Interview with Alice Gaines

Today I'm interviewing multi-published author Alice Gaines. If you haven't had a chance to curl up with one of her books, you're truly missing out. Her newest release, Miss Foster's Folly, is about to be released and bound to garner the same rave reviews as her last.

Welcome Alice!

1-Miss Foster's Folly is set to be released June 14th from Carina Press. What's it about?

It’s about a spinster from Gilded Age Manhattan who inherits a huge fortune and plans to sleep her way across Europe. Unfortunately, the man she chooses to rid her of her virginity insists he wants to marry her.

Juliet Foster and David Winslow, the Marquis of Derrington, spend most of the book fighting the battle of the sexes in reverse. He wants her heart. She wants his body. Eventually, they both get what they want.

2-What gave you the inspiration for this story?

The idea came to me in a flash at an RWA meeting. Our editor guest challenged us to come up with a hook for a historical romance, and I blurted out “A wealthy spinster wants to sleep her way across Europe.” Ta da!

3-When did you begin your writing career?

1990, almost exactly twenty years ago. I had a horrendous day job that I could only tolerate by escaping into fantasy for hours at a time. I’d just bought my first computer, and back in those days, you couldn’t do much with them but actual work. So, during the day, I made up a story, and at night, I wrote it down. I didn’t tell my husband what I was doing for weeks. Fate stepped in, and RWA national was having its national convention in San Francisco that year. I attended, and I haven’t stopped writing since.

4-What would you say is the hardest part of the writing process?

Rewriting. I hate rewriting. I know that makes me a bad writer. Bad. But, there you are.

Also, there’s a scene in Laura Kinsale’s Flowers from the Storm that I’ve tried to recreate in one of my own books for years. I never get close.

5-The easiest?

Dialogue. I hear voices in my head all the time. I only have to write them down, and I look brilliant.

6-What would I find on the top of your To-Be-Read-Pile?

Laura Kinsale’s Lessons in French and Charles Pierce’s Idiot America. I usually have one non-fiction and one romance going at a time.

7-What advice do you have to new writers?

Don’t let the bastards get you down. It’s amazing how perfectly delightful and intelligent people (editors and agents) can have the astonishingly bad taste to reject your stories. Unfortunately, that’s the world we all have to write in. Whatever you do, do not let them steal your love of storytelling. The best revenge is new pages.

8-Tell me a little about Carina Press and your experience with them.

Carina brings all of Harlequin’s savvy and expertise to e-publishing. I’ve never dealt with a publisher quite like them. We have a monthly on-line and conference call meeting for staff and authors. We have almost weekly training sessions in marketing and social networking. The covers are gorgeous. My editor, Jessica Schulte, is a living doll. (She, at least, recognizes my greatness.)

One of the very smart thing Carina is doing is to put a reasonable price on the books. I’ve never understood why e-books have to cost as much as books that have to be printed, shipped, and stored. Honestly, I think readers are ready to revolt over the price of books. I hope they discover Carina and realize their reading doesn’t have to take a huge chunk out of their budget.

9-What would you say is your biggest folly?

Oh, lordy. I’m of the “sex, drugs, and rock and roll” generation. Drugs weren’t my thing, and I prefer soul music to rock-and-roll. I’ll let your imagination go from there.

10-And finally, are there any other books in the works?

Always. I have an idea for a series flitting around in my head. It’ll be historical about three young women schoolmates who play tricks on each other, mostly involving men. One will be very tall, another a full-figured woman, and the third will be extremely intelligent. Each will be determined to maintain her independence from men, and each will fail when the right man comes along.


~Thanks Alice for stopping by and sharing some of your insight into your writing process and what's going on in the mind of a pro! Can't wait to get my hands on a copy of Miss Foster's Folly!

Miss Foster's Folly is available through Carina Press here.
Or through Amazon.

You can also find Alice Gaines on her blog.