Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi! I’m Abby Gordon and I’m a storyteller. Family legend (my parents!) says that as soon as I was talking I was telling stories to my stuffed animals and the dog. I loved books of all types as soon as I could make out words. Then I picked up a pencil! I couldn’t draw – unless stick figures are ever considered masterpieces, so everything in my mind I wrote onto paper.
I breathe therefore I write.
My first published work was a decade ago. Life with all its twists and curveballs happened, but I’ve recently refocused on my passion.
I currently have two primary series that are very different. The Order of the Rose is an historical saga – well, right now, it’s only two books released, but the third, fourth and fifth are being worked on. Two secret societies formed during the Crusades and have been struggling for supremacy in Europe ever since. In the first two books, their focus turns to England as the last of two bloodlines claims her place. The next three turn to France while continuing the English arc. The series is outlined through the mid 1960s. I love history and research and when a reader tells me they felt like they were in the book and were disoriented by the 21st century – that warms my storytelling heart! Both of the first two books – The Hidden Rose and Justice of the Root – received Five Stars from Readers Favorite with the reviewers citing the details immersing the reader in the scene.
The second series is vastly different – Love in the Shadows is a contemporary romance series, veering into the erotic with the steamy details! The prequel, First Connection, starts Christmas 2000 – he looks across a crowded room, lust at first sight and she rolls her eyes at him! – naturally our hero doesn’t let that stand! The first full-length picks up right where it ends – opening with the attack on 9/11, exploring the reactions of the people in NYC and around the world. Actually, the first two – The Submissive’s Touch and Fall of Adonis – happen concurrently, referring to events in the other book but can be read independently. The theme of recovering from the attack continues in the first few books as others weave into the series – including one that became reality and had me questioning the entire idea – sex trafficking. But I realized that the topic was too serious, affecting too many – both victims and those in law enforcement – so it stayed.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My most recent published story is something totally different than either of my series! It’s a western as part of the anthology collection – Romances on the Range. The setting was inspired by my great-uncle’s home in north-central Texas and my imagination expanded from there. Rancher’s Refuge is my sweetest story so far, although there is definitely steam. Sam wants to get the last fifty acres his great-grandfather gambled away. Sally goes to her great-uncle’s house seeking safety in a childhood memory. Add in two rambunctious dogs, a matchmaking housekeeper, a tornado and a rodeo – there’s no way these two can deny what’s happening!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think so. At least, I don’t think another writer would call it unusual. When I get to writing, I hate to be disturbed. Outside noises, phone, text, email – I ignore everything when I get in the ‘zone’. Except my cats. I am a well-trained human staff member.
Sometimes I ‘pants’ it – writing as fast as my fingers will move. Other times – I spends hours plotting it out. While writing Justice of the Root, I found it was easier to write the story in York, then go back and write the story in London, THEN I wove the two together. I’m now doing that while writing The Lost Rose. The going back and forth drove me a bit crazier than even the cats could handle.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Oh, goodness! I still remember crying while reading Black Beauty. Little Women and Little Men. I was the nerd who loved English and American Literature – Chaucer, Donne, Shakespeare, Hawthorne, Whitman, up to more ‘modern’ classics such as Tolkein, Lewis, Roberts, McCaffrey and Clancy. I try to pick up bits from everything than I can apply to my own writing – not styles or plots, but how to put in hints in the early books to play them out in latter ones.
What are you working on now?
The Lost Rose is vying for time with something that is coming to me in dreams. Perhaps that’s something for the unusal question? Mm. But going from Renaissance France to Philadelpia in 1934 is a bit jarring!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Networking, networking. I’m taking control of the business side of writing and finding amazing friends along the way who are helping me. One of them told me about AwesomeGang and here I am!
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I’m old school and say carry a journal and writing implement with you at all times. Even one of those mini notebooks – something to jot down an idea when it comes to you, enough to jog your memory. I know, cell phones are more handy and I confess that if I’m out, I’ll tap something into notes. But I still prefer the journal.
But, always – write, write, write. Then, edit, edit, edit.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
quality over quantity. And always get at least another pair of eyes to go over your work.
What are you reading now?
I try to read in a genre I’m not writing in so my brain can take a break. That being said, I’m reading Colleen McCullough’s First Man in Rome – losing myself in time two millienia ago and realizing technology changed, but people haven’t.
What’s next for you as a writer?
In 2020, I want to finish two books in The Order of the Rose – The Lost Rose and The Heir’s Redemption, as well as three books in Love in the Shadows. As all five are in partial mode, it’s a matter of me explaining to the voices in my head – one at a time! You will all get your turn to tell me your story but not if you’re all yelling at me at once.
Sometimes that works. Sometimes it’s a matter of blocking the others out. Which doesn’t always work either.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Could I just bring my kindle? That takes up less room! Lol. Well, Mmm, I’d say the series I’m reading now, or maybe some of McCaffrey’s Pern books. Something to lose myself in completely.
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