Current Release: A LOVE OF HER OWN

PREVIOUS AUTHORS Gail McFarland (August) Gwynne Forster (September)

This month, AUTHOR OF THE MONTH is Arabesque's Bettye Griffin.

1.  What inspired you to write A LOVE OF HER OWN?

In the early stages of Arabesque ('94, '95), I noticed that most of the storylines ended with the happy couple either expecting an infant or with the actual birth.  That was a very sweet and logical way to end a romance story, but around that time I was a few years into my second marriage and had learned that motherhood was unlikely.   This was, as you might imagine, a rather difficult time for me.  Eventually I decided I was going to write about it one day, but at that time it was too fresh (so instead I wrote about a woman who did not want children in my first book, AT LONG LAST LOVE.

When I turned 40 I felt ready to do it.  In the interim I'd uncovered that support groups for infertility exist, and while I never felt it necessary to join one, I thought it interesting that a common complaint among infertile women was that they felt their parents didn't love them as much because they knew there would be no grandchildren and knew I wanted to include such a situation in my book.  In both books I wanted to show that women can still attain happiness if they are unable or unwilling to go the traditional route.

Love is for everybody, not just those who have hourglass figures, weigh 120lb., have 20/20 vision, etc.  Few people are that perfect, and whether it's fallen arches, knock knees, skinny legs or something more serious, I can't stress enough that love is for everybody.  The most touching letter I ever received was from someone who did not want children and who was being hounded by her family and friends, who all thought she was nuts, to change her mind.

She identified closely with Kendall in AT LONG LAST LOVE.  That told me I'd
accomplished what I set out to do.

2.  Why did you choose the city it is set in?

I used the same Palmdale/Nile Beach setting as I had in AT LONG LAST LOVE, since I had introduced Ava in that book.

3.  What should a reader expect from a BG romance?

Let's see...no flowery language (no mention of body parts that throb, heave or quiver).  I had originally said no millionaires, something I've reneged on with Hilton from A LOVE OF HER OWN, but at least he lived like an everyday person.  I would quote someone who reviewed At Long Last Love and say stories about "real people with real problems."

4.  How would you encourage readers who have never read a BG book to try
one?

At signings I ask them to read the blurb on the back cover.  Maybe it will appeal and maybe it won't.  It's all a matter of the reader's personal taste and possibly their stress level.  Some readers enjoy more fantasy in their
romance.

5.  Do you have a full-time career outside your writing?

Yes.  I work as a medical transcriptionist from my home office.  I'm an
independent contractor, not an employee, and it all works out quite nicely with me taking time off when I need it.  I'm basically undisciplined, but I make sure I pay my taxes and contribute to my Keough.

6.  How do you feel about those who do not take romance writing serious?

They should be should be dragged out and shot.  Just kidding.  That's perfectly fine with me.  Everybody's tastes are different.  Wouldn't it be boring if we were all the same? (although I still don't understand how people can eat liver).

7.  Did you read romance before you began writing it?

Yes.  I had to get the hang of it.  I wrote numerous awful manuscripts before getting it right.

8.  What do you like about African-American Romance Novels?

I've always liked reading about A-A characters, even back when we were "Negroes."  That's what prompted me to start writing in the first place.  When I saw Dick, Jane and Spot in those first grade readers and so help me, the only thing black was that dog's spots I remember feeling highly insulted.

9.  What was the last good romance you've read?

I just finished reading RENDEZVOUS by Bridget Anderson.  I had seen the BET adaptation (the very loose adaptation, I might add) a few weeks ago, thought I had wandered into a chase movie full of violence and with a couple of standard sex scenes thrown in and was sure the book was a whole lot different (better), and was it ever.  No wonder so many devoted readers out there are up in arms about how the storylines have been so drastically changed.  Count me in with those who are Royally Ticked Off.

