THE WRITER'S VIEW: GENIE GABRIEL

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This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Genie will be giving away a $25 Amazon GC to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour and a $10 Powell's Bookstore GC to one commenter at every stop. Click on the banner above to see the other stops on Genie's tour.


THE AUTHOR'S VIEW
by
Genie Gabriel


This is embarrassing. I love my office. However, it is, in a word: messy. I fear a photo in its current state could do irreparable damage to the eyesight of readers. However, I do have a photo of the storyboards for my Legacy Series that cover one wall you can safely see. This was taken at a time when my office was in pretty good shape. :)

It will also give you glimpse at one of the ways I immerse myself in the world of my books. I'm also a graphic designer and love the visual representations of the characters in my Legacy Series and what's important to them.

For instance, the heroine in LIVING THE LEGACY is the owner of a small cafe with the ambience of an Old West mining town. So one of the pictures on her storyboard is a beautiful old wood cookstove of black cast iron with decorative silver doors and moldings. (I found places online that sell replicas of these stoves and have added this to my "someday" wish list.)

My computer faces the storyboards on my wall so I can see the world of my Legacy Series at a glance. Not so cool are the stacks of paper behind and to the side of me--probably several trees worth. In addition to copies of graphic projects I have done and info related to the business side of writing, I have a lot of information for my books. Notes from when I was starting the Legacy Series. Research info. Scene outline forms. Printed drafts--as well as e-mails about promotion and blog tours and other information that I gotta remember. However messy my office may seem, I do have a general idea of what is in each stack. :)

However, under my desk is pretty clear to allow one of the best things in my office: at least one doggie curled up at my feet. Pets also make their way into most of my stories, though I did try to restrain this tendency in my Legacy Series because there are so many human characters to keep track of.

Outside my office is rain, rain and more rain! I've lived in Oregon all my life and even I have noticed it's been a wet couple of years here in Oregon. The upside to this is I don't have to water my yard and flowers much. Mother Nature has been taking care of that chore.

I love the view from my corner office. Out the window, a wide gravel path curves along the side of my house under a star magnolia tree. Tucked under the tree is a bench flanked by broad-leaved hostas.

In the back, a door opens onto a covered deck that overlooks my backyard. Earlier this year, I had iris blooming. Now, there are masses of daylilies.
On perfect days--not too hot and when the rain isn't too cold--the back door is open so my doggies can cruise in and out when they want to, and I can enjoy the weather and still get my writing done.

You may also notice most of my books include a house with beautiful flowers, another one of my passions that seeps into my stories.

I hope you have enjoyed a glimpse into my world. In sharing my view with you, I've been reminded how very fortunate I am to be surrounded by things I love.

Many thanks to Judy at My World of Dreams for hosting me and giving me the chance to do something else I enjoy: give out goodies to readers! Each week in July, one commenter drawn at random will receive a $10 gift certificate to Powell's Books (online or brick-and-mortar store). In addition, everyone who comments will have their name tossed in the cyber-hat for a drawing at the end of July for a $25 gift certificate to Amazon.com. Thank you all!

About the Author:
For years I've been fascinated by the puzzle of why some people collapse under life's traumas and others emerge triumphantly stronger. These triumphs of the human spirit over the ugliest of adversities became the basis for my stories. Yet my dramatic stories have always contained touches of humor, and sometimes I have great fun writing romantic comedy novellas. However, in all my stories, my passion for writing romance is an outlet for the powerful messages that people can overcome great difficulties, and true love can turn life’s heartaches into happily ever after.

My Web site: www.GenieGabriel.com
My LEGACY blog: http://oshealegacyseries.blogspot.com/

A reluctant sniper cherishes the innocence of a small-town woman, but their love may destroy them both.

Comments

  1. Goddess Fish Promotions7:43 AM

    Thank you for hosting Genie today.

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  2. Karen H9:44 AM

    Thanks for taking us on a tour of your office and giving us a peek at that view from your office. Looks like your garden is a very pretty place to meditate and plot your stories.

    What characters are the hardest/easiest for you to write: The hero, the heroine, the villain (or villainess), the secondary male & female characters? What are the most fun to write?

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  3. Rita Wray10:56 AM

    I enjoyed learning more about you. The flowers are lovely.
    Kit3247(at)aol(dot)com

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  4. Genene Valleau, writing as Genie Gabriel11:36 AM

    Good morning, all! And many thanks to Judy for hosting me today! I'll be stopping by throughout the day to chat with everyone. Hope you all have a wonderful day!

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  5. Genene Valleau, writing as Genie Gabriel12:06 PM

    Hi, Karen! I do love my garden! And dirt therapy is very relaxing to me--definitely gets the creativity flowing. :)

    Ah, the hardest/easiest characters to write. That depends...LOL! It's not so much the role of the character, but whether they share their inner thoughts and emotions with me.

    In LIVING THE LEGACY, Beth was wonderful to write because she is so open and trusting, and her character unfolded beautifully.

    I'm finding the "bad guys" in my LEGACY series are more of a challenge because there will be some surprises as the series continues. People who seem like helpful neighbors or friends will succumb to dark secrets. So the "bad guys" won't obviously be "bad" from the start. And other questionable characters might not turn out so bad after all. :)

    Glad you stopped by!

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  6. Genene Valleau, writing as Genie Gabriel12:08 PM

    Hi, Ingeborg! Glad you liked the flowers. I used to have a lot of lawn, but over the years I've lived in this house, it's been dug up to make way for flowers. :)

    So glad you stopped to say hello!

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  7. Anonymous12:30 PM

    Storyboarding seems like a useful approach, since you'd be able to change things up on the fly if you needed to. Love magnolias, too...

    eai(at)stanfordalumni(dot)org

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  8. MomJane12:54 PM

    Two things I really like about your writing. 1. Your storyboard in front of you while you write, and 2. The dog under your desk, and the fact you include them in your stories on occasion.

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  9. Genene Valleau, writing as Genie Gabriel3:29 PM

    Hi, "Anonymous"! The graphic design part of me loves storyboarding! And it truly does help to have pictures representing my characters hanging out in my office. :)

    Ah, yes, my magnolia tree. It's a pink star magnolia, which I've heard isn't as common as some other types. The main drawback is it blooms quite early in the spring when we are having lots of wind and rain, so the blossoms don't seem to last very long on the tree. But they are scattered around my yard like pink snowflakes!

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  10. Genene Valleau, writing as Genie Gabriel3:32 PM

    Hi, MomJane!

    I really have fun with the storyboards--and sometimes have to rein myself in from spending too much time on them.

    And my doggies! They take turns laying under my desk and around my chair. Sometimes I can't move because I'm surrounded by furbabies! Little wonder they show up in most of my stories.

    Thanks for stopping by!

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  11. Mary Preston5:29 AM

    Thank you for sharing. It's lovely to get a glimpse into the world of a writer.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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  12. Genene Valleau, writing as Genie Gabriel2:25 PM

    Waving hi, Mary! So good to see you again. Glad you enjoyed the visit to my place. :)

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  13. Genene Valleau, writing as Genie Gabriel2:29 PM

    Just wanted to let you all know the winner of the $10 gift certificate from my two blog stops yesterday was Jessica. Many thanks to everyone who took the time to comment. You will all be entered in a drawing at the end of July for a $25 gift certificate to Amazon.com. I so much appreciate you all!

    And many thanks to Judy for hosting me on Welcome to My World of Dreams--blog hosts are awesome!

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  14. Rebecca Hipworth7:56 AM

    I love finding out about new authors. :D

    Becky01x(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete

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