At first, when I was a girl, I wrote to create an alternate reality from my very dysfunctional home. Though I have a functional happy home now, I find I still like to explore alternate realities. Therefore my books are set in many different locales and time periods:
Oxford, Wales, Italy, San Clemente Beach, CA, Chicago, the Missouri Ozarks, Huntington Beach, CA., Vienna, Austria, Paris.
In all my books I strive to help my readers and me to find agape. I think we can only change the world in small pieces as writers. Those pieces are the hearts of the readers. If I can help resolve problems, offer hope, or simply provide an atmosphere of love for the length of the novel, then I will feel that in my small way I can help change the world for the better. Reading has helped me that way, and I hope to similarly help others.
I love to genre hop in both reading and writing. The other day, I realized that I was so exhausted from launching my newest book "The Only Way to Paradise" (women's fiction/romance on Amazon or B & N.com in paperback or e-book--first attempt at this) that what I really wanted was a hilarious romp through Regency England. As I thought, I realized that my husband was the perfect character for the "Rogue" and my three fiances would provide all the danger, the complications, and the humor. I had never written a book with people I knew for characters (aside for a couple of supporting characters in Paradise). I am having an absolute ball! My Paradise book is a combo of heavy stuff and funny stuff and heartwarming stuff. It's about agape (aka "the good samaritan" type love). Anyway, it was a stretch for me with four separate plots that had to intertwine. I wrote most of it in Italy which is where I learned all about agape. It is not too extravagant to say that the discovery changed my life.
My other books are 5 genealogical quirky mysteries, 2 suspense (1 romantic), an award-winning epic historical romance set in Vienna 1913-1938, a book on overcoming depression (I am bi-polar), and another women's fiction: Pieces of Paris. You can check them all out on my website: http://ggvandagriff.com. After the regency, another suspense, and then sequels to Waltz.
