Name: Gwyneth Bolton

Date of Birth: August 15, 1970

Occupation: Professor

City of Residence: Syracuse

3 Favorite books:

The River Where Blood Is Born, Sandra Jackson-Opoku; Sula, Toni Morrison; A Taste of Power: A Black Woman’s Story, Elaine Brown

1. How long have you been writing? Is it what you always wanted to do?

I have been writing ever since I was about twelve-years-old. I always knew that I wanted to be a writer and I used to write out plays and what I thought were novels on notebook paper. Once I entered high school, I stopped writing out the stories in my head but I still wanted to be a writer. I majored in English as an undergraduate and focused on writing. I loved to write fiction, mostly short stories, but I also took classes in playwriting and screenwriting. The funny thing is that my desire to be a writer sort of led me to my day job. I knew that I needed to earn a living while I tried to make it as a writer and as an English major teaching was a main career option. I knew I couldn’t teach the little ones and I didn’t have the patience for the teenagers. So, I decided I’d become a college professor. Needless to say, doing everything I needed to do to pursue a career as an academic took me away from creative writing for a while. But now I’m back!

2. How easy or difficult was it for you to become published?

Once I made up my mind that this was something that I wanted to pursue, it was fairly easy. I won’t say that it was painless. But it did happen pretty fast. I had already written a nonfiction book as a part of the requirements for tenure as a professor. The nonfiction book was in-press and I decided if I could do that then I could finally write my novel. I also decided that I wanted to write romance. I was living in Minneapolis at the time and the Loft Literary Center offered a course called “Writing the Romance Novel.” I’d always wanted to take this course but it had been offered when I was teaching my own classes. When they finally offered a six-week summer version of the class, I took it. The course introduced me to the world of romance writing. I learned about and joined Romance Writers of America and the Minneapolis chapter, Midwest Fiction Writers. While we didn’t do a lot of writing in the course, it was very informative about the resources out there for romance writers. I started writing I’m Gonna Make You Love Me that summer and joined my first critique group. I started pitching it that following spring at my first Romance Slam Jam in New York City and I sold it that winter to Genesis Press.

3. Is being a published author everything you thought it would be?

So far it isn’t. I never expected it to be so stressful! Between the deadlines and the waiting to see how the work will be received, my nervous stomach is getting a work out. The anxiety is something I never really anticipated. When I dreamed about being a published author and seeing my name in print, I never really took into consideration things like deadlines. I think I had this vision of me off someplace waxing poetic and creating brilliant prose without a care in the world. You know, living the life of the artist. Now that I’m actually living the dream, it has become a second job. Going from dream to job with deadlines . . . Yes that’s the part that I hadn’t anticipated.

4. What made you, a Women’s Studies professor, decide to write romance?

I have always loved to read romance novels. They were my guilty pleasures. And even though I have always wanted to be a writer, I don’t think I realized until later that what I really wanted to be was a romance writer. When you go through school majoring in English, studying Literature with a capital “L,” and creative writing that focuses on training literary writers, it’s a little hard to find your way to romance. Everyone is pointing you in other directions! Add to that taking a job as a professor of writing and women’s studies and teaching classes in feminist theory and . . . well . . . you can see the dilemma. Once I finished my nonfiction book, I decided that I wanted to write something for me. I wanted to write something that would be easily distinguishable from my life as an academic. For me that ended up being romance . . .

5. What do your colleagues think of your “other career” as a romance writer?

So far they seem to be fine with it. I have decided that I’m going to be open about this part of myself, because I don’t want to be this closet romance writer and hide it. I’ve been very excited about my first release and I’ve told anyone who will listen about it. If anyone has a problem about it then they haven’t expressed it to me yet. Most of my colleagues think it’s wonderful that I’m exploring my creative side.

