Welcome and thanks for treading the boards with us today!

1.      Are you inspired most by places, people or experiences and how do these work their way into your writing?

Probably experiences. Things I’ve been through or witnessed often make their way into my writing, though not always in the exact way they took place. Writing is a great way of making sense of life experiences, and often the scenes that you’ve based on real life end up being the most authentic or emotional. Having said that, most of what I write is fiction! But I use life experience as inspiration to help make characters and scenes more realistic.

2.      Please share one of your favourite moments of inspiration with us.

It was New Year’s Day 2012 and I was trying to decide which story idea to pursue as I was ready to start another book. My idea for Fast Forward (which has just released) was a strong contender, but I hadn’t yet decided. I was flipping through a magazine (which I rarely do) while pondering my choices when I came across an article called Fast Forward. It was as though the universe was telling me “Write this one!” I listened, started writing immediately, and nine months later had a book contract for it. I’ve learned to listen to my intuition and follow those little moments of serendipity - you never know where it will lead!

3.      How did you come up with the idea of FAST FORWARD?

The idea for this book came about quite suddenly when I was reading in bed one night. I don’t remember the book, I just remember that it mentioned a young character who behaved like they were years older, and I thought it would be great to do a story where the character ages suddenly overnight. I was reminded of movies like Suddenly 30 (13 Going on 30 for those in the US), Big, and 17 Again but wanted to do something a little different where the character becomes an age where they’re NOT in their prime. An age that they don’t want to be. I decided age fifty would be a good milestone to write about, and I chose to make the character a model with no desire for domestic life become a middle-aged housewife and mother overnight.

4.      How do you come up with your characters’ names?

My main character starts out as Kelli Crawford, and the surname just popped into my mind. Later I realised that because my character is a model, I probably subconsciously thought of Cindy Crawford! I came up with Kelli because I wanted something to rhyme with the surname she ends up with in the future - McSnelly. And I decided on an ‘i’ instead of a ‘y’ at the end of her name because I wanted it to be a bit more unique.

In most of my stories, I don’t think about it too much, I often just use whatever name pops into my mind first, as long as it seems to suit the character.

5.      Who would you cast for a movie/TV series as your main characters if given the chance?

Tina Fey as Kelli McSnelly and Steve Carell as her husband in the future, William McSnelly. Melissa McCarthy would play Kelli’s sister, Kasey.

6.      Do you read reviews of your books? What do you do when you read a not-so-nice one?

Considering I’ve only been a published novelist for a short time, yes! It’s exciting to know people have read and enjoyed your book. Luckily, at this stage I haven’t received a not-so-nice one (touch wood)!

7.      How many times were you turned down before you finally got published?

For this particular book, about twenty times! (mostly agents, a couple of publishers). Until the fabulous Escape Publishing said ‘Yes’, for which I am eternally grateful :)

8.      Who do you most admire and why?

I admire all those authors who never gave up. Those who persisted with passion and determination to achieve their dream of becoming published. Writing is something you do for the love of it. It’s time consuming, energy draining, and challenging, and there’s no guarantee your work will be read, but when it’s what you love, it’s important to keep going and believe in yourself and your writing.

9.      What do you need to set the mood for you to write?

I need to get comfortable! Whether it be at my desk or lying in bed or on the couch, if I’m not comfortable I can’t focus. My mother always said I was like ‘The Princess and the Pea’ - overly sensitive to little things, so it’s not uncommon to see me wriggling about on the couch for several minutes trying to get in the most comfortable position. It’s not usually worth it though, because I don’t stay in the same position very long before I have to get up again! And I’d love to have peace and quiet, but with a teenage son who plays Xbox, and a cat with incessant meowing, that rarely happens. ;)

10.  If there is one genre that you have not written in yet, but would love to try writing a book in that specific genre, what would it be?

Young Adult and New Adult. Well, I have written in YA, but haven’t yet completed anything. I have a couple of exciting stories I want to pursue, but I’m just trying to balance all my commitments and focus on the higher priorities first. I hope to make progress with this soon!

11.  What are you working on now?

I’m just about to finish a short romantic comedy novella called I Dream of Johnny, about a wish on a magic lamp that goes hilariously wrong. I’m also revising a manuscript, and I’m just about to get back into my next full length romantic comedy, Haunted Housewives, which I started before Christmas. This one’s about a bride-to-be who’s haunted by the ghost of her fiance’s ex-girlfriend. Oh, and did I mention the contemporary romance I’m trying to squeeze in between all this?? ;)

12.  Would you like to share an excerpt from your writing or a photo or music link that inspires you?

Here’s an excerpt from chapter one of Fast Forward, when Kelli has recently discovered that she’s in the future.

