Hi and thank you so much for having me today! It’s a pleasure to be here.
So, y’all want to know who R.E. Hargrave is? If anyone figures it out, can you let me know? Trust me – I had no idea when I was a little girl thinking about what I wanted to be when I grew up that at almost forty years old I would be publishing erotic literature!
Not even close.
I can remember my dad telling me I could be anything I wanted to be – up to and including a starship captain. He was kind of a dork, but I loved him dearly. The product of divorced parents who chose to live on opposite sides of the country, I was and still am very shy and introverted (again, how in the world am I publishing erotica?!)
It seemed I always got moved in the middle of the school year so I’d come in as the new kid after all the cliques were established, and pretty much be left to my own defenses. This resulted in me reading – a lot. Austen, Tolkien, Beverly Cleary, and Judy Blume were my go to authors. Anyone remember Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret? Yeah, good times. My older years had me delving into darker and more risqué authors: King, Barker, Ward, and Hamilton just to name a few.
I also took up cross-stitching which eventually led to dabbling with the sewing machine thanks to my very skilled aunt. While the ol’ carpal tunnel doesn’t allow for cross-stitch projects any longer, I still enjoy sewing: simple summer dresses for my daughter, formal gowns back in high school, and quilts. Here are some pictures of a couple of my favorites:
So, y’all want to know who R.E. Hargrave is? If anyone figures it out, can you let me know? Trust me – I had no idea when I was a little girl thinking about what I wanted to be when I grew up that at almost forty years old I would be publishing erotic literature!
Not even close.
I can remember my dad telling me I could be anything I wanted to be – up to and including a starship captain. He was kind of a dork, but I loved him dearly. The product of divorced parents who chose to live on opposite sides of the country, I was and still am very shy and introverted (again, how in the world am I publishing erotica?!)
It seemed I always got moved in the middle of the school year so I’d come in as the new kid after all the cliques were established, and pretty much be left to my own defenses. This resulted in me reading – a lot. Austen, Tolkien, Beverly Cleary, and Judy Blume were my go to authors. Anyone remember Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret? Yeah, good times. My older years had me delving into darker and more risqué authors: King, Barker, Ward, and Hamilton just to name a few.
I also took up cross-stitching which eventually led to dabbling with the sewing machine thanks to my very skilled aunt. While the ol’ carpal tunnel doesn’t allow for cross-stitch projects any longer, I still enjoy sewing: simple summer dresses for my daughter, formal gowns back in high school, and quilts. Here are some pictures of a couple of my favorites:
Are you getting the idea yet that I like to be creative? I guess given my love of literature paired with my need to be creating something with my hands, I shouldn’t be shocked that I decided to try my hand at writing. The first writing that I shared in a public forum came in October of 2010 when I posted the first chapter of my kinky Twilight fan fiction, To Serve is Divine. Since then I have penned over thirty drabbles, one-shots, and multi-chapter stories for “the fandom” (as we call ourselves). It’s been an amazing couple of years as I learned what I was comfortable writing and challenged myself to try out genres I never would have dreamed of doing beforehand. Graphic gore, anyone?
I’ll back up just a bit as I’m sure some of you are going, “Wait, did she say she posted To Serve is Divine as a fan fiction? Isn’t that the name of her new book?” Yes, dear readers, I did. But what came out in the form of the fan fiction story is nothing like what is being published. For one, I will toot my own horn and say that my writing capabilities have grown tenfold since I first began. And two, when I go on about the effort I’ve put into overhauling and expanding the idea of the storyline that I’d just started to shape, I’m not kidding. Hours, days, weeks, and months have gone into removing all traces of the aforementioned story that begat To Serve is Divine.
Catherine, my female lead, is Irish and quite feisty; she’s fragile, but tough and independent. In fact, she reminds me of someone I know. *coughs* And where do we begin with Jayden, my “tall, dark and handsome” gentleman Dom? All I can say is, “Edward who?” One of the biggest tips a writer gets is to write what you know. I’ve been a resident of the Dallas Fort-Worth metroplex since 1998 so it was easy to bring my story and my characters to me; play with them on “my turf” so to speak. I am still in the process of reworking and writing the second and third books in the trilogy (A Divine Life and Surreal), but I am very proud of the time, sweat, and tears I’ve put in so far.
I can only ask that y’all give it – and me – a chance. After all, us shy girls need love to.
R.E. Hargrave is a fledgling author who has always been a lover of books and now looks forward to the chance to give something back to the literary community. She lives on the outskirts of Dallas, TX with her husband and three children.Facebook * Author Website * Twitter * Goodreads
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Thank you for having R.E. on your blog!
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