I have an alter ego!
As
Emma Cane, I've written a small town series about Valentine Valley and Fairfield Orchard. A Second Chance in Valentine Valley is the latest. Check out my website!
Romance Writers of America Book Signing
Inside the Roman Colosseum
Skiing while visiting our son
in Aspen CO
Canoing with our dog Uma
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The Casual Bio:
It all began in Erie, PA,
when I was 13. My parents
had no problem letting me bury myself in the basement with an old
typewriter. I started writing science fiction short
stories and novellas about teenagers (naturally) who always
managed to fall in love. Then at a high school slumber party,
I borrowed a friend's copy of Kathleen Woodiwiss's SHANNA. While everyone
else slept, I stayed up all night reading--and I was hooked.
A whole new world of books had opened up to me, and I
devoured them. I went to college and chose
engineering instead of writing, but writing always lingered at the back
of my mind. Heck, I didn't like engineering enough to finish
it. After I got married and had babies, the
typewriter (and soon a computer) called me back, and I finally tried my
hand at a historical romance. It took me 13 years and three
manuscripts (two of which will never leave the closet) before I sold my first book in 1998. I've also written
medievals under the name Julia
Latham. I write contemporary romances as Emma Cane.
Thank goodness I found the Central
New York Romance Writers,
where I learned all about writing and friendship. Then
there are my
critique groups, the Packeteers and the Purples, whose support has been
incredible
and crucial. I have a wonderful husband, Jim, three grown kids, and two grandkids.
I love to get e-mail, so send me some, please! gayle @ gaylecallen.com
The Professional
Bio:
A USA Today
Bestselling author, Gayle Callen writes historical romances and historical fiction. Named the "Notable New Author of
1999," Gayle
has also won the Holt Medallion, the Laurel Wreath Award, the
Booksellers' Best Award, the National Readers' Choice
Award, and was a nominee for the RT Book Reviews Magazine's Reviewers' Choice Award. Her books have been
translated into eleven different languages. She also writes contemporary romance as Emma Cane.
She resides in a suburb of Central
New York with her husband. Now that her three children are grown, she
has time to read, sing, travel, crochet, and delve too deeply into
historical research. A past President of the Central New York Romance
Writers, she is a member of Novelists Inc.
Frequently Asked
Questions
When is the next book coming out?
What book are you working
on now?
Where do you get your
ideas?
How long does it take you
to write a book?
How are the books
connected?
Will you ever write
another medieval?
How long did it take you
to get published?
How did you start writing
romance?
Do you have any writing
tips?
When you're not writing,
what do you do?
If you
have any other questions, just let me know!
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When
is the next book coming out?
I'm writing my second historical fiction, The Daring Women of New York,
which I'm hoping to publish this November 2024. I've reissued many of
my backlist books with beautiful new covers. Check out my Bookshelf.
For something different, I write contemporary romance as Emma Cane.
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What
book are you working on now?
I'm hard at work on The Daring Women of New York, due out in November 2024. I'm writing three time periods: the
present, the Roaring Twenties, and the American Revolution. How will I
tie it all together? You'll have to read it to find out!
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Where
do you get your ideas?
From everywhere. Sometimes an interesting piece of historical research just
makes me think, "Aha!" like when I wrote my second trilogy set during
the Spanish Armada (Almost a Bride, Never a Bride,
Suddenly a Bride).
I imagined a Spanish sailor washing up on English shores when
the
Armada broke up, then I decided to make him a double agent, so he's
really British not Spanish...and it went from there. I came
up
with the trilogy idea for "The Sisters of Willow Pond" (The Lord Next Door, The Duke In Disguise, The Viscount In Her Bedroom)
because I really
wanted to write a governess story and a lady's companion story. Of course, there has to be a reason that our heroines would
have
to work these jobs, so...they're penniless. Then I ask why,
and
the questions just start coming. Then they had to have a
third
sister, because I love to write trilogies. I didn't want the
third heroine to work, so she's the one who has to find a husband, fast.
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How
long does it take you to write a book?
Totally depends! When I wrote full time, it was three to six
months! Now that I write part-time, it's every year or two.
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How
are the books connected?
I wrote a special page on this. Click here.
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Will
you ever write another medieval?
I've been writing historical fiction recently, while my pseudonym, Julia
Latham,
wrote medievals. Alas, the market for medievals is small, so I no
longer write them regularly. BUT, the Scottish trilogy is set in a
medieval castle, and eighteenth-century Highlanders still lived the way
they did in the middle ages.
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How
long did it take you to get published?
Thirteen years! Yes, I know, it's a long time.
My third complete book, The
Darkest Knight, was the one that sold. (It's been republished as On Her Warrior's Secret Mission) The first
two books will stay in their boxes. I learned so much about
writing from them! Most of us have to practice before we
sell. And I wasn't writing full time through these thirteen
years. When something wasn't working, I just used to put it
aside for weeks or months at a time. Now I only have the
luxury of a day or two to angst, then I darn well better figure out the
problem!
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How
did you start writing romance?
Because I loved to read them, of course!
In high school, a friend brought Kathleen Woodiwiss's Shanna
to a slumber party, and while the rest of the girls slept, I read all
night long. Before that, I read science fiction, but once I
found historical romance, I never looked back. Since I'd been
writing science fiction stories about teenagers for a few years by
then, it was just natural for me to start trying my hand at historical
romance. But it wasn't until I was married, with babies who
napped, that I decided that if I really wanted to be published, it was
time to start. When I was in the middle of my second
manuscript, I found Romance
Writers of America and our local chapter The
Central NY
Romance Writers. I never would have been published
without the advice and support of my fellow writers.
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Do
you have any writing tips?
If you want to write, find a writers' group to
join. I found a Romance Writers of America chapter, which taught me so much! Through this group, I took
classes, attended conferences, had individual appointments with editors
and agents. I met my agent at a conference that my own
chapter put on. But the most important thing you must do is
write. Don't wait for that "perfect" moment, or for when
you're done with your research (I did that for a YEAR before a friend
finally said, "Shouldn't you just start to write?"). Putting
your butt in the chair every day keeps you in the world of your story,
and makes your ideas flow. Even if you can only sneak in one
hour a day to write one page, that's an entire first draft by the time
a year is done. You can do it!
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When
you're not writing, what do you do?
Some of what I like to do is listed on my Fun Stuff page. I've
also rediscovered my love of crocheting, when those
fuzzy
scarves became big years ago. Since then, I've
crocheted afghans, table runners, baby
sweaters, and now little animals for my grandkids. My husband and I hike in the summer and snowshoe in the
winter. I'd
like to travel
more.
I have two daughters and a son-in-law working in New York City, and my
son and his wife working near Aspen CO. Lots of places to visit!
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