Now it’s time to learn more about the authors we read. . .

 

Why do you write the genre that you write?
I write in a few different genres but I gravitate back to Cozies because I like the story telling feeling or vibe I get from it. The feeling of community/family within the book and the idea that my protagonist doesn’t have to be a specialist to be able to help. In the An It’s Never Too Late series, I selected the 1970s specifically because Katelyn Took can’t google the answer. She has to go out and look, drive, call, investigate, and thereby be seen sticking her nose into it.

What’s the quirkiest quirk one of your characters has?
Katelyn Took believes she has no talent or knowledge, that she’s uneducated, yet, she’s a scratch cook, bakes, understands animal husbandry, and has the ability to take from her own mistakes and pass the information without sounding like she’s preaching.

How did you come up with your pseudonym?
I write under my own name, though I will be changing my Thrillers to J. Rachael Thoms so I don’t freak out the people reading the Cozies. It’s a name my daughter came up with.

Tell us how you got into writing?
Writing was like drawing or painting, an art form. I could feel my arm swirling, dancing. It was inevitable that words made sentences, made paragraphs, and in my case depictions that got me in a lot of trouble. I started writing in the long form, books, in the late sixties. For years, hand written manuscripts have lived in banana boxes under my bed. In 1998, I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and given a short time. When I was at my lowest Dr. Thomas Roland asked me what I really wanted to do. I told him about all those stories, he challenged me. When I was in recovery, I started doing research on how to publish I book. I learned by the seat of my pants, and with the generous gift of knowledge from other writers.

What jobs have you held before, during and/or after you became a writer?
I’ve had a lot of odd jobs, along side some more intense long-term ones. As a single mom and sole support, I rarely worked one job at a time. I’ve driven hack, delivered cremated remains, done foster care, senior care, worked for the government firing people, waited table forever, worked with animals, chopped pulp for Great Northern Paper. I’m a heavy equipment operator with a CDL license. I can do finish grade work, drive a skidder, cook, park a big rig, shoot, and gut what I tag.

How many books do you have published?
15

Where do you write?
I write anywhere I am and have a few minutes. I carry small notebooks, pens, will stop on the side of the highway, at conventions, doctors’ offices, in the bathroom. It doesn’t matter. If I feel a word needs to be put down, I write.

What is your favorite deadline snack?
Pepperjack cheese and Ritz crackers.

Who is an author you admire?
There are a lot, but the two that stand out as exciting me are Victoria Holt and Dashiell Hammett.

What’s your favorite genre to read?
I’ll read anything at least once. I like the older detective style books, cut to the chase police procedurals, and often times, light-weight cozies.

What are you reading now?
I just finished the Inspector Gamache/Louise Penny series (again). And am delving into Bruce Coffin and Lyndee Walker/the Turner and Mosley files.

What is your favorite beverage to end the day?
Coffee. Black, no sugar.

What is next for you?
Book four in the An It’s Never Too Late series, Murder on the Small Farm is out June18. The first book in the Pig & I series, Snuffling Up Bones, is out October 22. I’m looking for a home for The Affiliate, and working on the second book in The Waif and Warlord fantasy series, Born of Stone.

Where can we find you?
My website is Donnaraemenardbooks.com. I’m on Facebook all the time, and if somebody wants to email me that’s fine. Put books in the subject line. menarddonnarae @ gmail . com.

 

Now to have some fun . . .

Chocolate, vanilla, or another flavor
Vanilla with a little splash of maple syrup or raspberry jam

Ice cream or cake
Cake

Fruits or vegetables
Fruit

Breakfast, lunch, or dinner
Lunch

Dining in or dining out
Dining in

City life or country living
Country

Beach or mountain
Beach

Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall
Fall

Extrovert or introvert
Extrovert

Early bird or night owl
Early bird

 

And even more fun . . .

What’s your favorite movie?
Aliens and Cowboys

You are stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves?
A cat, a sharp knife, a box with a long series of books.


My bio:
DonnaRae Menard began writing in junior high school and has been scribbling since. She is the author of Murder in the Meadow, 1970 cozy mystery series, In the Shadow of Pharoah, historical fiction series, The Morality Issue, The Waif and The Warlord, fantasy, Detective Carmine Mansuer series, set in Boston, Mass. Dropped from the Sky, It takes Guts, Willa the Wisp, and several short stories. She splits her time between Vermont and New Hampshire, has an affinity for odd jobs, rescued cats, and talking about her 450-pound lap pig.