This is Ink & Intrigue—the blog where romance ignites, secrets simmer, and every love story hides a twist. I’m your blog host, Sheila Kell, romance author and lover of plot twists, slow burns, and morally questionable book boyfriends.

Today, I’m thrilled to introduce you to an author whose stories can carry you around the world, from Italy to Colombia in South America, with Wales thrown in for good measure. She is Mary Georgina de Grey. If you love to feel you really are in those countries, sharing the heroine’s experience, then you’re in for a treat.

Mary Georgina is known for writing intelligent, well-educated heroines in gorgeous settings and always with interesting occupations that give you an insight into a different world. Her latest release, Then Time Stands Still, concerns a young archaeologist who takes a temporary job managing a site in Spain – and meets traumatized war hero-turned-wine producer Max.

In this spotlight, Mary Georgina tells us her training as a linguist led her to living and working in many different countries, and this has very much impacted on the things she writes about, besides giving her a huge amount of material. Here, she gives us a behind-the-scenes look at Then Time Stands Still.

Whether you write love stories, devour them, or dream of doing both, you’re in the right place. Let’s get into it and give a warm welcome to Mary Georgina de Grey. 💖

Interview

What’s your typical writing routine like – do you write with emotion or outline first?

Typically, I start with a character and the setting. I write a detailed bio for the main characters and research whatever job they do as this often drives the plot. Then I decide what the inciting incident is going to be and how I want the story to end. I outline only in a general fashion, and I often find later that one sentence can end up being three or four chapters. And sometimes, as I work, something new will pop into my mind and give the story a new direction.

How do you handle writer’s block?

I don’t really suffer from writer’s block because I tend to view the events as scenes in a film I’m making. Often, I write the dialogue of a chapter first, just the words they speak, strip out anything which doesn’t’ move the story forward or give character insights, and then fill in what they’re doing – because dialogue doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It helps that I write the first draft in longhand, transferring to the computer a couple of chapters at a time, so that activity becomes the first edit. That’s not to say that some parts are not difficult – they are.

Can you tell us about your latest romance and what inspired the story.

Then Time Stands Still deals with quite a few serious issues, not just the long-term effects of war on military personnel but also abuse and controlling behaviour. My editor really loved this aspect and nudged me into writing a breaking up scene with the old boyfriend. I felt her pain as I wrote it and hope readers will be equally affected.

The inspiration for this story came from a young woman colleague I had in Bristol, UK, and a behind-the-scenes film put out by a museum.

Was there a particular scene or emotional arc that was difficult to write?

Crucially, my heroine is mixed race. She’s educated and determined, but it’s still an issue that had to be handled very delicately. In fact I sought out a sensitivity reader to ensure I hadn’t made some casual and mistaken assumptions, despite working for many years with mixed race colleagues.

How did you find your agent or publisher?

It took a long time to find a publisher, and I still haven’t got an agent. I sent out many submissions before I managed to find The Wild Rose Press. I think part of the problem is that I haven’t found the right way to market my books – even to industrial professionals. I’m working on it. If after reading any reader wants to contact me with feedback on this, I would be grateful.

What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Perhaps the most valuable piece of advice is to read widely. It’s tempting to think you don’t have the time, but it feeds what you are doing. I read historical (especially the Romans), thrillers, romance in all sorts of subgenres, and nonfiction – anything from the development of the brain to popular psychology.

Also, it’s worth doing courses, attending workshops and talks at festivals. I’m always trying to learn something more to hone my craft.

What do you like to read in your spare time?

When I really need a book to relax with, I like a good thriller, both English and American. I’m a great fan of Grisham, Baldacci, Lee Child, C J Box, Robert Galbraith, and I love some of the writers from the American South who are so good at evoking place. I’ve just finished Chris Hadfield’s Final Orbit and I’m currently reading Hail Mary by Andy Weir, so I’ve gone towards science fiction for the moment.

What are you working on next?

I’m working on a book set in Devon in England in a small town which has a reputation for mysticism and alternative living styles. My heroine is a scientist, whose life has been turned upside down by some very unfortunate events, so she’s left her beloved London to start afresh. I’m enjoying working with her as she settles in and finds that life can’t be as ordered as she might like it to be.

 

Book	Published	Main Settings	Link
Then The Earth Moved	The Wild Rose Press, March 2023   https://wildrosepress.com/	London and the mountainous Abruzzo region of Italy	USA https://a.co/d/cOgoT9P https://a.co/d/hkX3ddA UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=then+the+earth+moved+by+mary+georgina+de+grey
Let Love Find a Way	The Silent Room, April 2024	A Colombian cattle farm, then a sheep farm in South Wales	USA https://a.co/d/b5BwElW https://a.co/d/4ge3x1m UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=let+love+find+a+way+by+mary+georgina+de+grey
Then Time Stands Still	The Wild Rose Press, September 2024	Bristol UK, then an archaeological dig on a vineyard in northern Spain	USA https://a.co/d/iVTKd3U https://a.co/d/dXgTYNK UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=Then+Time+Stands+Still+by+mary+georgina+de+grey

I live in South Devon with my husband, an artist. When not writing a novel, I’m putting together talks about romance and why it should be given serious consideration as a genre. As you can imagine, I get booked up around Valentine’s Day, but I also speak at festivals when I get the opportunity.

Book Blurb

English archaeologist Dr. Amancia Harding has looked after her family for five years. Now it’s time to take care of herself and leading a team on a dig in Spain is the perfect way to propel her career forward. Her good intentions are threatened when she meets vineyard owner Max Serrano.

Damaged by war in Ukraine and a tragic event in his past, Max has given up on relationships and taken refuge in making wine, but the attraction he feels to Amancia forces him to confront painful issues. There’s also the gulf between their two cultures to consider if a relationship is to have any chance of success.

Ambitious and fiery in character, can either accept that compromise is sometimes necessary to find happiness?

Bio

Learning several languages and using them at work has meant I have lived in different European countries, and I even spent a couple of years in South America. Though I live in the UK now, this rich experience has provided me with lots of material for my novels.

The novels each have a love story as central, featuring strong women determined to make something of their lives, despite setbacks – and there are quite a few. I now have three books published, have completed a fourth, romantic suspense, and am just beginning on a fifth to be set in France.

My home is in South Devon on the beautiful English Riviera with my husband, an artist and sculptor. When not writing a novel, I’m putting together talks about romance and why it should be given serious consideration as a genre. As you can imagine, I get booked up around Valentine’s Day, but I also speak at festivals when I get the opportunity.

I hope you loved getting to know Mary Georgina de Grey and hearing about her inspirations, journey, and latest release, Then Time Stands Still. If you haven’t added this to your TBR yet, now’s the time—trust me, you won’t want to miss it. 💖

You can connect with Mary Georgina de Grey here:

🔗 Website|Email: https://marygeorginadegreyauthor.com  |  marygeorginadg@gmail.com

📱 Socials: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086424198194
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marygeorginadegreyauthor
Newsletter: contact marygeorginadg@gmail.com

Until next time—keep reading, keep swooning! 💖