Monday 6 October 2014

Meet the #Author - Sofia Grey (@sofiagreyauthor)


Please tell us a bit about yourself:
Hi Pippa. I’m an English lady, transplanted to New Zealand a few years ago. I have to say the weather is better here * grin *. I write contemp and paranormal romance, with a tendency toward the darker side of life, and have just embarked on a time travel series.

Tell us about Lila’s Wolf: This is book 1 in the Out of Time series. The action moves from 500 years in the future, back to Dark Age Britain, with my time travellers searching for a fugitive – a time runaway.

What inspired you to write this particular story? I have a love of the period, and liked the contrast between the two times, but the story emerged after re-reading a historical novel I’d loved as a teen: The Lantern Bearers, by Rosemary Sutcliff. In this, a young Roman soldier deserts from the army when they’re pulling out of Britain, and he is captured and enslaved by the Saxons. That story stayed with me, and inspired me to write Lila’s Wolf.

Please share a favourite snippet from your book:
“Flavius came looking for Jared, wanting to speak to him urgently. There was a rumour of Saxons raiding on the east coast, and Flavius wanted to head west, taking as many with him as he could. I knew from the Archives that there were no significant raids for weeks, not until after the Romans had left Britain, but Jared didn’t believe me. We argued.”

I’d never seen him so harsh before. The dear friend who showered me with affection vanished with the morning mist. This new Jared looked tough and uncompromising. For the first time, I could imagine him settling in this time period, living alongside Flavius and his friends, fighting for a worthy cause. It worried me.

“The Archives aren’t infallible, Lila. What if they’re constructed on flawed data? Flavius saw the messenger riding through town—‘as though the devil were on his heels,’ was how he described the man. He’s taking the warning seriously and we should too.”

“The Archives are constructed on data that historians like us provide.” I was stung by his suggestion. “We’re not the first historians to be here, so how come we’re the first to hear about this supposed raid? And even if there is one, it’s minor. Not. Significant. We wouldn’t even notice it.”

Which comes first for you – a character's looks, personality or name?: Usually the looks. I’ll spend hours on Pinterest looking at faces before I find one that calls to me, and then the name falls into place.

Any tips for aspiring authors?: When you’re happy with your work, be brave. Find a writing group, and open yourself up to honest criticism. It hurts when they tell you what’s wrong with your beloved manuscript (it feels like they’re saying you have an ugly baby * cries *), but it’s a hundred times worse when it’s readers and reviewers tearing it to pieces.

Questions for fun:
If you had the power of time travel, is there anything you would go back and change? Why/why not?:
Oohhhh... so tempting... I’d love to go back to July 1985, and get tickets for the Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium. I watched it on TV, but would have loved to be there in the crowd.

What super-power would you choose?:
Ha! We talked about this in the office recently, one slow Friday afternoon. I chose to travel anywhere instantly. On a side note, one of my nicknames is the Goddess of Cat Summoning, because I have 6 cats. So I already have a kinda super-power...

If you could have three wishes, what would they be?: Eeep! I’m useless with this question. I feel like I should pick something worthy like world peace, but in reality it would be:
To earn enough money writing, to be able to give up the day job
To get a fantastic book contract with one of the big publishers
To have a branch of Marks & Spencer open here in New Zealand. And IKEA. And a branch of Costco

Coffee, tea or wine?: Coffeeeeeeeee! But tea first thing. And wine in the evening. Can I have all three?

What is your favourite book? (aside from one of your own!):
There’s a few, but my constant favourites are:
Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier
The Bronze Horseman, by Paullina Simons
After You'd Gone, by Maggie O'Farell

Favourite genre and why?: Eh, that’s like asking me my favourite chocolate! I adore PNR, but I also love contemp. And historical. And sci-fi. I guess they all have to have some romance in them.

Favourite colour?: Pink! I drive my hubby and son crazy with my pink netbook, phone cover, Kindle cover, iPods, Tablet, laptop case... earbuds... external speakers...

Upcoming news and plans for the future?: Right now I’m editing 2 novellas for a collection due out in October – Return to Emerald City. This has 4 novellas inspired by the Wizard of Oz, but set 40 years or so in the future (better tech!). The second book in the Out of Time series is half written, and I’ve got 2 shifter novellas coming out in 2 separate Christmas anthologies.


Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us! It was a blast, thank you J

Lila’s Wolf (Out of Time #1) is available 4 September 2014, from Hartwood Publishing

Genre: Dark time-travel romantic suspense




The only way to save him, might be to leave him behind

Blurb:

When Lila Cammell is abandoned by her time-jump partner, leaving her alone in Britain in the Dark Ages, revenge is the only thing on her mind. She’d trusted Jared Grohl with her life and her heart, and bringing him to justice will be sweet.
Finding him captured and enslaved by the Saxons changes all her assumptions. Now it’s a fight for survival, but the only way to save him, might be to leave him behind.

Buy Links:


Bio: 

Romance author Sofia Grey spends her days managing projects in the corporate world and her nights hanging out with wolf shifters and alpha males. She devours pretty much anything in the fiction line, but she prefers her romances to be hot, and her heroes to have hidden depths. When writing, she enjoys peeling back the layers to expose her characters’ flaws and always makes them work hard for their happy endings.

Music is interwoven so tightly into my writing that I can’t untangle the two. Either I’m listening to a playlist on my iPod, have music seeping from my laptop speakers, or there’s a song playing in my head – sometimes on auto-repeat.

Check out my playlists on Pinterest


Catch me blogging with Allyson Lindt at www.GeminiGirls.com


Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sofia.Grey.Romance.Author
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/sofiagrey1/
Twitter: @SofiaGreyAuthor

2 comments:

I always love to hear your thoughts.