Anxious to finally get some clothes on, I opened the door a fraction, checking to see if the coast was clear. I tip-toed into the unfamiliar bedroom and pulled back a sliding door. The good news was an array of clothing hung from a rack, so I’d be able to put a long overdue end to my nakedness. The bad news was I wouldn’t be caught dead in most of the outfits. Who would wear such things? Well, me obviously. But surely my fifty-year-old taste couldn’t be that bad? I was a fashion model for Christ’s sake! I knew what’s hot and what’s not, and this stuff wasn’t even lukewarm.

So I had three choices:

1. Remain naked.

2. Put my nightgown back on.

3. Suck it up and wear one of the outfits.

As my stomach grumbled for food and my nose detected a faint smell of something good cooking, I stepped into a coral-coloured starched skirt in which the hem ended halfway down my calves before turning upwards into a revolting curved abomination and looking like a baby catch-all bib. The matching top was just as bad, its hem curving upwards too, but if the need arose at least I’d have a place to store snacks. Or Valium.

Now desperately hungry and looking like a middle-aged Oompa-Loompa, I followed the smell out of the bedroom, down a hallway and into a kitchen, where William sat at the bench sipping from a mug. If he was there, then who was cooking?

I looked towards the source of the delicious aroma and nearly threw up into my curved hems. A young man stood there in a pink apron. He was tall, with various pieces of metal jewellery adorning his pierced skin and his hair was jet black despite one hot pink streak falling loose from his mullet/Mohawk/ponytail thingy.

“Happy birthday, Mum!” he said and for the second time that day I wilted to the floor.

 

 

FAST FORWARD:

Aspiring supermodel, Kelli Crawford seems destined to marry her hotshot boyfriend, but on her twenty-fifth birthday she wakes in the future as a fifty-year-old suburban housewife married to the now middle-aged high school nerd.

Trapped in the opposite life of the one she wanted, Kelli is forced to re-evaluate her life and discover what is really important to her. Will she overcome the hilarious and heartbreaking challenges presented to her and get back to the body of her younger self? Or will she be stuck in the nightmare of hot flushes, demanding children, raunchy advances from her husband and hideous support underwear forever?

Buy FAST FORWARD via...

Escape Publishing, Amazon, Amazon UK, iTunes/iBookstore, Kobo.

GIVEAWAY #1: To go in the draw for a $25 Amazon gift card, forward your purchase receipt to fastforwardbook (at) gmail (dot) com - replace (at) with @ and (dot) with .

GIVEAWAY #2: To go in the draw for a $50 Amazon gift card or the runner up prize of a $25 gift card, leave a comment on this post. Comment on other blogs during Juliet’s February blog tour for more entries into the draw! Winners drawn 1st March.

Connect with Juliet online:

Website, Blog, Facebook, Twitter. 

Welcome and thanks for treading the boards with us today!

1.      Are you inspired most by places, people or experiences and how do these work their way into your writing?   

Inspiration is a funny thing. I've never consciously considered what inspires me.  Ideas just sort of wriggle their way into my consciousness.  I'll see a picture, hear a piece of music or a place and sometimes I'll just wake up with an idea fully blown in my mind…from who knows where.  Sometimes I'll see a person in the street or a park and they will inspire me a story or maybe it's a news item or something I've read in a magazine. Inspiration is everywhere.

2.      Please share one of your favourite moments of inspiration with us.

An overheard conversation inspired Ashlyn's Bodyguard and it was one of those unreal situations... I was walking down a busy Auckland street behind two big burly Maori guys, tattooed to Africa, greasy dredds hanging down over gang patches on their leather jackets. I was trying to make myself inconspicuous, as you do.

As they talked, their deep voices echoed off the tall buildings around us. "Bro, ya think Joe's got a freaking death wish? He's goin' after the Judge's daughter."

