Terrific Tuesday with Susan Gabriel:)

Welcome! Please introduce yourself and tell us about your latest release.

Hi, my name is Susan Gabriel and I am a writer of paranormal romance. My latest release is Only the Lonely, a modern vampire romance. It’s a super fun read loaded with humor but also suspense and mystery…and, of course, toe-curling romance.

I have a short story coming out in a few weeks (just in time for Halloween) with Mojocastle Press in a Halloween-themed anthology. The story title is The Man in the Long Black Coat. The writing style is a deliberate departure from my usual and it was uber-fun to work on..

Have you ever had an idea for a story which scared you after you began writing it?

Actually I have a work in progress which began as a stand alone project, but before I completed just 3 chapters I realized that for the story to be complete it would have to become either one enormous book or a series. I’ve decided to make it a trilogy. That’s pretty scary to me.

Have you incorporated actual events from your own life into your books?

Yes, as a matter of fact. In Only the Lonely, the heroine is a DJ at a radio station. I used to DJ at a top 40 radio station and I drew on that experience as I wrote my character and her surroundings.

How much research do you do? Do you research first and then write, or do you write first, then research as needed?

I do a large amount of research. Whether it is location, history, mode of dress or folklore, I insist on getting my facts correct. Readers are very savvy and they will catch on if you are just pulling things out of your bum. As far as when I research, I do a bit of both, before and during. It depends on the work in progress really.

Is there any message you want readers to take from reading your work?

Yes, absolutely! There is always an underlying message (or two) in my stories. Each is different. My first book, The Stir of Echo, is about trust and letting go of control. The concept of trust sounds simple, but it really is quite complicated and difficult.

In Only the Lonely, the theme is redemption and karmic debt.

The Man in the Long Black Coat warns of answered prayers.

And the overall message in all of my work is that love remains undefined. There are no limits set on who we love and why we love them.

Are you a plotter or a pantser? And have you ever had a story take on a life of its own?

I am a plotter, but I leave room for the characters to tell their own story. I have a general guideline of where I want the plot to go and specific events that need to happen (which is especially important if the plot involves a mystery). As a writer, all of my stories take on a life of their own. I think they have to in order for them to be believable. I’ve even shed a few tears while writing certain passages and feeling the emotions of the character so strongly that they seem quite real to me.

How long did it take for you to be published?

I was quite lucky and was published on my first go-round of submissions. I think the acceptance came within something like 2 weeks of submission.

If you could go back and tell yourself anything when you first began your writing career, what would you say?

Keep your day job.

Laptop or pen and ink? What are your ‘must-haves’ when writing?

I hate laptops, or at least laptop keyboards, so I do my writing on a PC. However, I also have plenty of little moleskin notebooks that I am constantly filling with ideas. I find those notebooks invaluable and frequently turn to them when I am writing. Sometimes there will be entire chapters scribbled in bits and pieces in my moleskin.

Who are your favorite authors? Who would you say influenced you the most?

Wow, that’s a pretty long and varied list. I love the classics with Dickens being my favorite in that genre. As far as modern day authors go, I love Tim Dorsey and Stephen King and JK Rowling books…not so much for her writing style, but simply for the pleasure of the storytelling. Lately I have become hooked on anthologies. They are the best way to get a nice sampling of many different writing styles.

I think I was influenced the most by the classic writers I have read. With them there is always a story within a story, a message, a parable. No matter what I write it always seems to have a deeper theme or I am not satisfied with it.

What would your readers be surprised to learn about you?

Maybe that I have lived in 8 different states and twice lived in Europe. I have a gypsy soul and will pick up and move at the drop of a hat. Unfortunately I have discovered that no matter where you go, there you are.

Favorite ‘Summer Food’ (ie: Veggies, fruit, or fair food)

Watermelon!

Mountains or Beach?

Tough one. I live in the mountains, so I love, love them, but I have a little condo on the gulf in Florida too and can spend hours walking the shoreline. So, my answer is: The mountains in the summer and the beach in the winter.

Favorite amusement park ride?

Roller coaster, of course!

Favorite drink?

Margarita, on the rocks, salted rim.

Thank you for being here today! Please tell us where we can find your books.

You can find The Stir of Echo and Only the Lonely at: www.blackvelvetseductions.com

http://blackvelvetseductions.com/The%20Stir%20of%20Echo.html

http://blackvelvetseductions.com/Only%20The%20Lonely.html

The Man in the Long Black Coat is coming soon to Mojocastle Press

http://www.mojocastle.com/

My blog: http://susangabriel.blogspot.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/SusanLGabriel

Blurb:

Destiny is on the line for Summer Solstice, the sultry and acerbic hostess of the popular St. Louis KJZM late night talk-radio show Only the Lonely when a call comes through from a centuries-old vampire with a dark and tragic past which begins an adventure that is both sensual and terrifying.

Before the night is over, Summer will be drawn into a secretive world…the world of the mystifying vampire who has the face of an angel, the needs of a man and a thirst for human blood.

Forbidden desire turns to love, and love turns to suspicion when Summer’s fans turn up floating in the murky waters of the Mississippi and she wonders if her “fiend” with benefits is the cause.

This erotic and suspenseful tale will leave you breathlessly guessing until the last page whether these two beings from different worlds will be each other’s salvation or undoing.

Excerpt:

She slipped her arms around his waist, snuggling her head on his shoulder, her scent, tuberose and lemongrass, hovering like a hummingbird around her head.

Beneath the translucent skin of her neck, Lucien eyed the pulse of her jugular vein, as inviting as the blinking light of an all-night diner. Like a starving dog, hunger chewed on his bones. The mortals he fed on were so full of despair and self-loathing that each time he drank from them, he felt made over until their wretchedness seemed to ooze from his very pores.

The temptation of ingesting the life-force of one with so much vivaciousness and passion as she possessed was dizzying. The power of those magical cells would be a tonic for his miserable soul. He closed his eyes and imagined drinking from her, her corpuscles coursing through his veins, quickening him with vitality that grew in intensity with each mouthful. He saw his mouth clamped to her neck, feasting on her as if she were Christmas dinner, slaking his thirst with her last drop of precious fluid, his body and soul ablaze with her energy. He quaked at the thought. Then he saw her limp, bloodless form lying in his arms and he trembled with horror and loathing.

Sickened by his imaginings, a bitter taste filled his mouth. He had to leave this place before his vision became a reality. He had gone too long without feeding and his mind was mad with hunger.