A "Chance" meeting with Anne Gracie (and a fun giveaway!)

AG as Dame Babs at a RWAus party

I have a very special guest with me today... Anne Gracie.  Anne and I are "twins" (in the sense we share a birthday) and in the dark days when it looked like Romance Writers of Australia may fold, Anne was one of the stalwart band who came to the party with her Capricornian good sense. We have been good friends ever since and I have to confess I am a huge fan of her books! (I have an Anne Gracie shelf).

One thing I love about Anne is her sense of fun. She is responsible for introducing fancy dress into the Romance Writers of Australia conference, for which I will always thank her... and just to illustrate how similarly we think...We randomly turned up to one cocktail party dressed as the Elizabeth Peters's characters from THE CROCODILE ON THE SANDBANK.  My husband and I went as Amelia and Emerson and Anne turned up as "the crocodile on the sandbank". Totally unplanned!

The cast of The Crocodile on the Sandbank

Apart from being a fabulous writer of Regency Romantics, Anne is also one of the best teachers of the subject I have ever come across and on 23rd August and 13th September she will teaching a couple of writing classes at Ripponlea, for the National Trust of Victoria, as part of their wonderful Love, Desire and Riches —the Fashion of Weddings exhibition.  If you are interested in attending, classses are limited to 20 and cost $25 and are worth every cent! To book click HERE

Anne, you and I have shared many a cup of tea (and many glasses of something stronger). In honour of your Malaysian connections, I have sourced the finest Boh Tea from the Cameron Highlands. I hope that will suit?

Thanks so much for inviting me, Alison. Boh tea would be lovely. I have very fond memories of staying in the Cameron Highlands.

Anne age 7

Your parents were teachers with a yen for adventure so as a child you lived all around the world. What influence did your parents and their peripatetic lifestyle have on you as a writer?

I think it made me quite adaptable, but also very self-sufficient. It also made me somewhat of a hoarder, as so many of my prized possessions were jettisoned as we moved from place to place, that once I grew up, I tended to keep everything. I'm trying to overcome that now.

At school in Scotland 

Why did you decide to follow in your parents footsteps and become a teacher? Do you still teach?

It was a terrible shock to me, as growing up in a family of teachers -- and being the youngest -- teaching was the very last thing I wanted. However in my final year of high school, my inner-city academic high school took in its first intake of local kids, and found they needed help, so they started a cross-age tutoring scheme. I became fascinated with kids and learning difficulties, so much so that instead of doing a law degree, I changed to arts and education. I've never regretted it. I loved teaching.

I no longer teach in schools, but still teach writing from time to time.

You have been a huge influence of many young up and coming writers in your career (including me!) as a teacher, what started you on your own writing career?

Thank you. I've always had stories in my head, but while I was teaching I was so busy with the classes and many extra-curricular activities, they were swamped. But then I took long service leave and went backpacking solo around the world, and lo! the stories started to spin in my head again and I wrote them down in exercise books. I came back with a firm plan to try to get published.

What advice do you offer to aspiring authors?

Read widely, write the kind of books you'd love to read, join a writers' organization (Romance Writers of Australia is brilliant) and do a writing course. And write, write, write. Writing is like a muscle -- the more you do the stronger it gets.

You are currently into your third series of Regency Romances, the first being the Merridew Sisters, the second the Devil Riders and the current series, the Chance Sister. What are the pleasures and pains of writing series?

The pleasures are that you're building a world and a community of people, and I really enjoy that. I also love it that readers enter and enjoy those worlds and write to me with opinions and requests for the story of this minor character or that. That's very satisfying.

The pains? A slight pain is that if another idea is calling to me, I have to set it aside and stick to the contracted book. But once I get stuck into a book, I'm so deep in that world it doesn't matter. And this is not a pain, but more of a challenge — that because I don't plan all my books out in advance, I can sometimes be starting a book that's part of a series, and have no idea where the story is going to go, only who the hero or heroine is. It's a challenge I enjoy, though. A third thing that's also not really a pain is that readers can keep requesting books, so I've written a trilogy of four books, a quartet of five books (and a sixth requested regularly by readers) and all I can say is thank goodness there are only four seasons, which will presumably limit my seasonal brides book. Though there is a possibility that there might be a Christmas Bride, too.

Congratulations on your RITA nomination for the first book in the Chance Sister series, The Autumn Bride. I know this is not your first RITA nomination but from a personal point of view how important is to receive these nominations?

Thank you. I'm always thrilled to receive a RITA nomination. This is my fifth. It's an award chosen by writers, so it's lovely to have peer recognition. And as a writer who battles constantly with self-doubt it's very reassuring to be nominated again.

The Winter Bride (with its gorgeous glacial cover) was released a couple of months ago? This is the second book in “Chance Sisters” series, for anyone not familiar with the background, what is the premise behind this particular series?

The Chance sisters series is about four girls who come together in adversity and vow to be as sisters. A desperate act introduces them to an aristocratic, eccentric old lady, who then decides to present them to society as her nieces. It's a fun, rags-to riches adventure, with each book about each sister's journey to happiness.

