~ Interview with Nathalie Gray ~ April 2006 ~

Interviewed by Dawn Roberto 

Welcome to Road to Romance Ms. Gray! I am looking forward to talking to you about your books and a few other things. You have a few books out from Ellora’s Cave and I cannot wait to discuss them with you!   

Dawn -- Please tell us a little about yourself and how long you have been writing? Have you always gravitated toward being an author?

Nathalie -- Well, it all began when I was born. Let me give you a detailed, chronological account of the life of Nathalie Gray...did I scare you?  Seriously, like my bio says on Ellora’s Cave’s website (and my own), I’m a mom, wife, big sister, ex-soldier and one helluva renovator! Give me a hammer and a paintbrush and I can remodel your kitchen like *that* (snaps fingers). But there’s ahhm, er, umm, a waiver you’d have to sign first... I didn’t write my first book at four years old nor did I always know I wanted to ruin my eyesight and my wrists and my back hunched over endless screenfuls of words.  Writing is fairly new to me (started 6 years ago), although reading has always been my thing. Aside from romance, I write whatever the voices in my head tell me to (mostly fantasy and science fiction).

Dawn -- What inspired you to write in the first place? Does the same thing inspire you all the time?

Nathalie -- Bad books inspire me to say “I can do THAT!”  And good books inspire me to say “I WANT to do that!”  For me, inspiration comes in the form of me riveting my butt on my chair and staring at the computer screen until something comes out. Every day.

Dawn -- What influenced you to be published? How long did it take your first book to be sold?

Nathalie -- I’m not stubborn for anything except writing. Then I go from friendly tail-wagging Labrador to Pitt-bull.  When I bite down on something, I don’t let go.  I started writing in 1999 (non romance science fiction and fantasy at the time) and got The E-mail in 2005 from Ellora’s Cave.  Know them?  It’s that trailblazer of a publisher run by bold ladies.  Want a mental picture of me spinning in my vortex of euphoria? Get this: tall gangly chick with spiky platinum hair and glasses running around in circles, lots of arms waving and uncoordinated movements, lots of unarticulated sounds of joy, alarmed neighbours, worried pets, etc.

Dawn -- Often a writer’s first book is the hardest to write. Was this the case with you? If so, what helped you get through it? If it wasn’t, what book was the most difficult to write, if any?

Nathalie -- Writing isn’t hard (so far). The people in my head know what they want to say and do.  I’m just the typist.  Although Wolfsbane (werewolf historical coming in May 06) did require that I spank my demons really good.

Dawn -- Do you usually outline or go with the flow? Do you have a routine when you are writing (mood music, candles, no noise, etc)?

Nathalie -- Outline/plot? Yes. But it’s flexible. I look at it like the white lines on the road. You try to stay in the middle, but it’s not the end of the world if you kinda float left or right once in a while when there’s no eighteen-wheeler coming the opposite way. Routine? Yes. It involves my butt, my chair and lots of frowning at the screen.

Dawn -- Let’s talk about Demo Derby your latest book out at Ellora’s Cave. What made you decide to write this sort of book? How do you describe the characters, Elisa and Kai in Demo Derby?

Nathalie -- I write what I’d like to read.  My men and I went to a demolition derby (not in space, though, just the regular Earth-bound kind) a couple of years ago. Our first one ever. There was such energy in the crowd. Watching cars crashing into each other really brought out the Neanderthal in all of us!  I thought, whoa, this is FUN.  The gears started turning... What if there were demo derbies in space, baby? Like a three-dimensional demo race!  Yeah!!

Dawn -- What was the biggest challenge to you in writing Demo Derby and Femme Metal (plotline, characters, setting, etc)? Is there a genre you want to write but haven’t yet?

Nathalie -- They were my first romance stories ever, so I had to keep track of the love-o-meter at all times, if you know what I mean.  It’s getting easier to do now that I’ve written a few.  My editor is such a gem and really, and I mean really worked her butt off to help me kick my inner romance writer onto the stage and face the crowd.

Dawn -- In Femme Metal, you write some amazingly complex characters in Alexandra and Sekmeth. Have you ever patterned a character after anyone you knew-family, friends, employees? Which character has the most been like you? The least?

Nathalie -- Nope.  I wouldn’t do that to folks I know...unless they take my favourite chocolate from the box before I get to it, then I might add a sub-villain with bad breath, dandruffs and mouldy toenails...MWA HA HA!  My characters all have bits of me in them, I guess.  Isn’t that a scary thought?!

Dawn -- The editing process is quite important in an author’s life. How do you find the editing process for any of your books? Do you have a routine when you edit?

Nathalie -- Editing is like unwrapping a birthday present. Each layer you peel off reveals a corner of the goodie inside.  My editor and I pull out our nice and shiny machetes (hers is shinier, dammit) and go at the manuscripts with one-eye-twitch glee. Well, I know I do. I have a document where I put all the notes from my editor, all the words I tend to overuse or misuse (I’m French Canadian, so sometimes the translation module in my brain has farts).  When the manuscript is done, I go through my checklist with the “Seek & Destroy” function full blast.

Dawn -- What makes your characters the most vulnerable yet strong in all your books?

Nathalie -- All my characters are vulnerable at some point, because I say so! Everyone has to follow the Evil Overlordess (me) Rules of Plausible Behaviour. No deus ex machina; no defying logic or gravity or other laws of physics unless I give them a zero-g environment and magnetic boots; no suddenly-the-hero-remembers-that-he-knows-kung-fu-and-kicks-the-villain’s-butt; and certainly no heroine-faints-in-a-pathetic-heap-or-can’t-keep-her-spine-locked-in-the-upright-position.

Dawn -- Do you have moments of insecurity when writing? If so, how did you overcome these moments?

