I’m
delighted to welcome Giulia
Skye
to my blog.
 |
| Giulia Skye |
Hello
Giulia, Thank you for joining me on Arabella’s Blog and Chit-Chat today. It’s
been wonderful connecting with you through the Romantic Novelists’ Association.
Such a fabulous group of novelists, writers, and affiliates. Everyone’s so willing
to help and be supportive…which I expect you’ve already encountered.
But…before
we discover more about - When Adam Met Evie - here are a few
questions which will hopefully give your readers an insight into some of the
things that matter to you.
Arabella: How did you manage to get
your first novel published and what did you learn from the experience?
Giulia: At first, I
started to go down the traditional publishing route. I pitched When Adam
Met Evie to an agent at the 2018 RNA Conference and was
delighted to sign with her a couple of months later. However, it didn’t work
out between us and when she – very amicably, I must add – broke off our
agreement I had such a huge sense of relief. The termination of that contract
was the best thing that could have happened to my writing. It didn’t work out
between myself and the agent because I wanted to retain full control of my work
and I did not share her vision for my novel. Self-publishing has always
interested me, I just didn’t think a newbie author could do it. How wrong I
was! What followed was a year of learning all that I could about the
self-publishing industry. The more I learned, the more I became passionate
about it – and my confidence as a writer-businesswoman grew. The moment I
decided to “just go for it” and begin my indie author journey was hugely
liberating. The most important thing I’ve learnt about the experience is to
listen to my instincts and have faith in my skills. I asked myself what I truly
wanted and the answer was quite simply “to be at home for my children and to
work for myself”. I’m doing exactly that now and I’m extremely grateful for it.
Arabella: If you could choose,
which would it be: A walk in the woods, a walk along a beach front to dip your
toes in the sea, or a day shopping for clothes?
Giulia: I love the woods, mountains, forests – any place
outdoors really – but my favourite is being by the sea. I’m half Italian and my
mediterrean blood just cries out for the beach and a blast of heat!
Arabella: Who or what inspired you
to write your latest release, When Adam Met Evie?
Giulia: While backpacking in Australia a few years ago, my
husband and I took a nightbus down the Queensland coast which brought to mind
my favourite film, It Happened One Night (Capra , 1934). I’ve always been a
sucker for a road trip movie and so the germ of the idea that I should write a
road trip romance began to evolve – albeit very slowly! I started writing the
novel about 8 years later. I chose to set the majority of the novel in the
Kimberleys (north Western Australia) because my hero, Adam, is a runaway
celebrity travelling incognito, so the story relied heavily on him being
“hidden” from the outside world. The Kimberleys is an imaginably vast and
isolated area – and more importantly for my story – it had little to zero
mobile phone reception! This was also an area my husband and I travelled in. I really
enjoyed researching the area further when I wrote the novel, and I loved
looking back at my travel photos, too. It brought back so many happy, carefree
memories. I’ve put the photos on my website if anyone wants to take a look.
 |
| It Happened One Night |
Arabella: Where do you read? Sofa
or bed or ____?
Giulia: In bed usually, or sometimes on the sofa after the
kids have gone to sleep. I prefer reading on paper but pretty much everything I
read is now on Kindle because it’s so much easier. Also, my eyes aren’t as good
as they used to be so it’s great being able to make the font larger!
Arabella: Some authors write at
first light, others need a mug of coffee or a glass of wine before putting pen
to paper. When writing, are there any “essentials” you need to help the words
flow?
Giulia: I need peace and quiet! As I have young children, I
write mainly when they’re at school. I do my “day job” (consulting for TV
productions) mainly from home too so I juggle kids, writing and TV work
together. Somehow things get done. Usually.
Arabella: You’re halfway through
the work-in-progress, you’re about to kill off the hero and there is going to
be no happy-ever-after. In other words, you’re stuck! If you had to contact an
“author/publisher/editor friend” for guidance, who would it be?
Giulia: As a member of the RNA I have made such wonderful
writer friends so my first point of contact is always my own network of writers
– published and unpublished – who always offer great advice because they are
all readers and lovers of romance.
Arabella: The T.V. is on and you’re
in control of the remote. Which is it to be: A quiz programme…An afternoon of sport…A
family soap…A romantic film you always wanted to see but missed when it was
shown at the cinema?
Giulia: A romantic film wins everytime! I’ve spent the past
two decades working in TV production but ironically – other than the children’s
programmes I sit through with my kids - I don’t watch much TV at all! I do like
watching films though, but only the ones with a happy ending. I’m likely to
throw that remote control across the room if I’ve just spent the best part of
two hours watching a film only for the heroine to die at the end.
Arabella: Do you have any great
writing, publishing, or marketing tips you’d like to share to “want-to-be”
authors starting out on their writing journey?
Giulia: Keep going! Even when the words don’t flow, just
keep writing. It’s advice I forget to listen to myself sometimes, but it’s
true. The only way your book is going to
get written is by you writing it! Also, don’t despair about how bad your first
drafts are. Bad pages can be made good! It took me years to believe this, after
all, how many bad pages do we actually ever get to see? We have no way of
knowing how many times our favourite authors edit their writing. This is why I
put together a Behind-the-Scenes look at how I wrote When Adam Met Evie.
It includes my terrible first drafts of key scenes, and how I edited and
re-edited to get them to a level I was happy with. I used to believe that
writers wrote pages and pages of wonderful prose first time. But no. Writing is
re-writing!
Giulia, it was great having you as
a guest on Arabella’s Blog and Chit-Chat. I hope your readers and followers
have enjoyed reading about your inspiring Australian adventures and also
learning from some of the writing secrets you’ve shared. Having visited your
website, I must say I love your “Random Thoughts” page.
Good luck with your latest release,
When Adam Met Evie and wishing you
lots more happy-ever-after writing in 2020.
Arabella Sheen
About Giulia Skye
 |
| Giulia Skye |
Italian-born
Giulia Skye spent her childhood watching classic Hollywood films and thinking
up her own romantic stories. After two decades working in TV production, she
knew turning those stories into novels would be much more enjoyable - and far
cheaper – than turning them into films. She still keeps her hand in TV
production but is at her happiest being a stay-at-home mum, spending time with
her family, growing her own vegetables, and conjuring up sizzling stories about
sexy heroes meeting feisty heroines who aren’t always as they at first appear. When
Adam Met Evie is her first novel, Book 1 of her “Take a Holiday” series.
GIULIA’S WEBSITE:
www.giuliaskye.com
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
Twitter
- https://twitter.com/GiuliaSkye
Instagram
- https://www.instagram.com/giuliaskye/
BOOK BLURB:
When former
Olympic Swimmer, Michael Adams—now reluctantly Canada’s hottest reality TV
star— insults his fake showbiz wife on social media, he escapes the ensuing
scandal and jumps on the first flight to Australia. Desperate to experience
ordinary life again—if only for a few weeks—he becomes “Adam”, just another
tourist traveling through the Outback. But with a reward out for his safe
return and his fame’s nasty habit of catching up with him when he least
expects, he needs a disguise… and he’s just found it.
Sweet and
scruffy British backpacker, Evie Blake, is taking a year out of her busy London
life. Tired of lies and liars, she’s looking for adventure to heal her broken
heart. So when the hot Canadian she meets at the campground offers to be her
travel partner through Western Australia’s wild Kimberley region, she grabs the
chance, unaware he’s got the world out looking for him.
He’s just
a down-on-his-luck traveler, right?
RELEASE DATE: Friday 7th February 2020
BUY LINK:
https://books2read.com/WhenAdamMetEvie
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