Sunday, June 15, 2014

Meet Author Emelle Gamble

Ever wanted to write about a Hollywood legend? Most writers might have considered this idea but couldn't figure out where to begin. I know that's how I'd feel, anyway. In DATING CARY GRANT, author Emelle Gamble wove the ghost of Cary Grant into her novel. Let's ask her some questions, shall we?


Q. Welcome, Emelle. Tell us about your new release.

It  stars a career woman in Manhattan, her small-town husband and the ghost of a hunky screen icon...Welcome to the comic romantic novel, Dating Cary Grant.

Tracy Connor is mulling over what to do about her marriage, her career and her life. While she's mulling, she moves out of her family home in quiet Cukor, Connecticut and sublets a small apartment in a brownstone in Turtle Bay, Manhattan. There she meets – and becomes great friends with –the ghost of her film idol, Cary Grant. He’s the best kind of friend to her, a man who appeals to her on every level, and man she's always regarded as “Mr. Perfect.”

Cary proves a very charming and pragmatic ghost who only she can see, and he has a co-conspirator on page, a certain red-haired screen legend named Kate, who spars with him as she opines and helps show Tracy the errors of her views on men, marriage, and just what real love is all about.
What was the inspiration?

I had a dear friend who didn’t understand that marriage is all about compromise, on both partners’  issues. She read the book and DID NOT SEE HERSELF. HA!

Hilarious!

What’s the genre?
I always write blended genres, can’t seem to do just one. This is a pretty clear Romance, but with a dash of paranormal (ghosts) and, like all women’s fiction, is truly about the heroine’s journey and changing her life. 

I write genre straddlers, too. And I LOVE your cover!

Q. How long have you been writing?
On and off for thirty years. Pause. Writer is fanning herself in disbelief. But it’s true. Professionally since the 1990s with a 10 year break in 2000s because life has a way of intruding into fiction.

Q. What is your typical writing day. 
Marketing 2 hours in the a.m. Writing 4 hours at night and all weekend. I have a day job that is not writing, a husband, 2 cats, 2 kids who think they are on their own but they are not (HA – as I stalk and harass them still), and I read books. As many as I can fit in.

I like that idea to do the marketing the first two hours of the day and then clear the rest of the day for writing and other life responsibilities!

Q. Tell us something quirky about you that we may not know.
I took college drama classes with Potsie (Anson Williams from Happy Days). He was handsome and funny. I was serious and changed to English as a major. The rest is history.

I loved Happy Days! How cool that you took classes with him.

Q. Do you use a pen name? Why or why not?
Yes…and when I published my first book with Soul Mate Publishing in July of 2014, everyone who knew me  asked ,Who the heck is Emelle Gamble?”

Marsha Gamble is my maiden name, and I used “M.L. Gamble” as my pseudonym when I wrote for Harlequin Intrigue in the 1990s. When I began a year ago to stage my comeback (HA!) and gain an electronic presence, I quickly realized that initials are a bit hard to correctly use in email, blog and websites. I got completely different lists of information if I entered ‘mlgamble’ vs ‘m.l.gamble’ and even different lists of books with ‘m. l. gamble’ on Amazon!

So I came up with “Emelle”, which, when you say it out loud, sounds like “M.L.”, unless you’re my darling husband, Phil the fist, who make it sound like “umLLL”, but that’s his New York accent getting in the way of marketing progress!


Yes, your initials do sound like Emelle. lol. Interesting tidbit.

Q. What is your favorite marketing tip/promotional advice?
Do it everyday. Every. Day. Reach out and engage your readers. They want to know you and you’ll gain enormously getting to know them.

You are very good at marketing and I've been in the marketing field (in other industries) for 25 years!

Q. I love first lines. Post your first sentence. Hook us!
It was a dark and stormy night….wait, what?

My first lines are never that ‘hooky’, but I do try and get you interested by the end of page one. Here’s the first two lines of DATING CARY GRANT.

Tracy Connor stepped out of a cab at the corner of Second Avenue and 49th Street, right into the middle of the classy Manhattan neighborhood known as Turtle Bay. When she looked up at the stately homes, reality hit.
The "reality hit" part hooked me and made me want to know more!

