J.E. McDonald was born and raised in Saskatchewan, Canada, The Land of the Living Skies. As a child, she was either searching the clouds for identifiable shapes, or star-gazing way past her bedtime. She cut her teeth watching Star Trek, James Bond movies, and reading the Harlequin novels her mother left in the bathroom—which resulted in an extremely skewed sense of sex education by age eleven. All of these factors contribute to her love of writing rom coms with a paranormal twist, romantic suspense, and far-future romance.
J.E. McDonald resides in Saskatchewan with her husband and three daughters, a stay at home mom by day, and an obsessed writer by night.
J E McDonald is a best-selling author. J E McDonald is currently living in Canada. Here is an Interview with J.E. McDonald.
Here is an interview with Author J.E. McDonald
J.E. McDonald, Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’m a Canadian author living in the prairies with my husband and three young girls. I write mostly paranormal romance and have a love of all things related to quilting, Minecraft, camping, and coffee.
I like to infuse humor, mystery, and spice into each of my books. Currently, I’m working on two different ongoing series. The Wickwood Chronicles revolves around a paranormal investigation company called Liller Investigations. The first book in the series, Ghost of a Gamble, is a romance between a skeptic and a ghost hunter while they investigate a haunted B&B. Each book takes a bigger step into the paranormal. The second book is about a witch and the third is about a demon hunter.
J.E. McDonald My newest series, the Goldenlach Ridge Shifters, is about two bobcat shifters, sisters, who are abducted and collared, making it impossible for them to shift into their animal forms. One escapes their kidnappers and the other doesn’t. This series is extra spicy and the first book in the trilogy, Captive Wilderness, releases on March 24th, 2022.
J.E. McDonald How many hours a day do you write?
My sweet spot is two to three hours per day, but sometimes it doesn’t happen. I start at about 5 am, before my kids wake up, in order to have a quiet house to myself.
How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?
Oh my goodness, I’m not even sure. Probably at least four full-length unpublished novels. And unfinished ones? Hmm. Maybe half a dozen? I wrote for about eight years before I found my current publisher, City Owl Press.
How long on average does it take you to write a book?
From the time I start plotting to the time I hand it to my editor, it’s about six months. Sometimes it takes a little bit more, sometimes less. Often the ideas stew in my brain for quite a while, years even, before I first put my pen to paper for that particular story.
I was visiting family in northern Saskatchewan, the province where I live, sitting on a beach beside a lake, watching the water, and listening to a small plane fly overhead. (Small planes are the only kind that fly up there.) The seed for the idea came from me thinking, “What if a person parachuted out of a plane in this landscape and landed without a clue as to where they were?” It’s ruggedly beautiful in the north, but so different from other forests I’ve been to. That’s how the idea of two abducted bobcat shifters all started.
How do you develop your plots?
I don’t start working on a project until I know the beginning and the ending. After that, the characters become the most important aspect, and I work out their backstories and why they are who they are. Once I feel satisfied I know them pretty well, it’s all about connecting the dots piece by piece. It’s one of my favorite parts about the process, figuring out how everything fits together. I don’t start the actual writing of the book until I know all the scenes and how they tie together. Of course, that’s not set in stone and I’ll need to tweak things as I go as well.
J.E. McDonald How do you select the names of your characters?
Ha. Funny question. Sometimes they just come to me. Oftentimes for side characters, I’ll just placemark names like “Bob” and “Jimmy” until something better comes along. But more often than not I use baby name websites or lists of the most common names born the same year as my character and find one that clicks. For last names, I love reading the credits of movies.
J.E. McDonald, What is your favorite childhood book?
It was called Pickle Things by Marc Brown and I can still recite that book by heart. “Pickle things you never see like pickles on a Christmas tree…”
Have you read anything that made you think differently about fiction?
I love it when I can’t anticipate the ending of a book. When you read and write a lot, stories can become predictable, especially in TV and movies. In that vein, a few that come to mind are Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer, The City We Became by N.K Jemisin, and The House of Blood and Earth by Sarah J. Maas.
What are you currently working on?
I’m brainstorming and outlining my third and last Goldenlach Ridge Shifters book. This will be the big conclusion to the trilogy and I’m always really energized at this point in the process. Discovering what your characters are going to do is invigorating.
Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?
I usually like to stay away from reading reviews, but I have when I’m looking for quotes to pull on marketing graphics. I wouldn’t say I’ve come across anything “bad” but more indifferent, which I mean, not every book is going to be for every reader, so I shrug it off. And the good ones always make me feel warm and fuzzy.
What’s your advice for aspiring writers?
The best way to fail is to quit, so don’t quit! And sometimes you need to be selfish about your writing time. As a mom of three, I know it can be hard to put the hours in, but no one is going to make sure that happens except you.
What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?
It was the whole chunk of money I spent to attend the RWA conference in New York in 2019. I found my editor there and made so many great friends and connections. Plus! I brought my mother along with me, saw New York for the first time, and we had a fabulous time.
What’s the best thing about being a writer?
Not keeping the stories in my head. I think if I wasn’t actively making content, my mind would be one big mess of an idea tornado. It’s an outlet I need to stay sane.
Also, connecting with readers who love my work and can’t wait for the next book. No feeling is better.
Will you have a new book coming out soon?
Absolutely. Captive Wilderness, the first book in the Goldenlach Ridge Shifters trilogy, releases on March 24th. And the second one, Caged Fury, will be coming out in October of this year.
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Interview with author Diann Floyd Boehm
What is your preferred method to have readers get in touch with or follow you (i.e., website, personal blog, Facebook page, Goodreads, etc.) and link(s)?
They can find me everywhere! Here are some links:
J E McDonald Official Website: https://www.jemcdonald.net/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/JEMcDonaldAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JEMcdonaldSk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jemcdonaldsk/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jemcdonaldsk
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/j-e-mcdonald
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20789463.J_E_McDonald
What do you want to say about our website?
I love all these different areas of interest. There’s something for everyone. And thank you very much for having me!