#AboutTheAuthor August Tag

 Hello. I found this on Christine's blog [christinesmithauthor.com], and thought it looked like fun, plus it gives me a chance to tell you all more about my story. This tag was created by Jameson [https://www.jamesoncsmith.com/].

1.} Introduce yourself

Hey, I'm McKayla, I'm a writer, athlete, geek, INTP, Gryffindor, animal lover, blogger, and lover of stories, pop culture, and multidimensional characters. I like pizza, hiking, overly feminine fashion, fandoms, sports, adventures, and talking about stories. I'm one of the few people I know who likes snakes. I dislike hypocrites, salads, snobs, domestic work, and school. I live in the country, my favorite colors are purple and blue, and I'm tall and wear glasses.

Those are the basics.

2.} Tell us about your work-in-progress and your August goals

Well, I have a story and a fanfiction going on at the same time, so I'll do the non-fanfic one.

The title has yet to be decided. It's about an artist of many forms named Hattie King who works at a bookstore, and meets a girl named June who expresses interest in working at a bookstore. She seems very nice, but Hattie can tell she's hiding something. Eventually, Hattie begins to figure it out, while slowly falling in love with June.

I don't really do monthly goals, but I'd love to get more of it written.

3.} Introduce your characters

Hattie

A young woman, who excels in art in all forms [poetry, painting, and photography especially], dresses in a punk/grunge style, and works in a bookstore. Lesbian. Book lover and general nerd. She comes off as a bit aloof, but is kind. Loves routines, and loathes change. Surprisingly gifted in shooting, and has some minor trust issues. 

June

A perky and sweet young woman, who originally works as a barista, but switches to bookstore employee. Loves animals, is talented at pretty much everything, pretty in a cute way, loves vintage clothes, has a surprisingly dark and troubled past, and isn't nearly as perfect as she seems. Kind, but blunt. Smart but manipulative.

4.} What are you currently reading?

Size 14 Is Not Fat Either by Meg Cabot. It's one of her Heather Wells mysteries.

5.} Favorite genre to read and write?

My favorite genres to read are sci-fi and fantasy. My favorite genres to write are the same. My current novel is an interesting switch from the usual.

6.} Three fun facts about your WIP?

-It's largely set in a bookstore

-The two leads were initially based on two fictional characters that I love, but then they changed, and now they only share a few traits with their inspirations.

-I have absolutely no idea where the story came from, it just popped into my head.

7.} You get to spend a day in your story's world. What would you do?

Well, I'd go to that coffee shop that Hattie raves about [even though I detest coffee], and probably head to the bookstore. It's set in the U.S, so there isn't anything different or exciting. I mean, there is, but you really have to be one of the main characters to experience it.

8.} A favorite kind of character to write?

I love conflicted characters. They're the best. I love complex characters who are different from how they initially appear.

9.} What is your writing weakness?

I have to agree with Christine here, I don't really research. Yeah, I need to work on that.

10.} What is your writing strength?

Dialogue is definitely one of my personal strengths. I'm also pretty good with pacing. Those are my main strengths. Oh, and characters.

11.} What are your hobbies outside of writing?

Well, the usual. Books/music/movies/TV, etc. I also really love sports [of all kinds] and other athletic things like working out, rock climbing, skateboarding, exploring, hiking, etc. And I like playing pretend [I'm five years old at heart, okay?], and board games. 

12.} Your favorite villain trope?

Oh, definitely the misunderstood villains. I know it's overused, but take Magneto from X-Men. He's a villain, but he's also right about a lot of things. I love those types. And, of course, the over-the-top ones are amazing.

13.} A favorite book you've read so far in 2020?

Oh, geez, that's hard. Probably The Reader.

14.} Writing playlist? 

I don't really have one. I really should. I usually just put on my Glee playlist, and listen to that.

15.} Your WIP's theme colors/aesthetics?

Oh, dear......I'm really very bad with theme colors, so I'll just do aesthetics.

Bookstores/coziness/action scenes/sweet friendship/secret identities/pop culture references/fluffy pets/'50's fashion/grunge style/art/coffee/general sense of adventure/mystery/heist/romantic subplot. 

I'm not entirely sure if that's what I was supposed to do, but, oh well, I tried.

16.} Share your social media + books links!

Sorry, I don't have any social media aside from my blog, nor do I have anything published yet.

17.} A side-character you love in your WIP?

Flynn and Franny, the twins who own the bookstore Hattie works at. They're both loud, flamboyant, and constantly arguing, and I love them.

18.} What is the best part about being a writer?

Being able to share your stories with the world. In the midst of things like the coronavirus, lots more people have been reading, and stories are crucial to the world. Plus, just seeing everything come together makes me so excited!

19.} A genre you want to write?

As in one I haven't written? I'd love to write a full-on mystery, or be hired to write some books in the novel-verse of a famous series [like Star Trek]. I mean, I kind of already do this, but not professionally.

20.} You're an author on a Q&A panel! Which authors are you sharing the stage with?

Rick Riordan, Marissa Meyer, Shannon Messenger, Margaret Peterson-Haddix, and Meg Cabot, and all of my fellow bloggers when they end up getting published.

21.} One way you've grown as a writer +one thing you want to improve on?

I think I've gotten better about prioritizing my writing. It's not just a thing, it's my thing. It's a likely career path. I love it, but I take it more seriously now. 

I still need to work on finishing my stories. Most of mine are half-finished, because I got bored with them.

22.} Goal check-in plus a snippet?

Well, I have written more of it. Here's a short snippet.

She smiled at me, the sunlight reflecting off of her light brown hair, and I knew she wasn't telling me the whole truth. And the bad part? I'm not sure I care anymore.

Well, that was fun. Feel free to do it if you want.