Monday, May 11, 2015

Would You Rather....with Sarah McCoy

Please welcome Sarah McCoy, author of The Mapmaker's Children.
 

Sarah McCoy:


 SARAH McCOY is author of the New York Times, USA Today, and international bestseller The Baker’s Daughter, a 2012 Goodreads Choice Award Best Historical Fiction nominee. Her first novel is The Time It Snowed in Puerto Rico.

Sarah’s work has been featured in Real Simple, The Millions, Your Health Monthly, Huffington Post and other publications. She has taught English writing at Old Dominion University and at the University of Texas at El Paso.
The daughter of an Army officer, her family was stationed in Germany during her childhood. She calls Virginia home but presently lives with her husband, an Army physician, and dog, Gilbert, in El Paso, Texas.
Her novella “The Branch of Hazel,” featured in the anthology Grand Central (Penguin), releases July 1, 2014. Her third novel The Mapmaker’s Children releases from Crown May 5, 2015.

Connect with Sarah:
Website    Facebook 
   Twitter   Goodreads



Would You Rather... 
with Sarah McCoy
 
Chips, chocolate or cheese?

Cheese! Absolutely, hands down, every time, always. (And worthy of redundancy.) Sugar is my nemesis. It makes me break out in awful adult acne. That’s the unglamorous truth. I avoid it at all cost unless I want to wake up the next morning looking fourteen and feeling maudlin. 

 
Bridget Jones, Becky Bloomwood or Carrie Bradshaw?

Confession: I had to Google “Becky Bloomwood,” so I can’t say her because we’ve technically just met. I’ll go with Bridget Jones. As much as I love and adore Carrie Bradshaw, I’m a notorious Anglophile… plus I share her tendency to break into neurotic, solo, slumber party sing-alongs for various events (joy to heartbreak). 

Wine, beer or vodka?

Wine. Good, dry-to-the-bone, Brut Champagne, to specific. 

Camping or spa vacation?

Spa. Camping requires sleeping in the dirt. And that’s not what I call fun. At. All. 

Water or mountains?

I’m a woman of both. My family roots are in the mountain town of Aibonito, Puerto Rico. From my abuelitos plantation porch, I can see the ocean. It’s a magical place that proves you can have everything you dream. 


Zombies or vampires?

Ugh. I’d rather one or the other just have their kill of me and be done. 

Dogs or cats?

Dogs. I have a black and white Coton de Tulear named Gilbert—Gilly for short. He’s my little Frenchman. Sadly, I’m allergic to cats. I break out in hives and swell up like a marshmallow. But I do think they are beautiful creatures— independent. I champion that. 

Coke or Pepsi?

COKE Zero all the way. (I may have even spat at the notion of drinking a Pepsi.) 

Coffee or tea?

I’m a freakish tea aficionado. When I travel with my husband, instead of trinkets, I buy tea from foreign cities. My cupboard is loaded with leaves from Santa Fe, New Mexico, to Montserrat, Spain, and everywhere between. That said, I do enjoy a good dark roast coffee on occasion. 

Dine out or take away?

Take away. There is nothing more heavenly than being in pajamas with Doc B, eating takeout with our fingers, and not giving a fig what anybody thinks of our piggish ways. When I’m on the road for book tour, a meal alone in my hotel room is golden. It’s a time when I can hear my own munching thoughts. My inner Introvert is able to rest, fill up, and feel replenished. 

High heels, sneakers or flip flops?

Cowboy boots! Which really are the superior footwear. (Says the lady in Texas.)

Physical Book or ebook?

Both are marvelous for their own reasons. For instance, my momma is a faithful eBook reader because it’s easier on her eyes. She enjoys the story experience more that way—without gaining a headache from straining to see the words. I can appreciate that. But for me today, I continue to be physical book devotee. I love my stacked bookshelves. I tell book clubs on Skype that they’re my “friends” cheering me on in my writing office, and I truly feel that way.

Paperback or Hardcover?

Both again! 

Pen or pencil?

Pen. A Zebra F-301. Sometimes a Zebra F-402 if I need a cushioning. Woe to anyone (*cough* my husband *cough-cough*) who tries to steal my Zebras.

Mad Men, Downton Abbey or Breaking Bad?

Good gracious, between Mad Men and Downton Abbey, it’s a TV Sophie’s Choice! Both are historical fiction dramas, and I admire both writing teams… I’m going with Downton Abbey because as I mentioned above, I swoon over all things British. Add family history, a legacy home, a dog named Isis and hat fashions that make me drool, and PBS wins me over. 

Drama or comedy?

Both. In fiction, I love to laugh until I cry and/or cry so hard I make my (real) self laugh to think I’m sobbing over imaginary characters’ heartaches. That’s the power of story. 

Twilight or Hunger Games?

Egads. I’m such an old lady, and I don’t have children to lasso me to one so neither. 

Lipstick, lipgloss or chapstick?

Burt’s Bee’s Replenishing Chapstick as a standard. It’s mighty dry out in El Paso and this is the only thing that keeps the cracks away. On top of that I’ll add lipstick if I’m going out somewhere. My Puerto Rican-Virginian momma raised me that if nothing else on your face, lipstick is a must. 

Facebook or Twiter?

Both! I’m completely addicted to social media. Come find me, we’ll chat! 

Plot your entire novel or fly by the seat of your pants?

I try to plot, but inevitably I bow to the characters’ directions and find myself in surprising story territory asking, “How the heck did I end up here??” Ninety-nine percent of the time it’s to the narrative’s developmental benefit. Personally, however, I’m not super great with spontaneity. But just like in my writing, I’ve learned that when the world wants to fly high, all the planning in the world won’t keep you rooted to your intended spot. Best to let go and 
just wing it. 

The Mapmaker's Children
 

When Sarah Brown, daughter of abolitionist John Brown, realizes that her artistic talents may be able to help save the lives of slaves fleeing north, she becomes one of the Underground Railroad’s leading mapmakers, taking her cues from the slave code quilts and hiding her maps within her paintings. She boldly embraces this calling after being told the shocking news that she can’t bear children, but as the country steers toward bloody civil war, Sarah faces difficult sacrifices that could put all she loves in peril.

Eden, a modern woman desperate to conceive a child with her husband, moves to an old house in the suburbs and discovers a porcelain head hidden in the root cellar—the remains of an Underground Railroad doll with an extraordinary past of secret messages, danger and deliverance. 

 Ingeniously plotted to a riveting end, Sarah and Eden’s woven lives connect the past to the present, forcing each of them to define courage, family, love, and legacy in a new way.

 
Available at:
Amazon    Barnes & Noble     Kindle    Nook
 

No comments:

Post a Comment

Share!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...