8/18/2011

Olivia Gates

Olivia Gates brings us Hot Hot Sheikhs



Olivia Gates has been a singer, a painter, a women's accessories designer, a wife, a mother — oh, and a doctor, too. She's still all that, even if singing, painting and designing have taken a back seat, while her wife, mother and doctor sides have been pushed to the forefront.





Olivia lives with her alpha husband, lovely daughter and their white Angora cat. Her husband is her adviser and, with her incredible mother, her staunchest supporter. Her daughter gives her plot ideas, and they're all along the lines of a doctor trying to reach his patients on a hot rainbow barefoot. With an imagination like that, Olivia's encouraging her to write her own books. Olivia's cat curls up on her lap, cramping her and critically watching the story unfold on the screen, then tries to edit the manuscript to his liking by walking all over the keyboard.





To Touch A Sheikh







No one gets past Prince Amjad Aal Shalaan's defenses. No one. But when Princess Maram shows up at Amjad's gala in her father's place, destroying Amjad's plans to reclaim what was stolen from his family, Amjad sees red…and uses a freak sandstorm to make her his prisoner of passion.

Swept to safety by the man she's always loved from afar, Maram knows she has one chance to make Amjad see her as a woman. His woman. But when the impossible prince and the unstoppable princess take shelter from the storm, neither is prepared for the aftermath of their desire…





After being a fan for years, I finally met this talented author at this year's RWA Conference. She's a fascinating, fabulous person. Gorgeous inside and out. I'm so delighted she's joining us here today.





CAT: Is there a playlist you’d recommend for reading your latest release?


OLIVIA: Definitely. I kept hearing Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade’s as I wrote. And sure enough, Amjad, To Touch a Sheikh’s hero likened Maram to Scheherazade (even if it’s pronounced Shahrazad in the book, the way the name is actually pronounced)





The evocative, magical music so well translated the ambiance, emotion and passion of the book in my mind.





CAT: What’s the first thing you do when you finish writing a book?


OLIVIA: I rush to my daughter’s room to tell her I’m done. Then I call my husband and mom. They’re the people I involve in the process from its inception (by talking incessantly about it, whining sometimes, asking to be left alone in others, asking their opinion on hundred different things from plot problems to naming characters) so it’s only fair they’re the first thing I remember when I conclude the book’s journey. J





CAT: If you could interview one person (and it doesn’t have to be a writer) who would it be?


OLIVIA: Can it be someone from another era? Or someone mythical or imaginary? If someone from another era, I’d love to interview Galileo, Da Vinci and Ramses II. If it’s someone mythical, I’d like to have some one on one with a few Ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses. If it’s imaginary, I’d love to have personal time with many super heroes I grew up loving, like The Legion of Super Heroes and Justice League of America. J





CAT: If you were given a chance to travel to the past where would you go and specifically why?


OLIVIA: I would definitely go to the golden era of the Ancient Egyptian civilization. I’d love to see how they achieved the miracles that survive to this day, and experience for myself the magic, beauty and prosperity of that era.





CAT: What do you do to unwind and relax?


OLIVIA: Huh? What’s unwind and relax? New words introduced in the English language while I wasn’t looking?





But seriously, it has been so long since I can say I did either, that they’re almost forgotten concepts. I don’t even unwind when I’m asleep. After being on call as a doctor and a mother, I’ve lost the ‘no worries’ quality that allows me to do either for real. Then I became a writer and then entered deadlines…. You get the picture. ;-)





CAT: What is your favorite tradition from your childhood that you would love to pass on or did pass on to your children?


OLIVIA: If you can call reading a tradition, this is the one thing my childhood mostly revolved around (along with creative stuff like drawing and writing) and if so, then I definitely passed it on to my daughter. She’s as big a bookworm as I am, but has beaten me in the writing department. She’s only sixteen and she’s already written ten books!





CAT: Do you read reviews of your books? If so, do you pay any attention to them, or let them influence your writing?


OLIVIA: I sometimes do, when some kind reviewer contacts me to tell me they’d put a review of a book of mine online. I try to avoid bad reviews, but I sometimes stumble upon them. Those make me wonder…why? But then, to each his own, and no one can ever please everyone, so they’re a fact of life, like anything we might not like. As for influencing my writing, if the criticism is constructive, I sure consider it, like I would critique from my editor. I’m always open to finding out to improve my craft, to build on the characteristics in my writing that appealed to most of those who read my work, and to try to avoid what didn’t work for most, too. Writing is a constant learning, experimenting, innovating and adapting business where only the resilient survive for long.





CAT: What dreams have been realized as a result of your writing?


