Kestra Gravier
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3 Ratings Avg - 2.7
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Author's Bio
Kestra Gravier has travelled extensively, lived abroad, and now resides in the US, where she started her fiction writing career. She holds advanced degrees in science and business and still dabbles in those fields. She lives with her husband and a surprisingly spry 12-year-old cat. Kestra divides her day between the pleasures of writing her next novel, keeping up with her progeny, and pursuing a few select hobbies.
Author's Profile
Q: Can you describe your writing process?
It all starts with an idea, and those can come at any time. Often the idea is driven by a setting -- recently I sketched out book ideas in some gardens in San Francisco and another sitting on basalt rocks in the Pacific surf. Then I capture the idea, handwritten in a set of handmade books I received in Venice. (I love the feel and smell of those books.) Then I switch to my MacBook Air and begin to outline and write. Often I go back and forth between the outline and the manuscript in the early days. Sometimes my lover (and muse) helps me act out a scene for more details, and I travel to the settings where the book takes place. But mostly I am at my desk near a huge set of windows overlooking the river. The flow and traffic on the river keep me calm and centered enough to write.
Q: Tell us about a favorite time in your erotic life.
There was a time when I was living in Europe that I could honestly say “I buy my fine lingerie in Paris and my wicked lingerie in New Orleans.” That was pretty good!
Q: Where do your inspirations for stories come from?
I am trying to create literary aphrodisia and the inspiration comes from passion and experience. I have worked in the medical field and in business and those experiences form the backgrounds for some of my work. I love history and my first erotic novella is set in King Henry VIII’s court. I love cooking, travel, science, lingerie and triathlons – you will see those elements in some of my pending novels. My best inspiration comes from my imaginative and skilled lover.
Q: How closely do you identify with your heroines?
My heroines are absolutely me – to some extent. So are the villainesses.
Q: Why do you like the Tudor Period as a setting for an erotic novel?
Because it was such a lusty time! Women could play a prominent (if gender defined) role in politics, thinking was changing about religion and nations, and that led to lots of intrigue. Romance and intrigue is a natural coupling.
Q: If you could “rewrite” one thing in your life, what would it be?
That’s a tough question because I have had a pretty good life so far. But, in the rewrite, I would start writing fiction sooner. Once I got over being scared to start, it has been so much fun.
Q: Do you only write historical themes?
I write in several genres of erotic romance. I am working on a contemporary medical novel and have a Druid character demanding to be brought to life. I think he will be an environmentalist in today’s society.
Q: What is one of the most enjoyable things about writing?
Doing the research! Not only the sex, but I other aspects of the stories. For one book, I am developing my own recipes. The first, Kestra’s Champagne Cocktail, is posted on my website.
Q: What is your favorite book?
Other than my own? Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon. It has everything: legend, romance, intrigue, environmentalism, food, sex and strong female characters that vie with each other, not only with the men. It is definitely the book I would want if stranded on a desert island.
Q: What else would you want on a desert island?
My lover and chocolate. Not necessarily in that order.
Past 14 days