Anne is giving away a copy (print or digital) of her RITA finalling book THE AUTUMN BRIDE (see below for details)

Governess Abigail Chantry will do anything to save her sister and two dearest friends from destitution, even if it means breaking into an empty mansion in the hope of finding something to sell. Instead of treasure, though, she finds the owner. Lady Beatrice Davenham, bedridden and neglected. Appalled, Abby rousts Lady Beatrice's predatory servants and — with Lady Beatrice's eager cooperation— the four young ladies become her "nieces," neatly eliminating the threat of disaster for all concerned!
It's the perfect situation, until Lady Beatrice's dashing and arrogant nephew, Max, Lord Davenham, returns from the Orient — and discovers an impostor running his household. . .

ABOUT ANNE

Anne Gracie spent her childhood on the move when her father's job took them around the world. The gypsy life taught her that humour & love are universal languages and that favorite books can take you home, wherever you are.
First published by Harlequin, and with eleven historical romances published by Berkley/Penguin, Anne is a nationally bestselling author in the US, has won numerous awards, is a lifetime member of Romance Writers of Australia and feels very lucky to have the life she does.
Visit Anne at her website or on Facebook. Anne blogs regularly with the wonderful Word Wenches. 

BUY Anne's books at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Indie Bound or the Book Depository (free postage worldwide!). In Australia you will also find them on fishpond.com.au

TO WIN a copy of the AUTUMN BRIDE... leave a comment telling us which covers you prefer! The winner will be randomly chosen but it will be fun to see which covers attract you the most! (Don't forget to leave your email address!!!)

THE WINTER BRIDE:  A or B?

THE AUTUMN BRIDE:  C or D?

A

B

C

D

BUY ANNE'S BOOKS ON AMAZON

Rediscovering Reading

This may sound a strange blog title...particularly coming from a writer but the sad truth is that in this busy world, I have lost the art of reading. Reading has been reduced to a self indulgent pleasure or a few snatched chapters before switching off the light at night.


To my shame, I get hopping mad when my husband starts to read because he is utterly single minded. He will sit and read a book from cover to cover in one sitting given half a chance and while I'm flitting around the house being busy and doing "stuff", he is sitting there READING A BOOK. He will then take it to bed and read it into the wee small hours without a thought that the light is driving his companion crazy!


I have just returned from a week in beautiful New Caledonia, most of which I spent by myself in a hotel in Noumea. DH  (who was doing a site visit in the north of the island) joined me for the weekend. The 4 days I spent by myself, I DID very little. Normally I have to train for holidays which are spent madly rushing around trying to see and do as much as we can in a short space of time.

WRITER AT WORK

Instead I wrote, I thought, I plotted and I read.


In keeping with my commitment to the Australian Women Writers Challenge I read Australian Women authors and here is the list.


THE FORGOTTEN GARDEN:  Kate Morton
A small child is found alone on a dock in Australia 1913 with nothing but a small white suitcase containing a book of fairy tales. This story traces the story of that little girl and the search for her identity. It is told through the eyes of the child as an older woman, her granddaughter and the mysterious "authoress" of the fairy tale book. What unfolds is a complex story of social class and rejection in the late nineteenth century. It is not a pretty tale and the fairy stories themselves give more clues to the true story and hints at a darker story than the one revealed on the surface. As the story moves between not only the three women's point of view, but also a fair smattering of the secondary characters, it is not an easy book to "get into". However once the rhythm is established it is a compelling with a satisfactory ending, at least for the granddaughter, Cassandra, who has her own demons to bear. 


INTRODUCING THE HONOURABLE PHRYNE FISHER:  The first 3 Phryne Fisher novels:  Kerry Greenwood
The wonderful Phyrne Fisher is the subject of seventeen books and is shortly to appear on our screens (ABC) in a series of single episodes based on a number of her books. Phryne is a "modern woman" of the 1920s, totally confident in her abilities and sexuality. Of course it helps to gorgeous and independently wealthy! The first 3 Phyrne books establish Phryne in Melbourne society and her cast of characters that surround her. Kerry's portrait of 1920s Melbourne is not tinged with rose. It was a rough and ugly world if you were poor and even though the root of the book is firmly local, the stories are universal (and just the right length for an easy holiday read).


BOOMERANG BRIDE:  Fiona Lowe
Fiona Lowe writes as HMB "medical author" and Boomerang Bride is her first venture outside that sub genre into the wider world of romantic fiction with a "feisty" Australian bride turning up in small town Wisconsin looking for her online fiancee. Instead she meets Marc the viking. This is a wonderful story, written with a deft and light touch. Fiona's deep affection for a part of the USA she know well comes through and the cast of secondary characters are beautifully drawn with the right amount of pathos/humour. Despite knowing this is a romance and it will end HEA, there are enough credible twists and turns along the way to keep the protagonists at a distance while they come to know not only each other but their inner selves.


