Q & A with author Sarah Grimm

Thanks for being here today, Sarah. Would you please share a short bio about yourself?

As a young girl, Sarah Grimm always had a story to tell. At times they were funny, other times scary, but they were always happily-ever-after.

Sarah spent years scribbling in notebooks, filling the pages with partial chapters and the margins with titles and story ideas. She told friends that the characters spoke to her, and she was compelled to get their stories on paper. Eventually, she sat down at a computer and wrote her first tale of dangerously sexy suspense. That book, Not Without Risk, is a 2011 Readers Favorite Award Winner.

Sarah lives in West Michigan with her husband, two sons and three miniature schnauzers. Between mom's taxi service, parts runs, and answering the phone for the family marine repair business, Sarah can be found curled in her favorite chair, crafting her next novel.

Q Do you consider yourself a shy and/or introverted person?
A I have to laugh at this question because my older sister was just telling me the other day how envious she’s always been of my outgoing personality. We moved a lot while I was growing up, and she claims within 24 hours of arriving in a new town, I always had a new best friend. LOL I don’t really recall that, but I do know I’ve never allowed fear or being the “new kid” to stand in my way. Take, for example, my first RWA National Conference.

The year I joined Romance Writer’s of America their national conference was held in Chicago, IL. Since Chicago is only a three-hour drive from my home, I knew I had to go, even though the idea of going solo frightened me. I knew no one. I was a young mother who managed to eke out enough time to complete a manuscript. But meeting other writers? That hadn’t happened. Instead of letting the idea stop me, I got my sister and mother to share a hotel room with me. While they shopped Michigan Avenue, I cruised around the conference, attending workshop after workshop, making certain to talk to as many people as I could.

Q What’s the hardest part of this business for you?
A Promotion. It’s exhausting! I thought the hardest part would be writing the book, getting the story out of my head and onto paper (or the computer screen as the case may be). But after the book is completed and contracted with a publisher, that’s when the real work begins. When I decided to do a blog tour for my current release, I didn’t think too much about it, I just scheduled my appearances. Then I counted up how many blog posts I had to write. YIKES! I panicked a bit at first, and then I pulled on my big girl panties and got down to business. Promotion isn’t easy for me, but it’s a necessary evil.

Q Tell me about a time that you had to step outside your comfort zone either in your writing career or in your personal life?
A At the same RWA conference I mentioned earlier, I attended an editor’s panel. This is where editors from a specific house get together and explain what they’re looking for in manuscript submissions, followed by a question and answer session. At the time, I wanted to be published by this house more than my next breath, so I sat in on the panel, absorbing everything that was said. One editor in particular held my attention. She was looking for romantic suspense, specifically featuring heroes in law enforcement, which was exactly the story I wrote. I desperately wanted to talk to her, but was terrified. I sat in my chair, silently watching as writers approached her at the end of the workshop. I waited and I watched, finally gathered my courage and approached her. And you know what? I survived. She didn’t laugh too much when I stuttered my introduction, and in the end, she invited me to submit. I didn’t sell that book, at least not to that particular publisher, but I was happy I conquered my fear. Especially because when I left the workshop, I passed a woman in the hallway who was in tears because she allowed her own fear to stop her from approaching the editor she was interested in. I’ve always wondered what happened to that woman. If she ever conquered her fear and reached her dream of being published, or if she allowed fear to cripple her?

Q What’s one tip you could share with shy and introverted people that’s helped you?
A Never give up.

Q Would you please share a blurb of your book and let my readers know where they can buy it?
A Here's the blurb:

She wants to forget her past.
He wants to reclaim his.
Sometimes the moment that changes everything comes After Midnight.

Thirteen years—that's how long Isabeau Montgomery has been living a lie. After an automobile accident took her mother's life, Izzy hid herself away, surviving the only way she knew how. Now she is happy in her carefully reconstructed life. That is until he walks through the door of her bar...

Black Phoenix singer/front man Noah Clark came to Long Island City with a goal--one that doesn't include an instant, electric attraction to the dark-haired beauty behind the bar. Coaxing her into his bed won't be easy, but he can't get her pale, haunted eyes nor her skill on the piano out of his head.

Can Noah help Isabeau overcome the past? Or will her need to protect her secret force her back into hiding and destroy their chance at happiness?

AFTER MIDNIGHT is available from The Wild Rose Press:
http://www.thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=640&zenid=cac8f250e9c9d2f91424ee8492f70370

Q Where can my readers find you on the web?
A Website: http://www.sarahgrimm.com

Personal Blog: http://www.authorsarahgrimm.blogspot.com/
Group Blog: http://www.smutwriterssoapbox.blogspot.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SarahGrimm.Author
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/SGrimmAuthor