Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a part-time teacher and part-time writer—so I get a little bit of the best of both worlds, even if work can pile up and be a bit hectic sometimes. I’m from the midwest, but I moved to the PNW for grad school and fell in love with the area. I’ve been here now for almost a decade and have a feeling I’ll be here for quite a while longer. It’s hard to give up the combination of mountains and water.
In my freetime, I can be found reading, consuming way too much TV (is there such a thing as *too much* TV? I don’t know), and wandering around the city with my dog. He gets me out of the house on days when the world feels like a bit of a disaster. Dogs are the best, we definitely do not deserve them.
I’ve currently got two Urban Fantasy series that I’m publishing over the course of 2021.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My current series, The Protector Guild, started as a Nanowrimo project a couple of years ago. I only wrote about 20-30 thousand words initially, and wanted to write a story about a girl who was thrust into a new world and set of experiences. I’d been reading reverse harem/why choose books for a few months at the time and really loved that they all incorporated this interesting cast of characters—I think I loved that aspect of the genre more so than all of the romance even. Writing a series in that genre seemed like a really cool way to practice creating and developing characters, each with their own complex and compelling back story. I was also going through a difficult time with anxiety and depression, and building each of the characters really helped me through it—sometimes analyzing characters and their experiences/traumas can really help me understand my own. My dog kept me company during those long nights of writing and learning the craft, so I wrote him into the story as the protagonist’s cartoonish hellhound sidekick (who is obviously my favorite character).
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I do what are known as pomodoro sprints. I set a timer for 15-25 minutes and just word vomit all over my google doc. I don’t do any editing during that time and instead, just try to get into the flow and let my characters speak to me. It’s been a really cool way to get words on the page, without stressing too much about perfection. One thing I’ve learned as a reader of indie books is that I don’t focus much on perfection while I’m reading. It just doesn’t matter much to me—the perfectly-constructed sentence doesn’t seem nearly as important as the feeling a scene or a character evokes. Sprints have helped tremendously with that.
Also chocolate. When I have a particularly high word count day, I like to reward myself with chocolate (and, let’s be honest, I still get that chocolate even if I don’t.)
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I read everything. I always hate when people say that they love all genres, until I remember that I’m one of those people. And all of the books I read, whether fiction or not, shape my writing in some way. Right now, I’m really into audiobooking comedic memoirs/essays while walking my pup, and I read a ton of fiction/fantasy before bed, when I’m trying to wind down (and then eventually stay up all night reading…I need to work on that strategy).
What are you working on now?
I’m working on drafting the fifth book in my The Protector Guild series. I’ve been living in this world for so many months and it’s a ton of fun. It’s bittersweet that I only have two more books in this series (but oh do I have spinoffs planned!).
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I post a lot on instagram and engage with facebook groups in my genre. It’s a great community and offers me a chance to talk to readers and see what they are enjoying.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I’m still an incredibly new author in the publishing world, and only really began investing time in it over the last six or seven months. I’d say the best advice I have is to sit your butt in the chair and get words on the page. Everything comes after that.
Second piece of advice is to be open to learning. These days, authors are required to do a lot more than simply write. You have to be a great storyteller, but you also have to learn how to market and use social media. There’s so many different hats to wear and you have to be open to learning about the process if you want to discover what works best for you. The self-publishing community is really generous with sharing information and education, which has been invaluable to me. I try to set aside an hour or two every week to listen to podcasts on indie publishing, or to read various books on the writing craft itself.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Butt in Seat. If you want to be a writer, the first step is to sit down and actually start writing. Don’t just talk about doing it.
What are you reading now?
I’m reading Victoria Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, David Gaughran’s Strangers to Superfans, and a collection of short stories called Love After the End.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I have a few new series planned that I can’t wait to get into. I know that the general suggestion is to stick to one genre, but I have a contemporary romance trilogy that won’t leave my head, so that’ll be next.
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?
MEAN.
I’d bring Marilynne Robinson’s Housekeeping, Camus’ The Stranger, Sabaa Tahir’s Ember in the Ashes series (I’m counting that as one book), and any book by Roxane Gay.
Author Websites and Profiles
Gray Holborn Website
Gray Holborn Amazon Profile
Gray Holborn’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account