Interview with Mercedes Yardley
The Blog Ring of Power Presents...
An Interview with Author Merecedes M. Yardley
Today we have an interview with author Mercedes M. Yardley. This is another one of those cases where I had been seeing a book all over the blog-o-sphere that captured my attention. I love the cover of this book! So I reached out to Mercedes to see if I could lure her onto the BRoP, and here she is. Welcome Mercedes! Feel free to leave a comment or question for Mercedes below, and when you're done here, pop on over to the other BRoP sites to read the rest of the interview.
BRoP: Tell us about your early works—what was the first thing you ever wrote?
Mercedes: I wrote stories in elementary school. I remember reading them to the class and entering writing contests. But the first piece I sold as an adult was a flash fiction piece called “Show Your Bones.” It was a story talking about the beauty culture in contemporary society. I’m still proud of it.
BRoP: When did you first consider yourself a professional writer?
Mercedes: Oh my goodness! My first thought was, “I don’t know if I do.” But I think that time for self-doubt has passed. I always thought that when I sold a piece for money, I’d feel like a pro. And then it was when I got an agent. That happened, but I still felt new. Then I thought it I’d feel like a professional writer when I sold my first book, or my first series. I just debuted my first novel and series, and I quit the magazine I was working for in order to dedicate myself to being a full-time novelist. You know what? I think I’m a professional writer.
BRoP: What genre do you write?
Mercedes: I write dark fantasy and whimsical horror. Fairytales with a high body count, mostly. Beautiful, dark things.
BRoP: What is your favorite theme/genre to write about?
Mercedes: I love to write about monsters who love. I really like to take terrible characters, like Jack the Ripper and other serial killers, and see if I can make them sympathetic. I love to explore broken characters and see if I can find a way to make them whole. Hold them tight enough that maybe their shattered pieces fuse back together. Or I let them be the monsters they are. It depends how the story goes.
BRoP: If you couldn’t be an author, what would your ideal career be?
Mercedes: Ideally, I always wanted to act or do voiceover work. I thought that would be a lot of fun. I’m delving into narrating audiobooks now, and that’s immensely fulfilling. It’s like combining both of those loves!
What format is your book(s) available in (print, e-book, audio book, etc.)?
Both
Where can readers can stalk you:
Blog | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter | Amazon Author Page | Ragnarok Publications
MERCEDES M. YARDLEY wears stilettos, red lipstick, and poisonous flowers in her hair. She likes to do a little bit of everything, and writes dark fantasy, horror, nonfiction, and poetry. Mercedes minored in Creative Writing and worked as a contributing editor for Shock Totem Magazine. She is the author of the short story collection Beautiful Sorrows, the novella Apocalyptic Montessa and Nuclear Lulu: A Tale of Atomic Love and her debut novel Nameless: The Darkness Comes, which is the first book in THE BONE ANGEL TRILOGY. She often speaks at conferences and teaches workshops on several subjects, including personal branding and how to write a novel in stolen moments. Mercedes lives and works in Sin City, and you can reach her at www.mercedesyardley.com.
NAMELESS: Luna Masterson sees demons. She has been dealing with the demonic all her life, so when her brother gets tangled up with a demon named Sparkles, ‘Luna the Lunatic’ rolls in on her motorcycle to save the day. Armed with the ability to harm demons, her scathing sarcasm, and a hefty chip on her shoulder, Luna gathers the most unusual of allies, teaming up with a green-eyed heroin addict and a snarky demon ‘of some import.’
After all, outcasts of a feather should stick together...even until the end.
GET IT NOW:
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble
This is part one of a five-part interview. Be sure to check out the other BRoP sites for the rest of the interview:
Part 2 @ T.W. Fendley
Part 3 @ Emily LaBonte
Part 4 @ Sandra Ulbrich Almazon
Part 5 @ Vicki Lemp Weavil
The Blog Ring of Power (BRoP) is a consortium of five speculative fiction writers who have banded together to bring you highlights from the current speculative fiction market--news, reviews, and interviews with speculative fiction authors--with an emphasis on small-press and self-published authors. So grab a cup of coffee, pull up a chair, and relax. Have we got a story for you...