#AuthorInterview: June Moonbridge @JMoonbridge

On the blog today, all the way from beautiful Slovenia, is lovely author June Moonbridge. June has previously had books published in her native language but ‘Racing Heart’ (Safkhet Publishing) is her first novel to be published in English – a really impressive achievement.

June Moonbridge has many names and many faces too. Although living in the same area, she was born and raised in one country  and is now living in another.

She studied economics, and quickly realised she hated it. Afterwards, she found herself working in mainly male-dominated businesses; at first in automotive and later steel products. She can choose the best steel for your project, but don’t, please don’t, ask her which lipstick to use.

She started to write in high school and was criticised by her teacher. Stubborn as she is, that didn’t stop her. Under different pen names, she had stories published in magazines, and then went on to publish three books.

After having two children, and learning that her second child has autism, she married their father and carried on working. Work and family life left her with little free time. But the desire to write didn’t die. When life somehow sorted itself out, she decided to write a novel in English and her first submission to Safkhet was rejected… 

For what happened then, re-read the third paragraph, second sentence above…

Tell us a little about your writing history. What inspired you to write?

I’ve always had a vivid imagination. And that lead to the obvious – writing. I started in high school but my teacher hated everything I wrote. Nothing was good enough for her. But stubborn as I am, I didn’t let that put me down. I wanted second opinions from people that didn’t know me, so I used several pen-names, wrote some stories and got back positive reviews; some of my stories were published in magazines. That was how my first publisher found me – I have three books already published in my own language.

How did you come up with the title of your book?

The original title for the book was different. When I ‘made it up’ it made sense to me as it was linked with the main female character’s name, but the publisher decided to changed it and, in the end, I think the new name sounds great, and goes really well with the story.

Who is your favourite/least favourite character in ‘Racing Heart’?

Favourite character in Racing Heart…hmmm… gosh… I should say both leading characters, but somehow Henry Dame has grown into my heart, but strangely enough he is my least favourite character too.

What was the hardest part of writing for you? Were there any particular issues or hiccups when writing ‘Racing Heart’?

The hardest thing was to accurately express the feelings of losing a child. I’ve always said that I would never use my personal feelings in my stories, but to write these scenes, I really had to search my heart and find and re-experience the feelings I had when I realised my son’s condition. At the time I felt I’d lost him.

What are you working on now? 

My WIP is a romantic suspense story again, but set in a completely different world. The protagonist goes on her dream vacation but ends up in a nightmare. She has to … oh… look… I’m writing a blurb… 😉

Do you have any advice for other writers?

Write when you have the time and the desire to write. Don’t feel guilty when others seem to be writing more than you and writing more often. If you can’t write on a particular day or don’t have time – it’s just that and nothing more. And… toughen up. You’ll need a thick skin in the future.

Tell us something unusual about yourself.

I’m a Gemini and that means nothing is usual about me… but one thing that stands out is that I was deliberately shot with an air rifle when I was eight years old. Luckily the shooter hit me in the cheek and not in the temple which is what he was aiming for. I didn’t even realise I’d been shot. I thought I’d been hit by a stone because some children nearby had been throwing stones at some pigeons. We only realised what had happened two months later when my cheek started to change colour and my mom took me to the paediatrician. I had an X-ray and we saw the pellet in my cheek.

You can find June on Facebook, on Twitter and on her website

At twenty-five Desire Hart has experienced almost too much.

Changing everything in her life – her identity, her hometown and her country of residence, Desire is determined that nothing will stop her finding her missing son. Not even love.

One spring evening she meets the golden boy of F1 racing, Lorcan Shore, and finds herself falling for him. Struggling to suppress her feelings, she realises he could help her get closer to the child she believes is her long lost son.

But nothing goes according to plan. Her identity is revealed by the press, Lorcan has a terrifying accident, and the trail to her son finishes in another dead end. So Desire does what she does best – she runs away.

Set against the glamorous backdrops of Monaco, Paris and Nice, ‘Racing Heart’ mixes romance and mystery as Desire struggles to come to terms with her past. Will she learn to accept love into her life again?

Find a copy here

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