Sarah Grimm

February 19, 2007

Down and Dirty with Sarah Grimm

Sloane Taylor: Hi, Sarah Grimm, welcome and thank you for visiting with us this week.

Sarah Grimm: Thank you for inviting me.

ST : Tell us a about yourself.

SG: Hmmm, I’m married to my sexiest fantasy. We have two sons and three dogs, and I live in West Michigan. My entire life, there have been people talking in my head. Schizophrenic? Maybe, but I prefer to call it the mark of a creative mind. LOL I love to read and do so as often as possible. For me, there’s nothing better than losing myself in a good book.

ST: Your debut novel, NOT WITHOUT RISK, is exciting and hot. Please tell us about the book.

SG: Sergeant Justin Harrison is on top of his game. He is impulsive, insatiable and invincible. At least he’d always believed so. Until an addict with a .38 showed him otherwise. Six agonizing months after the slug collapsed his lung, Justin has managed to return to the one thing he excels at – his job as a San Diego homicide detective. He worked hard to get his body back in shape and nothing is going to stand in his way of proving he is fit for active duty. Especially not a long-legged brunette who just stumbled into his crime scene.

Photographer Paige Conroy spent years hiding from her past. Then one late night telephone call brings it crashing back. An old friend is in town and needs to see her. Speaking on the phone isn’t safe. She needs to meet him. Only four hours later, when she arrives at his hotel room, it is to find him dead. Fighting against the painful onslaught of memories, as well as the horror of being the only witness to murder, the last thing Paige needs is to feel attracted to the dark-eyed Sergeant Harrison.

When the villain sets his sights on Paige, she must turn to Justin for help. Together they learn that some things are worth the risk.

ST: How did you come up with the story line?

SG: Off the top of my head. Literally. One day at work the power went out. Now, I used to work for an insurance company that never, I mean never, gave us time off work. This day was no different. My friends and I sat in the lunch room, which had a wall of windows so we had some light, for four hours before the company decided to let us go home. To entertain everyone I started telling them a story, one I made up on the spot. Of course, I made quite a few changes when I sat down and wrote the story, but that’s how NOT WITHOUT RISK began.

ST: And where and when can we buy NOT WITHOUT RISK?

SG: NOT WITHOUT RISK will be available to download from Triskelion Publishing in March 2007. In August 2007 you can pick up a copy at your local bookstore when it becomes available as a mass market paperback.

ST: Sarah has a web site, blog, and a myspace you should check out. Don’t forget to sign up for her newsletter and contest.

Thanks for coming out on this cold Monday morning, Sarah. Tomorrow I’ll be sure to have Bloody Marys for us to sip while we chat.

SG: Sounds good! After that I can dive into my next book. Lol. See you in the morning and please, if anyone has questions, feel free to ask.

February 20, 2007

Show and Tell Time

ST: Good morning and welcome back, Sarah. Let’s treat our guests and start today off with a bit of Show. Take a gander at Sarah’s covers. The first is the print edition and the second is the e-book cover for NOT WITHOUT RISK. Aren’t these just the hottest covers you’ve ever seen? They’re great, Sarah, congratulations!

ST: Now it’s time for the Tell. What made you decide to be a writer?

SG: I always wanted to be a writer, just check my bio on my website. My sister wrote it for me and as she mentions in it, I was always carrying around notebooks and jotting notes into them. When I was younger I wrote poetry, which slowly segued into romantic fiction. Even as a young girl I was hooked on happily-ever-after.

It wasn’t until my youngest was born and spent so much time in and out of hospital that I began to write more than a few chapters of any one story idea. It was during that first year of my son’s life, as we struggled to keep him alive, that I took pen to paper (Yup, longhand) and wrote my first book from start to finish.

I’m happy to say that my son is alive and well and revels in driving me crazy on a daily basis. And that first book I completed from beginning to end? NOT WITHOUT RISK

ST: How long have you been writing?

SG: The oldest writings of mine that I have are from when I was five years old. My sister is six years older than me and she taught me to read and write at a young age.

ST: Do you find writing to be fulfilling? And in what way?

SG: I find writing to be the one thing that keeps me sane. It also frustrates me when I know what I want to say but can’t get it out of my head and onto the page right. Is it fulfilling? Yes, I guess it is. When it finally clicks and everything comes together. When the words flow and a few days, or months later you go back and read it with a smile on your face and that little voice in your head that asks, ‘I wrote this?’

ST: What’s a normal day like for you?

SG: Describe ‘normal’ for me will you? LOL. But I’ll give it a try. Ready?

ST: You bet.