I tell you my mind boggled and that overheard conversation was the catalyst for Ashlyn's Bodyguard. http://amzn.com/B008V4JPKI

 

How did you come up with the idea for Seven For A Secret? http://amzn.com/B009XJAKLS

The idea for this book came from an old family story. My Dad's nephew was raised by his aunt as her child. The day he turned 21 the aunt told the young man he was his father's child with one of the servant girls. (They had servants in that family).  The boy left home that day and was never heard or seen again. My mother was a very judgemental woman, everything was black and white and she reckoned such information should have not made one bit of difference. My dad thought otherwise and spent years trying to trace that young man. As my parents argued it back and forth, I tried to imagine myself in that young man's shoes…and what might have occurred during his upbringing that made him react the way he did.

That was the catalyst for Seven For A Secret. Anna, a gifted artist, has never quite fitted into the family mould and has never understood why, until her father's posthumous letter reveals she's his daughter to the family au pair…she goes looking for her birthmother, and answers…and discovers a secret that was never meant to be exposed.        I love this idea, and I don’t think the situation was that uncommon, especially in times when people had servants.

3.      How do you come up with your characters’ names?

Sometimes it's pure serendipity, other times I may change my mind several times during a book. All my evil characters are names of people who've given me grief at some time or another. (That's so cathartic, you have no idea!)  One thing I do is go on line to a couple of Baby Name sites and I'll check for the top 100 names for any given year.  Some names go out of fashion, others never do. To use a name out of era is an immediate black mark against your hero or heroine, but that said names are what you choose to make them. 

4.      Who would you cast for a movie/TV series as your main characters if given the chance?   

Return to Totara Park  http://amzn.com/B0076I1HGA

I'd love to see this book made into a movie. It has everything, intrigue, passion, revenge, a heart-warming love story and the most horrific of betrayals.

Anna Paquin would be excellent as Winsome Grainger and Johnny Depp as Jared, her estranged husband.  These characters would really bring this book to life.      Love both of these actors and can see them large as life in these roles!

5.      If you could pick a soundtrack to match your main character’s life, what would it be?   

The pan flutes playing The Lonely Shepherd. Why? Married and thrust into the midst of her husband's family, Winsome was so lonely and so heartbreakingly alone. Even when she returns to Totara Park and Jared, the past clings to her like a dark shroud, and isolates her. And that piece of music has the right haunting note.

6.      What is your favourite holiday?

I like Christmas, although for many years it was a time of great sadness in our family. It is the time when what is left of my family make the effort to see everyone and share the simple joy of each other's company. We are far too aware of how transient life is and easily it can be snatched away.

Perhaps I should explain the sadness. I had just finished dressing the Christmas tree when we received a phone call saying our elder twin son had collapsed and was in a coma. Christmas that year was spent in the ICU at Waikato Hospital where he later died. His twin also died 12 weeks later.  I've never had a Christmas tree in the house since.   No wonder you write so powerfully about children and loss, Shirley.

7.      Do you read reviews of your books? What do you do when you read a not-so-nice one?

Reviews are a fact of life for a writer. I do read reviews and regard them as a necessary learning tool. I've had some real doozies and have learned to toughen up.  For every negative review I've had a positive one.

 

My latest book One Hour To Midnight http://amzn.com/B00AOVXI7M has really polarised readers. But no negative review can dim my pleasure at receiving a letter like this from a reader ….

Dear Mrs Wine

I am glad to thank you for sharing your stories with the world. I just finished
One Hour to Midnight, and I loved it. It was a heart-warming story that gives
hope to those of us who need it. I love reading various stories and gathering
glimpses of cultures that I have never had the chance to see in person. You
have a wonderful talent, and I thank you for being willing to share it. Thank
you for allowing me to find some momentary happiness through you…. Amy

 

8.      How many times were you turned down before you finally got published?

I've honestly lost count how many books were rejected before Catriona/Kate was accepted by KiwiGold Publishing…that firm went belly-up and it was about 7 years before Return To Totara Park was published by Trebleheart Books.  Did I ever think of giving up? Countless times but the muse has other ideas and won't allow me to put away my pen.

9.      What reason(s) did the publishers give for their rejection of your manuscript?

I've had them all, but the most bizarre of all was my last rejection. I was told it was unsuitable for XYZ line…hardly surprising as I never submitted it to that line in the first place. Go figure.  In the end I decided I could well be ashes scattered on the wind before I broke through the glass ceiling of Trad Publishing so I thumbed my nose, and have self-published on Amazon. Will I make a fortune?  I doubt it. But the satisfaction is huge.

