Author Bio:
Gemma’s favorite desk accessories for many years were a circular wooden token, better known as a ’round tuit,’ and a slip of paper from a fortune cookie proclaiming her a lover of words; some day she’d write a book. All it took was a transfer to the United Kingdom, the lovely English springtime, and a huge dose of homesickness to write her first novel. Once it was completed and sent off with a kiss, even the rejections addressed to ‘Dear Author’ were gratifying.
After returning to America, she spent a number of years as a copywriter, dedicating her skills to making insurance and the agents who sell them sound sexy. Eventually, her full-time job as a writer interfered with her desire to be a writer full-time and she left the world of financial products behind to pursue an avocation as a romance author.
Her gamble paid off when she was a 2012 Finalist in the prestigious Golden Pen contest for Romantic Suspense and she received contracts for her first and second book.
What inspires you to write?
I’ve been a reader for longer than I care to admit. And I’d always imagined how great it would be to write a complete novel, just to say I had. Once I realized I could do it, I was hooked. I love to share a story, and feel as if I’ve moved the reader with the level of emotion in my books.
Tell us about your writing process.
I use index cards to highlight scenes and chapters when I’m thinking about how I want the story to progress. I also have some worksheets I use on Character Development, so I can make sure the characters grow during the course of the story. I also do an inventory of characteristics for my main characters, plus the town where they live. It’s a lot of details to keep straight and having a cheat sheet along the way saves a lot of time.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I dream about my characters. They come up with some crazy ideas and situations, but almost always find their way out of them by the time I wake up. Occasionally, they’ll pop up during the day as I’m writing and remind me about the awesome adventure they had while I was sleeping.
What advice would you give other writers?
Consider all five senses when you are writing, and don’t forget to add movement in during long stretches of dialog.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
Once I decided I wanted to write and publish, I never really thought about going the self-pub route. I consider myself too lazy to face that challenge. Although now that I have some experience under my belt, I’m giving the indie idea way more consideration. What I didn’t figure out until after my first novel was published was that this job is really a 24/7 kind of gig.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I believe the possibilities are endless. Change will happen. That is inevitable. But I learned a long time ago, I can capitalize on it, or capsize under it.
What do you use?
Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer, Beta Readers
What genres do you write?
Romantic Suspense, Contemporary Romance
What formats are your books in?
eBook
Website(s)
Gemma Brocato Home Page Link
Link To Gemma Brocato Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7229886.Gemma_Brocato
https://www.facebook.com/gemma.brocato?ref=hl
https://twitter.com/GemmaBrocato
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