Sherry is giving away a hand crafted book thong to one commenter here today and a hand crafted selenite pendant to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour -- it's an international giveaway, folks, so no matter where you live, you're eligible to win!
Sherry graciously answered all my questions, so sit back and get to know a really neat lady.
Why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?
I have always loved romances, whether it be Cinderella, Romeo and Juliet, or just all the romance books I acquired growing up. My books are friends, and I always want the best for my friends, which pretty much excludes anything that fails to offer a HEA ending. I also enjoyed reading detective stories, and some tales of mystery, but romance stories took me to exotic and foreign climes, and introduced me to professions and jobs I’d never heard of.
When I started writing, I assumed my stories were contemporary romance, but so many people talked about how much they enjoyed the suspense in my stories, I had to take another look at what I wrote. It made me take stock and experiment. After all if I was already writing suspense without knowing, what other genre within the romance umbrella could I have a stab at? From Now Until Forever, book one of the Gasquet Princes series, intermingles suspense and action with romance, while with His Chosen Bride, the 2nd book in the four book Gasquet Princes series focuses more on internal challenges and dialogue, plus a dash of paranormal. While books three and four in the series are still in progress, action and adventure seems to predominate. I have also just completed a Regency romance which has a projected release date of August.
What research is required?
Since research is not my strong point—I get so frustrated when I fail to come up with answers to what seem to me like pertinent questions that I allow myself to become easily distracted with other topics! Mind you, I have often discovered another and quite unrelated use for some of that research at other times, so perhaps I should quit feeling so frustrated with research!
If I encounter circumstances that I cannot get round without detailed research then I get stuck in, as was the case with the method of the hero and heroines’ escape in From Now Until Forever. In His Chosen Bride, I had to ensure the timing for the hero’s brush with death was absolutely accurate; in this instance there was no room for author license about the survival time when the hero, Prince Henri became lost in a snow blizzard.
Name one thing you learned from your heroine.
In From Now Until Forever, Melanie, the heroine was such a surprise, I’d never met anyone like her so was constantly amazed how her story simply flowed onto the pages. In His Chosen Bride, I deliberately wanted a completely different type of heroine for Henri, and Monica ‘arrived’ before I even knew she was going to be Henri’s heroine. While Monica may show the world a placid face, beneath the surface she has had to become strong enough to survive the knocks life’s thrown at her, and thus makes her an ideal wife for the eldest princely brother.
Any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?
I don’t know that I’d say it is either interesting or quirky; I’d say it is more ‘irritating.’ I find I can write for days, sometimes weeks, at a certain time of day, then just as suddenly my routine is thrown and I find myself writing at another time altogether. As if that wasn’t annoying enough, there are times when writing becomes a succession of pages filled with gobbledygook and I sometimes begin to wonder whether I’ll ever string two intelligent sentences together again!
Plotter or pantser?
For my sins, I’m a pantser. Most of the time that’s wonderful, but there are times—when the muse takes a hike—I wish I’d plotted my story out sufficiently to manage to continue writing something worthwhile. :-)
Look to your right – what’s sitting there?
To my right is a pile of papers and a calendar, plus a book I started reading then had to abandon because of other commitments. There’s also a box of business cards which, because there is no space on the shelf where they should go, is still sitting on my desk. Behind all that is my printer. On the wall behind that is a photograph of a wild squirrel that had great fun taming us and gave us hours and hours of pleasure.
Anything new coming up from you? What?
I have a full-length Regency romance novel coming out later this year, and another to complete before the autumn/fall, as well as books three and four in the Gasquet princes series, plus another novella which may end up as an unexpected fifth book in the series or a spin-off in its own right. So for the time being I’m quite busy. :-)
Do you have a question for our readers?
Oh, thank you for this opportunity. Yes please. If a favourite author switches sub-genre would the reader follow them and give the new title a chance? (Such as - for example, Nora Roberts, romance author and J. D. Robb crime/suspense author.)
For Prince Liam, families meant bad news, unwanted commitments, and the loss of his personal freedom. Love spawned white picket fences, slippers at the hearth with a wife and kids making demands, so why did those images disappear when he met Melanie Babcot?
Melanie Babcot fought hard to escape the horrors of her youth and vowed to remain single and free, so when paid to protect Prince Liam from insurgents why did her personal pledge fly out the window?
Prince Henri Gasquet is happy to let his father, the king, choose his bride for him until he meets Monica Latimer.
Monica Latimer is not prepared to risk letting any man close enough to learn about her Gift. A gift that normally has men running for the hills when they find out about it.
EXCERPT “From Now Until Forever”:
Liam Fitzwilliam Gasquet stared in amazement at the blooming patch of red milliseconds before the pain exploded in his arm. Some trigger-happy idiot had fired in his direction. Indignation didn’t have time to take root before another bullet kicked the dust at his feet.
Not ‘trigger-happy’.
Intentional.
The rebels had found the fourth and youngest son of Jean-Phillipe Gasquet, ruler of the tiny kingdom adjacent to the Swiss border. When had they discovered his whereabouts?
With a reluctant sigh, he faced the truth of it. They hadn’t ‘found’ him at all. They’d followed him.
Multi-published author, Sherry Gloag is a transplanted Scot now living in the beautiful coastal countryside of Norfolk, England. She considers the surrounding countryside as extension of her own garden, to which she escapes when she needs "thinking time" and solitude to work out the plots for her next novel. While out walking she enjoys talking to her characters, as long as there are no other walkers close by.
Apart from writing, Sherry enjoys gardening, walking, reading and cheerfully admits her books tend to take over most of the shelf and floor space in her workroom-cum-office. She also finds crystal craft work therapeutic.
http://www.sherrygloag.com/
http://sherrygloagtheheartofromance.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=689789287
Buy Links for “From Now Until Forever”:
Astrea Press
Amazon.com
Barnes and Noble
Buy Links for “His Chosen Bride”:
Astrea Press
