Mandy Eve-Barnett's Blog for Readers & Writers

1. Does writing energize or exhaust you?

Both! LOL! Writing is my escape. It can be very invigorating and exhausting.

2. What is your writing Kryptonite?

Research. I can get lost exploring medieval times. Hours later, I’m amazed at how much time has gone by with my head in what was going on in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. LOL!

3. What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?

Seven years ago, I dipped my toe in the writing world with Romance Writers of America. Through that membership, I joined romance writers’ organizations Hearts Through History, Celtic Hearts, and From the Heart. I served as Treasurer of Hearts Through History for a couple years and became actively involved in the chapter. It was during that time when I joined the critique group. I met some amazing authors who have become good friends. They have helped me tremendously! I wouldn’t be writing if it wasn’t for their wonderful support and encouragement.

4. Do you want each book to stand alone, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?

Each book in my series can be read stand alone, but they are written in chronological order. You’ll find my books follow different series. I love to read stories that continue through secondary characters. As a matter of fact, the books I’m currently plotting branch off from my first series, The Daughters of Alastair MacDougall. Throughout Cameron, Heather, Lindsey, and Elsbeth, you will meet colorful individuals whose stories beg to be told. After I complete Elsbeth, the legacy will continue throughout generations to come.

5. What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?

The best money I ever spent as a writer was in joining the Romance Writers Association of America which gave me access to several online affiliated chapters. The authors in those chapters have helped me in so many ways. I’m truly blessed to be part of the groups.

6. How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?

I have published four books in my Daughters of Alastair MacDougall series, two in the Turnberry Legacy, and several half-finished books.

7. What does literary success look like to you?

I write for the sheer pleasure and love of storytelling. To have someone send me a message letting me know they enjoyed my books is the most gratifying success. That is what keeps me writing.

8. How many hours a day/week do you write?

I try to write very day for at least one hour, but my job often gets in the way.

9. How do you select the names of your characters?

After I’ve developed the storyline, I search internet sites for names used during my story’s time period. As I go down the list, certain names will jump out at me that seem to fit my characters.

10. What was your hardest scene to write?

In my latest book, A King’s Enemies, there are a couple of interrogation scenes. During medieval times, those questioning methods were brutal. Those scenes were the most difficult to write.

11. Why did you choose to write in your particular field or genre?  If you write more than one, how do you balance them?

I like most any kind of romance novel, but my heart has always been drawn to the medieval period, particularly in Scotland, Ireland, and England. That said, I plan to write stories spanning the early Middle Ages through the American Civil War. While my books are fiction, each one is based on historical facts, and you will often see known figures such as William Wallace, Robert the Bruce, or The Red Comyn make guest appearances. All my stories revolve around human struggles, sacrifices survivors are forced to make, and their resilience to live and thrive.

12. How long have you been writing?

I’ve been writing all my life, but I started seriously writing in 2011.

13. What inspires you?  

For some strange reason, my muse pings off the charts when I am hiking with my husband. My imagination runs wild with what it would have been like walking through the woods during the medieval times, or when the enemy might be lurking in the trees.

14. How do you find or make time to write?

I enjoy writing at most any time, but my daytime job often gets in the way. So, I write a good bit before I go to bed and then edit what I wrote early in the morning. I also write after work, on weekends and any time I can find a few minutes.

15. What projects are you working on at the present?

Now that I finished A King’s Enemies, I’m writing the third book in the series, A King’s Allies. I hope to release that story late fall of this year. I’m also working on a new book about an imperfect rogue that will be released late this summer.

16. What do your plans for future projects include?

I have four more books outlined up for my Turnberry Legacy series. As soon as I finish the two stories I’m working on now, I’ll jump into writing the rest of the books.

17. Share a link to your author website.

I love to hear from readers! Here is my email address: mcfarland.lane@gmail.com

Website:  http://lanemcfarland.com

FaceBook:  https://www.facebook.com/LaneMcFarlandAuthor

Twitter:  @LaneMcFarland

Where can readers find your books? Here is my author page. You’ll find my books listed here.

http://www.amazon.com/Lane-McFarland/e/B00G7UQZNI/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

The Turnberry Legacy Series

At the turn of the fourteenth century, danger abounds with Scotland’s leadership in flux. Amidst rumors of King Edward reinstating John Balliol to the throne, Robert the Bruce commands his most trusted men to resurrect The Turnberry Bond, a pact specifying loyal Scots and Irish nobles band together in resistance against all adversaries. Follow the rebel warriors fighting for the rightful king of Scotland and their struggle with honor and love as their lives become intertwined with the brave women who challenge them.

A King’s Enemies ~ Book Two

Tormented by King Edward’s brutality against Scottish sympathizers, Drake Fletcher vows revenge, but only a madman single-handedly attacks the Crown. Instead, he enters the royal court as a spy to aid Robert the Bruce’s rise to power and place a formidable leader on Scotland’s throne.

Scottish lass Katherine Mackenzie Armstrong targets three of King Edward’s officers who brutally raped and murdered her mother. Disguised as one of Queen Margaret’s attendants, she sets a course to destroy the men.

The acts of treason both Drake and Katherine commit are punishable by death in The Tower of London but their determination pushes dangerous limits. Considered enemies, they use each other to gain vital information. Neither expect their overwhelming attraction to one another, the staggering emotions stirred. But the closer they become, the more they jeopardize their pledges of vengeance.

Will the weight of retaliation crush them, see them beheaded? Or will Katherine and Drake form an alliance and learn to live and love again

 Thank you for having me!

Author Bio:

Starting out as an accountant in line with the rest of the corporate echelons struggling up the proverbial ladder, I soon realized the long nights and numerous weekends of closing books and reporting financial results no longer appealed. So, I decided to hit the road selling financial software. Jumping from one high-pressured frying pan into the other, the stress of the road- warrior life and constant deadlines took its toll. I needed a release and found that with my face buried in historical romance books, I could escape to worlds of intrigue with timeless love and happily-ever-after endings. Today, I am fortunate to have found my true passion in writing of spirited heroines and to-die-for-heroes and the romantic love stories between them.

I am a southern girl living on top of a mountain in North Georgia, and I’m most happy when surrounded by family and friends. If I am not writing, you can find me hiking with my husband, or fiddling around in my flower and vegetable gardens, feeding the birds and watching black bears and deer. I am blessed to have a wonderful son—my pride and joy, my buddy who, along with my husband, have made my life complete.

It was such a pleasure to get to know Lane and her historical romances.