BRIDE BY MISTAKE:  Anne Gracie
I did what my husband normally does...I read this book from cover to cover in one day. Admittedly most of that was spent on a long boat ride to an island, followed by an extended sit on a tropical beach. This is the last of Anne's Devil Rider series and I've loved them all. What I particularly like about Anne's writing is that she doesn't shy away from the reality of the period. Most of Regency England was spent at war and the men who returned from the war were inevitably damaged - physically and emotionally. Anne doesn't hold back in depicting the horror of what they endured and Luke, more than any of the other Devil Riders, is a badly wounded hero (all right I am a complete sucker for wounded heroes!) but so is Bella and together they have to heal the wounds of their horrible war. 


I also started:  HOUSE OF WOMEN:  Ann Whitfield also writing as Anne Brear


All Aussie women writers and all different! The only actual book I took with me was the Anne Gracie, the rest were transported via Kindle (imagine lugging that many books in your suitcase!). I am a total convert to ebooks!


In his few days with me, DH polished off his latest book (Dan Brown...say no more!) and "in desparation" picked up and read the Anne Gracie - in twenty four hours. A great fan of Bernard Cornwell and the wonderful Sharpe series, he chuckled his way through Luke and Bella's adventures and when he finished (with a smile on his face) pronounced it a "lovely story". Consider that a review!


What have you been doing for your holidays (summer or winter!) and what reading has taken your fancy?

My Secret Arts Life

Andy Warhol once said we are all entitled to our 15 minutes of fame but I don't think I quite understood what I had let myself in for when I was approached by the producer of "My Secret Arts Life", a segment of ABC Arts Nation, to see if I would be interested in appearing. He explained that the segment was looking at people with busy full time jobs who had secret passions for artistic pursuits. For example an eye surgeon who did ballet...and, yes, a senior executive (in a fire service) who wrote romantic fiction would be perfect!

It could have been awful. Writers of romantic fiction are used to being held up to ridicule as latter day Barbara Cartlands or bored housewifes in fluffy slippers. It is one thing to bear that burden in your writerly guise but quite another to carry it over into the real world where, yes I am, a senior executive in a very male industry! I should have had more confidence in my work mates, after all the first question I was asked when I went for my interview was where my books were available. Still...

I tried very hard not to think about it and put off the dread date till as late as I could possibly make it, only to have it brought forward on me. They would need at least a couple of hours at my workplace and would then film me at home. As luck would have it, the date and time we chose for the filming at work coincided with a rally by our friendly neighbourhood union which would culminate in a noisy gathering outside my window. The last thing we needed was a film crew pushing its way through ranks of annoyed workers! It was agreed to delay the filming session to the afternoon.

I had envisaged a discreet hand held camera and maybe one other person, not a film crew consisting of the producer, the camera man and the sound man, all hoisting huge amounts of gear! All very disruptive to a work place. So under the bright lights, I held imaginary conversations with my PA (who was choking with laughter in the outer office), checked files and stared intently into the computer screen (OK - my job really isn't that interesting!). Bemused work colleagues got dragged into my office for instanteous meetings, one of my fellow Directors had to quickly don a uniform for a one on one interview (which sadly wasn't used) and the afternoon receptionist had to bid me good morning (no less than 3 takes). It all culminated in a visit to the Fire Station (downstairs - I work above the shop!). Two charming, but  amused young firefighters were commissioned to show me over the Mk5 pumper truck (I do love those big red trucks).

It was with some relief we adjourned to home (thankfully the cleaning lady had been!), for the interview, the book reading and more filming of me typing on my computer. My dear friend, Anne Gracie, came along for moral support and DH arrived home in the middle of it all. Having declared he wanted no part of it, he found himself dragged into the filming and acquitted himself with all the aplomb of a true hero. Admittedly he did announce on national television that while I am a romantic person who loves flowers, he himself would never buy me flowers because he'd hate to think he was manipulating my emotions. Any wonder I write romance???

I was told the piece would go to air on May 9 and would include a re-enactment of part of the first chapter of THE KING'S MAN. While we all long to see our work on film, I cringed inwardly at that prospect.

Last weekend we went camping with friends and just by sheer chance I checked my telephone to see a SMS from the producer telling me it would be going to air that afternoon at 5.30pm! Stupidly we had forgotten to pack a TV but our friends came to the rescue. Their new car, they told me, had TV reception so at 5.30pm 8 of us crowded into the car to watch ARTS NATION.  The five hours of filming had been reduced to 5 minutes and the result was respectful of both myself as a writer but also of romantic fiction. Even the re-enactment worked (and can I please have the actor for Kit in the full screen version???).

Unfortunately while it is available on the internet, for copyright reasons (apparently) it is not viewable outside Australia, so my vain hope of the snippet being picked up by some bored Hollywood producer anxiously searching for new ideas, has been scotched and I have had my few minutes of Andy Warhol fame!

Watching Arts Nation on a 6" TV screen while camping!

BREAKING NEWS:  Both THE KING'S MAN and BY THE SWORD will be re-released shortly as electronic books only. Watch this space....