A Novel Conversation with Bronwyn Elsmore’s Gina

 In conjunction with Indie BRAG
posted every Friday
#IndieBragNovConv 

To be a little different from the usual 'meet the author' 

let's meet a character...
Gina

Gina dressed as Arwen
from Lord of the Rings
© Anna Kulisz
http://rysowania.deviantart.com/

from

Q: Hello, I’m Helen the host of Novel Conversations, please do make yourself comfortable. Would you like a drink? Tea, coffee, wine – something stronger? You’ll find a box of chocolates and a bowl of fruit on the table next to you, please do help yourself. I believe you are a character in Bronwyn Elsmore’s novel Every Five Minutes. Would you like to introduce yourself? You use just the one name, is that right? Are you a lead character or a supporting role?  
A: Ah, yes, I’m Gina. I guess most people would say I’m the lead, but I’d always say that’s Mark. And as for supporting, he’s that as well, because of the way he’s supported me. Do you mind if I pour two cups of coffee? Long black for me, white for him. Yes, I know he’s not with us, but I often do that and drink them both.

Q: Of course. Go ahead. I’m glad you agreed to come – I know it wasn’t an easy decision for you.

A: No. I’m not used to talking about myself.

Q: Well, let’s start with the novel. What genre is it, and what is it about?

A: Bronwyn always says it’s literary fiction and a love story. She insists it’s not a romance and I agree with that.

Q:  Tell me about another character in the novel – maybe your best friend, lover or partner … or maybe your arch enemy!

A: I’ve already mentioned Mark. Electra’s the other main supporting character, and that describes her well. People think I look after her, but it’s as much the other way around. Which is funny when I think about it because I’ve always been very wary of dogs and never thought I’d live with one, let alone feel about one the way I’ve come to do with Electra. Let’s say we need each other.

Q: Is this the only novel you have appeared in, or are there others in a series?

A: Gee no, just this one. A reader wrote and asked Bronwyn if they could hope for a sequel, but both of us agree my story’s best left this way.

Q: What is one of your least favourite scenes you appear in?

A: I don’t like to think back about that. It was the time in the park before I accepted that I could trust Mark completely, and I misinterpreted what he was doing and reacted on instinct. He should have given up on me then, knowing the baggage that came with me. I’ll never forget that he didn’t.

Q: And your favourite scene?

A: Which shall I pick? There are so many lovely moments about times Mark and I shared – such as when we were away on our trip and played at being Rick and Ilsa, then Aragorn and Arwen, and Heathcliff and Cathy. The quiet times in the library we created together. But, no, I think I’d have to go for that day on the beach – the twenty-seventh of February, I’ll never forget that date – when I blew away my past, because that was when I really realised I could move on.

Bronwyn

Q: Tell me a little about your author. Has she written any other books?

A: Yes, Bronwyn has written many genres and her books include non-fiction very informative works, children’s books, creative non-fiction and novels. She’s just published her eleventh book, a collection of short stories called These Islands Here – Short Stories of the South Pacific.

Q: Is your author working on anything else at the moment?

A: I believe so. She says it’s another novel but other than that she’s not giving away any clues.

Q: How do you think indie authors, such as your author, can be helped or supported by readers or groups? What does your author think is the most useful for her personally?

A: Look, I’ve seen the work Bronwyn puts in when she’s writing – hundreds, thousands of hours – writing, rewriting, checking facts. Then when it’s published there’s all the time and effort it takes to let people know about it, the marketing – that’s the side she dislikes most. Writers need to know that they’ve touched readers in some way, and they see this through sales and good reviews. They’re pathetically grateful when they get them.

Q: Finally, before we must bid adieu, the novel you appear in has been awarded a prestigious IndieBRAG Medallion, does your author find this helpful, and is there anything else she would like IndieBRAG to do to help indie authors receive the recognition they deserve?

A: The main thing the award gives is the acknowledgement that all the work I talked about was time well spent. For the author, it’s due recognition of their sweat and, sometimes, tears. But it’s helpful for the reader too, because when they see the gold medallion on the cover they can be assured the book is worthy of the time they invest in reading it.

Helen: Thank you, Gina, it was a pleasure talking to you. Would your author like to add a short excerpt?

Gina : Yes, thank you too, Helen. She’s left it to me to pick one. Once again, which to choose?

Okay, here’s an extract from the early part of my story, where I meet Electra – the first time the three of us are together.

Helen : Great  - would you like a refill of that drink…?

Gina : Thanks, Helen, but I think those two cups of coffee are enough.

 EXCERPT

You told me you had a dog. I didn’t ask what sort, but afterwards I imagined you with something large, brown, a sporting breed probably. I fancied I could even see you in a tweed coat with a rifle resting on your shoulder. Heaven only knows why, because I’d only ever seen you in a business suit and polished black shoes. Perhaps it was because the image I constructed seemed right outside my scope. Deliberately.

     “I’m a cat person,” I said.

     It was true, in that I admire the self-assuredness of a cat, the independence, the idea of the cat that walks by itself. I thought of the tabby in the flat next door that permits me to scratch behind her ears when it suits her but, when it doesn’t, jumps onto the top of the stone wall out of reach. I appreciate her right to choose.

     At the time, however, the statement was a defensive reaction – a sort of ‘you say tomarto, I say tomayto’ shield I placed between us. Then, to your subsequent question, came my follow-up admission that no, I didn’t have one myself, not at that time. A cat is not something that can be thrown into a suitcase and moved at a moment’s notice when the need is there.

CONNECT WITH Bronwyn Elsmore

Website: http://www.flaxroots.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/flaxrootsNZ

Twitter: https://twitter.com/flaxroots

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/l/B001JSAPRA

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Bronwyn-Elsmore/e/B001JSAPRA

Subscribe to newsletter:  flaxroots@gmail.com

INDIE BRAG LINKS:

Website: https://www.bragmedallion.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Indiebrag/

Twitter: @IndieBrag

HELEN HOLLICK:

Website: www.helenhollick.net

On Amazon: http://viewauthor.at/HelenHollick

Subscribe to newsletter:  http://tinyletter.com/HelenHollick

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HelenHollickAuthor/

Twitter: @HelenHollick

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