Author of Holding out for a Hunter
For today’s author interview I am joined by the American author Sloane McCain. Author of the Pendragon series and now the first book in the Hunter Chronicles Holding out for a Hunter.
Welcome Sloane. I am a fan of your Pendragon books so I am excited you branched out to tell us more about the Hunters. To start us off please tell us about your latest book.
Sloane: I just released my fourth book in January 2021 (earlier this month). It’s titled Holding Out For A Hunter, and is the first in The Hunter Chronicles series, a companion series to my Sons of Pendragon. This new series deals with Hunters. They’re Halflings, half-human, half-fairy. When they reach their late teens or early twenties, they develop their powers. They use them to fight evil and capture creatures bent on mayhem and destruction that have been sent by the Dark Fairy. The Good Fairy pay them very well for their help.
While Sons of Pendragon will be limited to seven books (unless I go into the next generation), the Hunter Chronicles can have as many books as I can think up ideas for.
Helen: I must admit I couldn’t put it down. I love your characters and the world you’ve created. Tell us about the genre you write and why.
Sloane: I write romances with strong fantasy and paranormal overtones. It’s my favorite genre to read (though I read medieval, Scottish, Regency, and contemporary books) because I love the HEA—Happily Ever After endings. When the world is crazy, I want something that doesn’t give me any nasty surprises at the end. I like being assured that no matter how rocky the road, the end is going to be a good one.
Helen: And your characters are so lovely, certainly not perfect, as you’ll find out in Holding out for a Hunter. Max’s idea of being romantic just made me laugh. How do you come up with the ideas for your books?
Sloane: Nearly everything has the potential to give me a story idea. A photograph or painting. Songs. A conversation. So many things. Anything that makes me think, ‘what if?’ Sons of Pendragon came out of my love for King Arthur and wishing he’d at least had children. The Hunter Chronicles sometimes come from the song that I use for the titles. Like Holding Out For A Hunter. The sequel, which I hope to release in March, is titled I Belong To The Hunter, a play on the Caro Emerald song, I Belong To You. In that instance, the song didn’t inspire the story, but it seemed to fit the story.
Helen: I can’t wait for I Belong to a Hunter, but I hope there is Pendragon book number 4 coming soon! You can find my book review of Book One Dragon’s Grace here. Do you you find you plan out your books or do they just flow naturally?
Sloane: I’m definitely a panster. I’ve tried outlining a couple of times, but my characters laughed at the attempt and went in their own direction. For me, writing is like watching this moving play out in my head and trying to write down what’s happening as quickly as I can. Luckily for me, I seem to be able to hit the pause button when I have to stop for work or to let my dogs in or out.
Helen: There seems to be two camps about whether silence is golden while working. I’m a fan of listening to music when I write (or edit!). Do you like to listen to music while you work?
Sloane: Yes, I often listen to music while I write. I have a station I’ve made on Pandora called Straight No Chaser. It plays music by them as well as other groups that I like: Michael Bublé, Pentatonix, Imagine Dragons, Celtic Thunder & Celtic Women, American Authors, Secret Garden, and several others. I have rather eclectic taste in music.
Helen: It’s what works that is important and music can be just as inspiring as the written word. Tell us, do you have a favourite character from your books?
Sloane: My favorite character is a recurring secondary character named Stiabhan Iorworth. He’s full-blooded Sidhe. In human terms he’s around thirty to thirty-five. Though several centuries removed, he’s an uncle to many Hunters. He has recently begun to take an interest in their lives, coming to help them in their battles. He loves a good fight. He’s learning idioms and slang, card games like poker, and driving a vehicle. He’s enjoying helping his relatives which helps him in turn take his mind from the tragedy in his personal life. Some of his scenes add some comic relief to the stories. Like one in the third Hunter’s book, where he goes to a beauty salon. You’ll just have to wait to read it to find out what happens. LOL!
Helen: He sounds like a great character to have fun with, and I can imagine many humorous scenarios and misunderstandings! Most writers are also great readers. Which book have you read most recently?
Sloane: Your book is one of the most recent. I loved it! Also, Hidden Magic by Elena McDougal. I would recommend them both.
Helen: I am so glad you enjoyed Sentinals Awaken. I am looking forward to releasing my second book in the series, Sentinals Rising on March 17th, so exciting times. It has been lovely spending time with you, Sloane, thank you so much for sharing a little bit about yourself and your novels. To finish us off, if you didn’t write romantic fantasy, what genre would you like to write next?
Sloane: If I didn’t write romances, I’d probably write straight fantasy. I actually wrote a YA one while I was in college, but it’s not very good. I would love to write mysteries. I think that would be fun. Unfortunately, I don’t seem to have the right mindset for them. At least so far, my attempts have been horrible. So I’ll stick to romance.
About Sloane:
Both of my parents loved reading and instilled in me a love for reading and writing. That was one thing that I could count on them saying yes to buying me–a new book.
Besides writing and animals, I love reading (TBR pile is outrageous), photography, cross-stitch, and anything with Henry Cavill or Jason Momoa in it. And don’t even get me started on Dean Winchester of Supernatural.
I spent my early years in West Virginia, where my father taught college. When he retired, the family moved back to his home state of South Carolina.
I currently live in South Carolina with two very spoiled rescue dogs. One tries to lick people into submission and the younger one believes he’s still a lapdog at 95lbs.
You can reach Sloane via social media on:
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
and purchase her book via Amazon:
Holding out for a Hunter, Book One of the Hunter Chronicles
Link to ebook on: Amazon UK
Link to ebook on Amazon US
Dragons Grace Book One of the Pendragon Series:
Link to ebook on: Amazon UK
Link to ebook on: Amazon US
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Helen Garraway 