FROM THE X-FILES TO THE SEX FILES

Okay, I confess, the title of this blog ia a rather pitiful ploy on my part to grab your attention. (Gotta love that alliteration though.) It seems that actor David Duchovny (Agent Mulder of the long-running TV cult classic "The X-Files") is starring in a new series for Showtime called "Californication" and it's all about --- you guessed it --- SEX.

But I digress . . . as I so often do. This blog is, in reality, the final Q & A with Elizabeth G. So here goes with part three.

CBELL asks what top ten romance novels I would take to the beach.

Oh, boy, I’ll name ten romance authors instead. (I could easily name a hundred.) This is just off the top of my head and not in particular order. I’d pack historical romances by Stephanie Laurens, Loretta Chase and Julia Quinn. I’d take Christina Dodd’s new paranormal series. Something by each of the Quills, natch. (That’s not cheating. As you may recall from Part 2 of my Q&A, I count the Quills as one.) A Cathie Linz contemporary romance. Ditto for Shirley Jump. I’d like to read a Nalini Singh book, so I’d pack one of her recent paranormals. The latest from Christine Feehan — maybe a Drake sisters book. And just for old time’s sake: a vintage Julie Garwood historical.

EVERSCOI is curious about what comes first, characters or plot?

In the case of NIGHT LIFE, it was definitely the character of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh. Seti had been in my mind for a long time, which is why it was so exciting to see him get his own book and spawn an entire series, Pharaohs Rising.

But the kernel of an idea can come anywhere, at anytime and from anything. I still remember driving on the Pennsylvania Turnpike once when I glimpsed a building up on a hill. I pulled off onto the side of the road and said to my husband: “You drive.”

Now my husband is used to my sometimes “unusual” behavior, so without a word we got out of the car and switched places. He drove. I got out a pen and a pad of paper and began scribbling like mad. From that one glimpse came an entire book.

KATHY H asks how we find time to read other authors' books and if we each have a favorite.

I’ve always been a reader first and foremost. I became a writer as an extension of my love of reading. I’m also very lucky because I’m a very fast reader. It took me a long time to realize what an advantage this was. (As a kid it seemed like something of a bother. I was only allowed to check out four books at a time, so I had to make endless trips, it seemed, back and forth to the library on my bike.)

Do I have a favorite author? Again, I could list a dozen. No, make that two dozen. No, three. You see the problem. :-)

REBECCA asks how to make a green ghost martini and also how I keep my rear in the chair so that I can write.

See Jayne’s answer regarding the green ghost martini recipe. (Hint: It’s a classified Quill secret.)

As for how I keep myself at the computer: love of writing, fascination with my characters, looming deadlines, fear of deadlines, wanting to get paid, eagerness to move on to the next story (which always seems to start about 80% of the way through the current WIP), boredom, searching for just the right word, a deep desire NOT to clean our house, an even greater desire NOT to run errands— not necessarily in that order. :-)

MEC wants to know which of my books I would recommend to someone who had never tried any of my titles.

NIGHT LIFE, the first book in my new vampire romance series based on ancient Egyptian mythology; an older book and a personal favorite, THE GOLDEN RAINTREE, about a young Quaker woman during World War One; and for a contemporary romance with humor probably LADY'S MAN. (The last two were written as Suzanne Simmons.)

JULES BENNETT asks if I work on more than one project at a time.

Yes and no. I frequently get an idea for a character or a plot point for a book I’m not currently writing. When that happens I simply create a computer file and dump everything out of my brain into it. BUT I'm never actively writing two books at once.

SIAN wants to know if there is a novel by another author that I wish I had written.

For a while I wish I’d written REBECCA (by Daphne Du Maurier.) I first read the book when I was very young and always thought it was so cool that we never learn the name of the narrator/lead character. Of course, I went through a phase when I wanted to be Jane Austen writing about Elizabeth Bennett. (Or maybe I just wanted to be Elizabeth Bennett.)

SHOSHANA asked about organizing research.

LOLOLOLOLOL If you could see my office, Shoshana, you’d realize there is nothing organized about any part of my writing, research included. :-)

ANONYMOUS inquires how many people who read my books would recognize me on the street.

On a good day and if Michael Angelo (my hairdresser) has just done my hair and if I took enough time to do my makeup properly, I look like my author photo, if that’s what you’re asking. :-) But I’ve never been recognized by a stranger in a “celebrity” sense. I always thought that was the really great part of being a writer: anonymity.

AGTIGRESS wants to know if the so-called "business side" of writing -- dealing with agents, contracts, conferences, blogs, reviews, etc. -- provides balance and counterpart to the intense concentration of actually writing, or just a distracting pain in the neck.

Sometimes it seems like a counterbalance. Sometimes it’s a royal pain. It all depends on the timing. The closer I am to the end of the book, the more I resent any interruptions.

JOY asks how hard it is to recall the content of a particular title.

If it was a very special story to me (THE GOLDEN RAINTREE for instance), I still remember it vividly 15 years later. If it was one of my early category romances, I might have to “cheat” by taking a peek at the book.

Okay, here's another "weird" confession: I think of my books as different rooms in a very large house. If I deliberately open the door to one of those rooms, step inside, and look around for a while, more and more memories come flooding back. I may even recall the scenes that were a particular pain in the butt to write, the ones that made me laugh or cry, or the ones I never quite got right. Then I walk out again, closing the door behind me. That's how I think of my books after the fact.

I hope you enjoyed our Q&A here at RWQ, and glimpses into the writing life and a writer's life.

Now it’s your turn. What is one thing outsiders would be surprised to learn about your job or profession?

Cheers!
Elizabeth G