Book Talk with Author Gail Chianese

How long have you been writing?

I started writing seriously eleven years ago. Before that, I would play around with just writing down scenes that came to me. They were terribly formatted, but I had fun and they spurred my imagination, so it’s all good.

Do the characters all come to you at the same time or do some of them come to you as you write?

Usually, one character will come to me at first. Sometimes, it’s a couple but most of the time, it’s just the one.

In my West Side Romance series, it was the main character Cherry and quickly after that, her best friend, Tawny, who stars in book 2. The three men in that series just sort all walked in the door and introduced themselves at once.

For Changing Tides, it was the heroine of Love Runs Deep that came to me first. I had a vague idea of the hero, but until he walked onto the page, he wasn’t much more than a fuzzy outline.

Books 2 and 3, the heroines are again best friends, and it was like I thought about them and then the heroes came waltzing in again. For book 3, Disarmed by Love, the hero had been there first, but he’s also Tawny’s brother. There’s a lot of overlap in those two series.

For the Camden Point books, it seems like the characters came a lot faster. Once I knew who Lexie was, the rest seemed to fall into place.

What kind of research do you do before you begin writing a book?

It really depends on the book, for the Camden Point series, I had to research private investigators (training, licensing, what did they really do, etc). I also research the area I’m setting a book in, if I have been there myself.

Other things I’ve researched are police procedures, things to do with the FBI, how things work on a submarine and just really anything that I don’t have personal knowledge of.

Do you see writing as a career?

Yes, this is my career. I work full-time writing now and I love it.

Do you write one book at a time or do you have several going at a time?

I’m a monogamous reader and writer. LOL. I haven’t learned to manage that many voices in my head at once, but I’m usually working on multiple books at once (marketing for one, editing for another, plotting yet one more, all the while writing one).

What does your typical day look like?

Pretty boring for the most part, or at least to those who don’t write. On most days, I sit down at my computer with my breakfast and scroll through social media (make sure I haven’t missed anything exciting and to wish people happy birthday).

Then I bring up my outline, review my notes, review the last page or so that I typed and dive back into the story. For the next 3-5 hours, I write. Sometimes skipping lunch until my brain gives out for the day.

I generally do a quick lookover of what’s to come next so that can percolate in my brain until I come back to the story. The afternoon is generally spent working on other “admin” tasks such as marketing, editing a previous book, or working on the plot for the next one.

I tried to keep to somewhat regular working hours, so around 4-5 pm, I walk out of the office and close the door. The rest of the night is spent focusing on my family and home because having a balance in life is important to my health and happiness. The next day, I tend to rinse and repeat. Strangely enough, I love it.

What advice would you give new authors?

Don’t give up. Make a plan, keep striving to get better, take craft workshops, and read, read, read. And when you get your first (or dozen) rejections, dust yourself off and try again.

About Gail Chianese

Gail Chianese currently lives in beautiful Connecticut, but originally hails from sunny California. She is the mom of three amazing kids, the wife of a 27-year Naval officer and the rescuer of three furbabies.

In her spare time (what little of it there is), she likes to ghost hunt with her hubby, geocache with her family and lock herself away with a great book. Currently, she’s attempting (keyword there) to learn to knit. Wish her luck, she’ll need it. And, she’s dreaming of the day when she can take her next trip. Where will it be? Only time will tell. Check her out on Instagram to see her words of wisdom, her travel destinations (past and future), what she’s read, and maybe enjoy a chuckle or two: https://www.instagram.com/authorgailchianese/

Her books have been nominated for the National Readers Choice Award and EPIC eBook Awards.

About the Author

Tell Me Lies Camden Point Mystery Book 1 by Gail Chianese
Genre: Paranormal Romantic Mystery

Synopsis

You’d think with a guardian who’s a ghost, she’d see everything coming. But nope, that’s not how it works. That’s not how any of this works.

Private investigator Lexie Smith has a mostly perfect–okay, satisfying life. A successful, if not super lucrative business with her best friend. A wonderful, loving companion named Bear–sure, he’s a little furry and he drools, but nobody’s perfect. A house on the beach and a wisecracking supernatural “intern” named Vinnie, who knows everything there is to know about crime and her nonexistent love life. Things are good, even if the cases are somewhat tame, until a dangerous assignment forces her to turn to the last man she can trust: Rafe Barandas, local police detective and the man who broke her heart years before.

After a decade in New York, Rafe has returned to his small hometown, burned out on big-city politics and crime. He’s looking forward to the quiet life, until he’s thrown together with Lexie (and, unknown to him, her phantom familiar) to solve what starts out as a simple B&E but quickly escalates. Leaving Lexie the first time was a huge mistake. Now that he’s got another chance, he’s determined not to blow it, so long as the job doesn’t get in the way.

As Lexie and Rafe get closer to solving one case, old hurts come back to haunt them and a new threat emerges. Can they put past lies and mistrust behind them long enough to thwart a cunning foe who seems to know every step they take and will stop at nothing, even murder? Or will one of them pay the ultimate price before they take their second shot at love?

“Gail Chianese explodes onto the paranormal romantic mystery scene with a slow-burn, second-chance romance that readers of the genre are sure to love!”

–Elicia Hyder, bestselling author of The Soul Summoner series

“In Tell Me Lies, the characters are fresh, the plot is complex, and the readers will definitely savor the piquantly sweet sex scenes. But it’s the side-splittingly hilarious banter that is the frothy icing on this multi-layered whodunit.” –Josie Brown, author The Housewife Assassin’s Handbook series

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