About Once Upon a Word: We're a large group of multi-talented authors working together, to bring you the best romances.

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Interview with Jill McDonald @rebeccajvickery @JillMcD-C #paranormal

Let's give Jill McDonald a warm welcome! She's here to chat and tell us about her new release, The Gypsy's Kiss. 

Karen: I'm so happy to have you here at Once Upon A Word. Let's start with telling the readers a little bit about yourself. Where were you born and what year?                                      

Jill: In Liverpool, England. Do you really need the date? As my Grandmother used to say – ‘I’m as old as my tongue and older than my teeth.’

Karen: lol- Love your grandmother's saying. And no, you don't have to tell. :) Moving right along... When you were a child, how did you entertain yourself when you were told to go outside and play or else?  

Jill: Mostly, I played in the fields, or went to the local riding schools. My best friends were animals.

Karen: What is the funniest thing that ever happened to you or you witnessed that made you laugh so hard you couldn’t catch your breath? 

Jill: One day my late husband, Chris was carrying some heavy pieces of wood down the long garden to his shed when his pants fell down! He couldn’t move then, or bend down to pull them up as the wood was too heavy. And I couldn’t help because I was laughing so much! Well, it was funny at the time!

Karen: That is funny. I would probably react the same way. (heehee)
What hidden talent do you possess outside of writing... something you do for fun, but are good at? 

Jill: I like drawing and watercolor painting. I have been told I am quite good at it.

Karen: What are you a collector of? It can be serious, funny, or unique.

Jill: Cookery books mainly. I have about 300, many of them quite old. And reference books of course!
   
Karen: Name some of your most favorite things?
Jill: I love classical guitar music, time slip stories, the sea, snakes, the movie ‘Don’t Tell her it’s Me’ (‘Boyfriend School’ in USA) and of course, my family and dogs!

Karen: Tell us about your new release and what inspired you to write the tale.

Jill: ‘The Gypsy’s Kiss,’ is a sweet, contemporary Romance, with a touch of the supernatural. The cottage in the story is loosely based on one my husband and I used to live in, which was in the same state as the one in the story when we took it on. In it, I felt many of the same things that my heroine, Sofia, feels, including a very powerful sense of welcoming which took my breath away. I just wanted to share some of those experiences. (Unfortunately, our cottage didn’t come with a pig gypsy!)

Karen: What are you working on now?

Jill: I have a few books on the go, I feel that if I get bogged down with one, I can turn to one of the others until my brain clears for the first one. I am working on a traditional Western, a Western Romance, two more Contemporary Romances, a 1920s story, a Medieval Romance, two children’s books, and a collection of poetry. Sounds a lot, but I do only work on one at a time! And what I work on all depends on the mood I am in.

About the The Gypsy's Kiss:
City girl Sofia hates the countryside with a vengeance. Then she inherits Mere Hall, in the country! Surrounded by beautiful yellow roses, and secrets, the neglected house somehow gets under her skin. Perhaps a ghost and a handsome pig gypsy, with his own secrets, might be able to change her mind about the country being a great place to live? And Love.

Excerpt:
Around them, the sudden thickening of the atmosphere stole the breath from her lungs.
“Right, yeah, erm – well, I’ll get out of here, Miss - Marchant, leave you to your sorting out. And there’s a hell of a lot of sorting to do, by the look of it. Staying around here for a few days, are you?”
Sofia grimaced. Her hand was still tingling from the
sensation his had left behind.
“Oh! Good grief, no! No way! It was simply a condition of the will, that I had to come in and look around. Which is all I’m doing, then I’m going back to my job, my boyfriend, Edward, and our river front apartment; I will then sign this place over to the solicitors and leave it all to them to sort out. They can bulldoze it to the ground as far as I’m concerned.”
“That would be a real shame.”
The crease beside his mouth deepened as his luscious lips curved up into a broad smile and his dark eyes twinkled mischievously. Sofia cursed to herself. Why on earth had she felt the need to tell this – this scruffy – gorgeous – gypsy pig man, any of that?

About the Author
Jill always has a few writing projects on the go at any one time, so if she happens to get stuck on one, she can work on another until fresh ideas occur to her. Working and researching in a variety of genres as she does, means there is always something fresh and exciting to discover, only sometimes, the research can take more time than the writing!

