Get to know Claire Gem today on #RB4U @gemwriter #Romance

Welcome to Romance Books 4 Us, a place for all romance and all genres. We’re very happy to have you here with us today. First, tell us a little bit about yourself…

Please tell us a little about yourself...

I’m a late blooming writer, you might say. I just turned sixty and didn’t publish my first book until 2015. A native New Yorker, I’ve lived in five of the United States and presently reside in Massachusetts with my husband of almost 40 years. Together we have three children and one grandson, the light of our lives. I live the happily ever after, so it’s easy for me to write about it.

What or who initially inspired you to become a writer?

My seventh grade English teacher, Miss Prather. She called me up to her desk waving one of my creative essays in her hand. “You have a special ability to write, young lady. Don’t waste it.” Too bad it only took me another forty years to take her up on that advice.

What kind of research do you do for a novel and how extensive do you get?

I’m an obsessive researcher—in fact, it’s what I do for a living until I can write full time. I’ve worked in pathology for over 35 years. So details mean a LOT to me. I may spend between one month and three researching for a new book idea before I actually write a word. Then, I always have my search engine open as I write to double check any facts I lay down in my story. Nothing annoys me more than when I’m reading a book where the author obviously didn’t bother to get the details right. I’ve abandoned more than one because of it.

When do you write?  Early morning? During the day sometime or all day?  After the kids go to bed?

I do my best writing (my best everything, actually) early in the morning. I write for an hour before leaving for work, and on Saturdays I haul my laptop down to my local library to write for a couple of hours. I find a change of scenery, and the quiet of library, helps stir my creative juices.

Do you have a special place you like to do your writing? Such as an office, a spare room, the dining room table, your couch?

I have a wonderful office where I write most of the time. My husband bought me a massive desk with hutch when I decided to get serious about my writing career. I also have two aquariums in my office with freshwater angelfish—I find the bubbling of the filters provide a soothing backdrop.

As a reader, what types of genres do you enjoy? And do you think they influence the genre/genres you write in?

My favorite genre is romantic suspense, but more like what I write: the more supernatural elements, particularly ghosts. And yes, I definitely know this influences what I write—when I ran out of books to enjoy in this genre, I started writing them.

What is your favorite method of writing...as in laptop, desktop, iPad or the old-fashioned pencil and paper?  And do you plot out your story or go with the flow of your muse?

Keyboard, all the way. I have a desktop Mac Pro and a laptop, also a Macbook. And no, I don’t pre-plot: I’m a confirmed pantser. I start with a premise—a story concept—create my characters, then start typing and let them tell me their story.

More about Claire:

Strong Women, Starting Over

   ~Redefining Romance~

Claire is a multi-published, award winning author of five titles in the genres of contemporary romance, supernatural suspense, and women’s fiction. She also writes Author Resource guide books and presents seminars on writing craft and marketing.

Her supernatural suspense, Hearts Unloched, won the 2016 New York Book Festival, and was a finalist in the 2017 RONE Awards. Also in 2017, her women’s fiction, The Phoenix Syndrome, was a finalist in the National Reader's Choice Awards, and her contemporary romance, A Taming Season, was a Literary Award of Merit finalist in the HOLT Medallion Awards. Her latest release, Spirits of the Heart, was a finalist in the 2017 "I Heart Indie Awards."

Creating cross-genre fiction she calls "supernatural suspense," Claire loves exploring the paranormal and the unexplained, and holds a certificate in Parapsychology from the Rhine Research Center of Duke University.

A New York native, Claire has lived in five of the United States and held a variety of jobs, from waitress to bridal designer to research technician—but loves being an author best. She and her happily-ever-after hero, her husband of 39 years, now live in central Massachusetts.

Claire is available for seminars & media interviews & loves to travel for book promotional events.

Where can our readers find you? 

Email: gem.writer@yahoo.com

Twitter: @gemwriter

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/clairegem.author

Website/blog: http://www.clairegem.com, http://www.clairegem.wordpress.com, http://www.hauntedpathways.wordpress.com.

Amazon author page: http://www.emotionalcontemporaryromance.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8284235.Claire_Gem

Is there an upcoming or current release you would like to share with us today and where can we find it?

My latest release, Spirits of the Heart, is the second in what I call my Haunted Voices Series. These are linked by genre only, and can be read in any order. This novel was a finalist in the 2017 “I Heart Indie Awards.”

An addiction counselor & a security guard struggle to free two, lost spirits trapped inside an abandoned mental asylum.

Laura Horton returns from college to move in with an old friend & start her career. But her homecoming is jarring. Her friend’s moved out, leaving Laura alone with the gorgeous but intimidating ex-boyfriend—in a house that snugs up to an ancient graveyard.

Officer Miller Stanford is a man with a shattered past. His alcoholic dad destroyed their family, a weakness Miller is terrified will consume him too. The last thing he needs is a sexy, blonde addiction counselor watching his every move. When he begins to see specters in the dark, he starts questioning his own stability.

But Laura sees her too—a pathetic child-spirit searching for her father. Can they unravel the mysteries of Talcott Hall without jeopardizing their love—and lives—in the process?

Buy Link:                   http://amzn.to/2sjTCKx

Trailer:                       https://youtu.be/YUa2RALSEm8