OLIVIA: I’ve travelled to places I wouldn’t have gone to, met so many people I’ve admired for long, and made so many new friends I wouldn’t have dreamed of ever making. Writing has opened up whole new worlds to me, inside my mind, and outside in the real world. It’s the best thing that has ever happened to me, for sure.





CAT'S GOTTA ASK --


If you were a t-shirt, what color would you be and why?





OLIVIA'S GOTTA ANSWER


Red. It suits me, I’m told, my complexion and my character. And it makes me easy to spot in crowded places. With a family prone to wandering off like mine, wearing it acts as a beacon and has proved very useful at times. J





GOT A QUESTION YOU’D LIKE TO ASK YOUR FANS?





I am now writing hot, dark paranormals along with my hot, contemporary romance, and I noticed though they might seem poles apart, they’re both high-octane in passion, are inhabited by larger-than-life characters, and revolve around all-out romantic fantasy. So I do have an MO, no matter what the genre. What is your preferred genre and why?








Thank you so much for having me again on Get Lost In A Story. I loved being here and answering the really cool questions. I hope you enjoy reading my answers as much as I enjoyed writing them!





Olivia would love to offer 5 books to 5 winners.




30 comments:

  1. Hi Olivia

    Great interview! I absolutely love reading your books! Congratulations on your latest release and wishing you all the very best for your upcoming releases.

    As to which genre i prefer, i lean more towards the hot contemporary romances. The characters although larger than life seem more realistic than in paranormal romances. Although i do adore reading paranormals if i happen to come across one.

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  2. Congrats on the new release, Olivia. Right now my favorite genre is romantic suspense. I like the action, drama and fast moving pace of these kind of stories.

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  3. Hi miss olivia..wow, unlike you, i did not ever read books during my childhood years! Had I known that reading could be so much fun, I would have done so, everyday of my life.. I only just realized it when I was already in Highschool! But I'm curious, did you ever try doing anything else other than reading? I had fun playing though when i was a child! :D

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  4. Sonali
    I'm thrilled to hear you enjoy my books!! Which have you read??
    Thank you so much for the congrats and great wishes for my upcoming works. An author is always bating her breath for the next book's reception!
    I'm also so glad you enjoy hot contemporaries *and* would love the occasional hot paranormal. I got both areas covered. :-)

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  5. Jane
    Thanks for the congrats!
    And the closest thing I've ever written to romantic suspense was my Silhouette Bombshells, though mine were more action/adventure/thriller. Also I like to put an element of suspense or mystery in all my books, and to keep the pace quick, the action ongoing and the drama high. :-)

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  6. eringkat
    I'm so glad you found books and reading. Whomever said a book is the best friend ever was right.
    As for doing other things other than reading, I sure did. I painted and sang (I did both professionally for a while) and I entered medical school, and am also a doctor now. All fodder for the writing, I find. :-)

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  7. Hi, Olivia, welcome to Get Lost in a Story. Your book sounds wonderful and intriguing, and how great that it's a family affair. Hmmm. My preferred genre is mystery and romantic suspense. I think those of you who write straight romance, even paranormal romance are beyond talented. You create conflict out of the relationship. I do that, too, but I always have the help of a dead body. :) Best wishes on your fabulous books!

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  8. Hi Olivia! I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to chat in NYC this summer. Our paths didn't cross this year. We need Loreth and Kim to go again. :)

    This new book looks fabulous. LOVE the cover. Can't wait to read it.

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  9. Nothing like a hot, hot sheikh, a freak desert storm and high-octane passion! And I'm with you––I'd love to interview several ancient Egyptian gods!

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  10. Hi Olivia, great interview. You have so many different and interesting talents. To answer your question, I don't have a favourite genre because I read from so many many and ejoy them. Particularly, I read a lot of historical, paranormal and contemporary romances. What is important to me in all thes stories is that the characters are unique and that there is passionate love story.

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  11. Welcome back again Olivia !
    Waving from very hot Texas...never come to visit from July to September.

    Another awesome interview !
    ~~Angi

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  12. Congrats on your new release! I am more into Contempories, Historicals and romantic suspense are my favorite reads but read a little of everything.

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  13. Hi Olivia, sorry I'm so late. I just loved doing your interview. Somehow I think I lived in ancient Egypt in a past life. I'm completely fascinated by the monuments they left behind, the advanced processes they developed to preserve bodies and their whole lifestyle. I would love to sit down and interview so many of the pharohs. Fascinating stuff.

    Loved your book. Can't wait for the next one to come out!

    Thanks for joining us today!!