Q. What’s your next project?
I’m currently working on several things. My new book, KISS ME TWICE, is a romantic suspense. So I’ve come full-circle, as that’s where I started.  It’s about a woman facing meeting up with her ex-college lover at her 15th reunion, all the while dealing with her mother’s early onset Alzheimer’s. 
I’ve also got a really weird project completed. All I can say about it is that it’s a noir mystery, set in 1950’s LA. It stars a blonde, a war hero journalist, and, possibly, a monster.  I know, I know, I may have taken the blended genre thing just a little bit too far….HA!

Life is good, and busy, and blessed. What could be better? Leave me a comment below telling me one good thing about your life right now and I’ll give THREE FREE eBooks copies of DATING CARY GRANT on Wednesday. That’s my hubby’s birthday, so we’ll celebrate.

Those sound like intriguing projects to say the least. I bow at your feet. Thanks for a fun interview! I can't wait to read DATING CARY GRANT. And did you read what she said, everyone?! THREE people will receive an ebook copy so comment by Wednesday!!!


BLURB 
    A modern Manhattan fairy tale starring
Tracy Connor, a New York City career woman who loves her job and classic movies.
Mike Connor, her estranged husband, a small town Mayor  who loves his wife but doesn’t seem to have enough time to see her.
The handsome stranger, Philip Adams, who lives downstairs from the small sublet Tracy has temporarily moved into. He’s charming, funny and looks a lot like her very favorite screen icon, Cary Grant.
Dating Cary Grant is a romance all about New York city career woman  Tracy Connor struggling with real issues with her real guy, her husband of six years,  Mayor Mike Connor of Cukor, Connecticut. Tracy is a smart woman, but some of her problems with relationships are partially caused by her unrealistic expectations that real guys should – and can - behave like matinee idols. Mike’s problems are also caused by the fact that he’s such a great guy and overextends his heart, and his appointment calendar, to every constituent, friend or stray animal who crosses his path.
Tracy is also being stressed by  a TV reality show intent on showcasing Tracy and Mike’s personal life, as well as the imminent takeover of her employer, a small, private television station, by a billionaire with unlimited funds and no taste.
Dating Cary Grant considers just how selfless a man needs to be to meet his wife’s expectations, and just how honest a woman must be with herself about what she’s willing to give, and give-up.   And Cary Grant is along to help prove that any woman’s search for ‘Mr. Perfect ‘ might  take her to a surprising place to find him.

Connect with Emelle Gamble at…


Author EmelleGamble on Facebook
@EmelleGamble on twitter

DATING CARY GRANT book of the month at Long & Short Reviews
http://amzn.to/1iiE8Y0
SECRET SISTER RONE finalist for BEST CONTEMPORARY NOVEL of 2013
http://amzn.to/17J2Bn6
MOLLY HARPER and DUETS now available in one paperback volume!
http://amzn.to/1hW6YSj 

http://bit.ly/1l0gfFY  SECRET SISTER by Emelle Gamble on audio

33 comments:

  1. Thanks for hosting dear Beth Carter! Wonderful questions. And remember readers, tell me about one good thing in your life and I'll give 3 of you FREE eBooks of DATING CARY GRANT!

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  2. You are welcome. I'm happy to host you.

    I love the premise of your novel! My one good thing: I raised the most beautiful, selfless child in the world. She just got married two weeks ago, and as I've always said, is my greatest accomplishment. Life is good. My other good thing: My debut novel, THURSDAYS AT COCONUTS, comes out mid-August!

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    1. Congratulations on your daughter's marriage, Beth. That is a tremendous milestone, and it takes a village, as always, so if she is 'selfless' I'm sure she had a great role model.

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  3. Emelle, I loved getting to know you better. Your book sounds wonderful. Here's to many sales!!

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    1. Thanks Larynn. Hope you get a chance to read DATING CARY GRANT...it is fun, and I think, true to the point that marriage is compromise and fun! Now if only I had a ghost to talk to downstairs...HA!

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  4. Thanks for stopping by, Larynn!

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  5. Great interview, This book sounds great.My hubby birthday is Thursday. Hope you have a wonderful week.

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    1. Thank you. Nice to see you here, Diana.

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    2. That's a happy thing, Diana! My hubby's birthday is Wednesday...yay Gemini men!!!! I hope you win. Thanks for posting.