SG: Then here we go:

Typical Weekday

1. Wake up at 5:30
2. Squeeze out from under 3 dogs (no, I’m not counting my husband as one)
3. Pour myself a Diet Coke ~ caffeine please!
4. Turn on laptop
5. Start a load of laundry
6. check email
7. Go upstairs and wake the kids
8. Collect glasses that are strewn around the house and load into dishwasher
9. Go upstairs and wake the kids
10. Pack lunches, sign planners, fill water bottles
11. Go upstairs and wake the kids
12. You get the picture; we’ll skip to after I drop kids at school when I finally sit down to write. If it’s winter, my husband crawls out of bed about now and interrupts my writing to talk. I love him dearly, but he has a knack for interrupting at the worst possible times.
13. At around 10:00 I start running errands, these vary from day to day, sometimes it’s running parts for my husband’s marine repair business, other times banking, post office, groceries, etc
14. Write
15. Chat online – usually for too long as I get distracted easily
16. Write
17. Pick up kids from school

You get the idea. I don’t have a set writing time and there are days that this is a problem. I’m going to have to get better at this in the future.

ST: Lady, I don’t envy you. lol. With your busy life how do you find time to write?

SG: I make time to write. If I didn’t, I’d never get any writing done. There’s always a story going through my mind that I’m usually jotting down notes about, but to sit down and write it out? I have to force myself to do that. There are just too many other distractions, too much else I could be doing.

ST: Then I think we’d better let you off the hook and let you return to your work. Thanks for taking the time this morning and we’ll see you bright and early tomorrow.

SG: Not a problem. I’d like to add that if any of the readers have questions, I’ll be checking back throughout the day and am more than happy to answer them.

ST: Enjoy your day everyone. See you all Wednesday morning!

February 21, 2007

Author, Author, Tell Us More

Good morning everyone. Yesterday I received several emails requesting I repost the e-book cover for NOT WITHOUT RISK only larger. I think people want to drool. So there it is and please excuse me while I take a moment to wipe off my keyboard.

ST: Hi, Sarah, and welcome back. Are you ready for another day of grilling?

SG: You bet. I’m fortified with a huge cup of coffee, so fire away.

ST: Are there any quirks you have or do before or while you’re writing?

SG: When I’m stuck I send my son to the corner store for a Diet Coke and a Hostess Golden Cupcake. I suspect this is why I get stuck so often while writing.

Oh, and the youngest of my three dogs needs to be sleeping in the office chair for me to be truly productive. This makes writing a bit uncomfortable since it leaves me with only the first few inches of the chair to perch on, but I’m always most productive when she is with me.

Does that mean she’s my muse?

ST: LOL. Can I borrow her?

SG: I’m not sure she’d ship well. LOL.

ST: Sarah, who or what encouraged you to write erotica?

SG: I’ve never considered what I write to be erotica. To me, I write romantic suspense. Do I have sexual tension in my stories? You bet. Do I have as many consummated love scenes in my stories as the characters allow? You bet! For me, that’s how it is, the characters tell me how many love scenes there will be. But I digress…

The question was what inspired me. Hmm… I write what I love to read. I’m not sure any one author inspired me, but a combination of all of my favorites. I don’t like to read romances with lots of sexual tension and a hunky hero and then once you get to the love scene, the author skims over it. Wait a minute! I feel robbed! So I give my readers what I like in a book. Hot sex!

ST: Where do you get the ideas for your novels?

SG: From everyday life: The stories I read, the music I listen to… I’m known for hearing a lyric in a song and developing an entire story around it. It’s true, I brainstormed a time travel like this. If anyone writes time travel, call me, I have a great idea for you.

I think I do what every author I’ve heard answer this question does: I hear or read something that spawns that old “What if?” question.

“What if a killer set his sights on you and the only way to survive was to revisit a past you swore never to look back on? What if you then had to trust the type of man experience told you was untrustworthy? What if you fell in love with that man? Is love worth the risk?”

These are some of the ‘what ifs’ that Paige Conroy, the heroine of NOT WITHOUT RISK faces. The hero, Justin Harrison, has a totally different set of ‘what ifs’:

“What if your identity hinged on the ability to do your job? What if you were suddenly injured and faced with the real possibility that you could no longer do your job? And if that wasn’t enough, “What if you suddenly realized that there was more to life than your job, but in order to keep that something more, you had to do your job and find the killer before he could find the heroine?”

ST: How do you research your books?

SG: I read a lot, both biographies and research books. As I’m writing there are always a few specific questions that come up and for those I turn to a fabulous RWA chapter called Kiss of Death. There’s not much that incredible group of writers doesn’t know the answer to.

ST: Who is your support group?

SG: If they spend most of their time yelling at me, are they still considered a support group?

My biggest supporters are my husband, my mother and my sister. Whenever I’m struggling, I’ll give one of them a call. Sometimes, I’ll call them because I’m excited about the way the story’s coming along and it’s during those calls that I’ll get the ‘That’s great, Sarah, so why are you calling me when you could be writing?’ That’s my sister and my mother; they’re always reminding me that I should be writing instead of cleaning the house or surfing the internet.

My husband supports me in different ways altogether. He’s a bit too supportive at times, LOL. Like when things aren’t going well and he’ll tell me, ‘Just walk away and go back later, sometimes all it takes is some distance and the answer will come to you. You want to go to the movies?’ I love that man! And I always want to go to the movies, but when I’m on deadline, I need to avoid his kind of ‘support.’

