Today Susan Royal, author of the time travel romance Not Long Ago, and I swap blogs. Hop on over to her blog to find out what movie I always watch when it’s on. Now let’s find out more about Susan.
What inspired you to write Not Long Ago?
History has always been one of my favorite subjects. I always wondered what happened during those times. How did people live in medieval society? What was it like during the Civil War? What was William Wallace really like? I cannot think of a better way to get up close and personal with something happening hundreds of years ago than to be a time traveler.
I had the first page of Not Long Ago written for at least a year. It could have gone a hundred different ways from there. A young woman passing by a coffee shop window happens to make eye contact with one of the customers. Someone she feels a strong connection with the man even he’s a stranger. Of course, the romantic in me wanted their chance meeting to develop further. Mixing in elements of time travel made it even more intriguing to me.
What book(s) had the most influence on you while growing up?
Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked this Way Comes and Dandelion Wine were favorites of mine. I loved the way he could paint a scene with words. Poul Anderson’s Three Hearts and Three Lions and The Glory Road by Robert Heinlein were my first time travel books. A Wrinkle In Time, Catseye, The Diary of Anne Frank—I read a lot.
If you were stranded on a desert island and could only bring two books and one movie, what would you bring?
Oh my, this is a hard question.
Movie—Australia, Out of Africa, The Postman, something like that
Books—any of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander Series.
What is your favorite part of the writing process? What is your least favorite part?
My favorite part is when everything comes together and the words flow. I love to get a scene in my head that begs to be written. No matter where I am in the writing process, I open up a new document, write until the scene is done and worry about fitting it in with the rest of the story later.
My least favorite part is the part where I look for typos, echo words, overused words, grammar mistakes.
What is the single best piece of advice you have for aspiring authors?
Keep writing, join a critique group, edit-edit-edit, never stop learning and never ever give up
If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
I’d be a time traveler.
What is something funny/weird/exceptional about yourself that you don’t normally share with others in an interview?
I’ll pretty much share anything. I don’t mind laughing at myself, because I do a lot of laughable things. I guess the latest is my daughter taking new Bio pictures of me this weekend in 100+ degree Texas weather. I was wearing winter clothes, because they look the best and trying NOT to sweat or pass out from the heat. We got tickled and one thing led to another. I’m sure the people driving by thought we were crazy. (Probably not. Everyone knows how I am, or they should by now.)
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 is 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.
About the Author:
Born in west Texas and raised in south Texas, Susan makes her home in a 100-year-old farmhouse in a small east Texas town that comes complete with a female ghost who has been known to harmonize with her son when he plays guitar.
Susan is married, with three children and four grandchildren. Her family is rich with characters, both past and present. She spent her childhood listening to her grandmother’s stories of living on a farm in OklahomaTerritory with three sisters and three brothers and working as a telephone operator in the early 20th century. Her father shared stories of growing up in San Antonio in the depression, and through her mother’s eyes she experienced how it felt to be a teenager during WWII
Her newest book, In My Own Shadow, is a Fantasy adventure/romance. Other published works are, Not Long Ago, a time travel adventure/romance. Both ebooks are available through MuseItUp/Amazon/B&N. Odin’s Spear, one of her short stories is featured in a Quests, Curses, and Vengeance anthology, Martinus Publishing. She has finished the sequel to Not Long Ago, because her daughter insists there is still more of Erin and Griffin’s story to tell, and she was right.
In My Own Shadow (fantasy, adventure, romance)
http://tinyurl.com/bqbxm41
Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/Wbg8Z-12ojY
Not Long Ago (time travel, adventure, romance)
http://tinyurl.com/85vgye3
Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/vOIQVdWUigU/
Both books available at MuseItUp, Amazon, B&N, Goodreads
http://susanroyal.moonfruit.com
http://susanaroyal.wordpress.com
Thanks so much for having me Katie!
Thanks for stopping by, Susan!
Sounds like an awesome read Susan! I love time travel stories 🙂 And now I’m wondering if your picture above is one you took with your daughter!
Thanks Meradeth! I do too. This is not one of the new pictures, but it was taken in the ‘dead’ of summer as well. It’s a wonder she didn’t have to photoshop it to remove the beads of sweat, LOL
I wondered the same thing, Meradeth!
Enjoyed this interview, Susan and Katie. I absolutely loved Something Wicked This Way Comes (I gave the book out for Christmas gifts one year.) and Dandelion Wine and Ray Bradbury. After Bradbury died, I did a little tribute to him in one of my blogs. His style of writing.
Susan, your book sounds interesting. Best wishes.
Susan Bernhardt
The Ginseng Conspiracy coming in 1/14
http://www.susanbernhardt.com
Thank you Susan. And thanks for coming. At a recent conference I got to meet another author who knew Ray Bradbury personally. It was a wonderful experience to hear about the man first hand.
Thanks for stopping by, Susan. I’ve red some Bradbury but not Dandelion Wine. I’ll have to check it out.
Time travel would be really fun! I never even considered that as a super power, but now I want it. 🙂
Just imagine the places you could visit.
I never thought of time travel as a superpower either, Kelly! It would definitely be a cool power to have.
Fun interview and GREAT character name! 😉
Thanks Erin. I think it’s a great name too.