Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Welcome Sadira Stone to our Garden Interviews

Hello Sadira

Tell us about you and your books

How did you do in English as a kid?

English was my favorite subject. An early reader and avid bookworm, I started writing and illustrating my own stories while still in elementary school and later became a high school English teacher. Books are the golden thread running through my life.

Do you have to travel researching your book(s)?

My Book Nirvana series is set in Eugene, Oregon, but I live in Tacoma, Washington. So yeah, I’ve travelled to Eugene several times—lovely college town on the Willamette River! Eugene just vibrates with creativity, and I love the way its hippie heritage enriches its current arts scene. My upcoming romance novella, Gelato Surprise, takes place in a fictional Washington State beach town that’s a mash-up of several real-life towns I’ve visited.

Have you read anything that made you think differently about fiction/romance?

Since joining the Romance Writers of America, I’ve read so many defenses of romance as the literature of hope, an act of resistance, and a feminist art form. It’s not just smoochy fluff. Centering women’s agency, desire, pleasure, and worth is truly a radical act. We’re told by so many voices that relationships are not worthy of our literary attention, but think about what makes a person’s life rich and fulfilling, be they male, female, or non-binary—it’s relationships, right?

When you wrote this book, did you have an idea of how it would end at the beginning?

Well, I write romance, and the HEA is non-negotiable. I always start with a basic outline of the major plot points, but new developments spring up like weeds as I write. Some blossom and enrich the story; others get yanked out.

Would you like to be friends with the main character? Follow up question - What is something you can picture the two of you doing together?

Margot and Elmer are the main characters Book Nirvana Book 3, Love, Art, and Other Obstacles. I’d love to spend time with these two young artists! They’re both so creative, funny, determined, and big-hearted, each in their own way. I imagine following them around Eugene, Oregon as they introduce me to their huge circle of artistic friends. 

Do you have a favorite quote?

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we’re here we might as well dance.

Do you enjoy giving interviews?

Of course! Who doesn’t love nattering on about themselves?

If you were a tool what would you be?

A sharp pair of scissors. My fiction includes snippets of people I’ve known, situations I’ve experienced, places I’ve been.

What makes you laugh?

Language mistakes crack me up, including my own. Mistranslations are especially funny. A favorite website is www.engrish.com, where people share hilarious mistranslations seen during their travels. 

Example: When I lived in Germany, our favorite Italian restaurant produced an English-language menu that listed egg-drop soup as “sludge deposit soup.” Yum!

Do you ever go around in a corset, high heels, and a whip to get you in the mood to write something naughty?


Sorry, no. Though Hubs and I have a very happy love life, I’m a fan of what some would call “vanilla sex.” I believe sex is a natural, healthy part of a loving relationship, and love writing those steamy scenes—pages and pages of them. Sure, I like to include variety of positions, locations, accessories, etc. One of the hottest scenes I’ve ever written involves a silk scarf. But I just don’t get the appeal of BDSM, and if I don’t feel it, I can’t write it. No judgment there—consenting adults should do whatever tickles their fancy. 

where can we find out more?


Look for new books coming soon and download Runaway Love Story today on all major online retailers









4 comments:

Sadira Stone said...

Thanks for having me today, WRP!

D. V. STONE said...

Great interview. My favorite language mess up was an auto correct Where a friend, instead of asking how my tests went, asked how my teats were. I told her they were Fabulous

GiniRifkin said...

Hi Sadira: so nice learning more about you. I'll never look at egg drop soup the same!

Micki Miller said...

I love her comments on romance/fiction. So true.