MEET RED Garnier
I don’t think there’s anything as magical as reading a wonderful book. Since I read my very first, I was utterly transported to a world that made me want to pack my bags and move right into it. I was twelve. Maybe thirteen. And I finally knew what I wanted to be.
A writer.
But a writer’s life isn’t as romantic as it sounds. Life always gets in the way of writers. You either live your own, or you sit down and create one for someone. Someone more wonderful, more interesting, more courageous. And because I met a wonderful man, my life came first. I married him. And we have two wonderful kids, whom we adore. And writing seemed to be just a little moment living in a big dream. I wrote, but I wrote little, and I needed more.
It wasn’t until the start of 2005 when my life had settled around me, and with that stillness came a gnawing restlessness. I really needed to write, really write, or I’d be miserable.
So I started, spending a few hours a day on the computer, and later entire nights. I heard of Ellora’s Cave, an erotic romance publisher, and their call for submissions for their hotter Exotika line. Ahh! Something sexy, I thought, and mulled through that a bit further: Something scandalizing. Shocking. Out of this world caliente.
Awesome!
And so began a career writing erotic romance, which took off quickly and
unexpectedly. First with the epublishers, and later helping me find my fabulous
agent Roberta Brown. She signed me up with my first full single title, The
Satin Sash, which NAL/ Penguin bought on proposal in April 2008.
Am I a writer now? I wondered that day.
Nah! I was a writer before that, but perhaps at last I start to feel like one.
I live in Texas with my family, two very big dogs, and dozens of wandering deer who keep eating the flowers. Sometimes I write all day, and sometimes the words elude me, little devils. But the thing is, at last I write. Or perhaps I spin, weaving tales of love and woe and raw, unbridled passion.
Thank you for visiting my site, and if you choose to read a book by Red, I hope you find it deliciously scandalizing, shockingly entertaining, and enjoyable to boot.
I absolutely loved writing it.
~ Red Garnier (gar-knee-er)
Question: Where
do you get your ideas?
Red's Answer:
It's amazing where ideas pop up. Sometimes inspiration seems to be hidden in
a word, a movie, a restaurant, a book. Sometimes it comes from an image,
a picture, or a photograph, or a sculpture I may see. Sometimes it's in a feeling;
in a rage, or a longing, or a wish. It's just everywhere, you just have to
be receptive to it.
Question: What
do you do in your spare time?
Red's Answer:
My spare time is definitely spent with my family. We sometimes read together,
scour the city for a new restaurant, walk the dogs and bake until the kitchen's
in a disreputable mess...!
Question: What
is the most valuable lesson you have learned as an author?
Red's Answer:
Every day brings a new learning experience, and I can't begin to describe
how much I've learned in the past year. As an author I've learned to edit,
revise, clean up my writing, and tighten it up so it's clearer. I've learned
there will always be good and bad reviews, an editor who loves your voice
and another who doesn't care for it.
Most of all I've learned to just be myself, do what I want to do the best I can do it and enjoy it. I've made a lot of wonderful friends whose support and friendship has been invaluable to me, and every day, I learn a little from them, too.
Question: What advice can you give for an aspiring writer?
Red's Answer:
This may sound trite, but it's true; don't give up! Believe in yourself. And don't
measure yourself against others. You are YOU. And YOU have something to say (everybody
does). So just sit down, write it, do the best possible job you can, and wait until
someone out there is ready to listen.