EQ Welcomes Romy Gemmell!

Exquisite Quills Welcomes Romy Gemmell for our Author Interview Series!

EQ: Welcome to EQ! Tell us a little bit about yourself!

Romy: Hi, thank you so much for allowing me to chat for a while! I’m a Scottish writer and author of published short stories, articles, children’s and adult novels. I’m also the mother of a grown-up son and daughter and happily married wife to a lovely husband who supports my writing. Lucky for me he’s been in the travel business most of his life, so we’ve had the opportunity to visit many wonderful places together. I’m now trying to write full-time as well as doing occasional talks and adjudications, in between all the coffees and chats with friends.

EQ: What has been the most exquisite moment of your life?

Romy: I think that has to be the birth of my first child, a son, many, many years ago. I was a fairly young married woman and took to motherhood right away. Having such an exquisite little life to care for changed our lives of course and I was happy to be a stay-at-home mum. The birth of my daughter two years later was equally exquisite, as I hadn’t realized I wanted the next to be a girl so much until she was born! I’m truly blessed to have two such wonderful grown-up children. The birth of my first grandchild last year was another exquisite moment!

EQ: What was your defining moment as a writer?

Romy: Although I wrote romantic teenage-type poetry in high school, I didn’t really begin writing anything else until the children were growing up. The real change came when I joined my local writing group after we moved house and I started writing fiction. My defining moment as a writer was attending the annual Scottish Association of Writers’ Weekend Conference for the first time, where I won the woman’s short story competition. The editor judging the award bought my story for his well-known women’s magazine. I wasn’t the only stunned face in the audience and it set me on my career as a published writer!

EQ: What are your top three guilty pleasures?

Romy: Chocolate – particularly a particular make of luxury chocolates here in the UK. I also adore thin, dark after dinner mints but I have to stay away from the nation’s favourite milk chocolate as the amount of fat and sugar it contains seems to be too addictive for me. I now try to eat very good quality dark chocolate with around 70% cocoa as that’s actually good for us (in moderation)!

Watching a good drama on TV. It’s a daily pleasure to sit down in the evening to watch a crime series, costume drama, or mystery. If there’s nothing worth watching on TV, I love a good film on DVD.

Putting on some upbeat music and dancing around the room. I’ve always loved dancing (and music) but don’t go to a class at the moment, so this is the next best thing. Fortunately, the room where I work is at the back of the house with only the hills beyond and the only audience is an occasional sheep or cow on the other side of the fence!

EQ: Tell us a little bit about your most recent release.

Romy: My new release, Midwinter Masquerade, is a full length historical novel set in Scotland in 1816. Although it’s during the Regency era, it begins in Edinburgh then most of the story takes place in the Scottish countryside.

Young widow Lady Lenora Fitzallan accepts an invitation to the estate of Edward Montgomery, the man she once thought to marry seventeen years previously. Accompanied by her godmother, Lady Pettigrew, Lenora forms a friendship with Edward’s young niece and ward, Annabelle, who has a propensity for getting into scrapes and falling in love with the wrong man. In the days leading up to the Masquerade Ball on the Winter Solstice, unexpected guests arrive and family secrets are revealed. It is only when the past is revealed and the real villain is unmasked, that Lenora must decide where and with whom her future now lies.

Get to know more about Romy Gemmell and Midwinter Masquerade

Midwinter Masquerade is available from Amazon US:  http://www.amazon.com/Midwinter-Masquerade-Romy-Gemmell-ebook/dp/B00G4DNG7G 

And in all e-formats through Tirgearr Publishing: http://www.tirgearrpublishing.com/authors/Gemmell_Romy/midwinter-masquerade.htm

Website: www.rosemarygemmell.com

Main Blog: http://ros-readingandwriting.blogspot.com

Twitter: @rosemarygemmell

The Genesis of a Book - Ivorie's Surprise by Skye Michaels

 

Ivorie's Surprise by Skye Michaels

Blurb - Golden Dolphin One

When the Devereau brothers, members of the BDSM club known as Le Club Laurel Oak–Ocala, buy a super yacht named the Golden Dolphin for the purpose of around-the-world BDSM cruises, they hire the Greek captain, Constantine Cortelis, and Alexander Dragados as chief mate.  The Golden Dolphin BDSM club is to be run by Gregory Dempsey and Natasha Romanova from LeClub Beaudelaire–New Orleans.

