Q & A with GENIE GABRIEL

Thanks for being here today, Genie. Would you please share a short bio about yourself?
Thank you, Rebecca, for having me as a guest! I grew up in a small town--though not as small as the fictional town of Halo in my LEGACY series. When I moved to the city in search of better jobs, I took a lot of small town expectations with me. Once in the city, I spent twenty years working for the state social service agency, where I became fascinated with the question of why some people who experience unspeakable trauma crumble and others come through triumphantly stronger. Exploring this question--as well as my passion for writing romance--became the basis for my stories, starring heroes and heroines who overcome great difficulties and find true love.

Do you consider yourself a shy and/or introverted person?

Though I've learned to be sociable for a limited time, I'd definitely choose staying home with my doggies over attending a party. Which is kind of a contradiction, because I truly enjoy talking to people once I'm out in public. Go figure!

In what ways has being shy or introverted hindered your writing career?

I also have perfectionist tendencies. An introverted perfectionist--what a combination! Having these personality traits made me very cautious about sharing my work. What if it wasn't good enough? What if I forgot to cross a "t" or dot an "i"? What if I repeated the same word three times on one page? It was years before I felt confident enough to share my work with a critique partner and even longer to submit my work to a publisher. Fourteen years from first writers' meeting to a sale, but then I sold three full-length novels and two novellas very quickly, as well as being contracted for nine books in my LEGACY series, which started March 1.

In what ways has being shy or introverted helped your writing career?

I'm slower to jump on the latest "hot" story--which would be out-of-favor by the time I finished writing it anyway. So I've focused on stories I love and, being an introvert, I'm quite happy sitting at home alone and writing.

What’s the hardest part of this business for you? Hands down, it's jumping on the social media bandwagon. I have a Facebook page, but it's woefully out of date. Friends have offered to help me with this, but it's an abyss I keep backing away from. Unfortunately, when I would like to support others by "liking" them or retweeting, I don't know how! That's become embarrassing, so figuring out the social media maze is quickly rising to the top of my "to do" list.

Tell me about a time that you had to step outside your comfort zone either in your writing career or in your personal life?

I'm going to cheat and give you more than one: Moving from my small hometown where everyone knows your business to a city of over 100,000 people where I knew no one. Sharing my writing with critique partners. Submitting my stories to a publisher. Pitching a story to an editor in person--that was waaaay out of my comfort zone.

What’s one tip you could share with shy and introverted people that’s helped you?

I'll pass on what I've heard from others, "Fake it until you make it." I don't mean be phony, but take a deep breath and step into who you want to be until it's not so uncomfortable. If you want to speak in front of people without passing out, find a topic you're passionate about, make sure your research is solid, practice in front of a mirror or with a couple of friends, pray like crazy, and do it!

Would you please share a short blurb of your book and where my readers can buy it?

The most serious crime in small town Halo, Oregon, is one of its citizens "borrowing" a gorilla costume from an abandoned store. Until unconventional caseworker Marly O'Shea comes to town looking for the birth mother of a stolen child. Her search stirs up secrets long buried, and tangles Deputy Dawson Browning in personal and professional knots. As he works to stop the revenge of a beast-man who is supposed to be dead, he also faces challenges to a relationship with Marly from her seven overly protective brothers.

Available now!

Rogue Phoenix Press|Amazon|Barnes & Noble

Where can my readers find you on the web?
My main online hangouts right now are my website  or my LEGACYblog.

Once again, many thanks to Rebecca for having me as a guest. And if you stop by my LEGACY blog and leave a comment, you'll be entered to win a $25.00 gift card in a drawing on March 23. Hope to see many of you there!