Amelia Grey ~ Interview & New Release!
This week I am so so so excited to shine the spotlight on my dear friend Amelia Grey. Whoot! I first met Amelia in 2008 at the San Francisco RWA Conference, and we have been fast friends ever since. People with the depth of kindness, integrity, honesty, and loyalty such as Amelia possesses are rare in this world. I am truly blessed to call her my friend.
Now I am honored to welcome her to the blog today with a fun interview and a new novel to reveal. Yippee!
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Amelia Grey’s awards include the Booksellers Best, Aspen Gold, and the Golden Quill. Writing as Gloria Dale Skinner, she won the coveted Romantic Times Award for Love and Laughter and the prestigious Maggie Award. Her books have sold to many countries in Europe, Indonesia, Russia, and most recently to Japan. Several of her books have also been featured in Doubleday and Rhapsody Book Clubs. Amelia read her first romance book when she was thirteen and has been a devoted reader of love stories ever since. She is the author of twenty-five books. Happily married to her high school sweetheart for over thirty-five years, Amelia lives in Northwest Florida.
Visit Amelia on her website: AmeliaGrey.com and on Facebook at AmeliaGreyBooks
Q – What is your most difficult writing challenge on a daily basis?
A – Getting started by nine o’clock each day. I always want to but seldom do. I exercise, have a few household chores, emails, errands, phone calls. Seems that something is always keeping me from getting to my desk by nine sharp. I’ve tried getting up earlier but I just find more things to do to keep me from the computer until ten thirty or eleven.
Q – Do you have a favorite character or two amongst the many you have created?
A – The Duke In My Bed will be published January 2015. It’s the first book of my new trilogy The Heirs’ Club of Scoundrels. I love the heroine and hero in this book. She is mother to her four younger sisters who play a large role in the book. He is the only child of two only children so he didn’t even have cousins to play with when growing up. He doesn’t understand girls, sharing, or what it’s like to be part of a family. But through the heroine’s eyes, he learns how to love and how to let others love him.
Q – Have you learned to deal with the negativity, especially in reviews, or does it still bother you greatly?
A – Oh, yes it still bothers me to get a bad review. I just don’t fume for as long as I used to! I write what I love and I love everything I write so, of course, it bothers me when someone doesn’t love my work like I do.
Q – Give us five words that best describe your author brand.
A – Lighthearted. Emotional. Fast-paced. Sensual. Character-driven.
Q – What are your favorite books to read?
A – Romances. My favorite to read and I have never wanted to write any other kind of book.
Q – Where do you live now? What do you like and dislike about your part of the world?
A – I live in Northwest Florida and I love it. I was born here so even when I lived in Alabama, Connecticut, and New Hampshire I always felt like Florida was my home. I enjoyed life in those states but I knew I would come back to Florida one day. I prefer the heat to the cold and to me there is nothing more calming than looking at the beautiful Gulf of Mexico.
Amelia Grey … Off the Cuff!
Tea or Coffee…. coffee
Chick Flick or Mystery…. mystery
Beach or Mountains…. beach
Porsche or Silverado…. Porsche
Dog or Cat…. dog
Sunlight or Rain… sunlight
Waffles or Pancakes…. waffles
Optimist or Pessimist…. optimist
Target or Nordstrom…. Nordstrom
Star Wars or Star Trek…. Star Trek
Summer or Winter…. summer
Christmas or Halloween…. Christmas
Paperback or Kindle…. paperback
Daisy or Rose…. rose
Salad or French Fries…. french fries
Survivor or American Idol…. American Idol
Beer or Wine…. wine
Edward or Jacob…. Jacob
Forgive or Get Even…. forgive
Cake or Pie…. pie
Leather or Lace…. lace
Q – Do you have any favorite TV shows?
A – I actually love to watch college football and baseball during the seasons. I watch some professional teas as well. I’m not fond of thirty minute comedies, but I do enjoy all the CSI shows and the entertainment show like American Idol and The Voice. What I enjoy most are the miniseries or drams that are especially made for TV. Some I have enjoyed very much in the past are The Tudors, Rome, Game of Thrones, and Vikings. I could watch all of them again.
Q – Do you have a favorite place you have traveled to? Or perhaps a place you long to visit?
A – My husband and I LOVE to travel. Just this year we spent a month touring Australia and New Zealand which was an absolutely wonderful journey. We spent two weeks on a safari in Tanzania three years ago. Now that was a fabulous experience. We saw lions, cheetahs, elephants, and many other animals just walking the game preserve. I wish everyone could do it at least once. We’ve toured most of Europe, the Caribbean Alaska and Hawaii. Two areas we haven’t been in are Asia and South America and we hope to get to those places in the next five years.
Q – If you could rewrite any classic novel, and change a plot point or the ending to suit you, what would it be and what would you change?
A – Oh it would have to be GONE WITH THE WIND! I’m still shaking my head over why Scarlett wanted Ashley Wilkes. If I had written that book, it would have had a happy ending with Scarlet in Rhett’s bed.
Q – Do you have a favorite quote or inspirational saying?
A – Oh, yes. “To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under Heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1. This has been my favorite Bible verse for as long as I can remember. Our lives are made up of seasons; joy, anger, sadness, pain, love, hate, peace, and the list goes on. A saying that always makes me smile is from Santayana: The past is history. The future is a mystery. This moment is a gift. Which is why we call it the present.
Q – Do you have any tattoos? If you had to get a tattoo, what would it be and where would you place it?
A – I change my mind too often to get a tattoo. I would wake up one morning and be so mad with myself if I couldn’t wash it off and put on a different one! I can’t see me ever getting one, even if I had it put where I couldn’t see it. Besides, I’ve heard it hurts and I avoid pain.
Q – If you had a time machine, where would you go? Would you live there or just visit for a while?
A – I would definitely go to London during the Regency period, and I’d want it to be during the Season. I would absolutely love to see all the ladies’ sheer gowns, headpieces, and jewelry at a fabulous ball or dinner party. I’d want to dance with all handsome gentlemen. I’d also like to take a peek inside White’s and see what the gentlemen were doing when not playing cards, billiards, or having a brandy. I’d never want to live in that time period, but I’d love to visit for about twenty-four hours.
Q – What is your fashion or accessory weakness?
A – Shoes, shoes and more shoes. I love shoes with bows and peep-toes. Not big clown-looking bows but small delicate bows.
Q – Give us five words that best describe who you are.
A – Loyal. Kind. Fun. Feminine. Capable.
The Duke in My Bed
by Amelia Grey
HERE COMES THE GROOM
As a notorious member of the Heirs’ Club, Bray Drakestone can’t resist a challenge from one of his well-heeled colleagues—especially when it involves money and horses. But the friendly wager takes an unexpected and deadly turn. Bray is forced to agree to marry on of his challenger’s five sisters—sight unseen. Now gamblers all over London are placing bets on whether Bray will actually go through with it…
THERE GOES THE BRIDE
Miss Louisa Prim, the eldest sister, doesn’t care a whit what the reckless rogue at the Heir’s Club promised her brother—she has no intention of marrying the future Duke of Drakestone. Bray, however, sees her rejection as another challenge. He bets that the fiery Miss Prim will not only agree to marry him, she will propose to him! With four sisters behind her, Louisa knows she can’t lose. But why does her opponent have to be a divinely handsome scoundrel? And so sweetly, irresistibly seductive…
Great interview. I’m with you on the tattoo. My girls have one but I have not desire to have one of my own. What was your favourite part of your Australian trip Amelia?