ANNIE GRACE ROBERTS
When did you first start writing? What made you want to be a writer?
I have always loved reading and writing. I think I was in 5th grade when I wrote my first short story about the Almond Joys candy bars from my Halloween candy. My father (the thief) sent it to the Hersheys. It was my first paid publication. I received a stack of coupons for Almond Joy candy bars.
What inspired you to write your book?
My daughter. She was reading a book series in middle school with a young female protagonist that I felt was a poor role model. I bet her that I could write a better book. I wrote it. She reviewed it and helped to improve it.
What authors inspire you? I am an eclectic reader. I read everything: Mystery, Science Fiction, Non-fiction, and Romance. I love books with quirky memorable characters. I love the Murder Bot series by Martha Wells, the Slough House series by Mick Herron and I recently finished reading the first two books of Sara Maas’ Fourth Wing series.
If you could only write in one genre for the rest of your career, what genre would you choose? Why? I would choose Romantasy, a genre I’ve only recently become acquainted with because it provides such a breadth of worlds and characters to explore.
Which of the characters in your current release is your favorite? Why?
My favorite character is Jenna, Lily’s friend and sister to Simon, her love interest. Jenna is kind and loyal but willing to tell people the hard truth when they need to hear it.
Are any of your characters modeled after real people? If so, which ones?
The main character, high school/college student Lily Deene, is modeled after my daughter–though she will deny it. When we reviewed and revised the novels, my daughter used to tell me that Simon sounded too much like me.
What music was on your playlist while writing your novel? I vary the playlist depending on what type of scene I am writing. Once I am writing, I honestly don’t even hear the music. It tends to fade into the background. My husband says that the house could probably fall down around my ears and I wouldn’t notice if I was at my keyboard.
Morning person or grumpy bear?
100% morning person!
What is next for you?
I am very excited about a Romantasy novel that I am currently working on. It incorporates my background in Anthropology and I am having a ton of fun researching ancient gods, spirits, and sorcerers.
Do you have any unique skills or talents? If so, what?
I can wiggle my ears.
If I were to look in your closet right now, would I find frills and lace or denim and tees?
Denim, tees, yoga tights, running shoes and a ton of formal wear left over from when my husband was affiliated with a U.S. embassy in South America.
I have always loved reading and writing. I think I was in 5th grade when I wrote my first short story about the Almond Joys candy bars from my Halloween candy. My father (the thief) sent it to the Hersheys. It was my first paid publication. I received a stack of coupons for Almond Joy candy bars.
What inspired you to write your book?
My daughter. She was reading a book series in middle school with a young female protagonist that I felt was a poor role model. I bet her that I could write a better book. I wrote it. She reviewed it and helped to improve it.
What authors inspire you? I am an eclectic reader. I read everything: Mystery, Science Fiction, Non-fiction, and Romance. I love books with quirky memorable characters. I love the Murder Bot series by Martha Wells, the Slough House series by Mick Herron and I recently finished reading the first two books of Sara Maas’ Fourth Wing series.
If you could only write in one genre for the rest of your career, what genre would you choose? Why? I would choose Romantasy, a genre I’ve only recently become acquainted with because it provides such a breadth of worlds and characters to explore.
Which of the characters in your current release is your favorite? Why?
My favorite character is Jenna, Lily’s friend and sister to Simon, her love interest. Jenna is kind and loyal but willing to tell people the hard truth when they need to hear it.
Are any of your characters modeled after real people? If so, which ones?
The main character, high school/college student Lily Deene, is modeled after my daughter–though she will deny it. When we reviewed and revised the novels, my daughter used to tell me that Simon sounded too much like me.
What music was on your playlist while writing your novel? I vary the playlist depending on what type of scene I am writing. Once I am writing, I honestly don’t even hear the music. It tends to fade into the background. My husband says that the house could probably fall down around my ears and I wouldn’t notice if I was at my keyboard.
Morning person or grumpy bear?
100% morning person!
What is next for you?
I am very excited about a Romantasy novel that I am currently working on. It incorporates my background in Anthropology and I am having a ton of fun researching ancient gods, spirits, and sorcerers.
Do you have any unique skills or talents? If so, what?
I can wiggle my ears.
If I were to look in your closet right now, would I find frills and lace or denim and tees?
Denim, tees, yoga tights, running shoes and a ton of formal wear left over from when my husband was affiliated with a U.S. embassy in South America.
Buy Links:
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09CXQ1W55
KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/where-lilies-bloom-2
BN: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/where-lilies-bloom-annie-grace-roberts/1140031218
APPLE: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1581674111
Blurb:
Lily Deene has a new dream guy. There’s just one small problem. He’s dead.
Seventeen-year-old Lily Deene has no choice but to spend her summer at Brynmoor Manor in England where there are more sheep than people. She isn’t thrilled, but after her mother enlists Simon, the housekeeper’s son, to give her horseback riding lessons, Lily decides to make the best of a bad situation. It turns out that it’s not all tea and crumpets at the manor house. Long buried secrets are stirring. Secrets that are haunting her dreams and Lily quickly finds herself galloping straight into danger.
EXCERPT
We were riding two up on a horse in a grove of apple trees. He held me firmly, one arm wrapped around my waist. I could feel his warm breath on the back of my neck. Goose bumps rose unbidden on my arms.
“You need not be afraid,” he whispered, his soft breath tickling my ear. He leaned closer. His dark hair brushed my cheek.
Suddenly I was afraid. I wasn’t sure I should be with this man. “I can’t.” My voice was dry and cracked with panic. “I can’t! I have to get back!”
“You will be with me always and forever!” He crushed me close to him, holding me tightly with his arm.
“I can’t,” I sobbed. “I’m sorry. I can’t!”
I forced myself awake. I could feel my heart hammering against my rib cage. The dream had been so vivid, so real, that it was almost as if I could still feel his presence in the room. “Nothing but a weird dream,” I said aloud, trying to calm down. “Just a weird dream.”
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09CXQ1W55
KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/where-lilies-bloom-2
BN: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/where-lilies-bloom-annie-grace-roberts/1140031218
APPLE: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1581674111
Blurb:
Lily Deene has a new dream guy. There’s just one small problem. He’s dead.
Seventeen-year-old Lily Deene has no choice but to spend her summer at Brynmoor Manor in England where there are more sheep than people. She isn’t thrilled, but after her mother enlists Simon, the housekeeper’s son, to give her horseback riding lessons, Lily decides to make the best of a bad situation. It turns out that it’s not all tea and crumpets at the manor house. Long buried secrets are stirring. Secrets that are haunting her dreams and Lily quickly finds herself galloping straight into danger.
EXCERPT
We were riding two up on a horse in a grove of apple trees. He held me firmly, one arm wrapped around my waist. I could feel his warm breath on the back of my neck. Goose bumps rose unbidden on my arms.
“You need not be afraid,” he whispered, his soft breath tickling my ear. He leaned closer. His dark hair brushed my cheek.
Suddenly I was afraid. I wasn’t sure I should be with this man. “I can’t.” My voice was dry and cracked with panic. “I can’t! I have to get back!”
“You will be with me always and forever!” He crushed me close to him, holding me tightly with his arm.
“I can’t,” I sobbed. “I’m sorry. I can’t!”
I forced myself awake. I could feel my heart hammering against my rib cage. The dream had been so vivid, so real, that it was almost as if I could still feel his presence in the room. “Nothing but a weird dream,” I said aloud, trying to calm down. “Just a weird dream.”
