Start the week with...KAYLIN McFARREN

Bile rose in Kate’s throat. Her eyelids became as heavy as velvet curtains preparing to drop at the end of a show. Holding the edge of her dresser to steady her balance, she focused on the necklace she’d laid out before showering. She picked up the thin gold chain and clasped the locket in her hand, tighter and tighter, as if meshing the keepsake into her skin could bring her mother back to help her through this.

“Kate?”

She heard Drew calling, his voice distant, searching for her in a deep mineshaft. Her mouth opened to answer, but no sound followed. Perhaps she didn’t want to be found.

She tried again to speak, but the sensation of hot tears streaking her face intruded on her effort. The protective wall surrounding her soul had split in two. A lifetime of denied emotion had broken through the dam, and there was no holding back the flood.

“Daddy, please, not yet,” she whispered then crumpled to the floor, wilting like a rose in her mother’s forsaken garden.
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You just read an excerpt from:
FLAHERTY'S CROSSING
by
Kaylin McFarren

Buy Link: Champagne Books
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Linda Kage: Today, we're visiting with publishing author, Kaylin McFarren. Hey, Kaylin! Why don't you tell us a little about you and what you write please.

Kaylin: Thanks for asking, Linda. I've had many career opportunities and adventures - modeling, interior design, real estate sales, business and personal writing projects - even the role of director for a fine art gallery, where I assisted many visual artists in furthering their careers and gaining recognition. But after spending many years in public relations and fulfilling the needs of my growing children, I decided it was time to focus my creative energy toward writing inspirational and romantic suspense novels, and in the process assumed the name of Kaylin McFarren.

Kage: What happened to the first book you ever wrote?

Kaylin: Well fortunately, Flaherty's Crossing was published...but not without an upward battle. It crossed a few genres – making it a difficult book to place with a large house. At first I took the rejections as reflections on my writing skills, then I realized although they didn’t accept it, I was receiving a great deal of praise from publishers via personal notes and emails.

Rather than hold back to see what might happen way down the road or completely reinvent the novel based on suggestions I didn’t feel were true to the core of my story, my daughter Kristina McMorris encouraged me to take hold of the reins. I pursued smaller houses, where they are more open to books that are out-of-the-box. Fortunately, Flaherty’s Crossing found a wonderful home at Champagne Books.

Kage:What’s your backlist and coming soon bookshelf look like?

Kaylin: My most recent release is titled Flaherty's Crossing - a highly-acclaimed, roller-coaster kind of story with fun twists and turns and the most-unexpected ending.

I'm also completing an action-filled trilogy with the first book titled Severed Threads, and should anyone be interested, here's the jest of this story: Believing herself responsible for her father's fatal diving accident, Rachel Lyons has withdrawn from the world and assumed a safe position at a foundation office. When called upon by a museum director to assist her former love interest with the recovery of a priceless artifact from a sunken galleon, she has no intention of cooperating - until her brother is kidnapped by a drug-dealing gangster. In order to save him and gain control over her own life, Rachel must not only overcome her greatest fears, but also relive the circumstances that lead to her father's death.

Kage: Which story are we going to talk about today?

Kaylin: Flaherty's Crossing, which was published by Champagne Books in February 2010, is about a woman's journey to find faith and forgiveness. In short, an estranged father's dying confession opens a vault of dark family secrets, shocking revelations that threaten all his daughter holds dear.

This book has earned more than a dozen literary awards and was a 2008 finalist in the prestigious RWA® Golden Heart contest. In addition, all proceeds earned from the sale of this book go directly to cancer research at Providence Medical Center. So anyone can make a difference.

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FLAHERTY'S CROSSING
by
Kaylin McFarren

Successful yet emotionally stifled artist Kate Flaherty stands at the deathbed of her estranged father, conflicted by his morphine-induced confession of his part in her mother’s death. While racing home, Kate’s car mishap leads her to a soul-searching discussion with a lone diner employee, prompting Kate to confront the true reasons her marriage hangs in the balance. When her night takes an expected turn, however, she flees for her life, a life desperate for faith that can only be found through her ability to forgive.
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Kage: What would the story be rated if it were a movie?

Kaylin: I would venture to say PG-13, although Hollywood could easily turn it into an R. :D And by the way, a great screenplay for Flaherty's Crossing has already been completed by an award-winning screenwriter in L.A. Several producers have expressed interest, so fingers crossed....

Kage: If you HAD to fit this story into a cliché, which one would it be?

Kaylin: Hmm...Flaherty's Crossing is a bit unusual, so I guess I'd have to take a stab in the dark and say secret romance meets whodunit.

Kage:Okay, now that we have a general idea which class to fit FLAHERTY'S CROSSING under, what makes this book so unique from every other book out there?

Kaylin: In actuality, Flaherty's Crossing was based on my personal account. Eighteen years ago, following my father’s death, I found myself obsessed with sitting in front of a typewriter, coming to terms with unresolved issues by banging on keys. This silent venting became a sort of “therapy through writing” exercise. However, this exercise slowly evolved, taking on a life of its own. I began creating a related fictional story about a woman’s personal journey, and in the process of exploring my main character’s growth, I found myself learning and growing as well.

Eventually, I came to believe I had a meaningful story to tell, one through which I could possibly touch other people who shared the same complicated family relationships – and maybe even make a difference in their lives. Yet I still struggled with bringing this tale to a close. It wasn’t until my eldest daughter provided her amazing writing insight that I finally came to realize why I struggled with the ending, for both the book and my father’s passing: the true resolution didn’t rest in holding onto the past; it came from opening my mind to future possibilities and honoring him – not only by setting this story free, but by becoming the professional storyteller that had been hiding in my genes.

Kage:What was the easiest part to write?

Kaylin: I love voices, so I would have to say dialog. I love growing characters and bringing them to life and have discovered that personal exchanges and inner conversations often reveal more than the action taking place in the story.

Kage:What do you like most about the main character(s) and what do you like least? Did you learn anything from them?

Kaylin: Kate Flaherty is a complex character - an attractive 30ish artist, whose talent has brought her success and national acclaim. Her inner strength, determination and resilience are her greatest assets. In other words, her ability to hang on when everything in her life is falling apart. But Kate is also emotionally stunted and her damaged past is affecting her relationships and any future she hopes to have with her husband. Her personal journey in this book taught me to recognize that there are two sides to every story. That we can't move on in our lives unless we let go of the baggage we carry and finally, the importance of resolving issues before it’s too late.

Kage: Kaylin, Thank you so much for stopping by today and gracing us with your presence. Before we go, is there anything else you’d like to say to wrap things up?

Kaylin: It is my hope that anyone who has experienced relationship problems or has lost a loved one will consider picking up a copy of Flaherty's Crossing. I guarantee that this suspenseful story will touch your heart, and as USA Today best-selling author Joy Nash has written... ultimately soul-satisfying.

If you're still curious about Kaylin, here are other places to find heron the web:

Website: http://www.kaylinmcfarren.com/entry.php

Blog: http://kaylinmcfarren.wordpress.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kaylin.mcfarren

Twitter: http://twitter.com/4kaylin

Goodreads: Kaylin McFarren

Amazon: Kaylin McFarren's Amazon Author Page