Nathalie -- Insecurity is like that telemarketer who calls back every once in a while. It’s always for something different (lawn care, insurance, Internet rates) but you know he’s going to call again.  And again.  You just learn to ignore it, live with it and go on. 

Dawn -- Ms. Gray, erotic romance is getting bigger and more mainstream as months go on. What do you believe is the biggest misconception in this field?

Nathalie -- That it’s not like real books. I don’t know where it comes from and frankly, I don’t care.  I’ll leave that deep-thoughts-pondering to my betters. I’m just a typist.

Dawn -- I checked out your site and it’s amazing. On your coming soon page, you have many books coming out. Can you give us a glimpse into what is coming up for you?

Nathalie -- I do my own site for two reasons: one, I’m cheap. Two, I like to hold my own leash. I have bucketloads of books coming!  I have a werewolf historical coming in May, a vampire action coming in June (she’s a genetically enhanced super-soldier turned vampire...she’s going to kick some butt, baby!), a sequel to Femme Metal (you’re going to LOVE that hero!), a paranormal for Ellora’s Cave’s planned 2007 tarot-themed series, a sequel to Wolfsbane, and lots more. I won’t bore you with all the details. But there’s more where Femme Metal and Demo Derby came from!

Dawn -- What do you feel is the most important thing(s) new authors need to remember when writing their own books? What advice can you give aspiring authors?

Nathalie – Me, giving advice to anyone?  Please!  Just do your own thing, your own way.

Dawn -- Which book (out now and coming soon) is your favorite and why? What have you enjoyed the most of this book?

Nathalie -- The sequel to Femme Metal. Oh, baby, this one will knock your socks off!  The hero, Titan, is such a loud-mouthed, Cro-Magnon, obnoxious...man!  But he loves to dress in snazzy, pinstriped suits (it’s a science fiction, remember) and to rub his guns all nice and shiny.

Dawn -- What do you think the level of sensuality/heat is in your books? What can readers expect from your books with respect to sensuality, sexual content?

Nathalie -- What’s hot for one is boring for someone else, so with that legalese copout out of the way, I tell my readers to expect action in and out of the bedroom (or wherever my characters happen to be while “doing it”).  Want energetic love scenes?  I got that.  Want sexual tension that triggers the sprinklers?  Yep, I got that.  Looking for a macho hero who’ll rip the skirt off the timid heroine’s butt and she won’t slap him upside the head for it?  Sorry, I don’t got that...unless she asked for it and/or she tore off his pants first.  That, baby, I got!

Dawn -- Have you ever been nervous about the reaction of readers when a new book comes out?

Nathalie -- No, although Wolfsbane will be my first non-science fiction/futuristic romance, so I’m keen to see the reception it’s going to get.  I hope folks like it, if they don’t, well, I’ll just have to drown my sorrow in chocolate.

Dawn -- What do you hope readers take with them when they read one of your books?

Nathalie -- A good ride.  That’s all I aim for, to entertain.  They didn’t pay ten, fifteen dollars because they wanted to burn a few bucks for nothing.  They want something in return.  I give them (hopefully) a good ride.  No lofty, intellectual, metaphysical enlightenment or ooh la la moment of long-dead-Chinese-Emperor channelling.  Just a fun ride. 

Let’s have some fun questions for you now, Ms. Gray.

Dawn -- If you were an ice cream flavor, what kind would you be and why?

Nathalie -- Are there flavours other than chocolate?!

Dawn -- If any of your books were to be made into a movie, which one would you choose and what actors to play the characters?

Nathalie -- Immortalis, because you can never get too many vampire Viking hunks!

Dawn -- If you could go to lunch with anyone (real or fictional), who would it be with and why?

Nathalie -- Comedian George Carlin, baby! ‘Cause he’s my favourite human being, that’s why!  Or author Christopher Moore.

Dawn -- Describe a romantic evening for you?

Nathalie -- First, we’ll share our feeeelings, then we’ll have that languorous staring contest as we hold hands and eat supposedly-aphrodisiac foods. Then the phone or the doorbell will ring or the kid will raid the fridge, occupy the sofa with a wide assortment of toy cars and colouring equipment, or the dog will trot into the house carrying a (preferably dead) bird and plop it down at our feet with that proud Labrador grin.  Did you hear the bubble bursting?

Dawn -- What is your biggest food weakness that you cannot live without? The one food you can’t stand?

Nathalie -- Chocolate.  Warm monkey brain or fried panda feet.

Dawn -- If you were stranded on a deserted island with these three items (a man, a book of your choice and a penknife), what would you do with these items?

Nathalie -- During the first few days, I’d use the knife to cut wood, some pages of the book to start a fire and the man to converse with. After a few weeks, I’d probably use the knife to chase the edible co-islander around the long-extinguished fire and converse with the people on the book cover.

Dawn -- If you could spend one passionate night with anyone (besides DH), who would it be with and why?

Nathalie -- Daffy Duck.  I’ve always had a crush on him.  He’s so sexy.  And have you seen the size of his (webbed) feet?!!

Dawn -- If a book was written about you, what do you think the title would be with in five words?

Nathalie -- Five words?  Jeez!  I’m a French Canadian, saying “hi” takes more than that!  Okay, I’ll try something funny, if it’s a dud, I’ll blame it on the restrictive word count.  If, for some unfortunate reason, a book were to be written about me, it could be called something like “Attack, and Damn the Torpedoes!” 

Thank you, Ms. Gray for spending some time in talking to us about your books and life as an author.

Books available by Nathalie Gray at Ellora’s Cave are Demo Derby and Femme Metal Check her site, www.nathaliegray.com , for up to date information on upcoming releases, contests and other news by this gifted author.