J.Grayland Interview Published on: 28, Aug 2019
Emigrating to Australia as a child from the UK, how did it influence your childhood?
I was lucky enough to have a father who loved to move around and not be stuck in one place, which I am so thankful for as it let me experience different cultures and different people from all walks of life.
What books did you grow up reading and enjoying? Who was your favorite author?I loved the Harlequin & Silhouette romances, sweet dreams but the first adult romance I read was Tim by Colleen McCullough.
Were your parents ever skeptical of your dreams of writing for a living? Who has been your greatest supporter?Writing was something I kept to myself so they never really knew how much I did write. My husband and family are my biggest supporters and also my hairdresser lol.
What challenges did you face while publishing your debut novel Freedom in 2017?I was working as a nurse, studying for my bachelor degree and caring for two adults at home and trying to learn everything from publishing, marketing, designing banners and a cover and learning a lot about my computer and Microsoft word.
How do you normally get inspiration for your characters? Which of your characters do you relate to most and why?I love to people watch and I usually get inspiration from people around me. The main character Casey Tyler because she has a lot of my own struggles, thoughts and feelings.
What started the Freedom series? How would you describe the women in this series and who is your favourite?It started with a dream that I had and I added onto it. I would describe the women as strong, intelligent, resilient with beautiful souls. My favourite character is Nate's brother Paxton he has so much personality, he's supportive, intelligent and very funny.
Which of the books in the Freedom series was the most fun to write and why? Which one took the longest to write?I had fun writing all of them but the last book in the series Forever Free took the longest because I wanted to give the readers everything and all of the answers that I knew that they wanted.
How do you think your writing style or process has changed from the first to last book of Freedom Series?I'd like to think that I have the same style of writing but it has improved with experience and knowledge.
What lessons have you learned as a writer? How writing has always been your escape?To write for enjoyment and not to be a millionaire. It is still my escape only I can share my escape now with others.
Who inspired the character of Australian Doctor Casey Tyler in "Freedom (Freedom Trilogy Book 1)"?I would have to say her character was built around my own life experiences.
Tell us about your creative process. How do you organize yourself and manage your time when you are working on a novel?I start with a seed, I plant it as the first chapter and it grows, I do have the entire story line, characters and their journey in my head and I just add to it. I love to do my writing between the hours of 2-5am because for some reason that's when the story's start to kick in a flood my brain.
When you begin writing, do you know if it’s going to be a series or a stand-alone book?I thought Freedom was going to be a stand-alone but once I started writing I realized that there was so much more story to tell.
Where do you get your daily dose of laughter from? Utube and my husband.Are you working on anything at the present you would like to share with your readers about? I am working on a stand-alone called Club Z. That centers around a bizzare night club.
When did you join AllAuthor? What has your experience been like?I joined All Author last year but only as a book feature but there was so much available on the site and so much help I had to do a Pro-membership. It has been great and so helpful I have recommended it to a lot of authors. As a new author there are a lot of book web sites that offer to help get authors publicity and they cost a fortune and you receive nothing in return, All Author is affordable (Even with the exchange rate for me in Australia lol) and helps authors with the things they most struggle with such as social media, book mock ups, banners, GIFs, Q&A, and getting the authors out there.
