Switching gears a bit, I have had my lesbian historical novel Time of Grace up on Radish for a while now. Radish describes itself as a “serialized fiction app,” and it has been around for ten years itself. They are LGBTQ-friendly and offered me a Pride promotion. I decided to post the answers here since I’ve no idea when it will appear onsite. And it’s short and sweet.

A quirk about Radish is that it does not allow authors to upload their original cover art for their books, so I had to make do with an image of a red-haired woman holding a lamp. It’s certainly different from the image of Grace that I had in my head, but it was nice that I was able to find something out there that corresponded to a pivotal scene in the book, where Caroline and Grace meet on the steps of Thornley Hall.

Here is the Q&A that I completed for Radish.

What inspires you to write the stories that you do?

I think I draw from experiences in my own past, but what often ends up happening is that one of the main characters is drawn from a part of myself that I know well (e.g., in Time of Grace, Caroline is a shy young woman who is recovering from a terrible loss; it was easy enough to put myself in her shoes). The other main character is similar to the people I’m often attracted to. So Grace, for example, is sensual, confident, and caring. She wants to help Caroline, to protect her. She has a lot of extra energy and charisma but is slightly unknowable: she has secrets. She has a past. I love bringing characters together who complement each other. Caroline gets to feel more alive, but also slightly tortured by this new relationship. They change each other.

What character did you enjoy writing the most?

Oddly enough, two middle-aged female characters play a huge part in the story. One is Lady Wilcox. She is a totally fictional character who is the mistress of the house that Caroline is sent to as a governess; she holds a lot of power and it was immediately obvious to me that she would be the one to threaten Caroline and Grace’s budding relationship—and destroy it if she could. I enjoyed creating this rather outrageous woman. Mrs. Grimsby appears at the beginning of the story and the end; she helps Caroline relax on the ferry to Ireland and at the end reveals her own secret, which shows that she has connected to Caroline all along and is much wiser than we knew. Women have this dual power to destroy or to save. I enjoyed writing both characters, but Mrs. Grimsby surprised me the most!

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It makes me happy that almost 25 years after the book was originally published, these characters are still strong and vivid to me.

Time of Grace is available for 50% off during Smashwords’ Summer/Winter Sale (July 1-31, 2025), which is ongoing! The link for the book page is here.

Update: Radish has announced to its writers that it is closing down at the end of the year. This is a very transient business! Stories, including my books Elsie Street, The Pull of Yesterday, and Time of Grace, can be read at the site until December 31.