Sarah McCarthy-Allen book cover collage

Sarah McCarthy-Allen Mixing Fantasy And Physics

Sarah McCarthy Allen McCarthy-Allen author writer Shadow Mage

Take one genre; there will be enough to talk about. Take a second genre and the same thing is true. Take two genres that are opposing, like fiction and non-fiction, then sometimes keep them separate and sometimes overlap them and the matrix of possibilities becomes multi-dimensional. So goes, or went, our conversation with Sarah McCarthy and Sarah Allen as we talked about her career steering through fiction titles and non-fiction titles, respectively. At least she kept the same first name for both.

Sarah has a degree in physics (impressive), has studied cognitive psychology (which would seem to help with characters), and now tutors physics students. And then on the fictional side of life; “Fantasy novels are basically goal-oriented extended camping trips and magic is just alternate-reality physics, so this worked out well”

Newtons Laws book Sarah McCarthy-Allen

Good luck guessing which is what with titles like, Newton’s Laws: A Fairy Tale (approachable non-fiction) and The Eidolons of Myrefall (fiction for sure.) And in both cases, check out her cover designs.

She not only is working in more than one genre, but also has a tendency to work in, or on, series as a soloist and in collaborations. 

Successful authors frequently are required to make the leap from introvert as a writer to extrovert as a business person. Sarah has managed to not so much leap as stretch from her introverted base to successfully conduct marketing and sales campaigns by using a few online tools very well. Her efficiency may also explain her productivity because a quick count of her titles suggests a publication rate of about one book per year, with hints that she may be able to do more.

book Sarah McCarthy-AllenAnd she’s not stopping. There are other series to write, and with each series it sounds like she is tutoring herself in how to become a career author.

Listen in. By the way, this podcast was recorded in a park with kids running around, parents on smartphones, and a gracious groundskeeper who saw our recording rig then steered away until we were done. Whidbey Island, a place where even landscapers support writers and authors.


Writing on Whidbey Island (WOWI) episode 37 – Sarah McCarthy/Allen – author of non-fiction and fiction, tutor of science


Links

  • Her fiction author page – Sarah McCarthy
  • Her non-fiction page – Sarah Allen
  • Her (ninja!) website – https://sarahmccarthy.ninja/

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