Telolet Apps: Q A with Maegan Beaumont!

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Q A with Maegan Beaumont!

This week, we sat down with Maegan Beaumont, author of the Sabrina Vaughn Novels. Her latest thriller, Promises to Keep, is out now!

Midnight Ink: How long have you been writing?

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.

Jade and Zoe

Sadie

Some of Maegans 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 saut�ed 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!