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Meet Kelley Griffin! I've had the pleasure of getting to know Kelley through Twitter's #5amwritersclub. Besides being a mom of 5 boys (oh, the smelly horror!), teacher, and a wife to a marine, she somehow found the time to answer my interview questions. Thanks for squeezing me in, Kelley!
Kelley is also a closet romantic suspense writer. No, really, she likes to write IN a closet.
How did you come up with the story concept for Binding Circumstance? It’s going to sound corny, but usually the romantic suspense story lines come to me in dreams. This one sure did. But I’m a pantster to the rapture, so I generally have no idea where the story is going. For me, this is an excellent way to write because if I as the writer can’t see a plot twist or turn coming until it hits the page, then it will be that much more exciting for the reader!!
What do you love about writing romantic suspense? What do you hate or maybe just dislike about it? I truly love the banter and tension between the two characters. I love watching them fall in love and watching them fight together for their lives. I love watching them sometimes go from enemies to lovers. It’s my favorite genre, so there’s nothing that I dislike about it. Although, I’m not a fan of writing sex scenes. I can read them all day long, but when I write them, I get embarrassed!!
When it comes to world-building do you have any particular tricks or techniques? I feel like the most authentic word-builders utilize places they know well. Most all my books have my favorite locations in them! Knoxville TN and the Smokey Mountains are special to me as well as Southern California, where I was born. I love to use small towns too.
What was the most difficult part of the publishing process for you? For me, the unknown of publishing was the hardest. I’m a pretty self-sufficient girl, so waiting and not knowing what should happen next was pretty hard for me. Some of the steps came quickly and I was pleasantly surprised, and some were a little more difficult and took more time. I’m admittedly not the most patient person in the world!
What does your writing space look like? Normally, I write on either a chromebook or a desktop. Being the mom of 5 boys and wife to an amazing man, plus a full time worker-bee, my office and desk area by the end of the week look like World War 3 has taken place on the desk. Papers are everywhere. Each Sunday evening I try to re-arrange it to be neat and orderly. Especially this month since I’m in a competition to write 50k words in a month!
What are your tricks for juggling writing while maintaining a personal life? Explain personal life? I’m not going to lie, it’s very difficult to maintain writing time and keep it sacred with everything else that goes on in our lives, but my favorite quote keeps me going. It goes like this… “If it’s important to you, you’ll find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse.” I give myself no excuse for not getting up at 4:45 to write!!
What's the best piece of advice you've received about writing? Keep going. Don’t let anything stop you. If you can see it, you can be it. Visualize your dream, carve out time to make it happen and don’t let anything stop you.
What is the best book you’ve read recently? It’s been WAY TOO LONG since I’ve had the time to read! Over the summer when I’m not teaching, I try to indulge in my favorite pastime, but to be honest, I can’t remember the last book I read!! I think it was historical romance, which I’d never read that genre before. It was amazing. Captivated me from the first moment. I have a stack in my TBR pile that I plan to dive into in December while on break.
Connect with Kelley Griffin:
Twitter: @AuthorKTGriffin
Facebook: @KelleyGriffinAuthor
Instagram: @KelleyGriffinAuthor
Website: http://KelleyGriffinAuthor.com