Sep 6, 2012

{Interview + Giveaway} In a Fix author Linda Grimes

I'm so pleased to welcome author Linda Grimes who is here to talk about her writing and her wonderfully entertaining new release In a Fix!

Check out my Review: In a Fix Review

Linda thank you so much for being a guest author on Seeing Night Reviews.

SNR: Can you tell us a little bit in your own words about In a Fix?

LG: You know how some fantasies are epic? Huge in scope and long in time-span—veritable ten-course feasts for the reader who wants to move in and settle down for a good, long stay at the reading table, so to speak?

Yeah, that's so not In a Fix.

My book is popcorn. It's light and a bit salty—a reading "snack" for those times when you just want a quick laugh or an undemanding distraction from real life.

I think people are sometimes in the mood for an lighter read, and I hope to provide that. I mean, feasts are great when you're starving—and have the time—but every now and then you might just want something fun, fast, and easy to devour quickly.

Plus, In a Fix has modern-day Vikings, and everyone knows Swedish "food" is delicious.

SNR: I found the idea of Aura Adaption incredibly creative and exciting. Is there something that inspired this ability and will we get more background in future books?

LG:
Thank you! There's definitely more background provided in Book 2 (Quick Fix, coming out next July), and I expect there'll be more to learn about adaptors with each subsequent book. Heck, I'm learning more about them all the time myself.

As for inspiration…well, I suspect most people have, at sometime or another, looked at someone—gorgeous model, actor, strangely attractive post office employee, whatever—and thought, wouldn't it be fun to look like that! If only for a little while. I know I have. So when I saw Ciel's name on a vanity license plate, and the character popped into my head, I knew at once she could do exactly that—look like anyone she wanted.

(Huh. Who'd have thought I'd find driving so inspiring? Normally it bores me stupid.)

SNR: Do you have any interesting quirks when writing? Ex. Listening to certain music for inspiration, watching television, writing outside, etc.

LG:
I need quiet to write. I love music, but find it totally distracting when I'm trying to listen to my characters speak.

Let's see…I also like to eat Hershey's Kisses while I work on love scenes. (Oh, heck. Who am I kidding? I like to eat them no matter what kind of scene I'm writing. But if I don't limit them, my jeans suddenly shrink. And that's depressing.)

SNR: What was your favorite experience in writing this book?

LG:
While I was researching, I revisited the memories of my travels in Sweden—that was the best! I was reminded of how much fun I had during my stays on Gotland, especially in Visby, the medieval walled city. Thankfully, my time there didn't turn out to be quite as much of …an adventure, shall we say?...as Ciel's did. 

SNR: I’m not normally a big fan of love triangles but I absolutely love Mark and Billy.  Do you have a favorite out of the two and what did you enjoy most on writing about them?

LG:
I'm glad the you didn't find the triangle annoying. You know, at first I didn't think there would be any sort of a triangle, but Billy kept elbowing his way in between Ciel and Mark, so I decided to go where it led. Arguing with my characters is more futile that resisting assimilation by the Borg. (Yes, I'm a  proud Star Trek nerd, from a whole family of nerds.)

As for who's my favorite—well, that's kind of like asking me if I'd rather have lasagna or a brownie—it  depends entirely on what I'm hungry for at the time. I really do like both of them. Well, all of them—lasagna, brownies, Billy, and Mark.

I love writing Mark and Billy because they're so different, and I enjoy the interplay between them, as well as each of their relationships with Ciel. The dynamic between the three of them seemed to evolve naturally. Frankly, I just like spending time with all of them.



SNR: Who are some of your favorite writers or books?

LG:
Diana Gabaldon tops my list, I'd have to say. Her Outlander books have all the elements I enjoy—an epic love story, mystery, fantasy, humor, complex plots, and, most importantly, characters real enough to walk off the page. (Her books would be classified as "feasts" on the menu.)

I also adore Vicki Pettersson for her kickass urban fantasies and her new Celestial Blues paranormal mystery series with its fantastic "rockabilly noir" sensibility.

Jim Butcher's Dresden Files UF books are favorites of mine, as are Harlan Coben's Myron Bolitar mysteries. (Okay, I have a small crush on Myron…and a great big one on Myron's psycho-yuppie best friend, Win.)

Gosh, I could go on and on…but I better not. It's making me want to dive back into all of them, and right now I don't have time to read.

SNR: If you could be any one of your characters who would it be and why?

LG:
Bet people expect me to say Ciel—and I would love that—but I also think it would be a heck of a lot of fun to be Billy. He seems like a guy who really knows how to have a good time.

SNR: Can you tell us what your working on next?

LG: Well, Quick Fix is in the pipeline, and I've recently started work on Book 3 of the series. I'm also playing around with a rom-com, and have dusted off my "drawer novel" (a paranormal suspense) to see if it can be salvaged. I find having a few different projects going makes me more productive. If I stall out on one (the dreaded writer's block), then I can work on something else for a while. That generally breaks the block pretty fast.

Thank you for hosting me here at your website! You asked great questions. Though now I'm hungry, for some strange reason…

Visit Linda Grimes: Website | Twitter | Goodreads
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6 comments:

  1. Awesome interview! Hershey's Kisses rock, especially the ones with almonds! In the Fix sounds great. I'm definitely going to have to read it for Billy and Mark :)

    Thank you for the giveaway!

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  2. Great interview. Thanks for sharing!

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  3. Thanks for the interview. I have wanted to read this for a while.

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  4. I find the adapters aspect really interesting!

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  5. can't wait to read this book...i hope i win it..
    thx 4 the giveaway :)

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  6. I love the description - I am totally in the mood for some popcorn.

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