TSP: How did you get where you are today with your writing career and would you have done anything differently?
KD: First of all, I’d like to thank the Scarf Princess for having me over. It’s lovely to be here with all your favorite things.
I’ve been writing all my life, but it was only about six years ago that I got brave enough to start sending short stories out. The early ones weren’t erotica. They were of mixed genre, some were sent off to contests some were to magazines. I got mentioned in a couple of contests, but that was about as far as it went. Then I started approaching agents about my first novel. Because I had nothing published, it was very difficult to get anyone to consider my work.
I’ve always been good at writing sex scenes and love scenes and found it fairly easy and fun to do, so one day I was looking through the now defunct Scarlet Magazine and discovered the ‘Cliterature’section, which published short stories submitted by readers. I sent a story in, and they sent me a cheque! I sent them another story, they sent me another cheque! It was a wonderful change from the massive pile of rejections I’d been accumulating. After that I had short stories published with Black Lace, Cleis Press, Mammoth and Xcite.
When Black Lace folded, I had just submitted The Initiation of Ms Holly to them. I was devastated. Less than six months later, however, I signed a contract with Xcite Books for Holly, and that was the beginning. Since then I’ve written The Pet Shop, Body Temperature and Rising, Riding the Ether is, of course, the second book of the Lakeland Heatwave paranormal erotic romance trilogy. I’ve written several novellas and numerous short stories, and I’ve now branched into romance with my Executive Decisions trilogy, writing under the name Grace Marshall. Now, I’m having to turn down offers because I’m writing as fast as I can, so these days I get to do the rejectingJ A very refreshing change on the one hand, but on the other, it’s so hard to have to say no to a project that sound like lots of fun.
Oh, and have I mentioned how much fun I’m having? Joseph Campbell, the mythologist called it ‘following your bliss’ when you get to do what you love. He was right!
TSP: What does your writing space look like and are there any inspirational objects you keep nearby?
KD: When we moved into this house, there was a spare bedroom upstairs that was going to be my writing room, but it only had a small window. It was dark and gloomy and felt like a dungeon and not in a good way. I never wrote there. I ended taking turns writing in the recliner in the living room or writing at the dining room table – both places where I can see out into the back garden and watch the birds.
My most inspirational object is a rock I picked up the day we climbed Helvellyn’s Striding Edge, at the time the scariest walk I’d ever done. On the descent off Swirl Edge, which is pretty scary in itself, I just happened to look down and find a rock that was just grey slate-ish looking on the edges, but sandwiched in the middle was a row of tiny, perfect crystals. I sort of see it as a reminder that I can do whatever I set my mind to.
TSP: You're mostly a writer of erotic works. Are there any other genres you like to try your writing hand at?
KD: As I mentioned, I’m writing romance now under the name Grace Marshall. My first novel in that genre, An Executive Decision, is out on Kindle and will be in print 1st November. I’d also like to try my hand at epic fantasy. So much to write, so little time!
TSP: Of all your books, are there any you wish you'd done anything different with story wise?
KD: With almost all of them I wish I could have made them just a little bit longer. I was writing to a word count, so I had to be very choosy about what words I wrote. That’s a good thing in that it forces me to choose wisely, but it would have been nice to have a little more room to play. The great thing about the Grace Marshall novels is that I am able to have the extra wordage, which gives me a little more room to play and flush out the endings a little more to my liking.
TSP: Are there any actors you'd love to see as a cover model for erotic novels?
KD: Aiden Turner all sprawled over a well-played-in bed like he appeared in Desperate Romantics. Yep, definitely. That would work for me. *Sigh*
TSP: What would you like us to know about your latest release beyond its synopsis?
