting tile or sanding drywall, both of which I’ve done during various home renovations. If I ever renovate again, I’ll move into a hotel or travel and leave the grouting and sanding to the professionals.

The funniest thing to happen to you: When I was in my first year of high school (we were called nifty niners), I met a boy a year ahead of me in grade ten at my first high school dance. He invited me to the school football game the following day. I’d never had an interest in football, but he was cute, and I wanted to see him again, so I agreed to meet him there.

The football field didn’t have seating, so spectators were camped out on the lawn or milling about outside the school building. I walked up and down the field, scanning the crowd for him. After a half hour of fruitless searching, I gave up and left, disappointed about being stood up on my first high school date.

But the following Monday at school, he sought me out to ask why I hadn’t attended the game. Imagine my surprise when I learned he wasn’t a spectator in the crowd, but a football player on the field.

The most embarrassing thing to happen to you: When I was in grade eight, I was a centre on the school basketball team. Our team made it through to the runoffs, and on the day of the final tournament, we were bussed to the hosting stadium. It was an impressive facility, with several courts and half a dozen of the best school teams. They even had volunteers on the sidelines with trays of sliced oranges for the players. We thought we’d made it to the big leagues.

I’ve never been a strong scorer, but I had a knack for getting the ball to my teammate, who was a forward and could dead drop the ball into the net from anywhere on the side of the key. We played hard during the first half, and I was exhausted. At halftime, after I’d gobbled down a few orange slices, the teams changed ends.

We headed back out on the court and I got hold of the ball and made a breakaway for the net. I heard the crowd cheering and I couldn’t believe my good luck that no one challenged me along my way to glory. I tossed the ball at the net—missed but caught it on the rebound and tried again.

It’s a good thing I was such a bad shot, because the crowd hadn’t been cheering me on, they were shouting at me to stop. I’d forgotten about the end change and was at the wrong net. If I’d scored, it would have been for the other team.

Not surprisingly, the coach pulled me out of play, and I sat out the rest of the game on the bench. I would have preferred to crawl into a hole.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: After Lethal Waters came out, one reviewer wrote, “I would read this author’s shopping list if she’d let me. Excellent, fascinating, exciting . . . I can’t get enough!”

The craziest thing a reader said to you: “You should write my memoir. I’ve had a very interesting life.”

About J. P.:

JP (Jo-Anne) McLean writes urban fantasy and supernatural thrillers. Her work has won honourable mentions from the Whistler Independent Book Awards and the Victoria Writers’ Society. Reviewers call her work addictive, smart, and fun. JP is a graduate of the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business and makes her home on Denman Island, which is nestled between Vancouver Island and British Columbia on Canada’s west coast. You can reach her through her website at jpmcleanauthor.com.

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#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with J. P. McLean

I’d like to welcome author J. P. McLean to the blog this week for #ThisorThatThursday!

A few of your favorite things:

My husband, the smoky scent of a campfire, family photographs, red wine, and the sound of grown women giggling.

Things you need to throw out:

Insecurity, perfectionism, and what other people think of me.

Things you need for your writing sessions:

Not much: a coffee, a laptop, and at least one hour (I don’t write well in shorter spurts).

Things that hamper your writing:

Lyrics in music because they distract me. Nor can I write with a telephone ringing in the background, or people talking. When that happens, I get up and make another cup of coffee.

Things you love about writing:

Creating dialogue, especially when my characters are having an argument. I love that I have the time to come up with the perfect retort (which rarely happens in my real life).

Things you hate about writing:

Feeling like a dunce when the edits come in.

Things you never want to run out of:

Pepperidge Goldfish Crackers

Things you wish you’d never bought:

Pepperidge Goldfish Crackers

Favorite foods:

All the pasta.

Things that make you want to gag:

Liver, tongue, heart, kidney—pretty much all organ meat.

Something you’re really good at:

Organizing: closets, filing cabinets, bookshelves, photos, you name it.

Something you’re really bad at:

Cold calls to sell my books.

Something you wish you could do:

Speak another language.

Something you wish you’d never learned to do:

Housework.

Things to say to an author:

I loved your book; where can I post my review?

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book:

If I had nothing to do, I’d write a book, too.

Things that make you happy:

Puppies (such fond memories), Fridays (even though I haven’t had a day job for years), finding a twenty-dollar bill in a coat pocket from last season (yes!), and going out for dinner (something I’ve dearly missed during COVID).

Things that drive you crazy:

When you get stuck behind a car that is driving WAY under the speed limit. Or when you get all the way home only to find the store’s non-removable tag still attached to the new jeans you bought for tonight’s party.

Most embarrassing moment:

Almost scoring for the other team when playing grade-school basketball. The nets changed ends at halftime, and I was exhausted—forgot we’d changed ends. I made a break for it—I honestly thought all the shouting was me being cheered on. Sadly, they were yelling at me to stop. If I hadn’t been such a lousy shot, I would have made the basket and scored two points for our opponents.

Proudest moment:

When I overheard my mom and dad tell a stranger that their daughter was an author.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done:

Scuba diving

Something you chickened out from doing:

Skydiving

About J. P.:

JP (Jo-Anne) McLean writes urban fantasy and supernatural thrillers. She is best known for her Gift Legacy series, which reviewers call addictive, smart, and fun. Her work has won honourable mentions from the Whistler Independent Book Awards and the Victoria Writers’ Society. JP is a graduate of the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business and makes her home on Denman Island, which is nestled between Vancouver Island and British Columbia on Canada’s west coast.

Let’s Be Social:

Website:         https://jpmcleanauthor.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JPMcLeanBooks

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jpmcleanauthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jpmcleanauthor