Author Friends: Leslie McAdam

Are you a panster or a plotter?

Plotter all the way. I tried writing a book once as a pantser. It wasn’t pretty, and I don’t have the patience to rewrite that much. I try to get it as well-written as I can the first time around, which requires a lot of planning.

Do you believe in Writer’s Block? If so, how do you kick its arse?

No. I don’t. Normally the problem is in thinking, not in writing. But since I think while writing, it’s the same thing for me. If I need to write, “I need to write, I need to write, I need to write,” I’ll do that. Sometimes the pump needs priming, so I’ll just write junk until I get the word count down and then I try another day.

What book is your comfort read on a bad day? The one you go back to reread over and over.

Only one? A House Like A Lotus by Madeline L’Engle. Followed closely by anything by Kristen Ashley or R.L. Mathewson.

Describe your perfect writing space:

Not interrupted every minute by my kids.

No, seriously, I can write almost anywhere. Normally, I’m in an ugly, old, pink armchair that has seen better days with a lap desk and my laptop. But I like coffee shops, too. Or the side of the road with a notebook and pencil.

Do you write your title first or story first?

Nearly always the title. I often construct a story based on the title.

And lastly, write a one or two paragraph flash fiction inspired by the last photo or text you got on your phone:

Well. Just because Facebook kicked him off for nudity didn’t mean it was wrong. His body? One to worship. Lean, sinewy muscles backed with strength and power. Soft, tan skin. A few tattoos based on stories he’d never tell. He wasn’t about to go down fighting. He’d start his own website, more popular than anything on social media. If only he could get the funding.

Thankfully his best friend was a venture capitalist wanting to expand into new areas. Unfortunately he was also the brother of the only girl he’d ever loved…and lost.

Bio

Leslie McAdam is a California girl who loves romance, Little Dude, and well-defined abs. She lives in a drafty old farmhouse on a small orange tree farm in Southern California with her husband and two small children. Leslie always encourages her kids to be themselves – even if it means letting her daughter wear leopard print from head to toe. An avid reader from a young age, she will always trade watching TV for reading a book, unless it’s Top Gear. Or football. Leslie is employed by day but spends her nights writing about the men you fantasize about. She’s unapologetically sarcastic and notoriously terrible at comma placement.

Always up for a laugh, Leslie tries to see humor in all things. When she’s not in the writing cave you’ll find her fangirling over Beck, camping with her family, or mixing up oil paints to depict her love of outdoors on canvas.