Tina Gabrielle, an Amazon best-selling author, is an attorney and former mechanical engineer whose love of reading for pleasure helped her get through years of academia. She often picked up a romance and let her fantasies of knights in shining armor and lords and ladies carry her away. Tina’s books have been Barnes & Noble top picks, and her first book, Lady Of Scandal, was nominated as best first historical romance by Romantic Times Book Reviews. Tina loves to hear from readers. Please visit her website to join her newsletter and enter her free monthly contests and giveaways.
Kim: Tell us about New Jersey - what is your favorite sight, sound, and smell of the Garden State?
Tina: This is an easy one. The Jersey Shore is my favorite retreat. I’ve vacationed at Wildwood Crest since I was a young girl and we return every summer. I love the fine sand, the long stretch of beach, and the boardwalk with all its sights and sounds. The only thing that’s changed for me is that I now bring my own children to experience summers at the Jersey shore.
Coming in second place is my vegetable garden. True to New Jersey’s name of the Garden State, I grew up with a family garden. I have my own vegetable garden now, and I look forward to my beefsteak tomatoes each summer.
Kim: You mention as a teen you had a scotch taped library card. Can you share a favorite memory at the library?
Tina: Our local librarians were wonderful ladies in my youth. I had a voracious appetite for reading, and I read all types of fiction. Romance was my favorite, of course. The library didn’t have a separate romance section back then. All the paperback novels were grouped together on two large shelves. I faithfully stopped by the library every week and borrowed a dozen books at a time. My library card was well used and most of the librarians would smile as they helped me at the check out desk. Things have changed, and the library now has a large romance section. It’s better than chocolate and I’m a true chocoholic!
Kim: I am impressed with your resume! What have you learned from mechanical engineering and law that you can apply to writing romance novels?
Tina: I learned how best to research in law school. I’ve also written romances with barristers. The hero of my most recent release, At the Spy’s Pleasure, is a barrister by day and a spy for the Crown at night. My Barrister series, In The Barrister’s Chambers and In the Barrister’s Bed, are Regency romances about sexy lawyers and the women who wreak havoc in their chambers and steal their hearts. I researched the criminal law system during the Regency as well how barristers lived and even what their chambers looked liked back then. I used real life experiences to write the courtroom scenes and put those feelings on the page. I had to be careful not to dump all my research into the book but to weave the historical facts with the fun, spicy romance. It was a lot of work, but so much fun to see the books published.
Kim: Tell us about your books - what inspired them?
Tina: I have always loved romance novels and admit that I am addicted to the happily ever after. Life has its ups and downs, but romance novels are wonderfully consistent. I’ve read plenty of literary fiction novels in school and I appreciate the talent behind each one, but they don’t leave me feeling happy, satisfied, and uplifted—only romance!
Kim: What's next for Tina Gabrielle?
Tina: I’m working on a new Regency romance series about the three daughters of an infamous art forger. I’m excited about the books. I’m an amateur lover of art and often visit the Philadelphia Art Museum across the river from New Jersey.
In the first book of the series, An Artful Seduction, the eldest daughter, Eliza, opens a print shop in order to survive after her art forging father abandons her and her two younger sisters rather than face imprisonment. Grayson, the Earl of Huntingdon, is a well-renowned art critic who was duped by Eliza’s father years ago and who is now seeking justice. But Grayson meets his match when he tries to blackmail the feisty Eliza into helping him find her father. The book was fun to research and write and it will be released in 2016.
Tina: This is an easy one. The Jersey Shore is my favorite retreat. I’ve vacationed at Wildwood Crest since I was a young girl and we return every summer. I love the fine sand, the long stretch of beach, and the boardwalk with all its sights and sounds. The only thing that’s changed for me is that I now bring my own children to experience summers at the Jersey shore.
Coming in second place is my vegetable garden. True to New Jersey’s name of the Garden State, I grew up with a family garden. I have my own vegetable garden now, and I look forward to my beefsteak tomatoes each summer.
Kim: You mention as a teen you had a scotch taped library card. Can you share a favorite memory at the library?
Tina: Our local librarians were wonderful ladies in my youth. I had a voracious appetite for reading, and I read all types of fiction. Romance was my favorite, of course. The library didn’t have a separate romance section back then. All the paperback novels were grouped together on two large shelves. I faithfully stopped by the library every week and borrowed a dozen books at a time. My library card was well used and most of the librarians would smile as they helped me at the check out desk. Things have changed, and the library now has a large romance section. It’s better than chocolate and I’m a true chocoholic!
Kim: I am impressed with your resume! What have you learned from mechanical engineering and law that you can apply to writing romance novels?
Tina: I learned how best to research in law school. I’ve also written romances with barristers. The hero of my most recent release, At the Spy’s Pleasure, is a barrister by day and a spy for the Crown at night. My Barrister series, In The Barrister’s Chambers and In the Barrister’s Bed, are Regency romances about sexy lawyers and the women who wreak havoc in their chambers and steal their hearts. I researched the criminal law system during the Regency as well how barristers lived and even what their chambers looked liked back then. I used real life experiences to write the courtroom scenes and put those feelings on the page. I had to be careful not to dump all my research into the book but to weave the historical facts with the fun, spicy romance. It was a lot of work, but so much fun to see the books published.
Kim: Tell us about your books - what inspired them?
Tina: I have always loved romance novels and admit that I am addicted to the happily ever after. Life has its ups and downs, but romance novels are wonderfully consistent. I’ve read plenty of literary fiction novels in school and I appreciate the talent behind each one, but they don’t leave me feeling happy, satisfied, and uplifted—only romance!
Kim: What's next for Tina Gabrielle?
Tina: I’m working on a new Regency romance series about the three daughters of an infamous art forger. I’m excited about the books. I’m an amateur lover of art and often visit the Philadelphia Art Museum across the river from New Jersey.
In the first book of the series, An Artful Seduction, the eldest daughter, Eliza, opens a print shop in order to survive after her art forging father abandons her and her two younger sisters rather than face imprisonment. Grayson, the Earl of Huntingdon, is a well-renowned art critic who was duped by Eliza’s father years ago and who is now seeking justice. But Grayson meets his match when he tries to blackmail the feisty Eliza into helping him find her father. The book was fun to research and write and it will be released in 2016.
Mahalo, Tina, for chatting with us today! I have to catch up with your series In the Crown's Secret Service, including A SPY UNMASKED and the recently released AT THE SPY'S PLEASURE (stay tuned for reviews).
Tina is giving away two digital copies of A SPY UNMASKED To enter the giveaway,
1. Leave a comment about art - do you have a favorite artist or museum? As cliche as it may be, I'm partial to Monet. I've seen his classics during my first assignment in Boston (Museum of Fine Art) and my second assignment with NATO (Musée d'Orsay in Paris).
2. Comments are open through Saturday, July 18, 10 pm in Baltimore.
3. I'll post the winner on Sunday, July 19.
Mahalo,
Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City
