Grace Samuels Interview

1: What is the most productive time of the day for you to write?

Typically, my most productive time is early morning, EXCEPT when I’m writing. Mid-afternoon, for some oddball reason, seems to be the time when I accomplish the most when working on a manuscript.

2: Do you start your projects writing with paper and pen or is it all on the computer?

Definitely computer. I’ve tried writing on paper and the best I can accomplish is jotting notes (and lots of doodles), but put a computer in front of me and the beginning of a story will flow.

3: What do you draw inspiration from?

My background is archaeology. When I was a little girl, I wanted to be Indiana Jones. The civilizations of the past are my inspiration and prominently play in my work.

4: Do you set goals for yourself when you sit down to write such as word count?

I’m supposed to say yes to that, right?? It’s the smart, logical thing to do. Been there, done that and failed miserably. What seems to work best for me is to take my laptop, go sit outside in the sunshine or cuddle up on my sofa, anywhere other than my desk, and just type. The next thing I know, there are all these words neatly lined up in rows all across my computer screen. *grin*

5: Are you a published or a self published author and how do you come up with your cover art?

I’m both. I’ve published two works with Ellora’s Cave (One Night with Anubis, a novella; and Take Me, a free short read) and recently released my first indie book titled Crazy for You.

For One Night with Anubis, Ellora’s Cave’s Syneca did the cover art. I was able to provide input, but the concept of the cover was all Syn’s great work.

Take Me is a standard cover for Ellora’s Cave’s Naughty Nooners, though I will say that I like the couple on the cover. The imagery of them worked well for me.

Since Crazy for You is an indie book, I had to hire a cover artist. My ability to create art is limited to badly drawn stick figures. Kanaxa (www.kanaxa.com) did the cover art and I couldn’t be happier. The cover embodies the essence of the novella to perfection.

6: What drives you to choose the career of being a writer?

I have loved books since I was a little squirt. Romances and books that fully engage my imagination have always been top in my personal library. In college, I pretty much wrote not only all my own papers but those of my roommates and other friends. I was a paper-writing fool. Later, as a way to satisfy my own desire in what I wanted to read, I started writing One Night with Anubis.

I don’t know that writing is a career for me yet, I hope someday for it to be, but writing is something that pushes at me and I’m working hard to grow my skills and provide maturely written pieces. I have literally stood atop a Mayan pyramid and seen a story unfold before my eyes. I could “see” flashes of those who had lived there centuries ago walking by. That particular story is still rolling around in my head, waiting for the right moment for me to put it on the computer.

7: Do you own an ebook reading device?

I read ebooks on my iPhone. I love this digital age. I used to pack what seemed like a bucket-load of books whenever I traveled. But now, I not only have a large selection of books to read, I can watch movies and listen to music. Yeah, life is good. :-)

8: Who are some of your favorite authors and What are you reading now?

Jayne Ann Krenz. I love the dynamics between her heroes and heroines. She has been a top favorite of mine for something like a bazillion years.

Delilah Marvelle. She’s writing some really edgy subjects, which I think is fabulous.

I’m reading Caroline Jewel right now. LOVE her paranormals. She has such a great voice that feels really fresh.

9: What do you think of book trailers and do you have any plans to have any?

I’ve seen some really awesome trailers that are very engaging, but I haven’t done my research into their effect on overall sales, so at this time, I don’t feel I’m quite ready for them.

10: How did you come up with the title of your latest book?

The title Crazy for You is from an old Madonna song from back in the 80s. Somehow it just seemed to be a great match—the desire, the newness of the hunger ravaging the heroine and driving her bonkers. I wrote the novella, was roaming through title after title when Madonna’s Crazy for You came on and I knew that was the title I had to use.

11: What are you working on now that you can talk about?

My current work will take place in an actual ruined city few have ever heard about. It will be a very special item found at this site that will bring the hero / heroine together and will take them on what I hope to be an exciting adventure. Of course there will be lots of loving and playing and discovering just how special life is with the right someone.

Readers can check out my books and the corresponding links to them at www.gracesamuels.com or contact me direct at samuels.grace@gmail.com.

Kipp, thank you SO much for making my first interview experience such a pleasant one. To you and your followers, have a beautiful day and thanks for taking some time out of your lives to spend a moment learning a bit about mine.

Grace

Below is the blurb from Crazy for You.

Sometimes a woman just has to say, "Damn the consequences!" and go for what she wants--even if it's only for one night.

One night where she can do everything she's fantasized about, where she can stop shoving her hands in her pockets to keep from touching. Instead, she's going to explore the expanse of male shoulder, feel the strength of arms that can lift her until lips meet lips, and she'll stroke the long length of back that ends with two dimples right above the hardest, roundest butt she's ever seen.

Oh yeah, damn the consequences, Jessica is going to clasp those ass cheeks and so much more before the night is over. Tomorrow? Well, tomorrow she and Ben will go back to being casual work acquaintances, and hopefully her libedo will stop doing the cha-cha every time the darn man is within a hundred feet of her.

A crystal-strewn cavern hidden beneath a Mayan sacrificial temple. no one around. And no room for misplaced assumptions. Tonight it's time to let bodies do the talking.

Book details: Novella is a 22,000-word contemporary romance that contains a significant amount of explicit sex, goats, a Mayan sacrificial temple, underwater cave diving, a crystal cavern and ewwey, gooey mud.