Author M.A. Grant came knocking on my country manor door with a red moon and a hankering for a certain doctor (not Who you think).

Welcome M.A. Grant (let’s get personal - Marion Audrey to those who have pre-ordered
her book Red Moon).  She has five sleeps until release day but she popped over from Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula for a spot of Australian country manor fun. (Yes, I said Alaska.)

Marion Audrey (I love the full name, by the way) started her writing career when her
parents read Mercer Mayer’s Beauty and the Beast to her when she was a young child. This eventually led her to graduate college with majors in Creative Writing. 

Literature, family, love and romantic stories prevail in her life and in her spare time she
adores that doctor!

 Take it away, Marion Audrey:

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Will you tell us about yourself and what genre(s) you love writing? 

I’m a middle child who grew up in a house of English teachers where I didn’t know The Simpsons, but did know Masterpiece
Theatre and Shakespeare. I was the one in my family who was always drawn to romances, which was solidified when I worked at a bookstore while I was in high school and discovered Janet Evanovich and Amanda Quick. I went to college to
become an author, became a want-to-be author and English teacher instead, moved from California to Oregon to Alaska, and am now happily settled in my own log cabin (in the country, although it’s not a beautiful manor like yours) along
with my dear husband, our two cats, and lazy-beyond-belief Rottweiler.

(I have to butt in here because when I’m not up at the manor, I live in a log cabin too. I also discovered Janet Evanovich, I have two cats and my dear husband loves Rottweiler’s. Soul sisters.)

I’m not sure if I have a set genre I write in yet under the blanket term of “romance.” I love stories that are a bit outside the box, from paranormal to dystopian-Western-steampunk-science-fiction to contemporary. Basically, if my characters tell me to write something, I’ll write it, regardless of genre. 

What are books for? 

Books teach us how to be human; they capture our best and worst qualities and let us live out thousands of lives in thousands of different circumstances. Books have always been my escape and the way I learned about the world around me. I grew up in a family of English teachers and loved reading from a young age. Childhood summers meant trips to the library, where—if we were lucky—my parents might let my sisters and I check out an additional book on their official
“adult” library cards since we’d already maxed out our kids’ cards. Whenever I go home, I’m still grateful to my parents that my sisters and I are able to debate which Bronte sister is a better writer, instead of which Kardashian sister is prettier. And now, as a teacher, I am lucky enough to introduce my students to great authors who can expand their horizons.

Spoken like a true writer who became a published author due to her love of literature and all things teaching.

Will you name one entity you feel supports you outside of family members?

The Harlequin online community. They are still one of the most solid support systems I’ve found; I met my critique partner there, and it’s necessary to be able to talk to others who are serious about the craft. Without them, I never would have been brave enough to submit my work in the first place.

Let's take a look at the result ...

The blurb:

Dark, moving and original, a story of family, survival, and getting on with life...

Flynn Sinclair understands pack loyalty — for years as his Alpha father’s enforcer, he has done things in the name of duty that he can’t ever forget. But the vast expanse of Alaska offers him a peace he’s never known. Alone, removed from pack
life, he can focus on his research and try to forget his life before.

But duty has a way of inviting itself in, and Flynn finds himself doing two reckless things in one week: leaving the safety of Alaska to save his brother Connor’s life, and unwittingly falling in love with Evie Thompson, a woman who doesn’t
deserve to be drawn into his terrifying world.

Connor carries news of their father’s descent into madness, and it looks like neither geography nor Flynn’s attempts at disengagement will put off a confrontation. Flynn had finally begun to believe that he might deserve something good in his life — something like Evie — but to move forward in the light, he must first reconcile with the dark.

Wow!

What was the hardest part of writing Red Moon?

Getting down the words when inspiration strikes. It never fails to hit when I’m driving to work (recording on my phone has helped solve that problem, although I hate playing back my voice—I sound so different in my head), in the shower (still
haven’t found a solution for that other than scrub my hair faster or holler for my husband to serve as scribe—something he’ll only do if I’m really, really agitated about losing an idea), or sitting around talking to people (subtly writing things down in one of the three notebooks I keep in my purse while pretending to listen to the conversation works…usually). I’m a total panster, so when inspiration strikes, I feel this pressing need to listen.

What kind of research do you do for your stories?

Oh my, I’m sure my Internet searches would be terrifying to look back on. I have a random library of research books I keep close to my desk, I use the Internet (a handy tool, although I miss the smell of libraries sometimes), and if I know people, I always pick their brains about topics that come up in my books. My  husband and brother-in-law (both paramedics) no longer question why I’m asking them if someone could really die from this, or what the injuries from that would be like. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not…

Don't worry, you're a writer - it all sounds normal.

What question have you always wanted to be asked in an interview and how would you answer it?

 KARL URBAN: Would you marry me?

ME: *giggling like a schoolgirl* Well, since I’m currently married to the most wonderful man in the world, I’m afraid I’d have to say, no. Not yet.

KARL URBAN: What if I threw in the All Blacks to sweeten the deal?

ME: I’m going to have to give you a no…a soft no…very soft…

(Oh, come on, who can blame Marion Audrey over this delicate issue?)

That doctor is gorgeous, yes?

Marion Audrey, I'm particularly thrilled to interview you for three reasons.

1)  You're from Alaska and I've never met anyone from Alaska.

2)  We have a lot in common with log cabins, cats, Rottweiler's and ... the All Blacks (dear husband is a New Zealander and if I tell him you mentioned the 'guys' he might even read my blog!).

3) You've been over on my blog before, when you had just received your contract with Harlequin Escape Publishing but didn't have your cover pic. 

So let's look at that cover pic again, shall we?

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Red Moon by M.A. Grant
Release date: 1 August 2013 (five sleeps)
Published by Harlequin (Australia) digital-first imprint: Escape Publishing

on Pre-order now!

Wishing you lots of success, M.A. Grant!

Where to pre-order Red Moon (it will download automatically in five sleeps) OR buy Red Moon in five sleeps time
(I suggest you pre-order and have a lie-in.):

iTunes 
 
Amazon (Kindle) 

Amazon.co.uk (Kindle) 
 
Links for all Where to Buy or Pre-Order can be found at Escape Publishing


Where to find M.A. Grant after I push her off in the canoe back to Alaska:

M.A. Grant Website 
 
M.A. Grant Blog
 
M.A. Grant on Facebook 

Goodreads 
  
Amazon Page 

Pinterest 
 

Readers, writers, students ... please feel free to leave a comment or ask M.A. Grant a question
- we'd love to hear from you!

Jennie & M.A.

(I'm off to pre-order Red Moon, then to check out Marion Audrey's Pinterest boards to see if Karl is  there.)