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URL:
http://www.kestragravier.com
Contact:
kestra@kestragravier.com
ABOUT KESTRA
Kestra Gravier has travelled extensively,
lived abroad, and now resides in the US, where she started her
fiction writing career. She holds advanced degrees in science
and business and still dabbles in those fields. She lives with
her husband and a surprisingly spry 12-year-old cat. Kestra
divides her day between the pleasures of writing her next novel,
keeping up with her progeny, and pursuing a few select hobbies.
INTERVIEW
Q: Can you describe your writing
process?
A: It all starts with an idea, and those
can come at any time. Often the idea is driven by a setting --
recently I sketched out book ideas in some gardens in San
Francisco and another sitting on basalt rocks in the Pacific
surf.
Then I capture the idea, handwritten in a
set of handmade books I received in Venice. (I love the feel and
smell of those books.) Then I switch to my MacBook Air and
begin to outline and write. Often I go back and forth between
the outline and the manuscript in the early days. Sometimes my
lover (and muse) helps me act out a scene for more details, and
I travel to the settings where the book takes place.
But mostly I am at my desk near a huge set
of windows overlooking the river. The flow and traffic on the
river keep me calm and centered enough to write.
Q: Tell us about a favorite time in
your erotic life.
A: There was a time when I was living in
Europe that I could honestly say “I buy my fine lingerie in
Paris and my wicked lingerie in New Orleans.” That was pretty
good!
Q: Where do your inspirations for
stories come from?
A: I am trying to create literary
aphrodisia and the inspiration comes from passion and
experience. I have worked in the medical field and in business
and those experiences form the backgrounds for some of my work.
I love history and my first erotic novella is set in King Henry
VIII’s court. I love cooking, travel, science, lingerie and
triathlons – you will see those elements in some of my pending
novels. My best inspiration comes from my imaginative and
skilled lover.
Q: How closely do you identify with
your heroines?
A: My heroines are absolutely me – to some
extent. So are the villainesses.
Q: Why do you like the Tudor Period
as a setting for an erotic novel?
A: Because it was such a lusty time! Women
could play a prominent (if gender defined) role in politics,
thinking was changing about religion and nations, and that led
to lots of intrigue. Romance and intrigue is a natural
coupling.
Q: If you could “rewrite” one thing
in your life, what would it be?
A: That’s a tough question, because I have
had a pretty good life so far. But, in the rewrite, I would
start writing fiction sooner. Once I got over being scared to
start, it has been so much fun.
Q: Do you only write historical
themes?
A: I write in several genres of erotic
romance. I am working on a contemporary medical novel and have a
Druid character demanding to be brought to life. I think he will
be an environmentalist in today’s society.
Q: What is one of the most enjoyable
things about writing?
A: Doing the research! Not only the sex,
but I other aspects of the stories. For one book, I am
developing my own recipes. The first, Kestra’s Champagne
Cocktail, is posted on my website.
Q: What is your favorite book?
A: Other than my own? Marion Zimmer
Bradley's The Mists of Avalon. It has everything: legend,
romance, intrigue, environmentalism, food, sex and strong female
characters that vie with each other, not only with the men. It
is definitely the book I would want if stranded on a desert
island.
Q: What else would you want on a
desert island?
A: My lover and chocolate. Not necessarily
in that order.
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