Summer Fire... in Winter
Tell us about yourself and how you got into writing.
Hi Tara! Thank you for having me here.
I’m a writer from Montreal, Canada, currently living in Switzerland. I’ve been writing stories for as far back as I can remember, since I was 5 and wrote about a boy looking for his cow, who turned out to be on the moon. I don’t really remember what sparked my drive to write, though it had something to do with my first grade teacher. Thank you, Mrs Allan!
It was only after I read Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series over 10 years ago, and joined the Compuserve Books and Writers Community, that I finally started focusing more on the editing stages of the writing process, and began trying to polish some of my stories and novels with a view to publication. It feels like the end of a chapter to know that the Community will be permanently shut down before the end of the year.
(side note from Tara: It's still rather surreal that all those years of writing/posts/houseparties will just be going poof in a week. And sad. So sad. But I am immeasurably grateful for all those years of writing and friendship, especially for all the bonds I've formed and kept outside of the forum.)
Favorite author/s and why?
Tolkien, for the language and the history and his impressive level of continuity. But I love and reread many authors, from Canadian YA and MG authors such as Margaret Buffie, Jean Little, and Kit Pearson, to historical romance authors such as Jo Bourne, to contemporary authors such as Kait Nolan and Talli Roland/Leah Mercer.
What is Summer Fire about?
“Ayse had resigned herself to an interesting—but in the end unromantic—trip visiting family in Istanbul. Great-aunts, touristy sites and endless meals…until she meets fellow doctor Hakan.
All tanned skin and defined muscle under his polo shirt, his kisses cut off her breath, making her dizzy. His every touch is a thrill.
Ayse wants all of Hakan at once. His sweet mouth, the heat of his body against hers, their heartbeats slowing together.
A holiday romance might give her some blazing memories come the lonely winter, but maybe, just maybe, the fire between them doesn’t have to be as fleeting as the summer.”
Where did you get the idea for this story?
A dream! I'm surprised by how many of my ideas come from dreams. They generally involve a scene of high tension, such as a spy being uncovered or a great wave engulfing a boat, and then I need to work out who the characters are, what they were doing there, and how they will come out on the other side of the event.
I wrote the original version of this story in one day in 2012. I edited and modified it a bit here and there over the next few years, as I submitted it to at least two different anthologies in its earlier forms.
How did you go about submitting this one?
I was actually submitting a novel, when I saw the open call for the Dirty Bits line from Carina Press, and submitted Summer Fire on a whim. I nearly fell of my chair when I got an email expressing interest.
Tell us a little about the publishing process.
Pleasantly smooth so far, though slower than I expected -- which has made for a nice learning curve. One round of edits, one round of copy edits. I think the fact that Carina is a mostly digital imprint helps -- the staff are all online and accessible in many ways, and quick to answer any questions!
Are you planning on doing more for this Carina line?
I'd like to! There's another open call for stories featuring tropes, and I have a novella that might fit the bill. The heroine is Ayten, whom I think one of your characters knows well!
What else do you have in the works?
Two novels at the moment. Editing the first one and starting to edit the sequel. I ought to stop calling it a sequel, though, because they're both meant to be romantic suspense, and they can each be standalones in terms of the romance. They simply happen to feature the same couple.
Here's the blurb I first wrote for The Charm of Time:
“A man and a woman meet at a garage and fall in love. Theirs is a whirlwind courtship 35 years in the making -- they've been waiting all their lives, without knowing it, to finally come together, all thanks to a broken down car.
Sounds like a happily ever after. Yet three days after they've met, during a weekend getaway in the Alps, the world-famous chef at their hotel is found dead.
Suicide of a celebrity? A personal murder? Or something more...As threats to their lives come swifter and closer, the couple's new found love is put to the ultimate test. How well can we know another human being? How long does it take to establish trust?”
Of course there's an HEA!
That one sounds fantastic, Deniz. And you know I'm all about the HEA.
Thank you so much for being here and sharing your journey to publication.
Comments
Seriously, best wishes with your new book. Sounds... toasty. :)
Love how you've developed the stories from snippets of dreams! :)
I'm surprised I actually have that many story dreams. Usually it's just a feeling that must be explored, but it is crazy to get entire novels out of it. My current novel grew out of one dream image of a woman walking up the stairs at a garage, and meeting the owner, and there was this intense rush of good feelings...