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  6. Interesting premise. I loved to hear Cary Grant talk. Ghosts are fun to write. I have one in my upcoming release, also. And I just wrote a short story about a ghost. So your book sounds right up my alley. Good Luck!

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    1. That's cool, Wanda. I've written about a seance but not a ghost. Well, sort of, I suppose. Thanks for commenting.

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    2. I'll look for your book, Wanda Kay. I love ghosts, reading about them, especially when they aren't scary. HA! I'm sure I would not like to meet one, even if it was Cary Grant. thanks for your post.

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  7. What a great idea! Sounds like a fun story.

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    1. Thanks SD Keeling. It was fun...partly because I loved watching Cary Grant movies with my mom. I think my favorite, besides the Philadelphia Story which is a big part of my book, is Notorious. He was just downright gorgeous. If you get a chance to read it, let me know!

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  8. What an engaging author. I'm so in love with Cary Grant as is my young daughter. Sounds like a really fun change. Thanks for doing this.

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    1. Thanks Tierney James! Gorgeous name, by the way. We authors will be using your name in our books. I hope you and your daughter get a chance to read DATING CARY GRANT...some good mom and daughter scenes in it, actually. How Mom's know best. HA! Thanks for posting.

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    3. Emelle, Tierney James is actually her pen name!!! She's also an author. :)

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  9. Loved the blog today. Great interview. So, one of the best things in my life since you asked us to tell you is that we have three beautiful grandchildren, two of which have been adopted from orphanages in China. We also have one biological grandson, and together our daughter and son in law's family is one of the very best things that has ever happened in our life. I have been on forced bed rest for over four months now and when the grandchildren come to visit and/or spend the day, it definitely brightens my day and makes me very uplifted. I have other things that are wonderful too, like a husband who takes very good care of me so well, but the grandchildren put a big smile on my face and joy in my heart.

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    1. Thank you dear CEBlain...I am so sorry to hear about your health issues. Please take care of yourself. I think its wonderful that you and your family treasure one another as you so obviously do...I think these are the very best things in life. Family. I'll be thinking of you. Please stay in touch! XXX Emelle

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    2. Thank you for stopping by, CE Blain. I, too, am sorry about your forced bed rest. That must be difficult. Glad the kids and family bring a smile to your face.

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  11. Love the title and concept. Now I WANT to read your book. Oh, such hardship…reading a delightful book. :) You asked for us to leave one good thing about our lives right now. That's easy--my husband.

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    1. I hear you VJ Schultz, and aren't we the lucky girls that we have husbands that fit the bill of 'good things'. Thanks for the post and good luck in the drawing! If you get a chance to read DATING CARY GRANT, please let me know what you think.

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    2. You do have a great, supportive husband in John, VJ. Thanks for commenting!

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  12. Great to get to know you here, Emelle. Your book sounds intriguing. Best of luck with it.

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  13. Thank you for stopping by, Barbara. Beth Carter's blog is lovely, as is she. Are you looking forward to her new book? I am. Good luck in the drawing.

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    1. Hi, Barb! Thanks for coming by. I'm happy to welcome many of my Ozarks Romance Author friends. Emelle's book does sound intriguing. I can't wait to read it.

      And, Emelle, thank you for your kind comments. I was happy to host you. And, everyone, the drawing is open until Wednesday, so keep commenting. Tell your friends. Three lucky people will win an ecopy of DATING CARY GRANT!

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  14. LOL on how you came up with Emelle. The book sounds fascinating. Good luck!

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    1. Thanks MJ...I know, and I even had a reader write and tell me she's naming her baby Emelle! Such fun. I hope you get a chance to read it...let me know what you think, and good luck in the drawing.

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    2. I know. Isn't that too funny, MJ? Thx for coming by!

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  15. Wanda Kay! TierneyJames! Barbara! Congratulaitons, you all won a FREE eBook of DATING CARY GRANT! Please send me an email to emellegamble@aol.com and I'll send you your Amazon gift! Thank you everyone for your post...and thanks again dear Beth Carter. Can't wait for Thursdays at Coconuts!

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    1. Wonderful. Congrats, ladies! I can't wait to hear your reviews. And you are very welcome, Emelle. This was fun.

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