SEELIE KAY: Postcards from The Ledge: This week in The Loft: Author Sloan McBride!

Joining me today in The Loft is author Sloan McBride. Sloan writes romance that leans toward the paranormal. She adds in suspense and a hint of mythology for her Time Walker series and dances through the Highlands, making merry with the clans, in The Talisman Trilogy. Her Men of Fire Trilogy turns up the heat in the world of smokejumpers. By day, she works at a law firm, at night she spins romantic fantasies. Sloan lives in Illinois with her husband of 39 years and her two children.

Author Sloan McBride

S: Hello, Sloan! Thanks for joining me today!

Do you write full or part-time? Do you have another job/other responsibilities?

SM: I write part-time some evenings and weekends. I work full-time at a law firm. I'm the Office Business Manager. It totally consumes me, which is why I write part-time.

S: (Nods.) Having been in that world for 20 years, I can totally understand that.

Did you have a mentor when you became a writer?

SM: I didn't have a mentor. I did join Romance Writers of America, where I learned a lot about the writing industry and being a writer.

S: Complete this sentence: "As a writer, my dream is to..."

SM: ...writes stories that allow people to escape for a little while.

S: (Smiles.) In today's world, the ability to escape from reality has become more important than ever.

What is your writing process?

SM: I write the love story between the hero and heroine, first dabbling things in as I write, then I go back through in the next draft and add more, and so on until I get it finished.

S: What attracted you to the romance genre?

SM: I grew up with fairy tales and romance. I love the idea of love at first sight and happily ever after.

S: Wow, that's a perfect mindset for writing romance.

What is your favorite thing about writing romance?

SM: I'm a fan of romantic relationships. I like the journey from the first meeting, across time, overcoming various obstacles to end up happily together in the end.

S: What did you write "Highland Stone?" What was your inspiration?

SM: I had major surgery and was off of work for over two months. One night, I dreamed this story. Not all of it, but the time travel part and the Highlanders. I woke up and wrote it all down in a notebook. "Highland Stone" is my very first novel. No, I didn't leave it in a box under bed or in a closet. I learned more and more about writing, and kept revising it until it was ready to be seen. I've always been fascinated with the history of Scotland, so Highlanders were right up my alley. I loved writing this book. I enjoyed the research. I met a man who belonged to a historic Scottish re-enactment group who taught me about the proper clothing, speech, and other things, which assisted in the book.

Here's the blurb:

A mysterious inheritance and magical forces thrust Kara Malone through the ages to the Scottish Highlands of old. There, she encounters Alaxandar McLeod, the dark stranger who inhabits her dreams.

Alaxandar leads the charge to learn the truth about the violent raids against his clan. When his horse almost tramples a beautiful stranger, he is beguiled but skeptical. If she a spy, or worse, a witch come to lure him with her body and distract him from his quest?

With his clan ever leery of Kara's presence, and the raids intensifying, Alaxandar must decide what is right for his family and his heart. Will Kara choose to stay with the stranger from her dreams made flesh or the mission she vowed to complete?