about Q&A with Tina | Favorite Recipes | Press Release | Author Bio

 

Best-selling author Tina Gabrielle is an attorney and former mechanical engineer whose love of reading for pleasure helped her get through years of academia. She often picked up a romance and let her fantasies of knights in shining armor and lords and ladies carry her away. She is the author of adventurous Regency historical romancesfor Entangled Publishing and Kensington Books.

Publisher’s Weekly calls her Regency Barrister’s series, “Well-matched lovers…witty comradely repartee.” Tina’s books have been Barnes & Noble top picks, and her first book, Lady Of Scandal, was nominated as best first historical by Romantic Times Book Reviews. Tina lives in New Jersey and is married to her own hero and is blessed with two daughters. She loves to hear from readers. Visit her website to learn about upcoming releases, join her newsletter, and enter free monthly contests at www.tinagabrielle.comTina also writes cozy mysteries as Tina Kashian. Visit www.tinakashian.com to learn more about her mystery books.

You can also find Tina at:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/@TinaGabrielle
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TinaGabrielle
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tinagabrielleauthor/

More about Tina:

For as long as I can remember, I have loved books. As a teenager, I used scotch tape to hold my peeling laminated library card together. I spent many nights reading in bed well past midnight to finish a book, only to start another. I know my mom was aggravated waking up a tired teenager every morning!

I wrote my first book when I was sixteen. I remember typing furiously on the family computer, only to get frustrated when I was interrupted by one of my siblings. I thought the book was the greatest ever written, a Jackie Collin’s spin off, and believed it was my ticket to instant fame. How little did I know!

Since then, I obtained a J.D. in Law and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. My love of romance novels helped me get through the tough years of academia. I often picked up a romance and let my fantasies of knights in shining armor and lords and ladies carry me away. And always, spinning in my mind during my lunch hour and my long commutes, were untold stories of heroes and heroines that I yearned to write about. I started writing books, only to be pulled away by work and family, but I kept trudging forward, learning as I wrote. After multi-publishing for a law journal, I have finally fulfilled my dream of writing fiction.

I hope you enjoy reading my books as much as I love writing them!

welcome

 

Q&A with Tina

1) What do you write?
I write historical romance. My new Regency Barrister Series, launching with IN THE BARRISTER'S CHAMBERS, will be released by Kensington Books on September 1, 2011. The second book in the series will be released in September 2012. My award-winning Regency Scandal Series consists of LADY OF SCANDAL and A PERFECT SCANDAL. I'm busy at work on the next book for Kensington!

2) How long have you been in the business?
So long that I can’t remember. I wrote as a teen, but I didn’t really consider publication until I joined Romance Writers of America about six years ago.

3) Are you a plotter or pantster?
I started out as a pantster, but never could make it through the sagging middle. I realized I needed more direction, and then turned into a plotter. I write a rough outline, definitely not a polished synopsis, and I find myself returning to that outline time and again when I get stuck in the middle of a manuscript.

4) Do you write multiple drafts or barely need revisions when typing The End?
I write a solid draft, then go back and fill in any research that I had left blank. I also rework sentences to strengthen them if needed, and polish the manuscript.

5) Can you explain your typical work week day?
Crazy as it sounds, my days vary. Life oftentimes gets in the way of a set schedule. As well as my own family, I cared for two sick parents and recently lost my father to cancer. I have learned to take it day by day. Some days I am able to write multiple chapters and others I stare at the computer screen in frustration. I have learned to be flexible—to grab time and use it when I can. I often write late at night and on weekends. That being said, I do have a publishing contract with Kensington which requires me to complete a 100,000 word manuscript (400 pages) in less than a year.

6) What genres are you comfortable writing in?
Historical because I love to read it. I also like paranormal romance and have an idea in the back of my mind for a series that I would like to try out one day.

7) Where do you get your ideas for a romance novel from?
From my work. I am an attorney and former mechanical engineer, and the cases that have crossed my desk were quite colorful. Other ideas pop into my head at the most inconvenient times. I could be sleeping or driving or cooking and pow! An idea!

8) How do you build a character and does setting become another character
in your story?

I write historicals and setting plays an incredibly important role in all my books. I also love strong, intelligent female characters. The heroine in my new series, IN THE BARRISTER'S CHAMBERS, is the daughter of a Master of the Bench, who has a voracious hunger for knowledge and the law at a time when women were not permitted to become barristers. The series is well researched, and I drew upon many of my experiences as a female in the law profession.

The heroine in LADY OF SCANDAL is a smart, savvy woman who is an anonymous investor in the London stock exchange in the early 1800’s. The second book in the series, A PERFECT SCANDAL, is about an aspiring artist who seeks to study art in Paris rather than marry the man chosen for her by her father. As true romances, both heroines battle the odds and find heroes who appreciate their talents and love them for who they truly are.

The combination of an intelligent and ambitious heroine in a historical setting provides instant combustible conflict since both qualities in a woman held little value to men in Regency period London.

9) How important is it for you to have a critique partner?
Invaluable. I love my critique partner. I am able to bounce ideas off her and make my scenes shine. But you have to be careful that you pick a partner that is right for you, one that encourages you as well as points out what needs to be changed. There are
those that like to put you down. It’s like dating, you have to find the right chemistry.

10) Why did you choose to write romance?
Because that’s what I love to read!

11) What suggestions do you have for aspiring writers?
The most important suggestion I have for aspiring writers is to join organizations dedicated to writers and the publishing field. I am a member of Romance Writers of America, NJ Romance Writers and Liberty States Fiction Writers. Until I found these groups, I was a little lost. They have been so helpful and informative. I have learned from every meeting that I have attended and have met writers who share my hardships as well as my good news. These organizations offer annual conferences where you can network with agents and editors, as well as other authors—published and pre-published.

Aspiring writers can also look to educational institutions for fiction writing classes. I took two fiction writing classes which were offered by a published author at my local community college at night.

Lastly, and most importantly: Never give up! No matter how many rejections you receive. Keep learning. Keep writing. Keep trying.

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Receiving my first sale flowers
at New Jersey Romance Writers

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Beautiful Roses!