I’m impressed with my next author’s work experience mainly because she loves doing a few things I have tried but don’t actually do. Please help me welcome Stacy Gold! Let’s take a look at her bio and then find out more about her and her books.
Compulsive tea drinker. Outdoor sports junkie. Lover of good (and bad) puns.
Award-winning author Stacy Gold gave up her day job as Communications Director of a nonprofit mountain biking organization to write sassy, steamy, contemporary romance novels. Her stories are packed with independent, kick-butt women finding love and adventure in the great outdoors. When Stacy’s not busy reading or writing, you can find her dancing, laughing, or playing hard in the mountains of Colorado with her wonderful hubby and happy dogs.
Author Social Links: Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram
Betty: What inspired you to write the story you’re sharing with us today?
Stacy: I adore analyzing and writing about the convoluted path people take to finding themselves and falling in love. I’ve also spent a lifetime playing, working in, and writing about the outdoors. When I realized I could combine both, I knew I’d found my calling.
With this stand-alone novella series I challenged myself to make each story feel different, but set them all at the same ski area. The first is a sweet yet steamy, friends-to-lovers romance reuniting two old ski partners. The second brings a pair of ex-lovers together on ski patrol, where they work just as hard controlling their feelings as they do at controlling avalanches. The third is a quirky enemies-to-lovers tale set on the last day of the season at Emerald Mountain’s remote backcountry hut. Each has its own mix of heart, steam, and humor, and I’m really proud of them.
These three standalone, steamy ski romance novellas are what I want to read, and I hope they’re what other people want to read too.
Betty: Which character arrived fully or mostly developed?
Stacy: Sophie from book #2. All my characters have their basis in bits of different people I know or have known. Sophie is based a lot on an old friend of mine from ski bum days in Jackson Hole, WY. She’s brash and tough and not afraid to go after what she wants and I loved writing her.
Betty: Which story element sparked the idea for this story: setting, situation, character, or something else?
Stacy: I have a couple of friends who met and fell in love while working on ski patrol together in California. I always loved their story, and it made great inspiration for this one. Adding in the danger of their job allowed me to create another, deeper layer to this second-chance-at-love story.
Betty: Which character(s) were the hardest to get to know? Why do you think?
Stacy: Probably Taya, from the first novella in the series. She’d just come out of a horrible breakup and her life was not at all turning out how she planned, and I don’t think she wanted to be known.
Betty: What kind of research did you need to do to write this story?
Stacy: I did some specific research on avalanche control techniques as they vary greatly from resort to resort. Other than that, I relied on my own, firsthand experience as a long-time resort and backcountry skier and outdoor guide and the tales my patroller friends have told over the years.
Betty: How many drafts of the story did you write before you felt the story was complete?
Stacy: The first novella took about 16 drafts, but I was still honing in on my process. The other two took about 5 drafts.
Betty: How long did it take for you to write the story you’re sharing with us? Is that a typical length of time for you? Why or why not?
Stacy: Each of these novellas took about three months to write and edit. My writing has gotten a little faster, but I’ve been working on full-length novels and the editing takes longer because the book is bigger and more complex.
Betty: What rituals or habits do you have while writing?
Stacy: I drink a lot of tea (hot in the winter, iced in summer) and rarely listen to music. I also take breaks every hour at a minimum and don’t spend more than 4 hours a day on a keyboard.
Betty: Every author has a tendency to overuse certain words or phrases in drafts, such as just, once, smile, nod, etc. What are yours?
Stacy: Oh, gosh. I love to use just, really, that, slick, and a whole bunch more. I have a set list I always search and destroy during editing, plus a list of words and phrases specific to that book that I may have overused.
Betty: Do you have any role models? If so, why do you look up to them?
Stacy: I find I look up to different people for different reasons. My in-laws are amazingly thoughtful and giving. My husband is a leader par excellence, and has taught me a ton about managing people and office politics.
Betty: Do you have a special place to write? Revise? Read?
Stacy: In winter I write in my office and move between a desk with a kneeling chair and a treadmill workstation. In the summer I set up standing and sitting options on my side porch. Though sometimes the background buzz of a public park or coffee shop is incredibly inspiring.
Betty: Many authors have a day job. Do you? If so, what is it and do you enjoy it?
Stacy: I am lucky enough not to have a regular day job right now. My last one was as Communications Director for a nonprofit mountain biking association, but these days I handle our personal business and my writing.
Betty: As an author, what do you feel is your greatest achievement?
Stacy: That I’ve discovered a way to entertain people while saying something important and writing about topics I enjoy. Though the fact that all of my novellas have finaled in contests and/or won awards and I now have an agent comes in a close second.
Betty: What other author would you like to sit down over dinner and talk to? Why?
Stacy: Sarina Bowen because I adore her books and writing style and impressed with the business she’s built.
Betty: Success looks different to different people. It could be wealth, or fame, or an inner joy at reaching a certain level. How do you define success in terms of your writing career?
Stacy: For me, success would mean reaching enough people and selling enough books to be able to support my husband and I, and still have enough left over to support other authors and help them become more successful.
(1) Just Friends — A cold day of powder skiing leads to a night of hot sex, and maybe more, in this friends-to-lovers novella.
Taya Monroe is trying to pick up the pieces of her failed writing career and broken life. Ski Patroller Jordan Wiley is a single dad with zero time or energy for dating. When a snowstorm traps these two old friends in an avalanche of chemistry, will their friendship survive?
(2) In Deep — Avalanches aren’t the only thing these ex-lovers are trying to control in this adrenaline-packed, second-chance-at-love workplace romance.
For eight mind-blowing weeks two years ago, Max and Sophie were lovers. Now he’s her boss on ski patrol. When an adrenaline-filled day turns into a night they need to forget—will they risk their careers for each other?
(3) Never You — Together in a backcountry hut at the end of ski season, some rules are made to be broken in this forced proximity, enemies-to-lovers workplace romance.
Ski Hut Caretaker Morgan Monroe doesn’t do casual relationships. Chef Dan Griffin doesn’t believe in relationships. When things heat up on a cold winter’s night, will they play it safe or follow their hearts?
“A must-read! Fun, flirty, hot!” ~ N. N. Light Reviews
Buy Links: https://stacygold.com/emboxedset/
Sounds like a great trilogy, Stacy. Thanks for stopping in and sharing it with us.
Happy Reading!
Betty
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Visit www.bettybolte.com for more on my books and upcoming events.
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