10.  Who is your literary hero?

Sir Walter Scott. I adored his books as a teenager and I can still read and enjoy them now. I love the quaint language, the glimpse of a world that has passed. My other literary hero is Georgette Heyer. This woman had the most amazing life and who else can claim to have created a whole genre of books, single-handed? When you think about it this is no mean accomplishment.   She is certainly one of my literary heroes, a superb writer and a fabulous influence on our genre.

11.  Who do you most admire and why? OR  If you could meet anyone and spend an hour with them alive or dead who and why?

Queen Elizabeth II. She must surely be the most interesting woman on the planet. I would dearly love to spend a few hours with her discussing the things she's witnessed and hear her take on world events. She is one amazing lady.

12.  What is your favorite book of all time that you can reread a hundred times, and it still feels like the first time?

The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough. I've read it many times and yet it still fascinates me.   Her simplicity with language is unequalled.  And I really enjoyed The Bone People by Keri Hume. That book resonated with me because I could identify with the characters and the culture. It was written by a Kiwi about Kiwis.

13.  What do you need to set the mood for you to write?

I like a quiet space looking out into my garden. I don't need music or any other stimulus…just me and my muse.  And that sounds so pretentious LOL! But I'm not, honestly.

14.  If there is one genre that you have not written in yet, but would love to try writing a book in that specific genre, what would it be?

I like to try my hand at a historical novel. I've had the germ of one in the back of my mind for years and like an oyster it's gathering grit. Maybe someday it will bloom.  

15.  How many blurbs did you have to write before the final one?

Cry me a river, Susanne, cry me a river.

Blurbs are so hard. I'll start on one and beaver away for ages trying this and trying that. The easiest blurb I've ever written was for Lovers' Lies http://amzn.com/B009GQGUWQ

That blurb came to me in a dream and just fell off my pen, but they are the most difficult thing to write. You want enough to tease, to whet a reader's interest and yet you don't want to give too much away.

16.  If you could bring one of your characters to life, who would it be? And why?

Gabriel Callahan in Shadow Dance http://amzn.com/B008NGBK0M

Why? I have a real soft spot for wounded heroes who shut down and then fight like the dickens when a feisty heroine comes along to bring them back into the land of the living. Gabe fought Jenna from the time she caught him in the crosshairs of her grandpa's old shot gun until he was finally ready to accept her love.    Dare I say, this is my favourite story, and I think it’s because I love a wounded, vulnerable hero and Gabe is that, yet so strong.

17.  What are you working on now?

The Farmer Takes a Wife… the third book in the series "The Mulleins of Katherine Bay" and currently I'm working on the line edits with a professional freelance editor. This is a real thought provoking and educational process. And one I am enjoying. It is surprising how often a sentence doesn't mean exactly what you intended it to mean.

18.  Would you like to share an excerpt from your writing.

Here's an excerpt from the start of The Farmer Takes a Wife:    

    

Sarah leaned against the kitchen counters struggling to breathe. Her heart jack-hammered against her ribs and she held trembling hands to hot cheeks.

     For years she'd fantasized about seeing Heath Mullein naked and boy had she gotten an eyeful. He was impressive. All sleek, bronzed, work-honed muscle and although startled, he'd faced her unabashed.

     She closed her eyes, but the vivid image of Heath in his unadorned, manly glory was seared into her eyeballs. Heat coursed through her from head to toe, heat that had nothing to do with embarrassment and everything to do with lust.

     She fanned her face with a trembling hand. Talk about starting out on the wrong foot.

     A soft sigh trembled from her. It had never been her plan to surprise him, in his own home, and find him buck-naked. Desperate to quell her nerves, she filled the coffee maker. Heath had to be hungry. The knot of tension and dread tightened as his footsteps sounded in the hallway a moment before he walked into the kitchen.

      His scowl did little to ease her nervousness. What would he say to her proposition or the reason for her visit? Her courage faltered.

      Am I tilting at the moon?

       His cinnamon brown hair was still wet and slicked down, every wayward curl ruthlessly tamed. He'd changed into well-worn denim and a tight black tee that clung lovingly to his muscular body, but she found it far too easy to visualise him wearing nothing at all.

 

19.  Please share your favourite cocktail recipe or celebration photo.

I'm not a cocktail person and only enjoy the occasional glass of wine so can't give you a recipe….now if you asked me to describe my favourite plant and the conditions it needs to grow…well that's a different story!   

