A Festive Welcome to Romance Author Sherry Gloag 

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Sherry Gloag writes stories that go right to 'The Heart of Romance'
Her latest novel From Now Until Forever has just been awarded 5 strong stars

Here's a brief preview:
For Prince Liam, families meant bad news, unwanted commitments, and the loss of his personal freedom.  Love spawned white picket fences, slippers at the hearth with a wife and kids making demands, so why did those images disappear when he met Melanie Babcot?

Melanie Babcot fought hard to escape the horrors of her youth and vowed to remain single and free, so when paid to protect Prince Liam from insurgents why did her personal pledge fly out the window?

Take a look at the trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D7sLoMWp0o

and read the fantastic review on Sherry's Goodreads page

Now Sherry Reveals:

Firstly, congratulations on your fifth published work! Thank you :-)

What inspired the theme of For Now Until Forever?
I watched the ‘royal wedding between William (get the connection!?) and Kate, and saw a spate of books coming out with Royal themes, so decided to try for some of the action.

How would you describe Prince Liam’s character? At the beginning of the story you could be forgiven for thinking of him  as arrogant, self-absorbed, and a womaniser, but as the story progresses past events are revealed that show him in a different light.  He is a strong, caring guy, who when faced with imminent death steps up to the plate.

And Melanie Babcot? As a child, Melanie survived life on the streets and stayed ahead of the system until rescued but a caring couple.  She works hard to improve herself and ends up working with her surrogate father.  

What did you enjoy most about writing From Now Until Forever? Everything about From Now until Forever had its own energy from the first letter to the last.  At every stage of the writing several people each had a major impact on its progress.  I loved that it started life at little over one thousand words.  Member of the crit group wanted more.  You told me about a certain anthology looking for submissions, so I extended it to five thousand words.  Before subbing it to the publisher I asked a friend, and fellow author Kay Springsteen to give it the once-over for grammar checks etc.  She sent it back with the demand she get first dibs if FNUF was rejected.  As you know it was.

Working so closely with Kay was an awesome experience and one I will treasure.  I learned a great deal from her, and so appreciate the time she gave me.  Although the road to publication for FNUF was influenced by many people, I strongly believe without Kay’s advice I might still be searching for a home for FNUF.

You have been complimented on your fast pace. Do you have a strategy to ensure the pace of your novels? No, Megan, I don’t have a strategy for pace.  The characters, Mel and Liam set the pace demanded their tale be told and usually I follow their lead, but  this time I also had the advantage of the brainstorming sessions with Kay.

I know you have described yourself as a pantser in the past. Do you find this is changing the more you write?

I’m still a Panster, but the biggest change I’ve discovered about my writing self is that I find it almost ompossible to switch off the internal editor.  My NaNo attempt this year was well and truly sabotaged by my internal editor.

Ever suffered from writer’s block? What would be your tips to overcome it? Sadly, yes, regularly.  Usually if I open a new doc head it ‘freewriting’ and simply start writing I subliminally give myself permission to write about anything.  My first ever short story evolved this way—and was published! Sometimes, and I did this with a scene in my second book, Duty Calls, I gave my self a deadline of 1k words and wrote a new scene to include – or not- in the story.  It worked, was fun, and I felt great when I’d finished.

As a reviewer, what do you think makes for successful book? Megan, this is not an easy question to answer.  I’ll try to explain.  A few months ago, I reviewed two books, two different authors.  Both with high, popular profiles, both authors I enjoy.  I gave the first book a 4.5, which for me is high.  The second I struggled to give it a 4.  Why?  When both books were well written, fluent, peopled with a great cast of characters, and an interesting setting, why did I struggle with the second book? Both had similar ingredients and yet one grabbed my attention, the second one did not.  The fact the second one disappointed when my expectations were high from this author also impacted my final rating., So you see, There is no one thing that makes a successful book.  It’s a bit like baking a cake.  You can bake the same recipe a hundred timed but at least one of those times, and probably more, the cake will fail to come up to expectations.

Which authors have influenced you as a writer? Nora Roberts is a word magician, and been a huge influence.  At the other end of the scale, Georgette Heyer and Jane Austen both have places on my ‘keepers’ shelf.  There are so many current writers I enjoy and always look out for their new releases—too many to mention.

What is the best writing advice you have ever received? Be true to yourself, and don’t give up.  A quote attributed to Nora Roberts says it all. “You can fix a bad page, you can’t fix a blank one.”

What can we look forward from you in your next project? A few years back, as part of that year’s NaNo challenge, I started a Regency novel, that I keep putting it away and taking it out and shelving it again, so I decided to pull it out and try and whip into shape as a Christmas story.  That didn’t happen, and yes it got sidelined for a few weeks, but I am now working on it again and who knows, perhaps I will send it off home-hunting in the not too distant future,
I am also kind of ‘listening’ to Henry, Liam’s brother –From Now Until Forver- Perhaps if luck is with me I can create a Valentine story here.  I happened to write my first offering for Tuesday Tales at the beginning of December and several people asked for an extension, (sound familiar?) and while I was out walking the next day, I ‘knew’ how to bring Henry and the Tuesday Tale together.

Any exciting plans for Christmas?
‘Fraid not. :-)  Being at home with family is exciting enough. Plus Sherry's hubby cooks the dinner! 

What do you hope Santa brings you this year? Given the saga with my PC this summer, I’m tempted to say a Mac! LOL. But since I was eventually given a voucher to get a replacement PC, I think I’ll have to wait a while on that one.

And finally...

I’d like to take this opportunity to wish my readers, friends and everyone a very happy festive holiday, and best wishes for the New Year.  And thank  you, Megan for having me on your blog this week.

Links: You can read more about Sherry on her website and her blog. Find her on facebook, on twitter and goodreads
More BUY links: amazon.com   amazon.co.uk   Barnes & Noble   Nook

Thank you for being here and sharing with us, Sherry - From Now Until Forever sounds like a winner!
Thanks also to all who visit this blog, A very happy Christmas and prosperous New Year to everyone and I hope that 2012 brings you everything you wish for.
'May your troubles be less
And your blessings be more.
And nothing but happiness
Come through the door.'

Back next year - don't forget to email meganjohns12@gmail.com if you would like to book a blog slot.
Remember to put 'blog booking' in subject line.