6. Tell us a little about I’M GONNA MAKE YOU LOVE ME and what inspired you to write it.

I’m Gonna Make You Love Me is the story of Alicia Taylor, Darren Whitman, and an arranged marriage. The hero and heroine have had a love/hate relationship since the time they were children. When Darren finds out that their fathers plan on telling Alicia about the marriage arrangement, he makes a deal with them to woo her so that she will fall in love and not feel obligated to marry him in order to save her family’s business. Darren thinks his plan will be easy, but he doesn’t count on her desire to protect herself from heartache. Alicia doesn’t trust Darren and she finally sets out to prove that he is not sincere in his attraction to her. I’m Gonna Make You Love Me is the first in my Hip-Hop Debutantes trilogy. I wanted to take classic romance plots and give them a remix. And I wanted to create spunky, feisty, hip heroines that break with convention and chart their own paths.

7. Who is your favorite character in I’M GONNA MAKE YOU LOVE ME and why?

Okay, I’m pretty sure that’s like asking a mother who is her favorite child. I will spare you the “oh I love them all the same” response and tell the truth. I have a favorite and it’s the heroine, Alicia. She is a headstrong, opinionated, third-wave/hip-hop feminist with a penchant for eavesdropping. She is also willful and loves Darren more than she will ever willingly admit. She is feisty and her spirited personality shines through.

8. Are there any authors that have inspired you? If so who and why?

So many authors have inspired me! In romance, writers such as Rochelle Alers, Leslie Esdaile, Brenda Jackson, Adrienne Byrd and Niobia Bryant inspire me. The first three writers set the bar for me early on in terms of what a great romance should be. The second two writers let me know that the bar is still very high. They all inspire me to aim higher as a writer and to write the best stories I can. I read a lot, so I’m also inspired by writers like Tananarive Due, Nalo Hopkinson, L. A. Banks, and Octavia Butler on the paranormal/science fiction tip. Mystery writers such as Barbara Neely, Grace Edwards, and Eleanor Taylor Bland also inspire me.

9. What are your goals as a novelist?

My goals as a writer are really pretty simple. I just want to tell great stories and create characters that pull readers into their lives—the kinds of characters that grab onto a reader and refuse to let them go. My favorite reading experiences are when I finish reading a book and I can’t stop thinking about the characters—when I have dreams about them that follow them long after the novel has ended. Or when I go back and re-read scenes or the entire book because I just don’t want to say goodbye, or I just want to revisit them for a moment. If I can make readers have those kinds of experiences at any point in my career, then I’ll be happy.

10. What do you do in your spare time?

In my spare time, I am reading. I love to read. If I could, I would probably sit and read all day everyday! If I have a free moment, I have a novel in my hands. It’s the one thing I don’t want to give up even though I’m writing now and have my own deadlines. I think reading widely and often makes for better writing.

11. You next book is one of the launch titles for the new Kimani Romance series line. How does it feel to be in the company of veteran authors like Brenda Jackson, Gwynne Forster and Marcia King-Gamble?

It’s surreal. I’m feeling like I’m living someone else’s life right now. I keep saying I’m not worthy. When I got the news, my heart just started pounding like crazy. I still get speechless when I think about it. I’ve been a fan of these women for so long that it is truly and honor to be a part of the launch with them.

12. Tell us a bit about your Kimani Romance release.

IIF YOU ONLY KNEW is the sensuous and drama-filled story of Latonya Stevens-Harrington and Carlton Harrington III. He is Millionaire's Row and so alpha he makes jungle lions look tame. She is Overtown row houses and lives to annoy arrogant men who think they can boss people around. Despite their differences in social standing and upbringing, they have one similarity that is detrimental to happily-ever-after. Because of what they witnessed as children with their own parents, they don’t trust relationships or love to last. They spend their time together waiting for it to come to an end. It is their shared fear of trusting matters of the heart that stands in the way of this couple's finding true love.

13. What message do you have for inspiring writers?

Write as much and as often as you can. Read as much and as often as you can. And learn as much about the business part of the publishing industry as you can. And don’t ever give up on your dreams.

14. How can your fans communicate with you?

Readers can communicate with me via e-mail at gwynethbolton@prodigy.net or snail-mail at P.O. Box 9388 Carousel CTR, Syracuse, NY 13290-9381. They can also visit my website http://www.gwynethbolton.com

Thank you for taking the time and allowing me to interview you. On behalf of RIC, I would like to congratulate you on being our selected new face for the month of February 2006. I would also like to wish you continual success in work and life.