Okay, now on to the good stuff...For some people Feburary 14 is all about hearts, flowers, and you know, love...but Pamela Britton and her fellow NASCAR fans are looking for a different sort of rush--one that culminates in the 48th Daytona 500 on Sunday Febrary 19.
Pam's February 14 release, IN THE GROOVE, is the first book to earn the honor of wearing the NASCAR logo--you heard me right...NASCAR, baby!
Just the facts:
Who is Pamela Britton?
Pamela Britton is a wife, mother of one, avid equestrian, champion of the underdog, believer in God and least important of all, a writer.
And, beyond the obvious wife, mother, fabulous writer, who IS Pamela Britton? What hacks you off? What's your biggest pet peeve? Your secret indulgence? Your favorite fast food place? What would readers be surprised to learn about you?
Mean people hack me off. I've never understood why people feel the need to be cruel to perfect strangers. My biggest pet peeve is someone who has a huge ego. Hey, we all pull our pants on the same way. My secret indulgence is a nice, long bath. My favorite fast food is without a doubt, Jack in the Box tacos. Man, I've been craving one of those for WEEKS, only I can't because I'm on what my agent dubbed the malnutrition diet, aka, not eating. What would readers be surprised to learn about me? That I'm deeply insecure about my writing. I can get a million great reviews, but that one bad review--ugh--it'll have me doubting myself and my abilities for days.
Author's note: JITB Taco's ROCK!
Like me, I know you're an animal lover. Can you tell us a bit about the Greg Biffle Foundation?
The Greg Biffle Foundation for Animals was founded in 2005 by Greg Biffle and Nicole Lunders to create awareness and serve as an advocate to improve the well-being of animals by engaging the power and passion of the motorsports industry. The foundation donates to local Humane Societies, no-kill animal shelters, spay and neuter clinics and the Animal Adoption League. Okay, so I stole that from their web site, LOL. But Nicole and Greg know how to say it best, and I happen to know that their first "pet" project (no pun intended) a calendar feature NASCAR drivers and their pets, was a huge success. They're doing it again next year.
Having that NASCAR logo on your books and being the first Official (woohoo!) NASCAR Author is just a HUGE deal! I'm still bouncing up and down for you. Boy are you gonna get tired of answering this one, but can you give us a little background on you and NASCAR?
Well, I've been a fan of the sport since the early nineties thanks to a couple of friends of mine who are intimately involved with the circuit (one being a Nextel Cup crew chief). Those friends were responsible for putting me to work at the track. I would sometimes do what's called "scoring" which can be a really boring job, or a really stressful job-depending on the track. Basically, what you're doing is tracking your car's lap times. But sometimes it's not easy to spot your driver in a pack of cars, especially at the smaller tracks-or under fluorescent lights-and so I was always on edge until the end of the race.
I started writing books in the mid-nineties and it was my racing friends who read my unpublished work. They were hugely supportive and encouraged me to write about NASCAR. It took me nearly ten years to sell my first NASCAR project and so I'm pleased as punch that they're finally hitting shelves.
And you're currently contracted for four more NASCAR books (correct me if I'm wrong) after your February release, IN THE GROOVE. What can readers look forward to?
It's actually two more after IN THE GROOVE. And they can expect more of the same-lots of racing action coupled with a great love story. Or that's the plan, at least.
Apparently I can't count--WOOPS!
Not only do you have IN THE GROOVE out in February, but you have two Harlequin Americans and a historical, not to mention ON THE EDGE, your 9/2006 HQN NASCAR book. When do you find time to, you know, breathe? And most writers I know have other creative outlets. What's yours?
Breathing is good. I try to do that as often as possible, LOL. I guess my most obvious outlet is my horses. Believe it or not, I find mucking out stalls is incredibly relaxing. I know, I know--horses smell, but I don't notice that any more.
I know in my own writing, I have a tendency to have characters who cook. Do you give your characters any quirks? Funny habits? -ahem- Unusual pets?
Most of my characters DO have pets. (Gee, I wonder where I get that from?) My June Harlequin American has a Russian Peterbald in it--that's a hairless cat, BTW. I've had characters who've had horses, and one who had a monkey. I recently wrote a scene in which my heroine says, "You can tell a lot about a person by the way they treat their pets," and it was funny because I'd never really put that together until I wrote that line. I think that's why I tend to include them in my books--it adds character.
PSSTTTTT...The book with the monkey is TEMPTED--a historical romance--and it's what prompted me to ask the question LOL
So, Tony Stewart...will we be seeing him driving in any of your books anytime soon?
Why you little...
Ha, ha, ha....I found it on your website and had to ask!
LOL, I guess we should explain. During a recent press conference Tony Stewart had some less than flattering things to say about my books. Here's the funny thing. ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY recently interviewed me, and I learned during the course of our conversation that it was EW that asked the questions that prompted Tony's response. But rather than being snarky-which is how the media made is sound-he was actually being a good sport (or so I was told). All of his comments were made in jest. And this just goes to show that you can't believe everything you read in the papers.
And what about your daughter? Will we be seeing her in the winner's circle someday or maybe the rodeo arena? Does she take after Mom or Dad in that regard?
My daughter is way too much of a girly-girl to do the rodeo circuit or driver race cars. She has a fetish for Band-aids that causes me great concern. And so, no, I don't think you'll be seeing her doing anything other than marathon shopping. She's the only five-year-old I know whose eyes light up when she walks into Payless Shoe Source.
Relax Pam, I'm sure the Band-aid fetish will fade with time. *g*
One last question, since I asked Amy Knupp this last time, do you yell at the TV when you're watching the races?
Yell, scream, curse. I've also been known to throw things at the screen. I've burst out into tears when my friends have won races. I was so stressed out over the last race of the season (and Greg's chance--albeit a long shot--at winning the championship) that I gave myself a migraine. What's funny is that I didn't even realize that I was that stressed out until after the race when the headache went away. What a nut.
Oh, and because we're always looking for a good book to read, what are you reading?
In between my RITA books, I'm reading John Grisham's THE LAST JUROR. It's vintage Grisham and I'm enjoying it very much.
Not only is Pam one of my favorite people, she's talented and aa genuinely nice gal who is incredibly supportive of her author friends. Pam thanks so much for doing this.
You can check out Pam's website here and read an excerpt from IN THE GROOVE here!