Interview with Heather Graham, New York Times Bestselling Author

 

This fourth Saturday of  June,  I had the pleasure of interviewing New York Times Bestselling Author, Heather Graham. Here is what the delightful Heather had to say.  

1/ So, tell us a bit about yourself and your writing journey in one paragraph or less.

I was the typical reader-kid, always wanted a book, and my folks, my mom an Irish immigrant, the Graham clan from Scotland, had wonderful history books for me to read. But I majored in theater and worked in dinner theater and the occasional commercial for a few years before we had three of the five kids, and it just wasn't paying enough for me to keep going to work. Trial and error in writing, and then a book sold, and I remain grateful every day of my life that I have been privileged to do this for a living.

 

 2/ I’m intrigued by your heritage and your multi-cultural family. Can you share a bit about how you were brought up? Do you attribute such open mindedness to progressive parents?

 I'm sure. To this day, I remember special things about my folks. Two quotes from my dad are always with me--"Water has no color, neither does the human soul," and "There's nothing wrong with most religions, only the way that men have chosen to twist them." My mom was Google before Google--when she couldn't answer a question, she pointed to our encyclopedias and said, "Let's go find out!"  Her family regaled me a child with wonderful stories about leprechauns and banshees and the fairy folk and I loved being a kid and listening!

 3/What made you want to become a writer? 

I love books. They get us through the worst of times. They fascinate, and they teach. Maybe it's my way of continuing the oral tradition that was so much a part of my childhood!

 4/Who was your first sale with? 

Dell publishing. No! Ist was a short horror story to Twilight Zone magazine, now gone, in Canada. My proudest 15 dollars ever!

 5/ What have been some Highlights of your career? 

Being honored as a ThrillerMaster by ITW, definitely, and going on a USO tour with ITW and seeing our troops at the Kuwaiti border, and attending the Sharjah International Bookfair with ITW, too. I love my groups, ITW, MWA (Shout out to my incredible Florida Chapter!) HWA, and Sisters in Crime. People. Every conference is special. Fiction writers are the best, warm and generous. Just home from ITW. Also grateful for my Silver Bullet for giving endeavors, and my Distinguished Author Award from Southwest Florda Reading Festival and so many others. People are the biggest highlight--cons are places where you can meet your heroes. R.L. Stine isn't just amazing with all his wonderful story creations, he's an amazing, kind, and generous human being. Something true of so many of the "names" I've met, bigger and small!

6/ Tell us about what made you change genres? 

I always read anything out there. And still have ideas for different genres and, of course, today, we're mixing them, and I love it!

7/We’ve all been rejected at one point or another, any advice on how to handle rejection? 

Hm, either figure out how to fix a problem, swerve around . . . and keep going! Never, ever give up. Some people I know who struggled--even for years--are at the peak of the top now!

8/What’s your writing day like?

 I never know. I had kids, I watch grandkids sometimes . . . it's a bit like a Dr. Seuss novel. I will write on a plane, on a train, in a car, going far! Some writers have hours--I've always gone by a John Lennon quote--Life is what happens while we're busy making plans. So, no set schedule, just deadlines and discipline. 

9/ How did your conference Writers for New Orleans get started? Why do you continue to keep it in New Orleans?

Right after Katrina. I've been in love with New Orleans since I went with my dad on a business trip as a kid. I was in soon after Katrina and a friend owned one of the carriage companies at the time--she was worried sick, frustrated with government help, extremely grateful to the American people--but, like so many others in the city, desperate to get back to work, to give to charities again instead of trying to live on charity. She looked at me and said, "You can have a conference!" I explained that I wasn't at all sure how many people I could get into the city, and she told me, "Oh, please, get someone here, and it will be like a hair commercial, a friend will tell a friend will tell a friend . . ." So, with Connie Perry, we put it together at cost only so that people could go out and spend money in the city. It's still at cost only. Our first game and silent auction events gave to the NOLA libraries and now we'll sometimes do St. Judes, Shriners, or an animal rescue site. 

10/ You have a love for water, did I hear you’re a scuba diver? 

Yes, love, love, love the water! Soon enough, we'll be using our cell phones down under. But right now? Just you and a different world!

9/ If you weren’t a writer what would you be and why? 

I'm not at all sure! My other love was theater. Hm. LOL. Not sure I can do anything else now!

11/What are you working on currently? 

Ah, a couple of things in the fire! A crime novel on the use of AI to commit murders, a "Romantasy" using the Tuatha de Danann (from my Irish childhood!) and a sequel to a young adult series (The Rising, Blood Moon) with Jon Land. We also have another project going and I'm not even sure how to describe it, but also pushing the buttons of the times we're moving into.

