Interview with Grace Elliot, author of Hope’s Betrayal.

Indie Book Promo is happy to welcome Grace Elliot to the blog. She’s here to answer some of our questions and to share some information about her book, Hope’s Betrayal.  If this sounds like something you would be interested in reading, please use the buy links at the bottom of the post to pick up a copy or two!

 

IBP – Try to describe your book in one sentence.

 

Grace – When Captain George Huntley captures a smuggler, Hope Tyler, he finds falling in love with the enemy is a difficult destiny to follow.

 

IBP – Do you have a day job?

 

Grace – By day I am a veterinarian and by night I write historical romance; this may sound a little odd, but the two occupations actually do compliment each other well. My interests have never been easy to pigeon-hole and the analytical part of my mind that interprets lab results, radiographs and scans, is also adept at people watching and picking up characters traits (very useful for a writer!) The other reason science sits well with creativity is that I’m a touch over sensitive and find the emotional side of veterinary work draining; venting these feelings in my stories is a great safety valve and hopefully adds depth to my writing.

 

 

IBP – How would my friends describe me in 20 words or less?

Grace – At the risk of putting words into their mouths I suspect their description would go something like this:

 

Very tall, a good listener, cat mad and a woman with hidden depths.

 

IBP – Where would you live if you could live anywhere in the world?

 

Grace – My dream destination isn’t anywhere particularly exotic, hot or exciting, but somewhere to relax and enjoy long walks through beautiful scenery. If I could live anywhere in the world it would be the place that inspired “Hope’s Betrayal” – the wonderful Isle of Wight.

For my American friends, the Isle of Wight lies a few miles south of the English coast, opposite Portsmouth and Southampton. It is a small island, you can drive from one end to the other in an hour on a good day. But it can boast traditional British countryside with traditional windmills, hazel copses, red squirrels and fantastic rolling fields that lead down to the sea. And that’s the thing that I love most – the ever-changing sea – with all its colours and moods.

There is a richness about the Isle of Wight that speaks of quality of life; from the smuggling history that inspired Hope’s Betrayal, to modern day sailing, music festivals, hiking and sports. Whenever I visit, I come away inspired. Everyone has to have a dream…and mine is to one day live on the Isle of Wight.

 

IBP – Why did you choose the genre you write in?

 

Grace – I write historical romance, and if I’m truthful, the genre chose me rather than the other way round. I’m an avid reader of both historical fiction and romance, so it seemed logical when writing to immerse myself in the world that I love to escape to. One of my main motivations to write is to imagine the past and bring it to life, so turning to historical romance was a no-brainer.

Sometimes to test myself I try to write other genres, but no matter how hard as I try, no inspiration strikes – whereas when I think of the Georgian era, or Victorian, or Tudor – I find myself enthused with possibilities. I guess history is my calling and I shouldn’t fight against it.

 

IBP – What is it you love most about writing? What’s the hardest part of writing for you?

 

Grace – If no one saw my work, I’d still write because I love the process – everything from picturing a scene in my head, to the physical action of fingertips on the keyboard – give me an immense sense of satisfaction. For me writing is about escapism, about leaving the modern world behind and travelling back in time – to do this I close my eyes and picture the scene and then transfer this from my imagination onto the page.

Like most writers, the hardest part is finding time!

 

 

IBP – How did you come up with your premise for your books?

 

Grace – “Hope’s Betrayal” is a story that had been brewing in my mind for some time. The original idea was born whilst on holiday on the Isle of Wight. We stayed in a caravan near the Bembridge, a coastal village rich in smuggling history. In Georgian times the local fishermen became adept at evading the revenue officers, with their superior knowledge of the dangerous shallows, became adept at evading revenue officers and so made a comfortable living outside the law.

I became intrigued and visited several museums of Island history. One of the more romantic legends involved a female smuggler, reputedly so beautiful that when caught red-handed, the arresting officer couldn’t bring himself to charge her and let her go. This set a train of thought in motion about what it would mean to fall in love with someone on the opposite side of the law…and the germ of a novel was born.

 

 

IBP – What is the one book that you think everyone should read?

 

Grace – The book that has most influenced me is Margaret George’s work of historical fiction, “The Autobiography of Henry VIII.”

Before reading it, I hated history – indeed at school I loathed the subject so much I begged the teacher to let me give the subject up. But the history taught for exams was full of dates and treaties, whereas what Ms George wrote about was a real man with wants, needs and imperfections. The Tudor world she described seemed to real as to be able to touch, smell and feel how people lived back then…plus Henry’s true story is stranger than fiction!

“The Autobiography of Henry VIII” opened up a new world for me – a place that fascinated and then obsessed me. Now I am a history addict with non-fiction books about the Tudors, Georgians, Victorians …and just about anything to do with the past – stacked up so high I can no longer see the walls.

 

 

IBP – Where can your fans find you ?

 

Grace – A good starting place is my blog – which reflects my passion for history, romance and ….cats!

http://graceelliot-author.blogspot.com

 

To find out about my novels please also visit:

http://www.amazon.com/Grace-Elliot/e/B004DP2NSU/ref=sr_tc_2_rm?qid=1320779346&sr=1-2-ent

 

I love twitter and welcome your follow:

@Grace_Elliot

 

 

IBP – What is in the works for you next?

 

 

Grace – Currently I’m hard at work on book three in the Huntley Trilogy, “Verity’s Lie.” This book features the eldest brother, Lord Charles Huntley, Lord Ryevale. Here is a sneak peek of the working synopsis:

 

Lord Charles Huntley, notorious rogue…and government agent. His latest assignment is to protect a politician’s daughter, Verity Verrinder, while her father negotiates a foreign alliance against Napoleon. But when, to keep Verity under his watchful eye, Huntley embarks on a campaign of seduction he hasn’t anticipated falling in love with his charge.

When Lord Huntley turns his bone-melting charms on her, Verity suspects she’s exchanging an overbearing parent, for a domineering rogue. Denying her attraction to the handsome Huntley, Verity goes in search of freedom, only to run into the clutches of French kidnappers. This leaves Lord Huntley with a stark choice between saving Britain’s peace negotiations or the life of the only woman he has ever loved.