Thanks for treading the boards today, Shirley, and good luck with your latest book. I’m looking forward to The Farmer Takes a Wife, out soon I hope. 

Welcome and thanks for treading the boards with us today!

1.      Are you inspired most by places, people or experiences and how do these work their way into your writing?

I think I am inspired most by emotional experiences.  Pain, embarrassment, joy, despair. Those moments that imprint themselves on your memory, those are often the things that get stories going. Of course, those moments usually involve people and are always somewhere, so I guess it’s all three!

 

2.      How did you come up with the idea of Rules are for Breaking?

Rules are for Breaking grew out of musing on how we sometimes get in our own way without realising it.  We tend to think that our decisions are logical and our actions perfectly reasonable.  But often we are influenced by our past experiences in ways that we aren’t aware of until someone points it out to us.  In this modern world, where we often date a lot of people before we settle down, I got to wondering how that might affect our love lives…

 

3.      How do you come up with your characters’ names?

I’m very picky about names!  I like to know the names of at least the main characters before I get too far in to the story.  Generally I get them by writing a scene of dialogue and waiting until someone calls them by name.  Goodness that sounds odd when I write it down, but that is often how it happens!  Having said that, I am very open to changing a name if it isn’t quite right.  I know when I have the right one, because I start thinking of them not as a character I’m creating so much as a person that I know.  If I’m stuck, I like to watch the credits on TV shows for inspiration.  One day I might make the chief grip on CSI (or something) famous! J

4.      Who would you cast for a movie/TV series as your main characters if given the chance?

If David Boreanaz had blue eyes, he would be a pretty perfect match for Declan, my hero.  Jo, my heroine, is interesting.  I originally based her look a little bit on a woman I know, but I’ve been influenced by my gorgeous Destiny cover and now I think of her differently!  She’s sort of settled in my mind now as being something like Anne Hathaway with her pixie crop.

I love AH’s pixie crop.

5.      Do you read reviews of your books? What do you do when you read a not-so-nice one?

Yes!  Although I know people say you shouldn’t, I do read reviews.  It’s too new and rare a sensation for me not to!  J I’ve been lucky so far.  I haven’t had any horrid ones.  Certainly, people have found things they thought could have been better, but since they’ve expressed themselves politely and fairly, I can’t complain.  I don’t want to, in fact.  As a reader, I have always found intelligent and balanced reviews incredibly valuable and as writer it’s the same.  I’m very grateful to anyone who takes the time to do a thoughtful review of my work and if there are things they found lacking, it just fires me up to do better next time.

6.      How many times were you turned down before you finally got published?

Twice. Three times if you count the time I never heard back at all.  But that doesn’t count all the times that manuscripts were entered into competitions and didn’t make the cut… J

Competition  feedback is  helpful though.

7.      What reason(s) did the publishers give for their rejection of your manuscript?

Reading both on and between the lines, my biggest problem was pacing.  And that was because I didn’t have a good enough handle on the ‘spine’ of the story.  I could write description and dialogue and characters and my internal conflict was good (my characters seem to step into my mind with Louis Vuitton steamer trunks of baggage already in place) but I didn’t understand external story structure well enough.  I hope I’m better at it now!

8.      Who do you most admire and why? OR  If you could meet anyone and spend an hour with them alive or dead who and why?

I’d love to meet Shakespeare.  Just to see what he was really like and to find out once and for all whether he wrote those plays! (Just realised that this answer is kind of appropriate given the name of the post, but I swear it wasn’t deliberate! J) 

And now you know who one of my literary heroes is since his works  inspired my blog title.

9.      What do you need to set the mood for you to write?

I wish the answer to this was a gorgeous setting and flowers on my desk and a clear day of nothing but writing to look forward to.  But that isn’t my reality and frankly it would probably scare me a little if it were.  Real answer?  A deadline!

10.  If there is one genre that you have not written in yet, but would love to try writing a book in that specific genre, what would it be?

I’d like to write for children.  I have a brain that teems with ideas for picture books and early readers, but I’m trying to get good at one thing at a time!

11.  How many blurbs did you have to write before the final one?

The blurb that’s on my book was written by my publisher (bless them) but before that, when I was editing, submitting to competitions, doing workshops and otherwise learning what I didn’t know about this business, I must have written it at least a hundred times.  At least.  Blurb writing is a great way to find out what your story is really about.  And whether or not you know what it’s about!