Jill lives in a village in a scenic part of the north of England with her two Miniature Schnauzers, Poppy and Pepper. She has been surrounded by animals all her life and has lived on farms and in pet shops.

Her first published piece was at the age of 12, when the local paper printed her long poem about the Vietnam War. After returning to education as a ‘mature student,’ she finally achieved a Master’s Degree in 2001. Her first ‘real’ book was published in 2011.

As well as three traditional Westerns through a British publisher, under the author name of Amos Carr; Jill is now delighted to be able to say that she sells cowboys to America! She has now had Romantic Westerns, true animal stories and supernatural tales published in USA.

Follow the Author:
Website - womanwholeads.webs.com
Facebook – Jill McDonald-Constable
Twitter – JillMcD-C

13 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for interviewing me here, Karen! I hope to get to know more of you soon.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jill,
    It was my pleasure. I'm so happy that you're part of our publishing company.

    ReplyDelete
  3. As am I, I look forward to working with you all in the future.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Welcome, Jill. It appears you may fit right in with this eccentric group of authors...or maybe eclectic? Anyway, most of use have known each other for a good while now, so it's nice to have a new face.
    I write mainly Western Historical Romance...not a time travel or paranormal in the bunch. As a born Texan, I write Texas--in family series, novellas, mail order bride stories, or stand alone novels.
    I enjoyed your interview and look forward to becoming more acquainted.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Celia. I think we met once or twice at PRP? Thank you for your welcome. I certainly hope I will fit in, you all seem like a great bunch!

      Delete
  5. Snakes? Really, snakes are one of your favorite things? Lordy. While I think snakes have a purpose and place on Earth, I just don't want it near me.
    The cottage sounds so lovely I think it would take my breath away, too. That you wrote your book to include a cottage much like the one in which you used to live, I think is wonderful.
    I did not know your husband had died. I am so sorry to hear it. He had good taste if he was married to you.
    Although I already know you and you have done so much to spread the word about what's happening with the pipeline at Standing Rock. I think you so much for that. Still, I'd like to welcome you to this group. I think you'll find some very helpful and talented authors here.
    As always, I wish you the very best, Jill.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Sarah, it's good to see you here! Yes, I'm one of those strange people who likes reptiles and amphibians! But not the poisonous ones! Thank you for your condolences, and the compliment, I'll take as many as you can give!! LOL! As far as the Standing Rock people are concerned, I would like to do more, but the most I can do is try to spread the word wider, especially as it seemed that some of you over there were not getting the reports! It needs to be told as far and wide as possible. Water is life! I'm going to enjoy being here, I know! Thanks Sarah!

      Delete
    2. Hello Jill, and welcome to the PbRJV family. I'm Linda Swift and I write a variety of genres as you do. I am wondering where in Northern England you are located. My husband and I lived in Hull in 1999-2000 and my latest book (2016) is titled Letters from Hull. I hope to get to know you and your work better in the months ahead. And I wish you great success with your books.

      Delete
    3. hello Linda, thanks for dropping by to welcome me! I appreciate that. I live in a place called Clayton-le-Moors, in between Blackburn and Accrington. Never been to Hull I'm afraid, but then there are a lot of places I've never been to, especially America!Thanks for your good wishes, and back at you, as they say! Thank you.

      Delete
  6. Hi Jill! Nice to meet another UK writer here - and not too far away from me either!
    I'm in awe of all your different projects, as I can only think of one at a time!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello there Paula! Lovely of you to drop by! You're in Manchester aren't you? So not too far, maybe we could meet up one day? I recently purchased your book Irish Intrigue for my Kindle, not got round to reading it yet, but it won't be long. There are way too many books out there aren't there! I'm looking forward to having a long partnership with Rebecca and her lovely gang, and getting to know more of the great authors they represent! Are you on Facebook? I can't remember if I sent you a friend request? Catch you later! Thanks again.

      Delete
  7. Hi Jill. A really interesting post. You are obviously a very creative lady! Congratulations on the new release.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Carol. Thank you so much for coming by. And thanks for the compliments too! I try!

    ReplyDelete

Comments relevant to the blog post are welcome as long as they are noninflammatory and appropriate for everyone of all ages to read.
Thank you for your interest and input.