I'm excited to welcome to the blog new author and my writer pal Susan A. Royal. Her novel, Not Long Ago, is a time-travel romance due out this month. It's a wonderful tale of romance, friendship, strength, and honor. Let's get to know a little more about Susan and her novel.
1. How long
have you been writing?
I’ve been making
up stories since I was a little girl. In
fact, I still have my first “book”, complete with illustrations, written in
pencil on lined notebook paper, folded and bound with a red ribbon. I believe I was six years old.
2. What is
your favorite genre to read and/or write?
I love urban fantasy, time travel, science
fiction, paranormal and that’s pretty much what I write. Remember Spielberg’s series “Amazing
Stories”? Twisty, quirky little plots. Someone ordinary, like you or me, and how
they deal with something that goes beyond.
3. What
sparked the idea for Not Long Ago and what made you see it through to
publishing?
I had the first scene
written for at least a year before I went any further. It could have gone in a thousand different
directions, but the romantic in me knew I had to explore the connection between
the man and the woman who saw each other by accident through the coffee shop
window. I was lucky enough to submit my
work to an editor and an agent who took the time to encourage me. They told me my strong points and what I
needed to develop further. After I got
over feeling rejected, I took what they said to heart and learned. I entered and won short story contests. I kept reading, writing, learning, editing
and I never gave up.
4. Who’s
your favorite character in the story and why?
I get attached to my supporting characters, sometimes more so than my
main characters. In Not Long Ago, Arvo,
the tailor’s gangly, red-headed son is a charmer with an eye for the ladies,
who loves to listen to gossip. He keeps Erin,
a young woman who time travels from modern times to a medieval society,
informed of castle goings-on. He knows
she’s masquerading as a boy but keeps her secret. He even helps her sneak into the Masked Ball so
she could dance with the handsome knight, Sir Griffin. In the end, Arvo turns out to be a fast
friend Erin can never forget.
5. Favorite
comfort food, music, or distraction when writing?
Food:
something I can snack on that isn’t greasy or sticky (makes it difficult
to type-LOL) a cup of coffee or Earl
Grey in the winter, Pepsi or iced tea with lime in the summer Music:
Something that sets the mood I’m writing. I like to listen to acoustic guitar (my son’s
recordings) Enya, movie soundtracks like Cold Mountain, The Village, Outlander,
Braveheart. I like Moby, Coldplay,
Loreena McKinnett, Crowded House and the list goes on…
6. Who’s
been your biggest supporter on your writerly journey?
My family. They listen to my ideas, help me past my
blocks, listen to me whine, or listen to me period!! (I do get carried away
sometimes) And I can’t forget my writer
friends like you who brainstorm with me when I’m stuck.
7. What’s
the most important thing you learned in the process from first draft to
published?
Never give up. Someone once told me “There is nothing about your
story that can’t be fixed. You are the
author, after all. You can fill the plot
holes, flesh it out, expand, or condense, learn to say things better and
improve.
8. Least
favorite thing about the process?
The
waiting. I’m an impatient person
9. Are you a
plotter, pantser, or a combination?
A
little of both, I think. I have a
general idea of where I want to story to go.
It comes to me in scenes. It
works better for me to write, write, write, and get my ideas down, then go back
and whip them into shape.
10. What are
your current writing goals?
I’ve just
finished a fantasy romance, In My Own Shadow and I’ve submitted it. I’ve begun writing the sequel to Not Long
Ago. (My daughter insisted the story
wasn’t done so I had to continue)
Not Long Ago
Blurb:
Erin has met the man of her dreams, but as usual there are complications. It’s one of those long distance relationships, and Griffin is a little behind the times-- somewhere around 600 years.
Erin and her employer, March, are transported to a time where chivalry and religion exist alongside brutality and superstition. Something’s not quite right at the castle, and Erin and March feel sure mysterious Lady Isobeil is involved. But Erin must cope with crop circles, ghosts, a kidnapping and death before the truth of her journey is revealed.
Forced to pose as March’s nephew, Erin finds employment as handsome Sir Griffin’s squire. She’s immediately attracted to him and grows to admire his courage, quiet nobility and devotion to duty. Yet, she must deny her feelings. Her world is centuries away, and she wants to go home. But, Erin can’t stop thinking about her knight in shining armor.
Not Long Ago will be available in June, 2012 through MuseItUp and Amazon
Excerpt:
I saw him the other day. It happened when I cut across Market Street and passed in front of the fancy new coffee shop. On the other side of spotless glass, waitresses in crisp black uniforms served expensive coffee in fancy cups and saucers. One man sat alone at a table by the window. No one I knew, just a nice looking stranger who looked up as I passed. We exchanged glances and I froze in the middle of a busy sidewalk crowded with impatient people. Annoyed, they parted, sweeping past me like water rushing downstream.
What I saw left me reeling, as though someone had knocked the wind out of me. My glimpse deep inside the man’s essence unnerved me, but I couldn’t look away. Who was he? The waitress stopped at his table. He turned, lowering his cup into its saucer and shook his head, his mouth curving into a familiar smile that made my heart lurch.
After she left, his eyes returned to mine. A moment before, I thought they’d held a spark of recognition. Now, I saw nothing. I felt cold, as though he’d slammed a door in my face and left me standing outside in the rain.
I had no other choice but to move on.
It wasn’t just recognition—I knew things about him too. Things I had no reason to know. An image flashed in my mind: the curl of hair at the nape of his neck; a scar snaking down his arm. I’d put it there, after all.
I knew the man before me was an excellent horseman, accomplished swordsman, and an honorable man. Beyond the shadow of a doubt. How could I be so certain?
There was something else. A chilling realization crept up my spine. He didn’t belong in my world. Not in the coffee shop, not in the city. Not anywhere. None of this should have happened. We should have been no more than casual observers sharing a moment before going our separate ways. But something went wrong.
~*~
Be sure to visit Susan A. Royal at her website or blog, where you can find more fascinating tidbits about
Not Long Ago:
Thanks for stopping by, Susan! Congratulations on your success and best of luck on your writerly journey.
