1) What is the best and worse thing you have learned from an
editor/agent?
The best thing I’ve learned from an editor
is the cleaner my copy is and the more concise my story, the easier it is on
everyone. My editor likes me better when I make her job easier, and I want her
to like me a lot because it’s good when editors like their authors.
2) What is your typical day?
I get up at 6:30 and have breakfast with my
husband. I catch up on some PR before he leaves for work. On Mondays and
Wednesdays I go to the gym. If the weather’s nice I’ll walk in the mornings.
Ideally I write the rest of the day. If I’m
editing, that means I’m working on the second draft. If I’m doing the whole
thing out loud, that means I’m on the final pass through before I send it out
the door.
Sometimes though, the time has to be spent
in PR, writing blog posts, doing social media, making sure my posts, latest
work, latest events are being promoted, keeping my websites and fan pages up to
date. If I’m preparing for a blog tour for a new release, then there are at
least a half a dozen blog posts to write.
When I break for lunch, I read for a while.
When I’m pushing a deadline that’s about the only time I get to read.
My husband walks the 40 minutes from his
office home, so when I know he’s coming, I start dinner. I’m not a foodie, so
it’s simple, but fresh. We don’t do pre-packaged. We eat lots of fruit and veg,
much of which we grow ourselves, and we share the cooking on weekends.
After dinner if I’m pushing a deadline,
I’ll write until bedtime. If I’m not, we’ll both catch up on a bit of work and
then watch a DVD. We go to bed around 11:30.
3) What do you read while in the midst of a project? Or don’t you?
I have very little time to read when I’m in
the midst of a project, but if I can sneak something in, I don’t like to read
anything I have to think very hard about, and really, it’s hard to concentrate
on anything but what I’m writing when I’m chasing a deadline. I like romance,
erotica, good sci fi, fantasy, a good thriller. I like anything that’s a good
escapist read.
4) What do you do with a paperback once you’ve read it?
It depends how much I liked it. If I love it, I keep it forever so I
can read it again and again. If it was good but I don’t love it, I usually try
to recycle it at a charity shop. I do most of my reading on my Kindle now, so
if I love a book I read on my Kindle, I buy the paperback version. If I don’t
then it never gets past its virtual bookshelf.
5) Are you nervous about friends reading your book?
I was in the beginning. I’m not so much anymore. I no longer ask
what they think. That gives them space so that if they didn’t like it, they
don’t have to worry about making me feel bad. And if they did, they’ll say
anyway. I know that not everyone likes the same thing and I have friends that I
wouldn’t even suggest my books to because it just wouldn’t be a good fit.
6) What things inspire you to write? Location, music, film or even in a
book?
Location inspires me a lot. My Lakeland Heatwave paranormal trilogy
was inspired by the fabulous times I’ve spent with my husband fell walking in
the English Lake District. My Executive Decisions trilogy was inspired by my
love of the Northwestern US and of Oregon in particular. I often get
inspiration on long walks. I call it walking a story. It’s amazing really how
much the imagination can assert itself when I’ve walked long enough to clear my
mind of all the stress and struggle of the day. Nature has always inspired me,
so a walk is the ideal way to get to the great story ideas. I also get inspired
in the vegetable garden. As I
said, my husband and I grow our own vegetables and there’s something about just
getting my hands in the earth that I find opens me up to all kinds of story
possibilities.
7) Share your blurb or short excerpt from your latest release with us
Blurb:
Successful NYC
gallery owner, Stacie Emerson, is ex-fiancée to one Thorne brother and ex-wife
to the other. Though the three have made peace, Ellison Thorne’s friend,
wildlife photographer, Harris Walker, still doesn’t like her. When Stacie
convinces Harris to exhibit his work for the opening of her new gallery she
never intended to include him in her other more hazardous plans. But when those
plans draw the attention of dangerous business tycoon, Terrance Jamison, Harris
comes to her aid. In the shadow of a threat only Stacie understands, can she
dare let Harris into her life and make room for love?
Excerpt:
Outside someone
shouted, ‘Hastings, check the crappers.’
Before Harris
knew what hit him, Stacie pulled him into the cubicle at the other end of the
row and locked the door behind him talking in a fast whisper. ‘Sorry about
this. Not very professional, I know, but I promised to do my best to keep us
out of jail, and I’m thinking groping in the ladies’ room’s not what this
raid’s all about.’ The words were barely out of her mouth before she launched
herself at him lips first. Damn it; he wanted to be mad at her. They were about
to go to jail, for fuck sake! But instead of giving her a piece of his mind, he
kissed her right back, hard, and felt her yield and open, and his tongue was in
heaven sparing with hers, tasting, testing, thrusting. He found himself hoping
that the inevitable arrest would wait until after he got his fill of Stacie
Emerson, and that could take a while. She felt way better than she had even in
his fantasies, and when his badly-behaving hands moved down to cup her
magnificent bottom and pull her closer, she returned the favor and gave his ass
a good grope. As though that gave him permission to explore, he slid anxious
fingers inside her trousers wriggling down past a miniscule thong to cup an
impossibly soft, impossibly firm buttock that gave a muscular clench in his
hand, forcing her hips forward until she couldn’t possibly miss the press of
his appreciative hard-on straining his jeans to get closer to her.
In the hall the
noise got louder and the door burst open.
She had just
managed a good firm stroke to the front of his trousers that had his full
attention and then some, when a heavy-handed knock on the door caused her to
yelp, and he nearly fell back onto the commode.
‘All right, you
two, tuck it in, and come on out.’
8) What’s next for you?
Right now I’m
writing another K D Grace novel called Fulfilling
the Contract, which is the sequel to my novel, The Initiation of Ms Holly.
I’m having a great time with it. It’s set in Vegas which is a city I
fell in love with when I was there for a writer’s convention several years ago.
It’s about as untypical a place for me to fall for as possible, and yet I adore
it, and I’ve loved writing a novel set there, especially when it continues the
fun romp of The Mount that began in Holly. It’s scheduled for release in
February.
Finish with
details of where readers can find you – website, Facebook, Twitter etc
Available from:
Author bio:
Grace
Marshall lives in South England with her husband and the growing gang of
hooligan birds who frequent their feeders. When Grace isn’t busy writing
something sexy and romantic, she’s busy digging in her ever-expanding veg
garden or walking across the British countryside. She finds inspiration
outdoors in nature, and most of her best story ideas come to her while she’s
walking or gardening.
Grace
is the author of the fast paced, quirky Executive Decisions Trilogy published
by Xcite Romance. All three novels are available now.
Grace
Marshall’s alter-ego, K D Grace, writes critically acclaimed, best-selling
erotic romance. Whether it’s sexy romance or romantic sex, between The Graces,
there’s a story for you.
Find Grace here:
Facebook
Page: http://www.facebook.com/GraceMarshallRomance
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/GM_RomanceComments??
