Claire Boston released What Goes On Tour last year, it was her debut and the first of The Texan Quartet. I only recently read and loved What Goes On Tour in the lead up to her new release, which we will feature later in the month.
We are fortunate to be a part of the Blog Tour for the All That Sparkles release today with her author interview and for the review on Tuesday April 21st.
Hi Claire and welcome to Beauty and Lace. Thanks for taking some time to include us on your All That Sparkles Blog Tour.
Thanks so much for having me!
When did you know you wanted to write for a living?
I’ve always been a writer. I remember writing my first story when I was about six and I never stopped. As I got older I kept a diary, full of all the angst of a teenager and I continued to write stories. It wasn’t until my early twenties that I really thought about writing a novel and I started writing a fantasy but didn’t finish it. Finally it was when I was sick of my day job and questioning what I wanted to do with my life that I decided I really wanted to be an author. I knew I had to get serious about my writing, make specific times each week to write and see if I could make it work. I joined Romance Writers of Australia (RWA), found a wonderful critique group and haven’t looked back.
Can you tell us a little about your journey to publication?
It was a long journey let me tell you! From that day back in 2006 when I decided to get serious about writing, until the day in 2013 I received the most amazing email from Joel at Momentum saying they wanted to buy What Goes on Tour, seemed like an eternity. There were so many times when I wondered whether I should give up and try something else but nothing would silence the stories in my head so I had to keep going.
I had pitched to literary agents and entered competitions, actually placing in the top three for some of them. I had editors request the full manuscript but it never eventuated in a sale. Then in 2013 the RWA conference coordinators announced a submission panel where attendees could submit three pages of their manuscript for the chance to be read out in front of a panel of editors and agents. If the panelists liked the work, they would request it. I thought it was an amazing opportunity, so I sent my three pages, not expecting to actually be read out. But then the reader announced the next manuscript was mine and four of the panelists requested the full manuscript – including Joel from Momentum. Two months later I received the email that every writer wants to receive – he wanted to buy my book! What Goes on Tour was published in February 2014.
All That Sparkles is the upcoming release, can you tell us a little about it?
Imogen Fontaine is living every girl’s dream. She works for her family’s haute couture label, lives in a mansion, has a great circle of friends and is the apple of her father’s eye. Everything is perfect. Until the day, Christian, the boy at the centre of her childhood heartbreak walks back into her life.
From there everything starts to unravel for Imogen as she discovers long hidden truths about why Christian disappeared, about her family and about her father. She doesn’t know who to believe, who to trust.
She must figure out the truth and convince Christian there’s a place for him in her new life.
For lovers of What Goes On Tour (like me) can you tell us if we will see our favourite characters again?
Absolutely! It’s one of the reasons I’m writing a series, because I can’t bear to leave Libby, Adrian and Kate behind! You’ll see them appear in all three of the remaining books, in a small way, however in All that Sparkles you will see the wedding.
You are an Aussie author living in Western Australia, can you tell us why you chose the Texan setting?
It was because Adrian in What Goes on Tour was Texan and the rest of the series is set in his home city. I can’t remember why I made him from Texas. It might have been because I’d just seen a Matthew McConaughey film, or it might have been because my husband’s favourite basketball team is the Houston Rockets. I’m not entirely sure. It has been interesting researching Houston and the members of the West Houston Romance Writers of America have been a wonderful help in answering any Texas related questions I have.
So many things inspire me. For What Goes on Tour it was seeing Marilyn Manson on television and wondering what he was really like underneath all that makeup; for All That Sparkles it was a dream where all I knew upon waking was a boy and girl had met in the garden and the girl’s father didn’t approve, so they had to keep their meetings secret. The next installments of The Texan Quartet: Under the Covers and Into the Fire were inspired by the characters walking into the scene in the previous book.
Can you tell us a little about the next instalment in the Quartet?
Book 3 is Under the Covers. This is George’s story and his heroine is Elle, who you’ll meet in All that Sparkles. As soon as Elle walked on to the page I knew she was perfect for George – she’s vulnerable but determined, and George wants to protect her – if only she’d let him! Elle has a five-year-old son and an abusive ex, and just wants to move forward in her life and protect her boy.
Book 4 is Into the Fire. You’ll get Piper’s story here and her hero is Taima, who you’ll meet in Under the Covers. Piper is not able to resist investigating the reclusive chef, but she discovers a whole lot more than she bargained for!
What are you reading at the moment?
I’m meant to be reading book 10 in the Wheel of Time series, which is a fantasy series I started reading over ten years ago and never finished because the books hadn’t been released. Now that the whole series is available I’d like to go back and find out what happens, but there is SO much I can’t remember (despite reading as many summaries online that I can find). I’ve read the first chapter and some things are coming back to me, so I’ll persevere a bit longer.
Of all the great titles coming out this year what are you most excited about?
That’s a really hard question! Oh, I know, Kylie Scott’s Deep is coming out soon – actually it might be out now! Excuse me while I go and look! Yay, it is! Ok, replace what I’m reading at the moment with Deep.
What does being a woman mean to you?
In my experience, being a woman means being strong. It’s putting your head down and getting things done when there are a million things to do. It’s about having to deal with the attitudes of some male colleagues who are yet to join the twenty-first century, and it’s about standing up for yourself when you feel it’s right. I love to write about strong women – though they may not start the story with much strength, by the end of it, they are much happier and stronger than they were.
I also love the generosity of women. I have never found a more supportive, generous, and enthusiastic group of women, than I have at Romance Writers of Australia.
Thanks for your time Claire and good luck with the Blog Tour.
Clare loves hearing from her readers and you can find her on Facebook, Twitter and her Website.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!