Today I welcome Grace R. Duncan to the blog to answer a few questions
for Author Interview³.
1) Tell us 3 fun facts about your writing history
• Choices was originally supposed to be fanfiction. It was an Alternate Universe of Naruto, of my own making. It would have been my first time truly building a world of my own. When I told a friend of mine, however, he challenged me to not only make the world, but make it original—characters and all—and submit it for publication. I was nervous as hell and literally screamed when I hit send, but I did it and the rest is history!
• I wrote more than a million words of fanfiction before I managed to get myself to write original work. I kept telling myself I wasn’t ready, I couldn’t do it right, etc., until I started getting people demanding more of my… original character than the fandom characters. Then I started realizing that maybe, just maybe, I really could make up characters of my own.
• I love languages. I have managed, thus far, to work in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Gaelic, Hawai’ian, and Japanese into my books. I have a current book I’m working on set in Seoul and will have Korean in it.
2) Describe your writing style in 3 words
Way too verbose.
3) Name 3 of your literary influences
Stephen King and J.R.R. Tolkien. I love worldbuilding and The Stand and The Lord of the Rings have that in spades. For romance, I’ve got to point at Nora Roberts. I’ve always loved her way of combining humor, romance, suspense, and more into a single story.
4) Share your 3 favourite books
I’ve already mentioned two: The Stand and The Lord of the Rings. It’s hard to pick a third—and only one more. Perhaps I will look to the Gay Romance community and pick out Amy Lane’s Racing for the Sun. There are a ton of books I love and solidly half of those are gay romance, but that one sticks out a lot.
5) What are your 3 essential writing tools?
Coffee, coffee, and coffee.
Seriously, I have to write electronically, at least the stories. Notes, I can handwrite—and often do—but for the actual book, it’s gotta be electric, so a tablet/laptop/my desktop, a notebook for notes/research, and… coffee. Definitely coffee.
6) Where are your 3 favourite places to write?
My desk. (I’m kinda partial to my setup—three monitors, lots of space for notes, etc.)
Starbucks. (I love the atmosphere and a change of location often helps with focus.)
I’d love to sit on my back porch, but I live in Texas. That would happen approximately… two days a year. LOL So, I’ll say one dream writing spot is a back porch I can sit on that isn’t sweltering 300 days out of the year.
7) Name 3 items on your writing wish list
I want to write a pure sci-fi. I’m kinda scared (because I want to do it RIGHT, but it’s a bit terrifying). I have one planned, so we’ll see.
I want to get more YA written and out there. I have one novel and a couple of shorts and I’d really like for there to be more. I loved approaching romance from a different perspective like that and I’d like to get back to it.
I’d like to finish the 2,301 WIPS I have. LOL (Okay, not that many, but I have a LOT). I have a series I’d like to finish (Golden Collar), and characters from several other stories I’d like to give happy endings to (*cough Rhys from No Sacrifice cough*)
8) What are your top 3 tips for aspiring writers?
Learn the rules of writing so you know when to break them. Some aren’t breakable—grammar is a must—but the rest? They have a place and most often that’s tossed out the window. But learn them first because there is some valuable tips in there. Just take them with a grain of salt.
Reviews are not for authors. Reviews are not for authors. Reviews are for readers. Don’t read them. Just don’t. If you’re writing fanfic, then comments on a new chapter are one thing. But for published works, it’s just a motivation killer.
I’m going to steal one from Nora Roberts: You can’t edit a blank page. Write. That’s it. Just put the words down. Nothing, nothing happens until the words are written.
9) Tell us 3 of your writing plans for the year ahead
I have my first Omegaverse story in edits. I’m hoping to have that out this fall. I have an expansion of the Forbes Mates story, Hope, that I did for the One Pulse anthology from Dreamspinner. And my current brand-new story is a kpop idol and his English teacher from the US.
10) Tell us about your latest release
Forgiveness was kind of a surprise to me. I had readers asking me if Eric—Tanner’s best friend in Devotion—was going to have his own story. Initially, I hadn’t planned on it, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Eric’s mate had been chosen, not destined, so I asked myself who his destined mate was. And Ben popped up and scared the shit out of Eric. Then they started falling in love.
Grace R. Duncan
Dreamspinner Press
29 March 2018
79,090
Werewolves/Shapeshifters
Erotic Romance
Dreamspinner Press / Amazon / Apple
Nine years ago Eric Joyce went wolf when his chosen mate broke the bond, and he hasn’t walked on two legs since. Convinced he lost his friends when he ran out on them, he cut himself off from the pack. But a surprising visitor prods him back down the mountain, and he finds himself welcomed warmly.
Ben Arellano grew up in Texas with a human, Catholic mother who didn’t understand a thing about wolves—and didn’t try to learn. He spent his whole life being told his wolf was a demon that needed to be exorcised, surrounded by a wolf pack made up of good ole boys who had no tolerance for his Mexican ancestry or his bisexuality. When he’s given the opportunity to relocate to an accepting pack in Pittsburgh, he jumps at the chance.
When Eric and Ben meet for the first time, neither is ready for it. Where Ben expects rejection, Eric is convinced yet another mate will leave, break the bond, and put him through the same hell all over again. Can they get past their reservations and have a happily mated life?
Grace Duncan grew up with a wild imagination. She told stories from an early age – many of which got her into trouble. Eventually, she learned to channel that imagination into less troublesome areas, including fanfiction, which is what has led her to writing male/male erotica.
A gypsy in her own right, Grace has lived all over the United States. She has currently set up camp in East Texas with her husband and children – both the human and furry kind.
As one of those rare creatures who loves research, Grace can get lost for hours on the internet, reading up on any number of strange and different topics. She can also be found writing fanfiction, reading fantasy, crime, suspense, romance and other erotica or even dabbling in art.
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