Guest Author, Theresa McClinton

Today's guest author is Theresa McClinton.  Before we begin, here is a brief author bio on Theresa:

 A long time enthusiast of things that go bump in the night, Theresa started her writing career as a journalism intern—possibly the least creative writing field out there. After her first semester at a local newspaper, she washed her hands of press releases and features articles to delve into the whimsical world of young adult paranormal romance.

Since then, Theresa has gotten married, had three terrific kids, moved to central Ohio, and was repeatedly guilt tripped into adopting a menagerie of animals that are now members of the family. But don’t be fooled by her domesticated appearance. Her greatest love is travel. Having stepped foot on the soil of over a dozen countries, traveled to sixteen U.S. states—including an extended seven-year stay in Kodiak, Alaska—she is anything but settled down. But wherever life brings her, she will continue to weave tales of adventure and love with the hope her stories will bring joy and inspiration to her readers.

Welcome, Theresa and thank you for joining us this morning!  Please jump right in and tell us anything you'd like us to know about you, your life and your career.

Hi Marie! Thanks so much for inviting me to your blog today.

My name is Theresa McClinton. I’m twenty-seven years old, live in central Ohio with my husband, three kids, and cat, Pepper. Yes, I know. I've got a lot going on. On top of all the normal chaos in my house, I’m also a young adult paranormal romance writer. Actually, that’s the calm part of my life.

I was never a big reader. In fact, when I was a kid, I would much rather someone read to me, rather than on my own. Why? It was a combination of several factors. The main one was that we moved around so much in my childhood, I barely had enough time to adjust to one school before we packed our bags and relocated to another. This pattern left me with less motivation to pick up a book, because all those big words were just too intimidating. I’ll tell you a secret. To this day, I am a terrible speller. (Thank God for word processors!)

But when we did settle down, it was on the glorious island of Kodiak Alaska. See, when my mom married my amazing stepfather, he had been living on Kodiak for thirty plus years. So instead of staying in Washington, where we didn't really have any reason to dig in our heels and stick around, we relocated. By then, we were used to it.

Fast-forward seven years, and I just completed my freshman year of high school. Again, we move, this time to North Carolina. Here is where my interest in reading and writing really sprouted and bloomed.

I’ll never forget sitting in English class, listening to my teacher talk about the subtle undertones in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. My eyes suddenly opened, and for the first time in my life, I saw the true potential in books.

Not just books, but stories. Epic ones. Stories so submerging, you forget to eat. Books that force you bring it to the bathroom because you can’t bear to set it down, but you really have to go! Stories that not only kept you completely entwined, but emotionally invested. I learned to love books, their characters, their stories, and I learned how to care if one of them was in pain. In fact, with some really fantastic stories, I've hurt with them.

Fast forward another two years, and I’m tearing through novels. Now I’m involved with my high school newspaper, The South Wind. Not only involved, but I’m a features editor and features reporter. Another year later, I applied for an internship at our local newspaper.

With my hopes high and my ears more wet than a baby seal, I waltzed into the newspaper, ready to tackle the project of becoming a real life newspaper reporter; the one with scarlet red lipstick and six inch stilettos.

Too bad that once I was done with my internship, I loathed journalism. On my last day, I passed through the double doors, walked across their oddly set parking lot, unlocked my little Toyota, and made a decision.

No more editor-in-chief breathing down my throat, no more writing about things I was deathly bored with, no more being assigned projects. I was going rogue. I was going to write novels.

Eight years of a crazy life later, here I am! Self taught, motivated, and completely in love with what I do, I get to play with my kids during the day, and weave paranormal romance stories at night. It’s the best life I could ask for. 

Be sure to check out Theresa's new book, The Stone Guardian, coming out this month!  Also, here is a list of links for Theresa, including one for the video trailer she did for The Stone Guardian and a link to all of the video trailers she has produced for other authors as well.  Theresa  is responsible for our fabulous video trailer for The Kabrini Message...which we hope to soon update to include our release date and cover photo!

Theresa's Links:

            Facebook:  www.facebook.com/theresamcclinton.author

Twitter:  Twitter:  www.twitter.com/t_mcclinton

            Pinterest:   www.pinterest.com/theresayaauthor

            Website:  www.theresamcclinton.com

Video Trailer for The Stone Guardian:  www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fN1JvOOntWw

All of Theresa's Videos:  www.youtube.com/user/100tmcclinton?feature=watch