I’m thrilled to feature Claire Gem’s writing journey and her books: Phantom Traces and Hearts Uncloched.
Here’s Claire!
Writing isn’t a hobby for me, nor merely a career dream. Crafting stories, and all that go with them, is a passion. And the reason why I don’t need to be on an anti-depressant medication.
When I was in the seventh grade, my English teacher, Nancy Prather, gave the class a creative writing assignment. I don’t even remember now what I wrote about. But I can tell you this: when Ms. Prather handed out the papers and I discovered I’d scored an A+, a tiny spark ignited in my chest. When she stopped me on my way out of class to say, “You have real talent. I hope you’ll pursue your writing,” that spark burst into flames.
Flames that simmered low and slow throughout the next forty years. There simply wasn’t time in my life to seriously pursue a writing career until about eight years ago, when I turned fifty. The kids were grown, my “day-job” (which has nothing to do with writing) was firmly established, and I finally had the time to make up stuff.
And so I did.
The process of sending out those first queries was as painful, and as frightening, as childbirth—maybe more. Yet not as excruciating as the rejection letters. The first fifty of them.
But I am not a quitter. I can do this, I thought. If not talented, then persistent, and stubborn as hell. I’d finished my third, unsold manuscript when I let a friend who loves romance novels take my draft of PHANTOM TRACES with her on vacation. She came back raving about how much she loved the story, and wondering why I hadn’t been offered a contract on it. Three days later, I was.
Soul Mate Publishing signed me for Phantom Traces three years ago, and I’ve never looked back. Since then, I’ve secured another contract for a contemporary romance with a different publisher. But I have one tiny, little flaw as an author: I’m a control freak. Which is why I chose to go Indie on my latest release, HEARTS UNLOCHED.
I was lucky enough to find an awesome copy editor/proofreader, Joyce Mochrie. I had my same beta reader take the manuscript on vacation (she loved this one even more than the first!). My sister is a graphic artist, as well as a published author in her own right, and she designed my unbelievable cover. All the pieces are in place. I feel like a 747 jet sitting on the end of a runway, one whose pilot just got the go-ahead for take-off.
So buckle your seat belts, readers. Here we go!
Blurb
A psychic interior designer reluctantly agrees to renovate a sexy investor’s abandoned hotel on a lake rumored to have once been the mob’s body dumping ground.
Interior designer Kate Bardach loves her single girl’s lifestyle—living in Manhattan and spending weekends at her lake house. She’s passionate about her career, reinventing old buildings. But there are some projects she can’t take on because of the spirits trapped there. Kate is psychic—she sees dead people.
Marco Lareci is one of Wall Street’s most successful investment brokers who’s achieved all of his life’s goals—except for finding his soulmate.
His latest project, an abandoned resort on Loch Sheldrake, needs a savvy designer to transform the crumbling complex into a boutique hotel. When Marco meets Kate, he can’t believe his luck. She’s the perfect match for his business and his heart.
Marco’s body excites Kate even more than does his renovation project. But the haunting there, a bonafide poltergeist, affects her on an intensely personal level. Kate’s aunt disappeared from the place fifty years ago.
Will the spirit doom Kate and Marco’s love, or drive them closer together?
A history professor in a tweed jacket, a cheeky Goth chick, and a pipe-smoking, book-hurling ghost. Put them all together in an antiquated library and, well…
Professor Jack Wood’s silver-streaked hair definitely ages him, and he can thank Killer Dawn for that. He won’t be falling into the love trap again anytime real soon. But this new librarian has him curious, with her head-to-toe black Goth garb, piercings, and a defiant attitude to match. Definitely not his type of girl, but still…
Abigail Stryker’s got her work cut out for her. The last two librarians didn’t last a month before airborne books chased them off. But Abby’s determined to make her new life a go-and to stay as far away from older men as possible. Once was enough. Might be tough to do when the library’s best patron is none other than dreamy-eyed Jack Wood. And it seems the eccentric ghost may have taken a shine to her as well.
Available in eBook, Paperback, & Audiobook
Bio
Claire Gem turns the paranormal genre on its ear by combining the elements of gothic horror, mystery/thriller, and contemporary romance into a genre she calls New Gothic.
Claire loves ghost stories, and has done her homework when it comes to exploring the world of paranormal phenomena. She holds her certificate in Parapsychology from Duke University’s Rhine Institute of Paranormal Studies. Her obsession with cemeteries, a severe case of taphophilia, has served her well—some of her best stories were born while exploring an old graveyard. She also loves abandoned places—asylums, crumbling hotels, places far out in the woods where only the fairies dare to venture.
Although she most definitely believes in ghosts, she doesn’t suffer from nightmares. They are simply midnight musings for her next gothic novel.
Where to find Claire…
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | Pinterest
Happy Release Day!
Briefly describe your first act.
“The time has come,” the walrus said.
A nightmare waits in the alley . . .
A naked alderman, a haunted trattoria and a love that can not be denied.
Jo-Ann Carson has lived most of her life on islands off the west coast of Canada, surrounded by snow covered mountains, lush rain forests and pristine beaches.
I read through the many marvelous stories here about authors who took chances and created second, third or even fourth acts in their lives, each focused on something different. It gave me pause, because although I too have shifted my focus, I feel as though my writing is simply an extension of my life, rather than a change. Let me explain.
All writers, from time to time, experience the dreaded block. I’m not referring to the chopping block (though it may as well be) but rather ‘writer’s block’. This is a condition otherwise known as a withering, about-to-be dried up landscape once it descends upon a writer’s corpus callosum, kind of like a dust cloud. Writer’s block is a loathsome annoyance, and there are plenty of images of the greats (think Hemingway) who’ve demonstrated various coping skills by swigging unlimited bottles of wine or whiskey to dredge up something from the recesses of their dusty skulls.
Maybe you’re developing a hum-drum mood, or stuck in stagnation. Loosen up. It’s okay to have a glass of wine (just not a keg, mind you) to ease your mental straitjacket. Go buy a decadent dessert. Do something to reward yourself. You should avoid criticizing yourself and your work. All work and no play is never a good idea. Just don’t get lost in your playground every day.
Humor is one of the best strategies for coping with anything in life. Writing requires so much internal, right-brain thinking it can become exhausting. Humor, either for yourself, or introduced in your writing, can unleash a floodgate of ideas and a new perspective. A good belly laugh is always appreciated – by the writer and the reader.
Born in beautiful British Columbia, Kim developed a passion for writing at an early age. Her interest in people led her all over the globe, including a two year stay in Japan and a humanitarian trip to Rwanda.
Today I love my body. I’ve stopped worrying about it and started enjoying it. My body is a marvelous temple, a vehicle that transports me through life and facilitates emotion and pleasure.
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Joanne Guidoccio 