12.  What are you working on now?

I’m working on a prequel to Rules are for Breaking, tentatively titled Playing by the Rules, which tells the story of Kate and Josh, Jo’s best friend and brother respectively.  I actually wrote that story first, but it needs re-writing (in the light of things I’ve learned since) so that’s what I’m doing now.  I’m really enjoying revisiting these two now that I know more about written storytelling. 

I’m also in the final stages of a quite different, longer book, not a romance (although there is a hunky cop in it, who my heroine likes a lot).  I think of it as a girly thriller.  It’s tense and (I hope) scary in places, but it’s also funny (again, I hope!) and all about women and how they help each other when the going gets tough.

 

13.  Would you like to share an excerpt from your writing or a photo or music link that inspires you?

This is an excerpt from Rules are for Breaking.  It’s Declan and Jo’s first kiss, after she has been resisting even being attracted to him for a long time…

This was no ordinary kiss.

She’d had kisses before.  Exciting kisses, tender kisses, spine-tinglingly arousing kisses – as well as more than her fair share of inept, overbearing and sloppy kisses – but never one like this.

This was the kind of kiss that makes clouds part and rays stream down from heaven like a blessing, bathing the kissers in such brilliant light that, beside them, everything else looks flat and grey.

This was the kind of kiss that made full symphony orchestras abandon their opera singers, desert their ballet dancers, and set up in the street to provide an appropriate soundtrack.  And not ordinary orchestras, either, but the kind that come complete with a bevy of backing singers, shaking their sequin-clad booties in time to the swelling strings and shoop-shooping as though their lives depended on it.

This kiss was a revelation.

That is some kiss!

 

14.  Please share your favourite cocktail recipe or celebration photo.

Ah, now you’re talking!  I love cocktails and have many favourites.  The one I order most often is a Martini with a twist of lemon (instead of an olive) – partly because I like to see how the different places make it. 

But if I’m making it at home, my all-time favourite is a Rusty Nail.  Two parts scotch to one part Drambuie, poured over block ice in an old-fashioned glass.  Bliss.  Unfortunately, since my other half has taken to expensive single malts, we don’t have any mixable scotch in the house, so I haven’t had one in ages.  Must get to the bottle shop!

 

We are definitely soul sisters in the matter of good taste! I love both, though I tend to keep them separate! LOL. Thanks for sharing, Imelda! And I look forward to Playing by the Rules.

Welcome and thanks for treading the boards with us today!

Thank you for having me here today, Susanne J It’s been a while since I’ve walked the boards. I think my last acting role was as Delilah way back in the ‘80s! Oh I’d love to see the photos of that!

1.      Are you inspired most by places, people or experiences and how do these work their way into your writing?

I love rural Australia and am often inspired by small towns and the people that live there. There is so much history in this land of ours, so many interesting stories and characters to draw from.  I’m drawn to the Perth Hills and the peacefulness of the trees. Taming the Tiger’s inspiration for instance, came from Araleun Botanical Park built in 1929 by businessman, J J Simons as a holiday camp for the Young Australia League. I’ve spent countless hours there over the years, reading each little plaque, imagining what it was like to create those gorgeous stone pathways and structures by hand. How much fun the youth would have had in the pool (which is now clogged with water weeds and provides a beautiful backdrop for weddings and family picnics).

2.      Please share one of your favourite moments of inspiration with us.

I remember reading a story about how one of the cabins had fallen to ruin and all that remained was the well-used fireplace. On one of my visits, I spent quite a while examining the crumbling chimney and I thought what a shame it was that the rest of the cabin was gone. All that hard work and history crumbling to dust. That’s when the idea started to take shape to write a story about rebuilding a haven for youth battling through their teenage years but it needed someone feisty to run it…

3.      How did you come up with the idea of Taming the Tiger?

It all started with a rundown farmhouse at the end of our street and my love of old Holdens. Taming the Tiger had the working title of Sheila’s Mission back then and Tiffany-Jane was a very wimpy character. (Sorry, TJ, but you were!) Her Holden Gemini, Sheila was the catalyst that brought her and Scott together, except he was Russ not Scott; and that didn’t seem to fit either. The story rambled and was full of holes. One day, I was getting ready for work, doing my make-up in front of the bathroom mirror, when inspiration struck. I realized what I was doing wrong. Tiffany-Jane became technician TJ and the story zoomed ahead. I was very late for work that day J  A light bulb moment – aren’t they precious!

