Emelle Gamble is kicking off her Name Before the Masses Tour with me at Books to Light Your Fire. Get to know her a little bit better and find out more about her latest book, Secret Sister. Remember to leave her a question or a comment below!
What was the
inspiration behind 'Secret Sister'?
I am
a diehard romantic at heart, and during a conversation with my
critique group, I said I was sure that, even if every single thing
about my appearance changed, my husband (yes, my true love) would
recognize the ‘me’ inside.
Which character
is the most like you?
Probably Cathy
Chance. Bossy. Kind. Talks too much. Loves her husband and her
friends unconditionally. Likes cats.
Which scene
was your favorite to write?
I really
loved the scene where Cathy tells Nick who she is…I cried during
it. But was really really nervous he wouldn’t say what I hoped he
would, if that makes sense.
You used to write
as M.L. Gamble. Why the name change?
M.L.Gamble
is tough in these electronic times…I got completely different
streams of info when I left out the periods and/or changed the
spacing! Hence the very clever (HA) Emelle…which I thought was
slightly sexy and foreign, but which my hubby pronounces as Emile, as
if I am a 50 something balding foreign agent.
Please
tell us about your previously published works.
I
wrote Romantic Suspense for Harlequin Intrigue. They were fabulous to
me as a new writer, let me push the envelope a bit as my plots were
heavy on plot and secondary characters. I love those books.
Especially because no one has cell phones or tweets.
On
what projects are you currently working?
I’ve
contracted with Soul Mate Publishing, the publishers of Secret
Sister, to bring out another
novel, Dating Cary Grant.
It’s about a girl, her estranged husband, and yes, the ghost of
Cary Grant, who lives downstairs! It will be released in early 2014.
I’m thrilled about it, it was heaven putting words in Cary Grant’s
most handsome mouth!
How has publishing changed
over your writing career? Do you like the way it works now, or do you
long for the good ole days?
It has
changed in every way possible. I’m doing hours and hours a week of
publicity, which in the old days of the 1990s was unheard of for a
category romance writer. Back then I did a couple of newspaper
interviews for the local folks, and a couple of book signings. Now,
since I work with a small press publisher, I am a complete department
of publicity! I am equally exhausted and exhilarated. As for what I
long for…it’s only to put out a great book that finds its
readers.
Writers are often told to write every
day and to write what they know. Aside from these classic bits of
advice, what is the best writing advice you have ever received?
I’ve
become a fan of outlining and using good old note cards at the
beginning of constructing the novel. Never used to do this. I find it
helps order your thoughts, and your plots, and cuts out a lot of plot
restructuring. One idea, or character, or scene on each notecard, and
then play around with them. Oh, and write every day. It’s a cliché
because it works.
Do you prefer to read books in
the same genre you write, or do you like to mix it up more?
I
read broadly. Love mystery. Love nonfiction. Have grown to love
Regency.
What are you reading right now? What
is next in your TBR pile?
I just bought
Sue Grafton’s new book. It’s like a reward, coming back to this
master. Ditto a re-read of a recently reissued book by Jackie Weger,
a book called Beyond Fate
that solidified the reality to me that writing in any genre required
polish, voice and emotion. She’s about the best Harlequin writer
ever…so I’m delighted she’s reissuing.
What
is something readers may be surprised to learn about you?
I
got flowers from Clint Eastwood. A lot of them. Because he thought I
was hot! (HA…fantasy moment.) No, his production company sent them
to me because they wanted to run a motorcycle into a phone booth and
not kill the stunt man. I worked at Pacific Telephone at the time,
and I got the thing moved. Clint did sign the card, making my
day.
Is there anything else you would like to
add?
Buy Secret
Sister and read it! It’s
the book of my heart, and while writers can’t always believe what
readers tell them about their books, I’ve been told by nearly
everyone that they can’t put it down! What’s better than being
lost in a book?
Thank you so much for your time!
Thank you,
Andi!
Secret
Sister
by
Emelle Gamble
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
To
their friends, Nick and Cathy Chance have the perfect marriage. High
school sweethearts who’ve been together for ten years, they’ve
weathered challenges and are as committed as they were when they
first fell in love. Cathy trusts Nick, Nick’s world revolves around
his wife, and the future looks golden.
To
everyone who knows them, Cathy Chance and Roxanne Ruiz have a perfect
friendship. They connected in grade school and since then have been
each other’s confident and trusted advisor. Cathy loves the
gorgeous Roxanne like a sister, Roxanne has fun-loving Cathy’s back
in every situation, though lately there’s been tension between
these two best friends…
And
then, on a sunny summer morning, the unthinkable occurs, throwing
into doubt the truth of what each of these people really know about
themselves and one another.
Will
Roxanne’s sacrifice be too little, and too late? Should Nick’s
love for his wife be strong enough to risk trusting his heart more
than logic? Can Cathy’s devotion to Nick give her enough strength
to convince him to see her for who she really is?
Secret
Sister proves how strong, how stubborn, and how trustworthy love can
be as Nick and Cathy and Roxanne are challenged to overcome the
secrets, the lies … and one extraordinary twist of fate that turns
their lives upside down.
Read an excerpt:
When I
‘woke up,’ strange words to use after being unconscious for what
was surely days, not hours, I felt remarkably lucid. Which is to say,
I opened my eyes and saw and understood that I was in a hospital bed,
there were nurses working in the area outside my glassed-in room, and
I was hooked to an I.V. and some other kind of machine.
I didn’t
know the story of how I got here, but assumed it was bad. I
remembered hearing, somewhere, that I had been in a terrible car
accident, but I was blank to any other details.
For
instance, I didn’t know my name.
I
examined the contents of my brain and started a list of unknown
things. Where was I? No clue. What day was it? I looked outside and
saw blue sky. Zero. I was blank to the most basic of information.
My chest
tightened and a roar began in my head. Don’t panic. I gulped air,
blinked; fought to stay awake.
“Roxanne.
Roxanne Ruiz. Do you know where you are?”
I didn’t
recognize that name. In my brain I saw a face. A kind face, smiling.
A great looking guy with strong arms and blue eyes.
But I
had no idea who he was either …
Buy it on Amazon
AUTHOR
Bio and Links:
Emelle
Gamble was a writer at an early age, bursting with the requisite
childhood stories of introspection which evolved into bad teen poetry
and took her first stab at full length fiction in an adult education
writing class when her kids were in bed. As M.L. Gamble, she
published several romantic suspense novels with Harlequin. She has
contracted with Soul Mate Publishing for Secret Sister, summer of
2013, and Dating Cary Grant, an early 2014 release.
Always
intrigued by the words ‘what if’, Emelle’s books feature an
ordinary woman confronted with an extraordinary situation. She most
enjoys reading stories that surprise and amaze her, and hopes her
readers will enjoy the challenging and exciting journeys her
characters take.
Emelle
lives in suburban Washington D.C. with her husband, Phil, her hero
of thirty years, and two orange cats, Lucy and Bella. These girls,
like all good villains, have their reasons for misbehaving. Her
daughter, Olivia, and son, Allen, are happily launched on their own
and contributing great things to society, their mother’s fondest
wish.
Email:
emellegamble@aol.com
FaceBook:
Author Emelle Gamble
Twitter:
@EmelleGamble
Emelle will be
awarding a $100 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn commenter during this tour
AND her Reviews
Tour.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
