Author Spotlight - Georgia Hill

I’m so pleased to welcome the very lovely Georgia Hill to our blog today.

Hi, Georgia, can you tell our readers a little bit about yourself?
Hi everyone! Thanks for having me. I’m Georgia Hill and I write contemporary romance. I taught for 20 years but am now a full-time writer and loving it. I live in Herefordshire with my long-suffering husband, 2 naughty spaniels and a ghost called Zoe.

What number book is this? First? 100th? 200th?(Nora only!)
Love’s As Easy As ABC is book number 3 (the other 97 are still in my head!). It’s a sort-of sequel to my second, In a Class of His Own. Some of the characters reappear but it can be read as a standalone too. It’s the story of Laura who is trying to forget her troubled past and features my favourite hero. I absolutely loved writing it!

Everyone who writes knows it's not easy - what methods do you use to keep at it on days when it would be so much easier to go shoe shopping?
I’m probably the world’s worst procrastinator, so not the best person to answer this! I drink lots of coffee, pace around a bit, write a few words down, put some washing in, write a bit more, take the washing out, make more coffee, do another chapter .You get the picture. Sometimes though, when you’re really not in the mood and the words simply won’t flow, it’s best to go and do that shoe shopping. Writing can be like pulling teeth sometimes!

What is your top promo tip for other authors?
I’m not sure I’ve been ‘at it’ long enough to give an answer to this one. The best thing I’ve done is make some supportive writing friends; they always come up with great ideas. I have a Facebook page, I’m on Twitter and have a website; the usual things. A tongue in cheek post or tweet can keep you in the public eye – and sell books.

How does writing fit into your day? Or does your day fit in around your writing?
I’ve gradually got into a routine, which works for me. I do a bit of net-working stuff in the mornings, over breakfast. Walk the dogs, which tends to pep you up at this time of year (it was -3C this morning!), do a few chores and then get down to some writing 2 to 6, then 7 to 9pm. But – if the wonderful and all too rare Muse pays a visit, everything else is forgotten and I hammer away at the key-board oblivious to anything else I need to do.

Just for fun: a year from the end of the book, where would your couple go on holiday?
I loved writing Simon and Laura. Laura was a challenge to write, as she’s very different to me, especially at the beginning of Love’s As Easy As ABC. Simon is a romantic man and very protective of Laura; I think he’d probably spoil her. Their next holiday is their honeymoon – maybe to the Scilly Isles or perhaps the Azores -  nowhere too obvious (and as far away from Margo as possible – she upstaged everyone, including the bride, at the wedding!)

Which of your characters would you like to be?
Ooh – I’d love to be Perdita from Pursued by Love. She’s a beautiful, talented actor, has a fabulous life-style – and ended up with Nick, who is dark, dangerous and gorgeous!

Could you be friends with any of your heroines?
I’d be friends with Nicky Hathaway out of In a Class of His Own. She’s feisty and confident and likes to party. She’d be great fun to have around.

Do you write to music, or with the tv on in the background, or do you need complete silence?
This depends on what sort of writing I’m doing. I don’t often like complete silence and usually have Radio 2 on very quietly in the background. If have to concentrate hard, then it’s silence. If I’m writing a romantic scene, I’ll put something seductive on: Adele, Mathilde Santing, Fleet Foxes and Scott Matthews get played a lot. Kate Bush once provided me with the perfect line for a hero. There’s also a Julia Fordham track – Behind Closed Doors – which sums up heartbreak for me. Music’s important and can help create the mood I want to write.

Do you have any tips, tricks or sacrificial rituals you do when you hit a story roadblock?
I wish! Talking it through with supportive friends, super-gluing one’s bottom to the chair, gritting teeth and just getting on with it are all things I do. If I’m really stuck on a tricky bit, I play Mozart. Works every time – and no, I don’t know why either!

Here’s a little about Love’s As Easy As ABC:

All Laura wants to do is begin her teaching career and forget her troubled past. After what she’s been through, she wants little to do with men, especially charming but untrustworthy fellow teacher Miles. When his coolly confident older brother is taken on as Deputy Head however, Laura has to reassess who she is and what she really wants. Has she the strength of character to recover her lost confidence - and will she ever find true love with the right man?

Here’s the very striking cover:

And you can buy it here:
Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com

www.georgiahill.co.uk
@georgiawrites

Thank you for visiting us today, Georgia. Love's As Easy As ABC sounds like a fab read.