Welcome Guest Author... Ellie Gray!

From this week, I am going to try my best to host a guest romance author (contemporary or historical) on my blog in the hope it introduces you to an author you didn't know or maybe you haven't read for a while!

So, I am thrilled to introduce fellow Wild Rose Press author, Ellie Gray who is kicking off this new feature - welcome, Ellie. I am so glad to have you here and looking forward to learning more about you and your books. Let's get started with my questions!

      What was your first job? Did you like or dislike it? Why?

My first job was as a medical secretary, and I really enjoyed it. It was in a large GP practice, and I enjoyed learning about a huge range of medical conditions, treatments etc. I also enjoyed the interaction with the GPs, and the back office staff. It was incredibly busy but there was a real sense of camaraderie – it was a great first job to have!

Do you have a pet peeve? If so what is it?

People scrolling through their mobile phones when they are out with friends/family. Don’t get me wrong, I spend a lot of time doing that myself at home, but not when I’m with friends and family. I think it is important to put the phone away and really engage with people.

Do you spend more time researching or writing?

I think writing. When I have an idea for a book, I will undertake research where it is needed as I’m building the story in my head, but when I begin to write it, I try and write as much as possible without stopping to undertake more research. I’ll add in a note to say ‘research this bit’ etc so that I don’t stop the flow. Once I’ve completed my first draft, I’ll then go through and find the bits I need to research and then add in where necessary. Well, that’s how it mostly happens – there are some points where I’m so intrigued that I just have to research certain elements as I write them…

Tell me about your book Winter Storm and where you got your inspiration for it?

Winter Storm is my first romantic suspense novel. I’d had the idea for a story set around Christmas for a while and had been thinking about different threads for it. The heroine, Willow, was always going to be someone who was spiritual, and who spent most of her time helping others. As I began to draft the story, I wondered what she would do if she came across someone in trouble, and who was almost the complete opposite of her. It kind of grew from there.

How much of your book is realistic?

The village setting of Millendale, where the characters are snowed in, is loosely based on the North Yorkshire village of Thixendale, but essentially it is a work of fiction. The strange little recess in the wall where Willow hides in the school is based on a similar feature I was always fascinated by in my old school. I always imagined that, should I ever find myself completely alone in the maze-like corridors of the large school, at night, and was being stalked by a stranger, that was where I would hide. As you can see, I had an overactive imagination even then – but who knew I would be able to use that strange little architectural feature in a novel in my adult life?!

What are your ambitions for your writing career?

I would love to be able to give up the day job and write full time, and it is something I’m working towards. I’ve now had both contemporary romance and romantic suspense novels published, but I have also written young adult fiction. My ambition would be to also have the YA fiction published, perhaps under a pseudonym.

 Who is your role model? Why?

Gosh, that’s a difficult one. In general terms, I think my role model would be my dad – he never had a bad word to say about anyone and, not surprisingly, didn’t have an enemy in the world. I strive to be the person he was.

 Share one fact about yourself that would surprise people.

Hmm, I’m not sure there is anything particularly surprising about me – what you see is what you get, really! As well as writing, and working in the public sector, I also have a small business making and selling jewellery. My aim is to grow both my writing and jewellery businesses to enable me to give up the day job. You never know unless you try, do you?

Links to Winter Storm:

Willow Daniels has a heart of gold and is willing to help anyone who needs it, but when she helps Ethan McCormick one snowy night, she may just have made the biggest mistake of her life. Trapped by a winter storm in a tiny, North Yorkshire village, Willow is forced to re-evaluate everything she believes in, and wonders if anyone is truly who they seem. 

Fate may have brought her to Ethan, but as danger closes in around them, Willow must draw on a strength she never knew she possessed in order to protect the man she has grown to love, not only against his worst enemy, but also against himself.

Amazon:  mybook.to/WinterStormEGray

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/winter-storm-ellie-gray/1139990305


Website: https://elliegrayauthor.wordpress.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elliegrayauthor

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/elliegray58

Pinterest:  https://uk.pinterest.com/elliegray71/

Bio:

I love to write heartwarming, contemporary romance, and romantic suspense novels, with characters I really want my readers to engage with. I live in the beautiful East Riding of Yorkshire in the UK and, although I have a day job working in the public sector, my favourite pastime, when not writing, is wandering around old stately homes and castles, or sitting at a pavement cafĂ© in the sun and watching the world go by – always on the lookout for something that might spark the idea for my next novel.

 

I enjoy engaging with both readers and other authors, and am a proud member of the Romantic Novelist Association. Feel free to contact me and chat about all things romance through my social media pages, which you can find at the bottom of this page.


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