Interview with Shirley Marks

Hi, all! Jennifer here.
I'm so pleased to introduce Avalon author Shirley Marks today.
Her new Avalon release A Grand Deception is available now!
So please give a warm welcome to Shirley:

Shirley, how would you describe your writing style and/or the books you write?

I would like to think my books are entertaining. I’m constantly working on the “craft of writing,” knowing there is always room for improvement.

Describe a little of your writing routine for us. Do you have a set amount of time that you spend on writing per week?
I try to write every free moment I have. I don’t have a schedule. It seems “life” always intrudes. It would be so much easier if my family didn’t have to eat. I could eliminate trips to the grocery store.

Is there a different genre you would like to try and write someday?
I do write the occasional Romance, they’re really more like Romantic Comedies. I also enjoy Cozy Mysteries. I might have a few of those stories I’d like to tell…someday.

 Do you have a favorite social network?

My initial answer was: I have none. After giving this some thought I did come up with one I really like: GoodReads. Currently I have A Grand Deception up for a Goodreads Giveaway. I did a giveaway with the previous book Perfectly Flawed and this time I expanded the availability from US only to US, Canada, Great Britain, and Australia.

How do you reward yourself for finishing or selling a book?
After I finish a book I like to “clean up” my work area, removing notes, that are stuck everywhere, and reshelving books I’d used and stacked around my desk. Then I pull out the notes and notebooks for my next book and start all over again.

I don’t really have a reward for selling a book . . . but I do have a tiara I like to walk around in for a bit. Only in the privacy of my home, not in public.

What is the best advice you’ve ever gotten and/or advice you’d like to give to other writers.
My advice would be: keep writing and keep learning. There is always something new one can do to improve one’s writing. And . . . if someone doesn’t like your work it doesn’t mean it’s bad. It’s only one person’s opinion. However . . . if you’re hearing the same comments from many people you might thinking about taking another look. There might really be a problem.

And now for some fun:

Favorite vacation spot:

I love Hawaii. I’d love to give England a try. J

Favorite TV show?

It was LOST for a very long time. Currently it’s BBC’s Sherlock, season 2 starts in May!

Coffee or Tea?

Coffee! But it’s got to be low acid and smooth. I’m picky. There was a time when I roasted and blended my own beans. It took a lot of time and to be truthful… I’d rather be writing.

Favorite recipe you like to make or eat:

Currently it’s Carolyn Hughey’s Eye of the Tiger Granola. See her August 2012 release One Menu At A Time for the recipe.

For more information, please visit:

www.ShirleyMarks.com

I blog about the development and writing of my current Gentlemen of Worth series at: The Citrus Parlor and once a month here on the Avaloners Blog.

Here's a little more about A Grand Deception:

A Grand Deception, third book in the Gentlemen of Worth series

When Lady Muriel Worth, the Duke of Faraday’s youngest daughter, travels to London to enter the Marriage Mart, she is more interested in academic than matrimonial pursuits.  Certain she can juggle the society schedule and suitors, she plans to steal away for lessons with her Latin tutor.

All goes as Muriel expects until the Earl of Amhurst arrives.  London gossips link their names and it causes complications not only for her reputation but for her heart.

It will take a proper Man of Circumstance to become more important to Muriel than conjugating Latin verbs.  To her dismay, the new Earl of Amhurst just may do that.

Thanks so much, Shirley!


And don't forget to enter Shirley's GOODREADS giveaway still going on!