Welcome, Gina. Tell us about yourself.
Hi Diane! Thanks for hosting me
on your site. I’m Gina Conkle, writer of Viking and Georgian romance. I’ve been
writing since around 2002-2003, but I didn’t get serious about writing until
2012. I was born and raised in sunny San Diego, CA but now live in Michigan (I
love it!) with my husband, Brian and our two boys. We don’t take a lot of
vacations, but when we do we go all out. That means we visit old places like
castles (the older and moldier the better). When I’m not reading or writing, I
like to cook and garden. My big summer project was a garden and then blogging
about cooking Viking meals. Check out the How
to Eat Like a Viking blog series. It was a fun project I did with my
younger son (he did all the photography).
Where can readers find you?
When did you first realize you
wanted to be a writer?
The pinpoint moment of “I want to
be a writer” came in 5th
grade. Two things happened: I’d read Gone
with the Wind and my teacher, Mrs. Miller, had us write a creative story.
My story was The Girl Who Stopped World War III. I remember getting lost in the
words, the story images coming to life like holograms around me. It was great!
What is your work schedule like
when you're writing?
My most productive times are at
night. Maybe it’s the cocoon of night, but for some reason I can go on to 1:00
or 2:00 in the morning and pound out the words. I’m married to Mr. Early Riser,
so I try to balance things and put in some early hours.
Where do you get your information
or ideas for your books?
For Viking romance, I’ve been to
Sweden and Scotland. I also read some great Viking historians (Nancy Marie
Brown, Jenny Jochens, and Judith Jesch to name a few). That’s for the
historical background. On the fiction side, the characters just show up in my
head. The people who talk the most get put on the page.
With my Georgian romance, Lucy
Inglis and Job E. Lewis help me visualize Georgian England. I’ve never been to
England. Some of the more vivid, colorful characters I’ve ever written just
popped into my head while I was writing my Georgian books. Juliette Sauveterre,
a favorite character from The Lady Meets
Her Match, wasn’t planned. She just showed up while I writing the book. Now
it looks like she’ll get her own book!
What did you learn from writing
your first book?
I learned from my first book, Norse Jewel, never to compromise for the
sake of publishing. This was my biggest lesson. The book was submitted as a
single title, but they wanted it for a category line and asked me to cut the
novel down to 70K words. I did and I regret it to this day. Honor your stories.
Editing is one thing; story chopping is another.
How do you balance a life outside
of writing with deadlines and writing muses?
I love spending time with my
guys! Since I have boys, we’ve spent years talking about and learning about
dinosaurs, insects, reptiles of every kind, super heroes, and science fiction,
etc. Call me crazy, but I read to my boys as infants (even in the hospital
right after they were born!). Both my sons love to read, and interestingly
they’ve refused ereaders. They prefer print. We all like superhero movies,
action-adventure movies, museums, and just hanging out. We had regular game
nights for a long time (Monopoly, Scattergories, Boggle, BezzerWhizzer, etc.)
When they were younger we’d play games like Uno, Go Fish, and Concentration
(the memory game). Now the oldest son is in college and the younger son is a
junior in high school. Brian (my husband) and I have more dates now, and we’re
planning what’s next for us.
As a family, we’re already
talking about movies (and the plots and characters) that we’ll see at Christmas
Break when the oldest comes home! We stay in touch via skype.
What are some jobs you've done
that would end up in a book?
I worked in biotech eons ago.
Subtle scientific knowledge showed up in Meet
the Earl at Midnight (a la Georgian era). I have a dark contemporary
romance series percolating for years down the road that will involve both life
science and physics.
Tell us about your latest book.
Survival’s in his blood…
Rough-souled Brandr’s ready for a new life far from
Uppsala, but the Viking has a final task —protect the slave, Sestra. Her life's
full of hardship…until she learns the location of a treasure. With war coming,
stealing the enemy's riches will save lives, but only one man can defend her
—the fierce Viking scout, Brandr.
The two have always traded taunts, now they must share
trust. Passions flare as secrets unfold, leading one to make a daring sacrifice
on their quest To Find a Viking Treasure
Buy Links: Amazon BN Kobo iBooks GooglePlay
Excerpt “Maybe I get you.”
The Viking could be a mystical warrior
dressed in black against waning fog, his graveled voice working a kind of
silken magic. Sun shined through clouds, the pearled orb anointing his head.
Perhaps Odin did send Brandr to save the day.
Wraiths rose up from the channel as if to
push them along. Did the Norse gods want them to succeed? She didn’t believe in
Odin and his Valkyries, but the stories Vikings spun at night entranced her.
“You could tell me what you’ll do with your
reward,” she said.
He snorted. “I said you could talk to me. Not the other way around.”
“That’s not how it works. People take turns
talking and listening to each other. It’s called conversation.” She angled her
head coyly. “Vikings can do it. I’ve seen it happen.”
Brandr squinted at tree tops rising above the
mist. “Never been much for talk.”
“Your mouth never stops when trading jibes with me.”
His chuckle was raspy and low. “You have a way of loosening
my tongue.”
To
her shame, his laugh cut a scorching path through her body and her legs fell
open under her skirts. Her knees were heavy, and she left them open.
“You’re
a warrior long in service to Lord Hakan. Surely you’ll get a bigger reward than
a handful of coins?”
His tarnished silver eyes pinned her. “Maybe I get you.”
