Ask the Author: Juliet Grey
Answered Questions (9)
Juliet Grey
[Educated] women in 18th c. France commanded a certain amount of respect, not only among their peers, but among men. They hosted salons where the intelligentsia of the day gathered to discuss everything from politics to poetry. Their minds mattered. They were sexually as liberated as their husbands, as long as everyone was discreet about it. Grant it, it was still a male-dominated society, but this was the Age of Enlightenment, an era when the arts and sciences were cherished. And the clothes were quite flattering, too! ;)
Juliet Grey
Welcome Cintia, and thank you for your question. I, too, have faced writers block, although I didn't in the past when I was a younger writer and the ideas seemed to flow like a waterfall. Suddenly so many other aspects of life got in the way for me (family illnesses, several moves from one residence to another) -- lots of upheaval ... and it disturbed my focus. Have you also experienced a lot in the past three years that has blocked your ability to focus the way you used to do?
Things that help me get back on track are taking time AWAY from the computer -- that white page -- believe it or not. I spend time instead on other art and beauty that will inspire me. I visit art museums. I walk through my favorite parks and revisit "old friends" -- favorite statues and paintings that I have loved since childhood. If I have the money to go to see a ballet or dance troupe because I always wanted to be a dancer and movement is so freeing. I wander through shops and admire beautiful clothing. I listen to music that makes my soul soar and my heart pound. I light aromatic candles with fragrances that remind me of places I love.
Reawakening your senses can re-inspire your passion for writing. Nothing is foolproof, especially if you have had a lot of difficulties going on in your life and that is what is stealing your focus. But even if that is the case, try re-booting your way of looking at it and think of your writing as an oasis, a welcome respite from the cares of life -- the place where you go to pour all your passions onto the page.
Good luck, and let me know what ends up working for you!
Things that help me get back on track are taking time AWAY from the computer -- that white page -- believe it or not. I spend time instead on other art and beauty that will inspire me. I visit art museums. I walk through my favorite parks and revisit "old friends" -- favorite statues and paintings that I have loved since childhood. If I have the money to go to see a ballet or dance troupe because I always wanted to be a dancer and movement is so freeing. I wander through shops and admire beautiful clothing. I listen to music that makes my soul soar and my heart pound. I light aromatic candles with fragrances that remind me of places I love.
Reawakening your senses can re-inspire your passion for writing. Nothing is foolproof, especially if you have had a lot of difficulties going on in your life and that is what is stealing your focus. But even if that is the case, try re-booting your way of looking at it and think of your writing as an oasis, a welcome respite from the cares of life -- the place where you go to pour all your passions onto the page.
Good luck, and let me know what ends up working for you!
Juliet Grey
I hope so, Ruth! Thank you for your interest! Several people have asked me this, and I am ready, willing, able, and eager to narrate the audio books of the last 2 books in the chapter. It's a matter of convincing an audio publishers that there are people out there who are willing to buy it. I put out feelers to an audio house for whom I narrated other authors' historical novels and am waiting to hear from them.
Juliet Grey
Shoe-shop (or clothes shop) online or in a store (but I don't buy anything unless I can afford it, because that will only add MORE stress!). Bake something. Take a walk. Browse through a favorite magazine. Read a colleague's book. Visit a museum. Take a walk through Central Park. Get outside my own head and out of my own way.
Juliet Grey
You get to make art every day of your life.
Juliet Grey
Keep writing and take yourself seriously. Get an agent. Spellcheck is your friend. It's a very competitive world; don't put anything out into it until it's ready because it will be even more of a struggle to recover your reputation from a half-baked product.
Juliet Grey
A novel set in 17th c. France.
Juliet Grey
I have writers on both sides of my family and loved to write as a child and as a student; but I was a professional actress performing the classics (primarily) before I became an author. There are far fewer roles for women and I wanted to continue to channel my passion for storytelling and history into another creative outlet. I began to write with an eye toward getting published in the summer of 1998. My first novel (contemporary women's fiction) was pubbed in early 2002 and to date I've have 20 titles published across 3 genres (women's fiction, historical fiction --under 2 different pen names; and historical non-fiction).
Juliet Grey
My most recent novel was the last book in the Marie Antoinette trilogy, covering the final years of her reign and the last few years of her life, from October 1789 to the last day of her life on October 16, 1793
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