10.  Do you see yourself ever writing a historical romance?

No, although I've gotten a lot of information from my parents, uncles and
aunts about A-A life during the Depression, partying at the Savoy Ballroom,
WWII and the 50s where I'd like to do something spanning those years, but
those periods are too recent to be considered historical.  A-A life was no
picnic during that time and before.  I admire Beverly Jenkins for her skill
in blending love stories with the hard times our forebears had.

11.  What about mainstream fiction?

Yes.  I've been told by numerous readers that my work read more like women's fiction than romance (that was meant as a compliment).  I've always
chafed at any type of rules, and of course this type of story is less restrictive.  You don't have to have the happy ending.  I've got two partially-written manuscripts (so many ideas...so little time...)  Of course, as in real life, romance is usually involved, just not so prominently. There's nothing new under the sun, and most general fiction revolves around family, work, relationships, but in the writer's own voice.

12.  Is being a romance writer what you thought it would be like?

I never really thought too much about what it would be like, but it's okay.

13.  What was your becoming a published writer journey like?

Picture yourself having to run down a narrow hallway with razor blades sticking out of the wall while being chased by a pack of Dobermans.  Okay,
maybe that's too drastic (but hey, I'm a writer; I'm supposed to embellish).
It wasn't life-threatening, just frustrating as hell.  It's too long to go into and none too encouraging, but I'll say this:  This was a case where being hardheaded and stubborn can pay off.  I simply refused to give up.  To give an example of how long I stuck in there, when I first started writing AT LONG LAST LOVE my heroine and I were both 34.  By the time it was published last year she was still 34 and I was 41.

14.  If you could pick one of your books for a movie which one would you
choose, and who would you cast in it?

Definitely A LOVE OF HER OWN which will probably be my all-time favorite (but then again I'm fickle).  That dude on the cover with those bedroom eyes is a fabulous personification of Hilton...but can he act?  I can't think of any red-toned, auburn-haired actresses to play Ava.

15.  What are your favorite sites on the web to visit?

I like Jeeves because he's so knowledgable.  I like watching old movies on TCM and going into the movie database to who played who.  I check my e-mail, look at postings on reader and writer bulletin boards and also "talk" with my fellow home-based MTs in the medical transcription forum.

16.  Do you like communicating with your readers and in what forms (letters, email, forums)?

I prefer e-mail because it's so quick.  Did you know that Margaret Mitchell got so caught in answering reader mail that she never wrote another book after GONE WITH THE WIND?

17.  What is the best part about being a romance writer?

I don't really know.  I just love making up stories.  It's great to get paid for something I used to get in trouble for.

18.  Any advice for those aspiring romance writers?

If you're serious and have talent you will get there eventually, but it might take years, so don't give up!  Writing is not for the easily discouraged.  Make like a mule and just remember, publishers and agents who might reject your work don't know everything.

19.  Can you give us a peek at what we can expect from the next BG romance?

Sure.  My next book won't be out 'til early 2001; I wasn't willing to put my life on hold while I wrote the thing and declined to submit the manuscript earlier than March.  It's tentatively titled DESIRE WITH AN E.  I've had good luck so far with my original titles, but I don't know how they're gonna feel about that one.  The heroine, Desiree (hence the title) Mack, has just begun work with a quality assurance service company whose client roster includes hotels all over the world.  When the company's only other A-A female QA agent (it's a small company with maybe a dozen agents) resigns just before an important survey for a new client in West Africa, she is tapped to fill in, because the client has requested a married couple or someone who can convincingly pose as such every time they step out of their suite.  The problem is she has never even met Austin Hughes, the man she will be traveling with, who is based out of New York and is also co-owner of the company.  The spark is there from the start, and when they go to work the role-playing begins to blend with reality until it becomes almost impossible to separate.

This story has at least three characters who have "told" me they want their own stories, and my plan is to pair off two of them in a romantic comedy, which I've always wanted to write.  This will follow about nine months after Desi's and Ozzie's story, so in late 2001.