Straight Chatting from the Library: Emelle Gamble

Emelle Gamble stops by The Library on her virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions to talk with us about books. Emelle will be awarding a $100 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn commenter. You can see the other stops on the tour here: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/06/virtual-nbtm-tour-secret-sister-by.html.

READ THE INTERVIEW

What is the favorite book you remember as a child?

I loved all Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden books. The mystery, the suspense, the boys! Clearly remember being glued to the chair for about 4 hours reading The Password to Larkspur Lane.

Tell us about your current book in 10 words.

Secret Sister is sexy, scary, thought-provoking, surprising and fun. (10! Gold star for Emelle…yes, I am that competitive!)

E-Reader or print? and why?

I did a whole blog on my website about this but the bottom line answer is both. I love, love, love the smell and feel and look of paper books. I love the covers, they’re like portable art. I love the book title and author name on the page, and I LOVE PAGE NUMBERS vs ‘percentage read’. But my Kindle is stuffed with books which I read constantly. But I always reserve part of my budget for books, real books. Books like on the shelves in a library!

One book at a time or multiples?

I read books like I write books, one at a time, beginning to end. I just can’t keep track of two plots, and I love the continuity of being lost in one book’s world.

Dog-ear or bookmark? (don't worry—Librarian Judith won't hold it against you—much)

Sorry, dear Judith, I do dog-ear. I have been given and or have bought 10,000 book marks over my life. When it’s time to use them, I can never find one.

Least favorite book you've read this year?

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. I know, I know, it sold a bazillion copies. A very favorite author of mine, Tana French, thinks it’s perfect. But I hated every character, almost every scene, and especially the last chapter. Good thing there are different strokes for different folks, yes?

Favorite book you've read this year?

The Last Time They Met by Anita Shreve. I reread it to see if I still loved it as much as I did the first three times. I did. Every writer should read it. It is about writing, teaching every thing an author should know about character, dialogue, voice, theme and setting. It is not a craft book; it is a novel about a writer. It takes my breath away just to think about how perfectly it ‘shows not tells’ what writing is.

Favorite genre?

Mystery and women’s fiction. HA! See why my books are ‘blended’, meaning they don’t follow the genere rules? I am a child of the sixties. I rest my case.

Favorite book to recommend?

In the Woods by Tana French. It is magnificent. Scary. Unresolved. Perfect. It will make you think about nearly everything.

Keep books or give them away?

I used to keep them all. Then about twenty years ago, I started going through my collection and giving some away every year to the local library or second hand store. I still do this. And when I find a book I really love, I give it away by buying a copy for my 5-10 best reader friends so they can have jammed bookstores too. Emelle Gamble loves books. That will be written on my tombstone.


MEET THE AUTHOR

Emelle Gamble was a writer at an early age, bursting with the requisite childhood stories of introspection which evolved into bad teen poetry and took her first stab at full length fiction in an adult education writing class when her kids were in bed. As M.L. Gamble, she published several romantic suspense novels with Harlequin. She has contracted with Soul Mate Publishing for Secret Sister, summer of 2013, and Dating Cary Grant, an early 2014 release.

Always intrigued by the words ‘what if’, Emelle’s books feature an ordinary woman confronted with an extraordinary situation. She most enjoys reading stories that surprise and amaze her, and hopes her readers will enjoy the challenging and exciting journeys her characters take.

Emelle lives in suburban Washington D.C. with her husband, Phil, her hero of thirty years, and two orange cats, Lucy and Bella. These girls, like all good villains, have their reasons for misbehaving. Her daughter, Olivia, and son, Allen, are happily launched on their own and contributing great things to society, their mother’s fondest wish.

Website ~ FaceBook ~ Twitter: @EmelleGamble

READ THE BLURB

To their friends, Nick and Cathy Chance have the perfect marriage. High school sweethearts who’ve been together for ten years, they’ve weathered challenges and are as committed as they were when they first fell in love. Cathy trusts Nick, Nick’s world revolves around his wife, and the future looks golden.

To everyone who knows them, Cathy Chance and Roxanne Ruiz have a perfect friendship. They connected in grade school and since then have been each other’s confident and trusted advisor. Cathy loves the gorgeous Roxanne like a sister, Roxanne has fun-loving Cathy’s back in every situation, though lately there’s been tension between these two best friends…

And then, on a sunny summer morning, the unthinkable occurs, throwing into doubt the truth of what each of these people really know about themselves and one another.

Will Roxanne’s sacrifice be too little, and too late? Should Nick’s love for his wife be strong enough to risk trusting his heart more than logic? Can Cathy’s devotion to Nick give her enough strength to convince him to see her for who she really is?

Secret Sister proves how strong, how stubborn, and how trustworthy love can be as Nick and Cathy and Roxanne are challenged to overcome the secrets, the lies … and one extraordinary twist of fate that turns their lives upside down.

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