Five Things You Didn’t Know About Cilla McCain

*I’m one of those weird people who prefers to do my dishes by hand. That’s because I get my best ideas while cleaning house.

*I often think out loud and pace back and forth when I’m pulling a scene or paragraph together for the final time. If someone were to secretly videotape me I would probably look completely crazy!

*I learned last summer that I actually like to go fishing. I finally get what people see in it! It can be very soothing. But I doubt that I will ever have the nerve to bait my own hook. ICK!  I also love classic car shows and can spend hours watching the Barrett-Jackson auctions.

*People who meet me don’t realize how truly shy I am. When I was very young, it was almost painful for me to interact with new people. As I’ve gotten older I’ve developed a method for dealing with it and can almost appear to be outgoing. It helped me a lot during the research for Murder In Baker Company because I had to deal one on one with the toughest soldiers you can imagine!

*When I get mad, I curse like a drunken sailor who had to spend his leave in jail. I don’t know where it comes from! I was raised to be the stereotypical southern lady and most of the time that description fits. But when I get ticked off it is a whole other deal. I write better at those times too, so maybe it’s a good thing.

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Cilla McCain comes from a large army family and grew up on various army bases until her family settled outside Fort Benning, Georgia. She lives in the Georgia mountains and writes fulltime, focusing on issues dealing with social justice

Cilla McCain works within all genres of the literary field with a focus on the injustices of society. Please visit www.cillamccain.com for further details of current and upcoming projects.

Q: What compelled you to write your first book?

I was sickened about the injustice suffered by the Davis family. I also couldn’t believe that the issues surrounding his murder and other murders like it were basically being ignored in the media.

Q: Have you always wanted to be a writer?

Absolutely. I’ve always been very curious about the world around me and finding the meaning in life.

Q: Tell us briefly about your book.

Murder In Baker Company is about what has and what can go wrong when the problems experienced by our soldiers are allowed to go unchecked. It is the story of American military families and their plight to find justice and answers when their soldier has died a non combat death.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

I have two projects underway. One is a historical novel set in 1930’s Georgia that I’m having a great time writing and the other is a book about the late Marine Colonel Mike Stahlman.

Q: How did you feel the day you held the copy of your first book in your hands?

Excitement and relief. It was a surreal and humble moment.

Q: What type of music, if any, do you listen to while you write? Do you need the noise or the silence?

Sometimes I need noise and sometimes silence. Since I’ve been writing the historical novel, I’ve been listening to a lot of really old blues and bluegrass music of the era. Tommy Johnson, Ma Rainey, The Carter Family and several others.

Q: How do you balance out the writer’s life and the rest of life? Do you get up early? Stay up late? Ignore friends and family for certain periods of time?

All of the above! But one thing I will not do is ignore my loved ones. I’ve been guilty of it from time to time and I don’t like the way it feels when I finally come up for air.

Q: Is there an established writer you admire and emulate in your own writing? Do you have a writing mentor?

Well, not so much for Murder In Baker Company, but for other projects, I really admire Stephen King’s style with a little Alice Walker thrown in the mix.

Q: When growing up, did you have a favorite author, book series, or book?

As a young girl, I loved “The Boxcar Children” by Gertrude Chandler Warner. But I was a voracious reader and would even read old encyclopedias every now and then.

Q: When they write your obituary, what do you hope they will say about your book/s and writing? What do you hope they will say about you?

I hope they say I was a good mother, friend and Christian. With my writing, I hope they say that I informed, entertained and made a positive difference in the lives of people.

Q: Where you have lived and what you have experienced can influence your writing in many ways. Are there any specific locations or experiences that have popped up in your books?

I grew in the South and doubt I could ever be comfortable living anyplace else (except maybe the English countryside.) Growing up, I lived mostly around the poor cotton mill workers of Georgia and that meant I was from the “other side of the tracks.” It made me keenly aware of the injustice associated with classism.

Q: Is there any particular book that, when you read it, you thought, “I wish I had written that!”?

Stephen King’s Dolores Claiborne. The style is still so refreshing. It’s told in such a simple manner that it holds you spellbound. I don’t think people should feel like they are cramming for final exams when they read for enjoyment, so I love a simple and clear story.

Q: Is there anything you’d go back and do differently now that you have been published, in regards to your writing career?

Yes, but I don’t like to look back, so I try not to think about it!

Q: Have you ever had a character take over a story and move it in a different direction than you had originally intended? How did you handle it?

Oh yes and that’s part of the fun! When I write fiction, I usually start with 2 maybe 3 characters. What happens is that I get into a different personality zone as I try to mentally walk the life path of my character and most of the time my imagination will just take off. New characters get created this way and some are done away with.

Q: It’s one thing to write a book and another to edit it. How do you feel about the editing process? What was it like to edit your book?

I actually enjoyed the editing process. This is when your convictions are really tested. I am passionate about the issues in Murder In Baker Company and through the editors eyes I was able to see if I had gotten my message across. I learned when to argue to keep an idea and when to defer to the editor. It was a great learning experience.

Q: Now that you are a published author, does it feel differently than you had imagined?

Yes, in a way it does. Almost right away I felt ready to get started on a fresh project. So it’s a constant need in me to create something new.

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Please visit www.cillamccain.com for more information and links to reviews!