Interview with Emily Bryan (part two)

Before Jennifer D. had asked to do the interview, I had asked Emily some questions. So, here's a little more interview for you to enjoy. Don't forget to leave a comment on either interview page to be entered in our contest. A winner will be chosen on Thursday, March 12.

Jen: At what age did you discover writing and when were you first published? Tell us your call story.
Emily: I started writing in 2001 after my kids were grown. After a few fits and starts (and a manuscript and three-quarters that will forever gather dustbunnies under the bed) I wrote Maidensong, which sold in June of 2005. It came out in May 2006 under my real name, Diana Groe. My agent called with the news of the offer and to be honest, it seemed so surreal, I didn’t even know whether to be excited or pinch myself!

Jen: Have you noticed your writer's voice has changed over the years due to your experience? If so, how?
Emily: Oh, yes. There’s been a definite and deliberate change, because I started writing dramatic epics as Diana and my Emily Bryan stories are light-hearted, sexy romps. Distracting the Duchess (my first Emily Bryan book which is a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award nominee) couldn’t be told with the same weight as Silk Dreams (my Diana Groe harem story which dealt with Byzantine treachery and sexual slavery).

When I used to sing, the type of song dictated whether I’d color my tone darker or use less heft. Now the type of story changes my writing voice as well.

If readers would like to sample both my styles, I keep two websites with excerpts: http://www.emilybryan.com and http://www.dianagroe.com. All my work is still in print.

Jen: Do you have a specific time or place that you write?
Emily: I settle into my writing recliner. My dogs, Susie and Mack, take their stations on either side of me and we write from 9-5 with appropriate dog-potty breaks.

Jen: Is there a genre that you’d like to write? Is there a genre you’ll probably stay away from and why?
Emily: I’d like to do suspense, in fact I have a manuscript looking for a home right now, but that’s a very competitive, tight market. I’d love to write paranormal, but vampires and werewolves aren’t my thing.

Jen: If your book was made into a movie, which actors would you choose to play the hero and heroine?
Emily: This is hard because my characters are such composites. If you could blend a young Colin Firth with Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig (love how he gets better looking the less clothes he wears), that might do for Lucian. For Daisy, I’d have to settle on Drew Barrymore. Spunky, smart and adventurous.

Jen: If you could travel back in time for one year, what time and place would you choose? And if you could only take 3 things with you, what would they be?
Emily: I’d like to go back to last July and withdraw all my DH’s 401K from the stock market and—wait a minute! That’s not the question.

I’ll be honest with you. Though I love history, I don’t think I’m tough enough to live in any time but this one. I like hot showers and electricity and modern medicine.

But it’s not just the convenience and safety of this time I’d miss. If I went back in time, I’d have to go as a man because women’s choices for an education, for control of their own destinies, were so severely limited. I love visiting my “idealized” past, but face it, ladies, we’ve got it made right here.

Jen: What do you do in your free time?
Emily: I walk my dogs. Sing in my church choir. Ballroom dance with my DH. He gave me lessons for Christmas one year and I thought it was the most romantic present I’ve ever received because it was the gift of his time as well. Then I found out HE gets to lead all the time!