KD: Riding the Ether, like all of the Lakeland Heatwave trilogy, is set in the English Lake District, and is inspired by the time I’ve spent there. It actually had its beginnings from an experience I had being caught out on the high fells in the mist. That experience of feeling lost in the nothingness very much inspired my version of what the Ether would be like, that out of body place where witches go to do particularly dangerous magic that may not work anywhere else. The first words were penned inside the giant stone circle at Avebury on Samhain in the Red Lion Inn, which is reputedly the most haunted pub in Britain. Oh yes, there was magic in the air?
TSP: How has the digital revolution affected your career and how you market yourself? Do you have an eReader?
KD: Yes, I have a Kindle, and I love it. The digital revolution has been fabulous for my career. I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time and get in on Lucy Felthouse’s good side when she was beginning her Writers Marketing business. That meant I had her advice as to how best to use the internet and social media to promote my work, and I’m sure having the skills she’s taught me has made a huge difference in promoting and marketing, and most of all in sales.
I think it’s a very exciting time for writers. As I mentioned before, back in the early days, the only way into publishing was through the agents, and it was very hard to get an agent to even look at your work if you weren’t already published. Then if you did get an agent, you were looking at probably a good six months to a year before a publisher would take you on –IF a publisher would take you on. And then it was often another year or more before your work was actually out there, and another year still before you saw your first royalties, provided you’d earned back your advance.
Now it’s a much faster turnaround and without the gatekeepers. Though it’s a lot harder in some ways, I suppose. One of the best part of the digital revolution is that I have so much more control. The digital world now affords people so many more opportunities. My books are out in both print and eBook, but print royalties are a much smaller percentage per sale because print is more expensive than eBook. Plus the rise of eReaders means there are more people, myself included buying eBooks. And let’s face it, there’s something to be said for that instant gratification of downloading your favourite book with a single key stroke.
TSP: My blog is all about favorite things. What are your favorite things, the things you can't live without?
KD: Next to writing my favorite things are just about anything that gets me outside. I especially like long distance walking. My husband and I did the Coast to Coast walk across England last year. We also grow our own veg in a very large allotment. That is definitely one of my favorite things. As for things I can’t live without, well there’s the morning espresso and the bottomless glass of iced tea that I’m never without during the course of my writing day. I’m a cheap date!
Thanks again for having me on your site. It was a pleasure to be here and the questions were great fun.
Cassandra Larkin keeps her ravenous and dangerous sexual appetite secret until she seduces Anderson in the mysterious void of the Ether. Anderson is the sexy, insatiable ghost who can give her exactly what she needs.
But sex is dangerous in a place like the Ether…
When the treacherous demon, Deacon, discovers the truth about the origin of Cassandra’s powerful lust, he plots to use her sex magic for revenge on Tara Stone and the Elemental Coven, who practice their own brand of sex magic.
Cassandra must embrace the lust and sexuality she fears and learn to use its power. Will she stand with Anderson, Tara, and the Elemental Coven against Deacon’s wrath or suffer the loss of friendship, magic and love?
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AUTHOR INFO:
K D Grace believes Freud was right. In the end, it really IS all about sex, well sex and love. And nobody’s happier about that than she, cuz otherwise, what would she write about?
When she’s not writing, K D is veg gardening or walking. She walks her stories, and she’s serious about it. She and her husband recently walked the Coast to Coast route across England. For her, inspiration is directly proportionate to how quickly she wears out a pair of walking boots.
K D has erotica published with Xcite Books, Mammoth, Cleis Press, Black Lace, Erotic Review, Ravenous Romance, Scarlet Magazine, Sweetmeats Press and others.
K D’s critically acclaimed erotic romance novels include, The Initiation of Ms Holly, The Pet Shop, and her paranormal erotic novel, Body Temperature and Rising, the first book of her Lakeland Heatwave trilogy, was listed as honorable mention on Violet Blue’s Top 12 Sex Books for 2011.
Website: http://kdgrace.co.uk/
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/
Thanks SO much for having me on your lovely site, SP! I love talking about favourite things, and it's a real pleasure to do so with you!
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Thank YOU for being here today and sharing time out of your busy schedule!
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