TQ: Welcome to The Qwillery.
Gina: Thanks so much for having me!! I’m glad to be here.
TQ: What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?
Gina: I write on my cell phone sometimes. Yeah. Especially when I’m stuck on a scene or with a character. The change of pecking out a character at a time on the comparatively tiny screen just helps to jumpstart my creativity. Sometimes I’ll get a chapter or more that way, just on my smartphone’s note feature!
TQ: Are you a plotter or a pantser?
Gina: Yes. :-) I’m a pantser in reform. I give myself a loose outline using the W plot, but it’s very fluid, and I change my mind as I go. I only refer back to the plot if I’m stuck, or if I’m worried about story length or structure. At the end, I’ll compare what I have to my W plot, and decide if the structure needs tightening or help in any way, but I love to keep it organic. Like a vine and a trellis, sort of. The bones are there, but the plant can grow whatever way it pleases.
TQ: What is the most challenging thing for you about writing?
Gina: Being creative on demand. It’s fun and easy to write a book when there’s nobody waiting for it at the other end of a contract! But I love the challenge, and I love beating the calendar to deadline day, even if it’s only by a day or two! Sometimes I love the race to the finish too much, and I don’t work ahead as much as I should!
TQ: Describe The Geek Girl and the Scandalous Earl in 140 characters or less.
Gina: A modern day geek girl gets sucked through a mirror and falls in love with a handsome and haughty earl. Hijinx and hot lovin’ to follow.
TQ: What inspired you to write The Geek Girl and the Scandalous Earl?
Gina: I had just finished reading Stephen King’s book ON WRITING. His opinion was that writers shouldn’t necessarily write what we know, we should write what we LIKE. While tumbling that idea over in my head, I thought about it. What do I love? Video games like World of Warcraft. But what else do I love? Reading historical romance, especially Regency. Jamie and Micah popped into my head, and their story was the quickest I’ve ever written!
TQ: Tell us something about The Geek Girl and the Scandalous Earl that is not in the book description.
Gina: Micah has a greyhound named Baron. While just a pup, Baron was rescued from drowning by a then-depressed Micah. This goofy, loyal, and sweet blue hound has the whole household wrapped around his bony paw, including the haughty earl. Who doesn’t love a hot guy and his dog?
TQ: What sort of research did you do for The Geek Girl and the Scandalous Earl?
Gina: LOTS. It’s amazing how much work it is to write historically, even when you’re writing something as fanciful as time travel! For instance, tomatoes. I wasn’t sure if they would have been readily available in England. Or the hygiene situation. Jamie’s used to two showers a day. How often could she beg to bathe? And the whole toileting situation? Really. I spent so much time researching chamber pots that I think my husband was worried I’d start a collection.
TQ: In The Geek Girl and the Scandalous Earl who was the easiest character to write and why? The hardest and why?
Gina: Jamie was the easiest. After all, a geek girl writing a geek girl is a pretty natural fit! I know the games she plays, the pop culture she enjoys, and the life she lives. The hardest was Micah, at first, but after I got into the rhythm of his voice? I enjoyed him even more than Jamie. The juxtaposition of the two was simply incredible to write!
TQ: Without giving anything away, what is/are your favorite scene(s) in The Geek Girl and the Scandalous Earl?
Gina: For humor, without a doubt, the breakfast scene after the failed kiss. Jamie’s irritated, and rightly so. And Micah’s trying to play it cool, but Jamie’s not giving him any slack. My absolute favorite line is Jamie’s, after Micah left-handedly compliments her gown.
“Oh really? You look, well, just as snotty and conceited as you were yesterday. Is that a new stick up your ass, or do you use the same one every day?”
For sheer hit you in the guts emotion, I can’t tell you. But it’s the part in the book at the end, where she… and then he… and I CRIED SO MUCH when I wrote it… Gah. Yeah. That.
TQ: What is your favorite video game?
Gina: On PC, of course, it’s got to be World of Warcraft. I divide my time between a Blood Elf Paladin and an Undead Death Knight. For PS3, I’m a Final Fantasy girl. I just finished XIII and I’m working on XIII-2!
TQ: What's next?
Gina: Next up is Leah, Jamie’s best friend, and her story about barreling back through time to find her own true love! Poor Leah thinks she’s got a leg up on this, since she’s a theatre rat and a Rennie. But things don’t work out exactly like she’d thought. GEEK GIRLS DON’T DATE DUKES releases in September of 2013!
TQ: Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.
