Book Goodies

Find great books, bargains and freebies!

  • Home
  • Authors: Tell Readers About Your Book
  • Advertising
    • Buy Home Page Features
    • Advertise Your Bargain Book
    • List Your Free eBook
    • Feature Your PermaFree Book
    • BookGoodies Multi-site Landing Pages And Book Buyer’s Guides
    • Author Advertising PrePay and Save!
  • Deals Newsletter
  • Featured Books
    • Buyer’s Guides
  • Book and Kindle Sleeves
  • Free Printable Bookmarks
  • Sites in the BookGoodies Network
  • Inspirational Thoughts and Affirmations
  • Free Books
  • PermaFree Books
  • Featured Free and Bargain Books
  • Bargain Books Under $3
  • Buyer’s Guides
  • Interviews With Authors
    • Podcasts with Authors
  • Authors Start Here
    • Authors: Tell Readers About Your Book
    • BookGoodies MEGA Submit Book Buyers Guide
    • Submit Your Interview
    • Feature Your Free Books
    • Feature Your Bargain Books
  • Giveaways from BookGoodies
You are here: Home / Interviews With Authors / Interview with Author – Claire Gem

Interview with Author – Claire Gem

By Book Goodies Leave a Comment

Claire-Gem
About Claire Gem:
Claire Gem writes women’s fiction and contemporary romance, sometimes with a paranormal twist. A voracious reader, she’s an avid fan of strong but sensitive heroes, spunky, sexy heroines, and a ghost story worth at least a few goose bumps.

Claire’s vision is to transport her readers into another place and time, maybe spooking them along the way. She loves creating characters so real, readers miss them when the book is closed.

After achieving her MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University, Claire settled in central Massachusetts with her husband of 36 years (yes, happily-ever-after really does happen). Always fascinated by the paranormal, she holds a Certificate in Paranormal Studies from Duke University’s Rhine’s Research Center.

By day, she works for Tufts University. Every other waking hour (even those when she should be sleeping) she spends exercising the creative side of her brain by flexing those ten digits glued to her keyboard. Chased by those pesky ghosts, Claire writes for her life.

What inspires you to write?
I’ve always loved to write – I’m basically a creative person and have worked in diverse professions including hairdressing and bridal gown design. I love history, and I love the paranormal. All of these things push me to sit down a the keyboard day after day after day…

Tell us about your writing process.
I started out as a pantser, and that’s how Phantom Traces came to be. The work was my first successful NaNoWriMo project in 2012, and by Nov. 30 I had 54,000 words and The End. But that was just the beginning.
Since then, I’ve learned great concepts don’t always pan out into great plots. I’ve learned, with the help of many craft books and seminars, including “Rock Your Plot” by Cathy Yardley, to produce an outline, no matter how sparse, covering the main plot points, including the ending. With this skeleton, I find it’s much easier to know what comes next when I sit down at the keyboard.

For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
My characters often wake me up in the middle of the night to tell me what comes next in the story, or when I’ve gone off course. I listen.
On the other hand, I often scream at my monitor when I’ve just finished typing a scene where a character has taken control, changing the story from the way I was imagining it. I scold them, but in the end, they usually get their way.

What advice would you give other writers?
Read as many books in your chosen genre as you can. Listen to audiobooks on your commute. Absorb the rhythms of the words, feel the flow of the story arcs. Then sit down and open your work in progress.
Don’t give up. Until you’ve papered one wall with rejection slips, you can’t call yourself a writer.

How did you decide how to publish your books?
Realizing my dream of publication as a debut novelist with one of the “Big 5” New York publishers was improbable, I queried small publishers and pitched to them at conferences. I sold my first three books to small publishers.
I’m now seeking agent representation for my women’s fiction with the hope my writing has improved enough to achieve my ultimate goal of the Big 5.
I’m giving it a year or so, when I will have 2-3 books out there and have developed a following. Then I will explore the self-publishing avenue.

What do you think about the future of book publishing?
Fewer big advance contracts by the Big 5, and these megapowers will read fewer query letters and shop for new authors on the self-published lists. We’re actually making their job easier for them, since by self-publishing, they can see how the public receives our work before they invest a dime.

What do you use?: Beta Readers, Professional Cover Designer, Professional Editor

What genres do you write?: Romance, Romance/Paranormal, Women’s Fiction, Memoir

What formats are your books in?: eBook

Website(s)
Claire Gem Home Page Link

Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest

Filed Under: Interviews With Authors Tagged With: ghost story, paranormal, romance


Free and Bargain Books delivered to your email daily, subscribe now to find great new books every day.

Are you looking for ebook deals? We have them! We also have free ebooks - check them out!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sign up for our Featured and Bargain Books Newsletter

Fiction

  • Fiction
  • Action & Adventure
  • Drama
  • Fantasy
  • Historical
  • Horror
  • Mystery/Suspense
  • Paranormal
  • Romance
  • Romance – Erotica
  • Science Fiction
  • Women’s Fiction
  • Fiction Audio Books

Nonfiction

  • Art/Photography/Coffee Table
  • Biographies & Memoirs
  • Body/Mind/Spirit
  • Business Books
  • Cooking and Food Books
  • Crafts and Hobbies
  • Educational/How-to
  • Essays
  • Faith and Religion
  • Gardening Books
  • Health & Fitness
  • Humor
  • Inspiration and Photography Books
  • Pet and Animal Books
  • Science and Math
  • Travel
  • Nonfiction Audio Books

More Good Stuff

  • Featured Books
  • Children and Young Adult Books
  • *Reading Room
    • Interviews With Authors
    • Audio Books
      • Nonfiction Audio Books
      • Fiction Audio Books
  • Spanish
  • Giveaways from BookGoodies
  • Readers: What Podcasts Do You Listen To?
  • Readers: What Devices do You Use to Read eBooks?
  • Readers: What Do You Like on an Author’s Website?

For Authors

  • Authors: Tell Readers About Your Book
  • Author Interview – Tell Us About Yourself
  • BookGoodies MEGA Submit Book Buyers Guide
  • Advertise Your Bargain Books
  • Advertise Your Free eBook
  • Advertise Your PermaFree Book
  • Universal Link Tool for Amazon Books
  • Subscribe to Our Newsletter
  • BookGoodies News

 

Click here to have your book featured

 



Are you looking for ebook deals? We have them! We also have free ebooks - check them out!

Copyright © 2023 BookGoodies Network