4.      If you could pick a soundtrack to match your main character’s life, what would it be?

Oooh! I’m so glad you asked this question J. You see, each person in TJ’s workshop is assigned a nickname and a theme song when they join the crew (Chapter Two). TJ’s is Helen Reddy’s ‘I am Woman’. 1975 – International Year of Women!

5.      How many times were you turned down before you finally got published?

I was turned down three times before getting a contract for Fly Away Peta with Eternal Press.

6.      If you could meet anyone and spend an hour with them alive or dead who and why?

Easy! Hugh Jackman — he’s hot, he’s sexy and he’s the all-round Aussie hero. He can sing, dance and act, and he’s nice guy to boot. His wife is a lucky woman… You won’t get any disagreement from us. Hi Hugh! Looking good!

7.      What is your favorite book of all time that you can reread a hundred times, and it still feels like the first time?

Oh gosh! That’s a hard one. Probably The Power of One by Bryce Courtney. It was a very confronting story for me when I read it the first time and I understand more of it every time I read it.

8.      What do you need to set the mood for you to write?

Dead quiet, a cup of tea, chocolate and a view of my garden

9.      If there is one genre that you have not written in yet, but would love to try writing a book in that specific genre, what would it be?

*Blush* I struggle to write sex scenes, so I challenged myself to overcome that hurdle and test the waters of Erotic Romance. I discovered I had a rather naughty side when I unleashed my alter ego… (*winks*)  Can’t wait to read more!

10.  How many blurbs did you have to write before the final one?

My computer recycle bin collapsed under the load J

11.  If you could bring one of your characters to life, who would it be? And why?

Scott Devin — he is your dream man, deliciously sexy, funny, caring, devoted and a pillar of strength in a crisis.

12.  What are you working on now?

I’m working on book three, Darkness and Light which features Detective Mark Johnson who appeared in both Fly Away Peta and Taming the Tiger. This is Mark’s story and the case he’s been investigating in those stories now comes to a head.

13.  Would you like to share an excerpt from your writing?

This might be a bit of a spoiler but because you asked the question about soundtracks earlier, here is the excerpt:

TJ stared out the window as her fingers worried the hem of her shirt. He leaned over and put his hand on hers, effectively stilling them. Warmth shot through her like a lightning bolt, touching places it had no business touching. She jumped at the force of the heat. He withdrew his hand and stared at the road ahead. After a moment, he asked, “So what was the singing about?”

TJ sighed. “Each kid that comes through the program is given a signature tune. Some come through mishaps, others - like Marty’s- are earned through habits.  When Marty first started with us, he was given all the dirty jobs to do like emptying bins and cleaning toilets. That’s what all first year apprentices have to do. He became bored quickly and wanted to move on to doing real work. When I handed out the jobs in the mornings, he’d stand in the queue and shout, ‘What about me, TJ? What about me?’ Now every time he says it, we all start singing that song.”

“What’s yours?”

“My what?”

“Signature tune.”

She smiled. Scott swore that every time she did, the sun shone brighter. The boys were right. There was a lot more to TJ than he knew. And he wouldn’t mind finding out. But that was a dangerous game to play. He’d learnt that lesson after his relationship with Serena Snow.

“Helen Reddy’s I am Woman.”

Scott laughed. “It suits you. I’ve heard you roar, Tiger.”

 

Got to say, I love this scene!

14.  Please share your favourite cocktail recipe or celebration photo.

You ask the best questions! My favourite cocktail is a relic from the ‘70s and ‘80s called a Fluffy Duck:

- 1 nip of white rum eg. bacardi

- 1 nip advocaat

- 1 nip cream

- lemonade

- ice cubes

Method:

Put some ice cubes into the bottom of a very large cocktail glass. Top with the rum, advocaat and cream. Fill up the glass with lemonade. When you add the lemonade the drink with froth up; thus the name fluffy duck! Decorate the side of the glass with slices of pineapple, cherry, strawberries, etc. Cheers!

OMG , I remember them from the 80’s! One too many fluffy ducks one night…no wait, it was the Belfast Bomb that flattened me. 

 

Thanks for sharing with us, Juanita! I’m intrigued by several of your ‘secrets’. Now you’re going to have to spill more  erotic writing details!

It’s been a pleasure to have you visit today.

Leave a comment to let Juanita know you were here.

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