Interview With Author Heather McKenzie

Nocturne
Nightmusic Trilogy Book 2
by Heather McKenzie
Genre: YA Romance, Thriller, Suspense
I am hunted.
A pawn in a vicious game.
The only way I can protect the ones I love…
…is to disappear.
Finally free of her father, Kaya has the one thing that keeps her heart
beating-Luke.
Blissfully content in his arms, everything seems perfect…until their world is
shattered by a deadly invasion. When an old ally comes to the rescue,
Kaya wants none of it. She is devastated to learn the identity of her
attacker, and that she must do something truly heartbreaking if she
wants to save the ones she loves. Sacrificing everything and sinking
into bottomless sorrow, Kaya finds solace in an unlikely friend-one
who shows her a different kind of love, and helps her discover an
inner strength she never thought possible.
A heart-pounding journey of self-discovery, Nocturne is
the transformative second installment of
The Nightmusic Trilogy by Heather McKenzie.

INTERVIEW

Please describe what the story is about in one sentence.

This is Book Two of the Nightmusic Trilogy. The story continues with Kaya being forced to make a heart-breaking desicion to save the ones she loves.

Briefly, what led up to writing The Nightmusic Trilogy?

A career in music! I had been telling short stories through songwriting for a very long time and this just seemed to be the natural next step.

What inspired you to write The Nightmusic Trilogy?

I was in my local bookstore one afternoon with my daughter while she searched the Teen/Young Adult section in frustration. She didn’t want vampires, or witches, or dystopian worlds, she wanted a modern day adventure with characters that felt real. So, being the doting mother that I am, I started writing my first book for her. One month into the process, I dropped everything to focus entirely on learning how to write. I fell head over heels in love with this avenue of storytelling. Being a musician gave me many life experiences to pull from, and my love of teen fiction fueled the passion to forge ahead and get the story on paper. A love triangle, the romantic setting of the rocky mountains, the art of survival and a character whose strength builds with each page… it all began to come to life every time I sat down to write. I realized when I completed the first manuscript, that what I was essentially trying to get across to my daughter –through the magic of reading– was the understanding of true love; what it feels like and how you know when you’ve found it.  And, I am happy to say, that my knowledge of that is born of my own, real, experience.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

I have tried to touch lightly on the effects of chemicals on our bodies and bring to light the correlation between what we do to the earth, and how it ends up affecting us. We need to care for ourselves and our planet.

How much of the book is realistic?

I tried to make the book feel like it could actually happen. The characters are completely fictional, but the settings are not. Caves and underground hot springs and the castle in the mountains? All real. The Death Race that takes place every August in Grande Cache? Real. Beautiful one horse towns and yellow fields of flowers? Yup. Real too.

What are you reading now?

Everything written by Sarah J. Maas. She is amazing.

What are your current projects?

I have just finished book one of a new series of adult fiction that I am very excited about. It is about to enter the editing process. I am also close to finishing RHAPSODY, the third book in the Nightmusic Trilogy.

Where are you from?

Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA! I was born in the city, then moved to an acreage just outside it and lived an absolute fairy tale childhood in my own ‘castle’ until I left to join a rock band at and play professionally. Eventually I moved back, got married there, and got to watch my children have the same amount of happiness as I did in my childhood home.

Where do you write from?

A home office/recording studio with wall to wall books, pianos, and two old dogs sleeping at my feet.

What was the hardest part of writing?

Sitting for countless hours every day. I gained about fifty pounds and think I broke my butt at one point. But it was worth it.

Do you have any advice for other writers?

If you love it, it’s good. Take opinions with a grain of salt and trust your gut.

What do you do when you aren’t writing?

I am still actively involved in music, writing and being loud and aggressive with my band on weekends and recording whenever I can. I also teach classical piano and voice to youngsters one day a week, which is an incredibly rewarding experience. When I need peace and quiet– which is often– I paint.

Serenade
Nightmusic Trilogy Book 1
Kidnapped and held hostage in the Rockies, a teenage heiress falls for her
abductor while her corrupt father and devoted bodyguard fight to get
her back. The discovery of true love and dark family secrets turns
deadly in this epic coming of age adventure.
Kaya Lowen dreams of living like a normal eighteen-year old, but being
heiress to a billion-dollar company has put her life in constant
danger. Fiercely guarded by her powerful and corrupt father, she
develops close bonds with those who protect her, especially Oliver –
a bodyguard who has proven his devotion to her time and again. He
wins her heart – until a chance encounter with a mysterious stranger
has her questioning everything she believes in. Haunted by true love
and reeling from a guilty conscience, Kaya’s world unravels when
she’s kidnapped. Held captive in a rugged wilderness fraught with
raging storms, mystical caves and deadly predators, Kaya’s father
scours the forest and her bodyguard fights to get her back. But, the
discovery of a dark family secret makes Kaya wonder if staying in the
arms of her blue-eyed abductor-a captivating stranger with dark
secrets of his own – is a safer place to be. At least, that’s what
her heart is telling her, her head is saying run…
An epic adventure centered on a smoldering love-triangle, Serenade sings
a timeless tale of courage, self-discovery, and life-or-death love
that will leave you breathless.
**FREE at all retailers!!**
Heather McKenzie is the Canadian author of Serenade, book one of The
Nightmusic Trilogy. Also a professional singer/songwriter with five
albums to date, she has been telling stories through music for years
and pulls from her extraordinary experiences as a musician to fuel
her passion for creating Young Adult fiction. A rocker at heart, a
mom of three, an aspiring painter and a lover of animals, she is kept
grounded by her husband at their home in Edmonton.

Listen to a sample of Heather’s songs HERE:
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