Happy Monday, all. To help distract you from Tax Day, I have a fun interview with Kate Danley, who is joining me tomorrow in a free fantasy promo with her book, Maggie for Hire.

And now, I turn it over to Kate. Enjoy!

How long have you been writing?

I have been writing ever since the 4^th grade.  I had a 45 minute bus ride to and from school every day, so as everyone else was throwing spit balls and punching each other, a friend and I would sit quietly in the back writing stories to pass the time.  My family was military, so when we moved the following year, writing became something that helped me make new friends.  I started up a little school paper with some gals and made it through middle school by pouring all that angst into hacking out a fantasy novel on my Smith Corona typewriter (which was fancy, because you could type a whole line before it printed out onto the page).

What was the first thing you wrote that told you yes, I could be a writer?

When I was in first in college, I wrote a subversive, satirical play criticizing the theater department of the school I was at.  It was a wild success.  We sold out every night.  We had to add chairs and seat people on the floor.  People came back and brought their friends.  I was standing at the back of the room and there was this one moment when the entire audience bent over in gut-busting laughter, almost as one beast.  That was the moment that I realized the power of words and that I, for a moment, had wielded them well.  It is probably the most empowered I ever felt.  I was asked to leave that school based upon my play and I proudly display that feather in my cap.

What was your inspiration for Maggie for Hire?

I absolutely adore the urban fantasy genre.  It appeals to my love of noir and mystery.  Before I discovered fantasy as a kid, I devoured Nancy Drew, Trixie Beldon, and Linda Craig.  Done well, urban fantasy draws from the most fun elements of mystery and fantasy.  But I was having a tougher and tougher time finding urban fantasy books that didn’t devolved into a vampire smooch-fest.  I remember I was at the bookstore and literally did not realize that I had moved from the fantasy to the romance section.

I have a problem with this.

It bugged me that all of these books with kickass, strong heroines always ended with the gal needing a guy to show up and fix her and/or her problems.  Again and again, there was this message that if you’re a strong woman, eventually you’ll need a guy to make it all better.  You can save the world, but you’ll only be complete if you find love.

I’m a firm believer that you have to put your money where your mouth is and I can’t blame another writer for not reading the thoughts in my head, so I started writing Maggie for Hire.  The vow that I made as I began this series is that while there is a sexy sidekick, he will always remain the sidekick.  The romance line will never be crossed.  And Maggie will always be the one to save the day, because a girl can save the world just as well as any guy can.

In 5 words or less, describe the type of writer you are.

Poetic potty-mouthed pantser.

What do you want everyone out there to know about you?

I’ll be announcing some really good news in a couple days.  In light of that, I think it’s important for new writers to know that success does not come overnight.  I worked (and continue to work) really hard.  I’ve been writing since the fourth grade and JUST NOW it is starting to pay off.  I had five years of rejections on my first book.  No one would even look at my stuff.  Honestly?  I gave up a long time ago and figured that following your dreams was just a lie we tell children to keep them from watching TV all day.  But it turns out, if you work really hard and live as rich and full a life as you possibly can and do your absolute best at something you love, sometimes good things do happen.

If you could have one do-over, what would it be?

Maybe not quit tap dancing class?  It was really fun.

Any final thoughts?

Just wanted to say thank you for having me!  This was awesome!  If anyone wants more info, I have a website.  I love hearing from readers and try my best to get back to anyone who drops me a line.

Thank you for the fun interview, Kate! It was a pleasure to have you here.

You can find out more about the free fantasy promo here.

Until next time,

~Cate