Author Mary Georgina de Grey
While producing language material for an educational publisher, Mary Georgina was asked to write a number of short stories for teenagers – thrillers and fantasy – and this rekindled a childhood enjoyment in writing. She won two publisher’s awards for the work, which encouraged her to have a go at something more serious.
Learning several languages and using them at work has meant Mary Georgina has lived in different European countries, and she spent a couple of years in South America as well. Though she lives in the UK now, this rich experience has provided her with lots of material for her novels.
She’s not writing a series, but the novels each have a love story as central, featuring strong women determined to make something of their lives, despite setbacks – and there are quite a few. She now has three books published, completed a fourth in May 2025 and is just beginning on a fifth to be set in France. In the meantime, she hopes to produce a short Christmas novel set in the UK. Both the type of book and the location are new experiences for her.
Mary Georgina’s home is in South Devon on the beautiful English Riviera with her husband, an artist and sculptor. When not writing a novel, she’s putting together talks about romance and why it should be given serious consideration as a genre. As you can imagine, she gets booked up around Valentine’s Day, but she also speaks at festivals when she gets the opportunity.
Â
A little bit about Author Mary Georgina de Grey…
I’m the daughter of a Polish soldier who was demobbed in England after WW2, so my background fascinated me from an early age and made me want to study languages and to travel.
I started writing very early, but without understanding this was something you could do for a living. I’m amused now by my seven-year-old granddaughter who announced the other day that she was going to be an author. Today’s children are much better informed than we were.
In my early twenties, I wrote what would now be called a YA novel for the children to whom I was a private tutor in Colombia. Sadly, nothing happened to it. Then after 2015, I did a writing course and an editing course and began to write short stories, but it didn’t satisfy me. I found I needed to get into the zone, where you inhabit the world you’ve created, and that can only happen for me with a novel. In 2020, I started to think seriously about writing for publication.
This is Author Mary Georgina de Grey’s writing and publication journey in her own words…
Inspiration to start writing…
The earthquakes that occurred in the Abruzzo region of Italy in 2016 caught my attention and I couldn’t let it go. I knew the area and felt comfortable writing about it. Fast forward to the time of lockdown and I thought, this is the moment to write it, a way to travel in a place I love and … well, take a holiday when no-one could. The result was Then The Earth Moved, and I was so lucky to get a contract with The Wild Rose Press. By the time that was published, I already had the idea for Then Time Stands Still well developed.
Why Romance? Well, the super locations lend themselves to it and I feel romance has, at times, had a very bad rep. Why shouldn’t you write romantic stories with depth? Why couldn’t the heroine grapple with some of the grimmer realities of life and come out on top, thus providing a real role model for the reader without being boring? That is what I try to create.
Mary Georgina’s works…
The following of my books have been published. In addition, I have just completed a romantic suspense called Takeover which should be out in the new year and am currently writing two books: another romance set in France in the Midi-Pyrenees, Then Love Burned Bright. I’m just 30,000 words in at the moment, so still a lot to do.
And I’m trying a Christmas romance that is set in the UK, in beautiful Devon. It is not a fantasy, but it involves the New Age approach to life – which some might consider to be fantasy, of course – and is proving great fun to write. That is coming along very fast.
Then Time Stands Still Blurb
I loved writingThen Time Stands Still. Here is a brief summary:
English archaeologist Dr Amancia Harding has looked after her family for five years. Now it’s time to take care of herself, and leading a team on a dig in Spain is the perfect way to propel her career forward. Her good intentions are threatened when she meets vineyard owner Max Serrano.
Damaged by war in Ukraine and a tragic event in his past, Max has given up on relationships and taken refuge in making wine, but the attraction he feels to Amancia forces him to confront painful issues. There’s also the gulf between their two cultures to consider if a relationship is to have any chance of success.
Ambitious and fiery in character, can either accept that compromise is sometimes necessary to find happiness?
One of Mary Georgina’s favourite scenes from Then Time Stands Still…
I’ve chosen this because it shows how you can use your novel to highlight issues in society without being preachy. Here, she’s meeting a friend in a pub after Amancia didn’tget the job she applied for, despite being the best-qualified, and just before she leaves for the archaeological dig in Spain.
She warmed at the sight of her oldest friend. They’d been at primary school together and, although they’d studied at opposite ends of the country, the friendship had continued right through university. But five years ago, they’d both returned to Bristol, and here Lizzie was, to provide the support that friendship demanded. Just seeing her made Amancia feel better, stiffening her backbone. Despite the rubbish day she’d had, she found herself grinning.
Sliding onto the rough wooden chair, she pointed to the wine. “Not sure about this, Lizzie. I might get seriously into it, the way things are going.”
The other woman laughed. “I did feel for you for a couple of minutes, when you texted me the result.”
“Only a couple of minutes?” What did she mean? Surely this was the one person she could count on for support.
“Well, I decided it’s for the best.”
“What? I thought you were my friend.”
“I am – and you can stop being sorry for yourself because I’ve got some good news.” She paused dramatically, watching Amancia’s face. “Hope you really are prepared to leave your job at the museum – like right now.”
“How did you know what I’d decided?”
“I didn’t but I knew you had to come to that decision sooner or later and I think it’s the right move.” Amancia began to protest but Lizzie wasn’t having it. “I’m only judging from what you’ve been saying recently and it’s clear you’re not appreciated – or not enough.” She grasped her friend’s hand and pulled it towards her, turning it to reveal the dark stain on the inside of the wrist. Her eyes flicked to Amancia’s chin and back to the wrist. “Not appreciated – and not only by the museum.”
“What? – oh this? I dropped a stone exhibit, tried to grab it before it hit the floor, and this was the result.” Her laugh sounded artificial to her own ears and wouldn’t have convinced a stranger, let alone her best friend.
“Don’t lie to me, Amancia. He did this, didn’t he?” She reached across and gently touched the almost invisible bruise on her friend’s jaw. “And when did this happen?”
Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. “Three days ago. I … I couldn’t believe it, but he’s under terrible pressure just now, and I know I annoyed him. It was such a silly argument. Please, Lizzie – can we not talk about this for the moment? I’ve had a tough day, and I’m meeting him later – maybe. That’s more than enough of James.”
Lizzie gave her a long, hard look.
Connect with Author Mary Georgina de Grey
