Interview with Australian author, Anne Gracie

TS: I have been reading Anne Gracie for YEARS…no, decades!!  I love her stories!  And I admit quite freely that I’m a junkie for historic romances.  Anne’s characters are rich and full and funny.  So I must tell my readers, fans, friends and tweeters that it is a thrill for me to now be able to interview her!

International best selling author, Anne Gracie
International best selling author, Anne Gracie

 

Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing?

A. I write in different places. I often go to my local library and write by hand. I write in my office, and sometimes in my bed on my laptop. I carry a notebook with me at all times, because sometimes a phrase or snippet of dialogue will come to me at odd times, and I don’t want to lose it.  I also go away once a year with a small group of other writers (eight of us) on a writing retreat…
Q. Do you have any special rituals when you sit down to write? (a neat work space, sharpened #2 pencils, legal pad, cup of tea, glass of brandy, favorite pajamas, etc.)

A. Usually there’s a coffee growing cold or a bottle of water at my elbow. Sometimes I play music that takes me into the world of the book. But mostly I start off with handwriting, and then move onto the computer.

Q. What is your mode of writing? (Long hand? Pencil? Computer?)

AutumnBride64kA. I generally start with pen and notebook — that gets the juices flowing, and the words come to me most easily that way. But once things are flowing, I type directly onto the computer.

Q. Do you have a set time each day to write or do you write only when you are feeling creative?

A. Morning is my best time, but toward the end of a book my head is so full of the story that I can’t keep away from it and I’ll write at all hours of the day and night.

Q. What’s your best advice to other writers for overcoming procrastination?

A. Use a timer to get you started — set it for 15 minutes, which is easily achievable, and by the time it goes off, you’ll probably find you’re in the writing zone and won’t want to stop. Starting is the hardest.
Also try handwriting. Away from the internet. If you’re not sure where/how to start, try asking yourself questions about the characters and what they’re feeling/worrying about/planning now.

Q. Do you ‘get lost’ in your writing and for how long?

Anne, keeper of bees??
Anne, keeper of bees??

A. I do. The closer I am to the end of the book the deeper I am in the world of the story and scenes and snippets of conversation come to me all the time – even when I’m drifting off to sleep or just waking up. I know I’ve overdone things when I get up from the computer and my back is aching. I try to remember to stop and stretch and exercise.

Q. Who or what is your “Muse” at the moment ?

A. I create story collages for each book and that helps me go into the world of the book. There are some on my website. Sometimes music helps, too. But I find a deadline quite motivating.

Q. When did you begin to write seriously?

A. I was backpacking solo around the world, and in countries where I didn’t speak the language I found myself writing at night. At the end of that year I came home, determined to try to get published.

Q. How long after that were you published?

A. It was a few years — mainly because my work got very busy and I stopped writing for a while. But I made time to write and educated myself about the market and honed my writing skills. There is a difference between writing to please yourself and writing to sell.

Q. What makes a writer great?

Tune in for Part 2 of my Interview on Saturday, November 15th.
Coming Soon! 
“The Spring Bride” by Anne Gracie, May, 2015

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In addition to my twice weekly blog I also feature an interview with another author once a month. So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create!    Mike Wells will be my December author.

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