A Bookish Conversation with Shawn M. Beasley, Author of Killing the Rougarou @mamashawbeasl1

“Being from South Louisiana, you hear a lot of folklore. You never actually believe the old tales. You pass the stories on down to your babies and so on. You never quite believe in them until you meet a monster. Maybe then, you wonder: Could these stories be true?”

--From Killing the Rougarou by Shawn M. Beasley

Author Shawn Beasley was born and raised in small town Louisiana. She has a BSRN and has traveled the world only to return to the same small town where she was raised. Shawn has three grown children, one girl and two sons. She lives with her oldest son and grandson and has three other grandchildren that she adores. She has two fur babies, Pete and Taz. Killing the Rougarou is her debut novel and is the first book in a series of five. She is a member of Romance Writers of America.

Book Description:

Author Shawn Beasley captivates readers with the enthralling saga of two southern families-the Gauthiers from the South Louisiana bayou country and the Thomases from rural Texas-and the nightmare that will ultimately touch them both. In her sweeping and richly evocative novel, Beasley unfolds two remarkable family histories, populated by unforgettable, deeply human characters, and then rocks their worlds with tragedy and true horror. A novel that succeeds brilliantly on many levels, Killing the Rougarou is, at once, moving and terrifying, tense and thrilling, while capturing the sights, sounds, and vibrant life of Louisiana's Cajun country and Brazos County, Texas.

Interview:

Welcome Shawn! Your book, Killing the Rougarou, sounds absolutely thrilling! For those
not familiar, can you explain what a Rougarou is?

Shawn: A rougarou is the Cajun werewolf.

Killing the Rougarou is your first novel in a five part series. How long did it take you to complete this first one and have you started on the others yet?

Shawn: It has taken me a little over 31/2 years to get to where I am now. I am working on 6 stories now. Four are with the series.

Can you tell us a little about the main characters?

Shawn: James and Cat are the main characters in this story. James is a Cajun beauty and is a little off-balance due to the vicious attack on her as a small child. Cat is the typical alpha male until he meets her.

They say all books of fiction have at least one pivotal point where the reader just can’t put the book down. Can you tell give us one of the pivotal points in your book?

Shawn: I think one of the pivotal points in this story is; when her daddy sees her in the hospital for the first time after the attack.

Can you explain to us why it was important for you to write your story?

Shawn: I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. It took a while but I did.

I noticed that you are a member of Romance Writers of America. Did being a member of this organization help with writing your series?

Shawn: Absolutely.

Final question (promise!): do you have any advice for the yet-to-be-published writers reading this?

Shawn: Breathe and write!