This week, we sat down with Maegan Beaumont, author of the Sabrina Vaughn Novels. Her latest thriller, Promises to Keep, is out now!
Maegan Beaumont: Geez . . . a long time. My first real writing memory is from the third grade. I was 10 and
entered a story I’d written into my school’s Young Author’s program. I lost to
my cousin which stung like a mother. I still think about it.
MI: If you weren’t a writer, what
would you be doing?
MB: I’d
be a forensic psychologist. Why is a
question I’ve always wanted to be able to answer.
MI: If you have a job outside of
writing, what is it?
MB: I’m a stay-at-home mom of four so, my days are
pretty busy. I start at 5:30 a.m. and don’t close my eyes until sometime around
midnight.
MI: What is/are your favorite thing/s
to do when you’re not writing or working?
MB: Reading
is at the top of the list. We spend a lot time with friends and family. It’s
summer and fruit season is in full-swing so I’m canning jams and jellies like
there’s no tomorrow.
MI: Who is your favorite mystery
sleuth and why?
MB: I
really like Brenna Spector from Alison Gaylin’s Brenna Spector series. She’s
wonderfully complex and doesn’t let much stop her. I like that in a female
protag.
MI: Do you have a favorite murder
case from a book (either yours or another author’s)?
MB: The
book I’m writing right now (Sabrina’s fourth installment) is developing
in some pretty interesting way. The murders involve some religious elements
that I find fascinating and there are some twists that even I didn’t see
coming!
MI: What was your inspiration for
this series?
MB: I
think my inspiration for Sabrina and co. comes from what interests me. I’ve
always been intrigued by murder—what drives a person to commit it and how it
effects the people it leaves behind.
MI: How does this book compare
to your past works?
MB: Promises to Keep is a
different sort of book from both Carved
in Darkness and Sacrificial Muse. The
most obvious difference is that Sabrina isn’t my main protagonist—Michael is.
PtK is very much his book. We finally get a chance to see where he comes from
and the events of this life that lead up to the death of his sister and
ultimately, what leads him back into Sabrina’s life. Genre-wise, I’d say PtK is
more of a suspense, rather than a thriller. We know who the bad guys are—its
figuring out how they all fit together that’s the mystery.
MI: Are any of your characters influenced by people you know?
MB: I think most of my characters share personality traits with people I know. There are parts of Sabrina, that if I look at them objectively, I can see in myself… but if you want blatant personality hijacking, there is a character in Sacrificial Muse based on a friend of mine—name and everything. When mutual friends read SM, they always call or message me to say, holy cow, you nailed him!
MI: Do you have a pet? Tell us about
him/her.
MB: So.
Many. Pets.
We have six dogs—the smallest being a 4-pound toy poodle named Sadie and the
largest being a 70-pound Rhodesian Ridgeback named Jade. We also have
chickens—last count at 15—and yes, they all have names. We live on a few acres
so, there’s plenty of room for everyone.
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| Jade and Zoe |
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| Sadie |
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| Some of Maegan's chickens... |
MI: If you don’t have a pet, do you
have a favorite animal?
MB: I’m
a dog person for sure. If you’re talking exotic animals, I’m partial to lions.
We have a big cat park here in Arizona called Out of Africa. In high school, I
was set to enter into their volunteer training program but before I could
start, there were some land issues and they had to re-locate to a northern part
of the state. A thirty-minute drive had suddenly turned into a 3-hour trek so,
I had to drop out. I’m still bummed about that one.
MI: What food could you live off of
for the rest of your life?
MB: This
is probably really boring but I love a good sandwich. They’re easy to make and
the possibilities are endless.
MI: Do you have a favorite recipe?
MB: It’s
a toss-up between my pumpkin squares and my sautéed Brussel sprouts. Both
recipes have been published, so you know they’re good! I also make and can my
own BBQ sauce from a recipe I developed a few years ago.
MI: What’s your favorite part about
being an Inker?
MB: My
favorite part of Inker-hood is being affiliated with such a fantastic bunch of
writers. So much talent and such a willingness to share what they know. I wear
my ink spot proudly!
Promises to Keep is available online and in bookstores now!
Midnight Ink | Indiebound | Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Your local bookstore
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