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  14. Hi, Olivia! I have been a follower of yours off and on since the last story you wrote for Harlequin. As to my favorite genre, I love historical and contemporary romances along with love stories that have mystery in them. I have also loved some of the paranormals I have read if they weren't too far fetched and had some hot romances in them. Yummy!

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  15. I have read 'The Desert Surgeon's Secret Son', "To Tame a Sheikh', The Sarantos Secret Baby'. I will definitely be on the lookout for your upcoming paranormals.

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  16. Hi Olivia,

    Wow 5 books to 5 winners, You rock! Anyone who reads one of your books will get hooked because you are a great writer and then they will get all your back books. (Well, that is what I did!) My preferred genre is contemporary,

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  17. Great Interview, Olivia! Your book looks HOT!
    I like all genres but I always liked books with a little mystery. Books have to keep me intrigued so subplots always help.

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  18. Donnell
    I'm so delighted to visit Get Lost in a Story again. Such a wonderful group of authors and such great fans!
    And LOL about the dead body. I have lots of those in my paranormal romances, at least deaths and killings and general mayhem, but in my contemporaries, I always have a central plot to my trilogies that involves a mystery. In my current Pride of Zohayd, the royal jewels had been stolen, and it's a race to find out the culprit and return the jewels before an Exhibition Day or the kingdom would be thrown into chaos.
    Thanks for the wonderful wishes! :-)

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  19. Maureen!
    You were in NYC?? Bummer that we didn't meet! And yeah, we need to get Kim and Loreth and have another great together! And if not, at least we'd find each other in the next conference and have fun one on one!
    Meanwhile, I so hope you enjoy the book if you come to read it! :-)

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  20. Gjillian
    You said, "Nothing like a hot, hot sheikh, a freak desert storm and high-octane passion!"
    Indeed. And To Touch A Sheikh's got all that. :-)
    Say...how about we petition the Egyptian gods for an interview together? I have a few contacts I can try... :-D

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  21. Na
    So glad you enjoyed the interview. I loved answering the fantastic questions.
    And it's great that you read widely and base your preference on unique characters and passionate love story. I hope that I always have those in my books, no matter the genre. :-)

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  22. Angi!
    Hey lady, how have you been. So happy to be here again.
    As for heat, never go to Egypt from May to November. ;-)

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  23. Virginia
    Thanks so much for the congrats. I'm very excited about my current book, as Amjad is my favorite hero to date.
    And it's great that you're open to reading in many genres. :-)

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  24. Cat!!
    Thanks so much for having me here! I'm loving it! And oooh, yes, I'm with you in everything you said about Ancient Egyptians. Let's go find us a way to have those interviews! :-)
    And you read my book!! YAY! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I have yours sitting patiently in my ebook library, but I *will* get to it soon!

    Thanks again for having me! Love being here and love you! Moah! :-D

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  25. Cathy!
    So good to see you again. I'm still so grateful for my Harlequin online read that introduced me to so many great ladies.

    Thanks for answering my question. From the answers I got so far, I've noticed that the main prerequisite for what readers prefer to read isn't strictly by genre but by characters. As long as those resonate with them and the romance is hot seems you're flexible in what you read. Which I'm sure is great news to all authors. :-)

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  26. Sonali
    Thanks for letting me know which of my books you read. Just one more question, paperbacks or ebooks? From knowing that you read The Desert Surgeon's Secret Son, I'd guess ebooks (since it was the only Medical Romance of mine that was made into an ebook) but I'd be fascinated to know in which format my readers are finding me.
    As for Paranormals, I already have one out, a novella from Nocturne, Mortal Enemy, Immortal Lover. The book I'm writing now is another Nocturne, but for the new Cravings line! And it's filled with my take on Norse mythology. :-)

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  27. Tammy
    So great to see you here, and thanks SO much for the vote of confidence. It's what every writer hopes to hear, that readers will read one of her books and rush out to get all she's written and wait for everything new she'll write! :-D

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  28. Sherie
    Thrilled you enjoyed the interview.
    As for subplots, I always have those in my books, and the subplot of the stolen jewels in my current Desire trilogy is driving the plots. So I'm definitely with you that it adds an extra depth and interest to the stories. :-)

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  29. I agree on going back in time to Ancient Egypt. The technology, the fashion and the beauty would've all been worth the travels. Thanks for the interview.
    Sherri A. Dub
    sheropatra@yahoo.com

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  30. Hello Olivia!
    Congratulations on the new release. I've loved every excerpt I've read.

    My favorite romance sub-genre is romantic suspense. I think the danger element heightens the emotions of the story. Having the hero or heroine in jeopardy makes their feelings for each other stronger.

    user1123 AT comcast DOT net

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