12/ When it comes to publishing, what do you think is the next  big trend?

 I don't--figured out that if you're writing for the next big trend, there will probably be a new one by the time you finish your epic!

13/ How can we reach you?

 My web site! I love social media, but I can't guarantee I'm on it!

You can find out more about Heather here:  https://www.theoriginalheathergraham.com/

Join Us for a Zoom "Tea" with USA Best Selling Author Heather Graham

 

HEATHER GRAHAM

USA Best Selling Author Heather Graham will do a 1 hour Q&A session via Zoom on May 24th as part of RTG's 12th Blogoversary Celebration. Bring your questions and your beverage of choice!!!*(*Zoom link and info at bottom of page)

"Happy Anniversary! I've been at this more years than I care to share--really dates me!--and there will always be ups and downs in the writing world as the world itself is ever changing. But one thing I've discovered! The writing community is one of the most wonderful to be found--writers love to share, to help each other, and, of course, discover more to read. I'm so grateful for the wonderful people with whom we share this journey, so, seriously! Happy, happy anniversary and keep it up!" ~ Heather Graham

Topic:  The "Tea" is on with Heather Graham Zoom Meeting

Time: May 24, 2023 
            8:00 PM EDT (US and Canada)
            7:00 PM CDT
            6:00 PM MDT
            5:00 PM PDT

 Zoom Meeting Link:  Zoom "Tea" with Heather Graham Link

Meeting ID: 830 8268 6219

Passcode: 150998

The Way We Were.... Romance has Changed!

 By: Marcia King-Gamble

www.lovemarcia.com

Like me on Facebook  http://bit.ly/1MlnrIS

 In the background are Locks of Love ...lovers names are engraved and the keys thrown into the ocean!

As a writer of contemporary romance, I’m amazed at just how far we’ve come. I grew up for the most part on St. Vincent; a  small British island, that back then, few people even heard of. We had two book stores on the island, so if you were a reader you read whatever was on those shelves.

At age six, I read Mills and Boon novels and hid them under my mattress. I was an early reader, thanks to my school teacher mom. She would later tell everyone she didn’t even know I was able to read. She’d take me with her to classes and apparently I was catching on. But back to the subject matter at hand.

Contemporary romance at that time consisted of a boy meet girl scenario, some kind of conflict ,(usually a third person vying for the hero’s attention,) and the only hint of  lust were a few chaste kisses. These kisses increased the woman’s heartbeat and made the guy’s manhood throb.

Flash forward several years, and here I am writing the stories that I grew up with, except, oh, my, how much these stories have changed.  Now there is sex! And not implied either.

My first publishing opportunity came with the launching of the multi-cultural market.  Prior to that, few people who looked like me were even on the covers. With the nineties things changed. Kensington Publishing launched their Arabesque and Encanto lines and held their breaths. Other publishing houses quickly followed suit when they realized there was money to be made and the market couldn’t get enough.  They were shortsighted in that, they only marketed these books to the  African American and Latino community, not realizing that a good book is a good book, whether the faces on the cover are yellow, white or black. 

Back then Erotic or Erotica novels were something you did not read in public, or if you did, the book jacket was covered. I remember when books like Lolita and Lady Chatterley’s Lover were considered scandalous and only a 'harlot' read them in private or public.  Now today’s heat level would make even an exotic dancer blush. 

Today’s readers want it hot, hot. Readers for the most part want their sex, raw and explicit, although there has to be some romance driving that sex.  Readers want to read about both parties enjoying sex not women being taken, as had often been portrayed in the romances of the sixties, seventies and even eighties. Readers want to explore and maybe learn about something other than the missionary position.    Look at the success of Fifty Shades of Grey.

Contemporary romance also has hero and heroine meeting in unusual ways, just like people meet today….online... in coffee bars and in Internet cafes.  Heroines also have a multitude of careers. Gone are the days when the heroine was usually a nurse or nanny. Today she is the CEO and the hero might just be working for her. In Come Fall, one of my less known books, the heroine is accused by a subordinate of sexual harassment. How’s that for a flip?

Long gone are the romance novels that are completely vanilla, although the Inspirational Market, which is hugely popular, and very faith based, prefers sex not to happen without benefit of marriage.  But boy still meets girl and conflict happens. 

Romance today can take place on an alternate universe and love can happen between vampires, werewolves and shapeshifters. There are elements of suspense in romances and gruesome mysteries to be solved.  But the one thing that has not changed is that a satisfying ending must happen, and true love will prevail.

Contemporary romance has changed for the better.