Sable Grey

I would like to welcome author Sable Grey to SI. Recently, her book Hired Hands was reviewed and recieved a story score of 9. NICE!! One of the things that SR loves to do is find out more about the authors we love. I hope you all enjoy these questions as much as I enjoyed reading them :)

What is your favorite thing about being a romance writer?

I have a God complex. I like creating worlds and people and making them do what I want them to. It’s like a grown up version of playing Barbie.

What genres and authors would we find you reading when taking a break from your own writing?
I like historical romance and enjoy authors like Bertrice Small, Karen Hawkins, Susan King, and the earlier historicals of Iris Johansen.

What was the hardest part of writing your book?
For me it’s the calm before the storm. Right before the black moment, I get stuck. There is always this huge plot hole for me to get through before all hell breaks loose.

When writing your description of your hero/ine what feature do you start with? Eyes, age, hair color, etc?
I usually start with the physique and age and then have the opposite character’s eye travel upward to face and hair.

Is there anything special you do to get in the mood to write?
A good movie or show set during the time period or genre always helps.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?
I’m the weirdo that does both. LOL Almost always I just start writing when I get an idea…to see if it’s interesting enough I want to keep writing. If it is, then I do a loose plot to follow till the end.

If I was a first time reader of your books, which one would you recommend I start with and why?
Hired Hands and Passion of the Wolf. Hired Hands is a traditional type romance with some really hot love scenes thrown in. Passion of the Wolf is…well it’s Viking wolf shifters…I can’t go wrong with those kind of heroes. LOL

What do you hope readers take with them after reading one of your stories?
I hope they feel like I do when I read a good book…as if I’ve been on the journey or an adventure myself.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Not all but most of my heroines have been abused or suffered cruelty before the story starts. During the story, they kind of find their way and come into their own a much stronger woman. I worked with adult survivors of abuse for several years and I guess my message is that anything can be overcome and there is no such thing as a victim if that person can become stronger.

How long have you been a writer?
I’ve been a writer since I was a child. I’ve been published however since 2004

How much time did it take from writing your first book to having it published?
The first book I wrote is not published. I wrote my first book back in 1993. That said, it only took a few months from the time I finished The Pirate’s Jewel, my first publication, to having it published.

Did you have any other careers before devoting yourself to being a full-time writer?
Oh sure…I’ve done lots of jobs. Short Order Cook, Housekeeper, Sales Associate, Manager in Sales, peer counselor, and I founded and ran an organization for survivors of abuse for five years before coming to the romance industry.

Do you write under more than one name? Why?
I do. I also write under the name Amon Bieste. Why? I didn’t want my regular readers to read the Biest books and be surprised at the amount of sex that was added. But no one seemed upset so I guess I’ll stick to writing under the Grey now from now on.

Are any of your characters based on real people or events?
Most of my historical are based on real events. Something Wild is set during the Jack the Ripper murders and many of the characters were created when researching actual people of that history.

How would your friends describe you?
Loyal. Smart Assed. Bossy. Ambitious. Caring.

What’s something fans would find fascinating about you?
I’m also a publisher, cover artist, and a literary agent. I have three dogs and three cats and I talk to all six like they are people. I hate the movie, It’s A Wonderful Life. I have my own perfume.

What else would you like readers to know about you or your work?
I write the kinds of books that I as an avid reader loves to read.

What books or authors have most influenced your life?
Stephen King, Piers Anthony, Bertrice Small, and Iris Johansen influence my desires to write.

How do your family and/or friends feel about your book or writing venture in general?
My father is a deacon at his church and he and my mother are very supportive. I come from a creative family so grandparents, aunts, uncles, sisters…they are all supportive of what I do.

Describe to us you typical day
My typical day is boring. I get up. Check the God forsaken email (SOOOO TIRED OF PENIS ENHANCEMENT SPAM) and then get to work at Cobblestone Press. Around 2:30p.m. to 3:00p.m. I take my dogs outside for two hours of sunshine and play. If I’ve finished my CP work, I then work on my writing and website. At 6:00p.m I take care of everything else I need to do. I might end the day with a beer and a long hot bath then a movie and if I don’t sleep it’s catching up with my favorite shows on ABC.com or playing on Facebook.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
The only thing I ever found really challenging was writing a blind heroine for Hired Hands. But when it was finished I was very proud of how well it was written and of how her blindness was not really a handicap.

If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything on your road to publication?
I might not have bugged the shit out of cover artist April Martinez when she was designing my very first cover for the Pirate’s Jewel. LOL I was so scared and April is too talented for me to have worried about what my first cover would look like.

Where are you from?
Clinton, Mississippi. I lived for five years in Colorado where I married my husband but we decided to move back down to Mississippi.

How do you come up with the titles?
Most of the time, Deanna Lee, comes up with the titles for me. LOL A few I’ve come up with myself. Hired Hands, The Nothing But Trouble Bride, and my recent wolf shifter books I thought of the names. But it was no easy task.

Has your life changed significantly since becoming a published writer?
Not really. Most people here in Clinton know me so it’s not really a big deal. I have met a lot more people online since being published and that is awesome.

Do you work on one project at a time? Or do you multi-task?
Oh no. I don’t know how it feels to write one book at a time. I have at least four books in the works at all times.

When not writing, how do you relax?
Relax? LOL I watch movies, watch t.v., read, and visit with my family.

Is there anything additional you would like to share with your readers?
I write for you guys. I try to create stories that take you on a journey, that touch your hearts, your minds, your souls. I hope that when you finish reading a Sable Grey book that it stays with you a little while.


Are you Serious Question – these are fun, quirky bits about Sable that most of us don't know :).

What song would best describe your life?
It’s a Hard Days Night

If you could be a paranormal creature, which one would you be?
A mermaid…I love to swim.

What’s a guilty pleasure you have?
Strawberry Cheesecake!

What sound drives you crazy?
The friggin phone ringing

What’s the perfect romantic evening?
Dinner and a movie with a man who speaks a language I can’t understand so that when he says something stupid, and he will, it doesn’t ruin the evening.

You can erase one embarrassing experience from your past. What will it be?
Nothing…I like my life, the good, the bad, and the embarrassing.

If you came with a warning label, what would it say?
If Angry may cause fear, headaches, and tears.

A biography has been written about you. What do you think the title would be?
Crazy Ass

What’s for dinner tonight?
Leftovers.

What is sexier boxer or briefs?
boxers

Who’s more fun, bad boys or perfect gentlemen and why?
Neither….I prefer the realistic goober who might be handy with a socket wrench.

Where is the craziest place you’ve ever had sex?
When I was young I had sex in a Taco Bell bathroom.

If you were a superhero, what special power would you have?
I’d be invisible. People always say what they really think when you aren’t around.

What’s your favorite curse word?
Fuck

If you could have three wishes granted, what would you wish for?
Fortune, Fame, and my own t.v. show

If you were stranded on a desert island, what three things would be the most essential for you?
To not be the biggest one on the island (the biggest ones are the first to be eat), not to be the dumbest one on the island (the dumb ones are the first to die), and a life time supply of Diet Dr. Peppers.

If you could be a shapeshifter, what form would you take and why?
Mist. There is no defeating the fog.

What’s number one on your list of things you hope to do before you die?
Have a stalker. You have not reached success until some weirdo asks you to send him your underwear.

What is your favorite candy bar?
Twix

*Please share with us your future projects and upcoming releases.

The first book on my new mail order bride series is being released in June 2010 at Cobblestone Press. I have two wolf shifter books coming later in the year from Total E-Bound. And I have a time travel historical coming soon from Breathless Press.

http://www.sablegrey.net/