Billionaire businessman, Drew Blessingame, has a less than pleasant personality in his dealings with his office staff.  After having recently broken his engagement with socialite, Eugenia Cartwright, he decides not to cancel his cruise aboard the luxurious three-hundred foot super yacht.  Drew takes one of his executive assistants, Ivorie James, with him on the cruise.  Ivorie would rather go to the dentist than spend three weeks on a ship with Drew Blessingame.  But a miracle happens.  Drew becomes human, and Ivorie becomes smitten.  When Drew’s ex-fiancé, Eugenia, realizes she made a huge tactical error in letting Drew get away, she decides to get him back at any cost – even if that means getting rid of Ivorie.  Can Ivorie survive Eugenia’s machinations, and can Drew overcome his doubts about his lack of good judgment and make a commitment to Ivorie before it’s too late?

Inspiration for Ivorie’s Surprise

I wish I knew where ideas come from.  If I did I would bottle it.  Sometimes just paging through a magazine and admiring the beautiful couples in the perfume ads, listening to a song on the radio, or driving around a beautiful area (like the downtown historic district of Ocala) can spark an idea.  Then the people are kind of in my head for a while as an idea for a story starts to take shape.

When I start a new book, I may only have a sentence or two in my mind as to what it’s about.  A girl goes on a singles cruise with her girlfriend and sees the guy who stood her up on prom night.  She has changed and he doesn’t recognize her (Casssandra’s Revenge – Book 4 of the Golden Dolphin Series coming out in November). 

When I start I have no idea where the story is going.  I just start writing:  Chapter One, and go from there.  I may get hung up along the way and slow down, but the story just keeps coming on its own.   If I’m  stuck, I may talk it out with my sister or daughter and they will make suggestions.    I have written eleven (and one-half – LOL)  books without ever doing an outline, but everyone works differently.  I may not spend the time on an outline, but I will spend it while writing.  Someone else may have the whole story outlined in detail and then just write.

I like doing a series.  You get to keep in touch with characters you have made a connection with.  My first, the LeClub Series  published by Siren Publishing, ended up to be six books set in the historic district of downtown Ocala, Florida.  They all have a horse background which is my personal favorite thing.  My second, the Golden Dolphin Series, is a spin off of LeClub, as one of my people in the first series purchased a 300 foot mega yacht and that is the background for the new stories.  It allows me to keep in touch with my favorite characters from the first stories while broadening my canvas with new people and locations.

I have to say to anyone who wants to write, just do it.  Start with “Chapter One” and go.  You can always go back and edit.  If you don’t start, you never will.  – Best of luck, Skye Michaels

http://www.bookstrand.com/ivories-surprise

 http://www.amazon.com/Ivories-Surprise-Dolphin-Publishing-ebook/dp/B00BIN9PIG/ref=sr_1_12?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1379530007&sr=1-12&keywords=skye+michaels

Other books by Skye Michaels available on Bookstrand.com, Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com:

The LeClub Series:  Calleigh’ Collar, Kelly’s Challenge, Anne’s Courage, Paula’s Commitment, Madison’s Choice and Belinda’s Crown

The Golden Dolphin Series:  Ivorie’s Surprise, Harper’s Submission, Violette’s Vibrato, and coming soon:  Cassandra’s Revenge and Pandora’s Box

The Horsemen Series:  The Appearance of Impropriety

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/SKYEMICHAELSBOOKS for covers and first chapters

E-MAIL:  SKYEMICHAELSBOOKS@YAHOO.COM

First Kiss Wednesday

Kisses are the mainstay of romance writing.  No matter how sweet or spicy our stories are, they usually involve at least a kiss or two.  And the first kiss is especially lovely - that first, soft touch of lips - or perhaps the kiss is fierce and hungry.  Maybe the characters murmur words of love or words of teasing while discovering the texture and taste of each other.  Maybe the only sounds they can emit are gentle, timorous moans or deep, throaty groans.

 

Okay, now that we've set the premise, here's what you can do for First Kiss Wednesdays.  In the comment box, give us a maximum of 300 words of the first kiss of a published work or a work-in-progress and one link to your website or blog or Amazon Author Page. 

 

Read and luxuriate in the glories of the first kiss...

Oh, and lips only...  ;-)

Set the Scene in Six Sentences - Sunday

One of the finest aspects of fiction writing is the ability to set the scene.  Characters act and react, but they don't do so in a vacuum.  In their world, they meet, fall in love, solve problems, sometimes horrendous problems.  Maybe it's a small town, maybe the big city, the green, humid jungle, dust-dry desert, a mountainous region.  On the sea.  Under the sea.  In space! 

Setting the scene is also done by using character dialogue to paint a picture of loveliness, danger, evil, trepidation, excitement, awe...

Give us six sentences that set the scene.  Set the Scene in Six Sentences - Sunday is a new opportunity on the Exquisite Quills! Blog to tout your talent.  How have you set the scene in your books?  How have you put the reader into the life of your characters?

Every Sunday, the blog will be open to six-sentence scene-setting.  Just post your six sentences, your name, and one link in the comment box.  We can't wait to read you!

Pass the word!  Open to all!