Getting to know Barbara Winkes

Please give a warm welcome to author Barbara Winkes to the reading nook blog.

To get us started can you tell us a little about what you are working on or have coming out?

Right now, I’m working on a story that has a classic straight plot, giving it a lez twist.  I have a new release in November, and there’s always polishing on various projects to do!

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

I’m happy where I am--I moved from a small town in Germany to Québec City. If there were no restrictions at all, we might live in Paris, Berlin or San Francisco for a while, not necessarily in that order! Québec is a great place, but in my experience, more than the place, it’s the person you’re with that makes you happy.

How do you get yourself in the mood to write?

I set myself a word count. I love my characters--most of the time, that is--so, best case scenario, I can’t wait to sit down and see what they tell me! If they’re not that eager, which happens, I sit down and write anyway. And I take at least one day off on the weekend, to do something different. 

Where do you find the inspirations for your stories?

It’s pretty much everywhere--it only takes a spark to start a story. I don’t always know where exactly they come from, but it can be a scene in a movie, a song, a random headline…For example, whenever I see a lost shoe or scarf on the side of the road, I keep wondering how the person lost them. One time, that was enough to build a mystery.

Are your characters able to love or do they need to be taught?

First of all, I love happy endings. I think they’re especially important in GBLT fiction to evoke and nurture the idea that it gets indeed better. My characters know how to love, but sometimes they discover that love can run deeper than they’d imagined. Sometimes they think real love is not for them, and I show them otherwise.  

What is coming up from you in 2013? Anything you want to tease us with?

This November, my first thriller, Secrets, will be released by Eternal Press.  It’s about a woman who is fed up with her life and seeks some time away in a quiet environment, so she can rethink her priorities. Of course, it won’t be as quiet as she imagined--on the way, she picks up a hitchhiker. There’s instant attraction--and there’s a predator who’s watching them.

Spring Fever, book 3 in my romance series, should be available early 2014. 

Is music a factor for you while you are writing? Do certain songs put you in the right frame of mind to write certain stories?

Absolutely! Some music, I listen to while writing, with some, I imagine a video clip of the story. It makes the characters even more vivid in my mind.

Winter Storm

Eternal Press

Disillusioned with the direction her life is going, Marsha Taylor wants to get away, to find out what’s left of her dreams. Picking up a hitchhiker along the way wasn’t her intention, but Jessie, a woman with troubles of her own, is hard to resist.

A mishap on the road forces them to make a stop in a small town called Diamond Lake. Residents are on edge since a brutal murder happened in the area not long ago. Everyone has their secrets…some of them are deadly.

Excerpt

She didn’t want to imagine that this action had been a very deliberate one. Not like she could rule it out completely, one of the cheating husbands she’d exposed might be pissed off enough to pull it off. She caught a glance at a sketch on the wall, a possible witness in a murder case. Marsha shivered.

She’d had high hopes for her career, once upon a time. Too many battered women, children living in hopeless circumstances for many years before anyone even noticed, had convinced her otherwise. She didn’t long to go back there, but sometimes she was wistful for the vision she’d had, going out there to change the world. Reality had hit her hard.

“True. Please let me know if you find out anything.”

“Will do.” He raised his eyebrows a little when looking at the card she gave him, but much to his credit, didn’t comment on the evils of private investigators. “Have a good evening now.”

Her plans had been utterly turned upside down, but when Marsha unlocked the front door of number thirteen to let them both inside, she breathed a little easier. Tomorrow, she’d find a temporary replacement for her wheels. For now, all she wanted was to sit on the deck--with a lake view, indeed--and enjoy that cold beer. She wasn’t going to press Jessie for her story tonight. Marsha just didn’t have the energy, and Jessie wasn’t in a hurry to go anywhere. What else could go wrong, anyway? She chuckled to herself. Jessie gave her a quizzical look.

“Never mind. I’m just giddy at the concept of a shower, beer, and then dinner maybe. I hope they have some frozen pizza in that fridge.”

“I could cook something for us,” Jessie offered. “Don’t look so surprised. I’m not taking this for granted.”

How are you taking it, anyway? Marsha wondered. She smiled at the younger woman. “It already seems like a good idea to keep you around.” Jessie’s cheeks reddened. Somehow, Marsha had no desire to correct the insinuation.

About the Author

Barbara Winkes, a psychologist/trauma counselor, left her native Germany to live with her wife in Québec City. Her debut novel Autumn Leaves, published by Eternal Press in November 2012, is the love story between two women in a small town, where neighbors take an interest in the life of others. Her other published works are the follow-up, Winter Storm, and the standalone thriller, Secrets.

 Blog: www.barbarawinkes.blogspot.ca

Eternal Press: http://eternalpress.biz/people.php?author=518

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Barbara-Winkes/e/B00A6D1Z28