Love Bytes says hello and welcome to author Erin M. Grillot joining us today to talk about her release of “Turn”.
The Birth of Turn
Hi; my name is Erin and today I’m talking a little bit about my new debut novel, Turn, which came out November 23rd from NineStar Press. This is a behind the scenes look at a few of the things that went into the writing of this book.
The idea of Turn began sometime back in 2013 or 2014 … the original date has been lost to the demise of my old computer, but Google drive tells me I first uploaded plot files in late 2014. While I’d been writing for years and even had a few finished, yet very rough, novels completed, I already knew the underlying theme I wanted to write about throughout all my books was humans and their diversity for love. Not just who we love, but how we love.
For how this ties into Turn; I’d seen this quote on Pinterest: “We assume others show love the same way we do–and if they don’t, we worry it’s not there.” This really stuck with me. It reminded me a little bit of me, but it also just resonated with me. The quote, combined with some other vague ideas that had been floating in my head about a mysterious and shady government organization, is how Nathan was born. I wanted to write a character who didn’t necessarily want to love, someone who loved very differently than what we maybe consider the norm and then write the emotion and complexity behind that character and their decisions.
I’m not a huge outliner when it comes to my novels. Usually, once an idea comes to me there are certain scenes I’ve already got started in my head and those often get regurgitated out into a document. I always have one document that is the novel–in order, chronological, edited as I go. Then I have a separate one that is all the random ideas, thoughts, scenes, outlines, plot. This is usually the first one that is created. A lot of it is all over the place: short scenes and then lots of bullet points at the beginning as I’m thinking about things. Here’s a snippet of some of the random bullet point pieces of my plot file from the early days of Turn:
- Nathan (35?) does he get a last name?
- We want to like him, despite his job and his choices, because he struggles obviously and has the same thoughts and feelings as other people
- “Because sometimes I think you need someone to stop you.” Quote from Doctor Who
- Vulnerable in a way that only underscores his bravery, his resolve. It makes him stronger somehow.
- “just because I forced myself into this role doesn’t mean it isn’t the one I was destined to play”
- Eli Rosten (30?? ish?)
- Checkmate
- Factor in chess/comparisons to chess and moves and life; Playing the long game.
- Story is in present tense
- May through April?
- 5 parts? (w/ an interlude?)
- Chess tattoo (who?)
- The tough choices that must be made
- “You could always walk away you know” WRITE SCENE
- A bar at the edge of the universe??
- Tumultuous, awkward, and iffy …
- Write a scene at Eli’s parents where Eli and his dad are talking/arguing about Eli ‘settling’ or ‘putting up’ with Nathan. Nathan overhears??
Title: Turn
Author: Erin M. Grillot
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: November 23, 2020
Length: 69900
Genre: Contemporary, LGBTQIA+, contemporary, undercover/secret agent, childhood poverty, HFN
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Synopsis
The responsibilities Nathan has taken on are sometimes daunting, even as he loves his job. Always ready to rise to the occasion, he is both respected and feared in the office and in the field. His rise to quiet power has shaped his very being, and he knows each and every move as he plots his days and watches over his agents. His life has shaped him into a loner, however, and that is never more noticeable than when Eli begins work in Department 5.
Eli is not the typical Department 5 recruit, and his cheerful and polite nature is both intriguing and off-putting to Nathan. But as Eli weakens and breaks through Nathan’s walls, they gradually embark on a path of discovery and a relationship that defies both of their assumptions. It is by times quirky and odd, sometimes a little rough around the edges, always a bit fragile. But secrecy, lies, plots, and executions are Nathan’s job, and life—and some habits are hard to break. Finally, the tension their work holds can no longer be contained or ignored, and it threatens to destroy either themselves or all that they’ve found together.
Turn is a story about power, tough choices, and strategic moves—of knowing when to sacrifice a piece in this ongoing game of chess, sticking by your actions, and knowing what the endgame is—no matter what the personal cost. Most importantly, it’s about life’s hardest lesson. Sometimes love isn’t all that you need, and the wants of our hearts aren’t always enough to overcome who we are and the realities of life.
Turn
Erin M. Grillot © 2020
All Rights Reserved
Exclusive Excerpt
His words stay with me as I go about my work that day. Distraction cannot be afforded; it is not allowed. The underlying thoughts seem to sharpen my focus if anything, the very idea of Eli thrumming through everything I say and do.
“Happily ever after” isn’t for guys like me. I’d wondered about it as a kid, went from longing to complete dissent in a matter of months, disillusioned by the facts of reality. I often puzzled over how people could fall for it. I’d seen the effects and never wanted that. I stopped reading fiction once I realized those books I’d once devoured as an escape from reality only perpetuated the illusion—the fairytale where everything would be okay once the girl and boy found each other and fell in love, that all you needed was “love.”
And I never thought I’d be normal, never wanted to be. This career suits me for more than just the work. It keeps me busy, challenges me intellectually, and makes it easy and excusable to be alone. I cannot deny, however, what Eli has come to mean to me. There isn’t a day that goes by, hardly a waking hour, where he doesn’t creep into my life in some way—via thought, memory, or presence. He makes me want to strive for it, to aim to have it all. And it is terrifying and baffling and all the more captivating because of it.
Purchase
NineStar Press | Books2Read Universal Link
AMAZON
Erin is a native Midwesterner who has spent her life loving words in all their forms. Turn is her first novel. She lives in Iowa with her three children. An avid wine lover, introvert, coffee addict, and nerd; most of her free time is spent with her children, reading, or writing. Find Erin on Twitter.
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