Gina: Thanks so much for having me!! This has been fun. :-)
About The Geek Girl and The Scandalous Earl
The Geek Girl and The Scandalous Earl
Sourcebooks Casablanca, March 5, 2013
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 352 pages
The Stakes Have Never Been Higher...
An avid gamer, Jamie Marten loves to escape into online adventure. But when she falls through an antique mirror into a lavish bedchamber—200 years in the past!—she realizes she may have escaped a little too far.
Micah Axelby, Earl of Dunnington, has just kicked one mistress out of his bed and isn't looking to fill it with another—least of all this sassy, nearly naked woman who claims to be from the future. Yet something about her is undeniably enticing...
Jamie and Micah are worlds apart. He's a peer of the realm. She can barely make rent. He's horse-drawn. She's Wi-Fi. But in the game of love, these two will risk everything to win.
About Gina
This belly-dancing, wisecracking, marshmallow-addicted mother of three energetic fur-children loves nothing more than penning funny, emotional tales of love, lust, and entertaining mishaps.
Married to a real live superhero, she and her family live in North Carolina, surrounded by tobacco farms, possums, and the occasional hurricane.
Website : Facebook : Twitter
The Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The 1950s - I know it isn't so far back, but I loved the juxtaposition of Reese Witherspoon's character in Pleasantville.
ReplyDeletejochibi AT yahoo DOT com
Ooh, Jo, that would be a good time!! Modern conveniences without actually living in a digital world. Sounds fun to me!
DeleteI'd like to go back to the early 1800s, as long as I could pack some toothpaste and penicillin. A short trip would be great - I definitely wouldn't want to stay there!
ReplyDeleteVery smart, Rebe! In fact, you've guessed a little bit about the sequel right there. ;)
DeleteAnd I'm with you. I'm not going anywhere without my toothbrush. :)
I would want to go back to the Wild Wild West and get me a cowboy...maybe a bad boy like Jessie James!
ReplyDelete~Barrie
Oh that would be delicious.
DeleteI will admit, I've watched rodeo a time or two, just for the tight jeans. ;)
A Rennie...sadly I am going to have to Google that one. Guess I'm not as cool as I thought I was *sigh*
ReplyDelete:)
I would go back, way back and check out King Arthur's round table. See who his knights really were, flirt with a few, have some good food and come back. Sounds like a great day...where do I sign up!?
Hehehe. Ever been to a Renaissance Faire? The costumed people that always seem to be there are Rennies. They create characters for themselves and enjoy acting in time-period appropriate ways during the faire!
DeleteI'll let you know when I locate that bureau! ;)
Sounds like a really fun read!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to visit the Civil War era.
-Debbie
debbie(at)burdeen(dot)com
Civil War... all the turmoil, but I bet there would be some phenomenal chance for adventure!
DeleteInteresting choice!
I'd like to visit Medieval Scotland, but just for a short time, I'd miss indoor plumbing!
ReplyDeletesallans d at yahoo dot com
Oh, Scotland. That would be so much fun!! Lovely choice. And a Scottish castle in the mists, maybe a sexy Laird...
DeleteSign me up!!
I would love to go back to the time of King Arthur and Camelot. Thanks for the giveaway. Please enter me. Tore923@aol.com
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't go back too far in time, because the further back you go, the harder it seems to be to live a long and happy life:) I think I'd go back to the 1950s. Thanks for the giveaway, this book sounds like so much fun!
ReplyDeleteI would go back to the late Victorian era. I think it's different enough to be interesting, but not so far back that it would be too dangerous as far as living goes.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Gina on her new release and thanks for the fun interview! Wow... tough question.. maybe to ancient Rome/Egypt to see what it was really like.
ReplyDeleteI would probably go back to the Regency era, but I wouldn't want to stay there for too long. I would miss the modern conveniences (plumbing, sewage, heating/air, electricity, web, electronics, modern cooking & refrigeration, medications, etc) WAY too much!
ReplyDeleteI guess going back choices would depend on a couple of factors. How long am I going back for? Am I stuck there? Can I come back and forth? Can I travel to multiple points widely spaced in time?
ReplyDeleteProbably the Roarin' 20's, indoor plumbing for those who could afford and I love the style.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to go back to the 1800's, but only if I wasn't stuck there and could come and go as I pleased.
ReplyDeleteTo the 60's- it seemed to me it was a really fun time to be around- free loving and great music. sdylion(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDelete1800s England
ReplyDeleteI want to see London at the turn of the century.
ReplyDelete