ST: My kind of man. You’ve pulled it all together with the help of people who love you. Congratulations.

SG: They mean a great deal to me. I sincerely appreciate them.

ST: Thank you again, Sarah for being so open and honest with us. We’ll see you tomorrow?

SG: I’ll be here and bring the Hostess Golden Cupcakes. LOL.

ST: Thank you all for stopping by. Don’t foget to check out Sarah’s web site. See you in the morning!

February 22, 2007

The Soft Side of the Lady Grimm

Good morning, everyone. A contingent of readers demanded equal time for the print cover to be shown larger. So here you go!

ST: Thanks for the Golden Cupcakes, Sarah. Now while I’m munching away how about you describe your writing space for everyone.

SG: Most people refer to it as a kitchen table. Really, I write at the kitchen table. Not the best place to try to write a book, let me tell you. Especially when you’re in the middle of a kitchen remodel like we are right now. Of course, when it is done, the house will go up for sale and my next home will have an office.

I might need to put the table in my office, however. My table was handmade by my father-in-law. It’s a beautiful round table with a pedestal base and the legs are the perfect height to rest your feet on. I’m so used to using those legs as a footrest that I have a difficult time sitting at a desk. So, my new house will have an office for me, but it just might have to be large enough to accommodate my round, handmade, sugar maple desk.

ST: You deserve an office and I’m in awe of how much you’ve accomplished without one. Sarah, what’s your favorite part of writing?

SG: Writing the book; discovering the characters, helping them fall in love, foil the villain and live happily-ever-after.

ST: What do you absolutely hate about being an author?

SG: Writing the book; discovering the characters, helping them fall in love, foil the villain and live happily-ever-after. LOL.

ST: Your website is gorgeous. If you haven’t done so yet, I recommend everyone cruise over to www.sarahgrimm.com and check it out. How did you decide on the content and design?

SG: Thanks, I’m glad you like it. Originally my website was set up by a wonderful family friend. He decided on the design and then looked to me for what I wanted when it came to content. He has his own family and a job, so when it became apparent that I wanted to be able to mess with the site on my own, he showed me how. Since I’ve taken over I’ve made some additions, but the main design, including the red tree banner at the top, are all his doing.

ST: Wow! Our time is up already and I had more to discuss with you today. It’ll have to keep until tomorrow. We’ll see Friday, bright and early?

SG: I’ll be here. Thanks again, Sloane. It’s been a pleasure hanging out.

ST: You’re very welcome, I’m enjoying it to. Have a good day, everyone and… Happy writing!

February 23, 2007

Gazing into the Crystal Ball

ST: Good morning everyone and welcome back Sarah. Tell us what the future holds for you?

SG: I have an agent interested in seeing my writing, but she will only look at something that has not been sold, which means I need to write something for her. I have a single title planned that I will send her once complete.

I dream of the same thing most authors I’ve talked to dream: to be able to support myself writing. Most people don’t realize that this is something a lot of authors never achieve. Being published doesn’t automatically guarantee wealth or success.

ST: If you had one wish that would be granted, what would it be?

SG: I was going to say multiple orgasms, but then I thought about it and decided that I would much rather have my youngest son’s metabolism.

Or maybe what I need is some will power.

ST: How did you and Triskelion Publishing come together?

SG: That’s a funny story actually. For years I toned down my writing, altered it in order to fit it inside of the ‘box’ that some of the other publishing houses want you to fit in. And no matter how hard I tried, I was rejected. I hated writing that way, I hated altering how I do things and forcing myself to be what I thought these other publishers wanted me to be. Eventually, I realized I didn’t fit in the box. Now, this wasn’t an easy realization for me to come to. First, I had to get mad. I have the type of personality that when told I can’t do something, I go out and prove why I can do it. This is where Triskelion came into the picture.

After bending and twisting and reworking NOT WITHOUT RISK for another publisher, in the hopes it would fit in their box, I was rejected. I didn’t take it well. I had changed my characters, held myself back and totally altered the way I put a story together and they didn’t want it? Well, during my tirade I logged onto my email account and up pops this email that Triskelion Publishing has just been recognized by RWA.

I queried the next day and Gail loved the story. I was offered a contract by the end of the week.

ST: What’s in the works for the future?

SG: AFTER MIDNIGHT, my second romantic suspense, is available from Triskelion Publishing June 2007. I haven’t heard whether that one will go to print and when. You can find an excerpt on my website

I’m beginning work on my single title, DARK LIGHT, brainstorming an anthology with two other talented suspense authors, and considering a book starring one of the secondary characters from AFTER MIDNIGHT.

ST: Thank you, Sarah, for spending so much time with us. It’s been a great week and I’ve enjoyed learning more about you. The very best to you in the future and keep us posted on your future releases.

SG: Thank you, Sloane. I’ll see you on the loops!

ST: Have a wonderful weekend, everyone. I’ll be back next week. Until then… Happy Writing!