Guest Author: Heather Graham

I met today’s guest author at my first RT Convention in New Orleans in 2014 and although I’ve seen her at several other RT Conventions, I had my first chance to get to know her a little better when we met at a Harlequin author’s evening in Australia

 .As well as being a NY Times and USA Today bestselling author, this wonderful lady has played host at RT convention dinner functions and dazzled us all with her theatrical productions. It wasn’t surprising, then, to find that she majored in theatre arts at the University of South Florida and spent some time working in dinner theatre until she decided to stay home and write after the birth of her third child. 

 Her first book, “When next we love”, was published in 1982 and since then she has written category romance, time travel, vampire fiction, romantic suspense, historical romance and Christmas romance. 

 A mother of five, (and now also a grandmother), in 1999 she launched the RT Vampire Ball and revenue from this went to a children’s charity. It’s my very great pleasure to welcome Heather Graham to the quick author quizzing blogspot! 

 Thank you so much, Heather for agreeing to participate in the blog.

Can you tell us about your latest release and whether or not it posed any specific challenges to write? 

I consider myself incredibly lucky to write for a living and I still love what I do--my biggest challenges are in my own mind, always trying to make sure that my plots are feasible and characters interesting. I work in threes with the Krewe every year, associating them in one way or another, so keeping everyone familiar and also fresh is the hardest challenge. In 2018, Fade to Black, Pale as Death, and Echoes of Evil, and the connection is that one of three brothers takes lead in each book. Making them individuals in important to me--especially since they acquired their 'talent' to see the dead when they were first haunted by their parents, renowned actors killed together in an accident when a chandelier crashed on stage.

                 


 You’ve achieved your goal because they are very individual.

Everyone at RT Reno was both disappointed you weren’t there but also excited for you and your family on the arrival of a new grandchild. You’ve had extremely close ties to RT and been a major supporter of the conventions. Next year, the new Booklovers Convention has its launch in New Orleans and I’m looking forward to being there as a signing author. 

As a visitor to your city, what are the five things you recommend I don’t miss as I play tourist there?   

 I love New Orleans! Well, time is everything, so . . . pick and choose. There are distinct neighborhoods. For music--I say Frenchman Street. And museums! Great museums. One day would be a drop in at Café du Monde, and then Jackson Square, the museums there (Louisiana Purchase documents along with other wonders) and a carriage ride. Mules draw the carriages--they can take the heat. Always popular, a visit to St. Louis #1 -- and a stop by the alleged tomb of Marie Laveau (guided, these day.)

In New Orleans, the guides are excellent, especially on the carriage tours, whether you're most interested in history--or ghosts.  The seaquarium and zoo are both wonderful, if you've a love for animals (the zoo featured in the old flick Cat People!) Then there is Magazine Street--restaurants, music, shops, and more.It's beautiful just to walk the French Quarter--and then a day in the Garden District where you can see Lafayette Cemetery, drop by the Garden District Book Shop, and perhaps have a meal at Commander's Palace. Check out Amazon, free pub, 30 Days of Why I Love New Orleans!

I'll definitely try to fit in a few of those things.

 After you’ve written a book, do you give yourself a short break before you launch into the next and is there anything you particularly love to do to unwind or celebrate before you wind back up into the next story?

Life--I have five children and two of them have children, so . . . whatever is happening.  

 You write in so many romantic sub-genres. Is there one particular that resonates with you more than the others and/or that you find easier to write?

 Well, I belong to ITW, RWA, MWA, and HWA -- I love them all. I was a lucky kid--my parents were readers and I had a wealth of manner of books from them. I read just about everything. I do love history--and try to get it in when I'm working in a contemporary format.

  I love history too which is one of the reasons your books resonate so strongly with me.What’s next for you as an author?

This year's Lethal Legacy (release date March 12th) is about murders that may relate to the Knights Templar and the Arc of the Covenant!


I love the sound of those. I’ve always been a fan of Knights Templar stories and plan to write one of my own one day. 
Thanks for being a guest on the blog, 

Heather. I’ll look forward to catching up with you in New Orleans in May of 2019!

For more information about Heather, visit her website at: http://www.theoriginalheathergraham.com


Thank you all for joining me on the Quick Author Quizzing blog today. I hope you'll join me next Saturday for my next guest author, Michelle Douglas.

Until then, Happy Reading!

Best wishes,

Alyssa

 www.alyssajmontgomery.com

__________________________________________________________________

About the Blogger:
Alyssa J. Montgomery is an Australian contemporary romance author who is published by Escape Publishing (Harlequin Enterprises, Australia). She also 
writes medieval romance as Alyssa James.



 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 




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