Tell us about On The Island.
Here’s the blurb:

Anna Emerson is a thirty-year-old English teacher desperately in need of adventure. Worn down by the cold Chicago winters and a relationship that’s going nowhere, she jumps at the chance to spend the summer on a tropical island tutoring sixteen-year-old T.J.

T.J. Callahan has no desire to go anywhere. His cancer is in remission and he wants to get back to his normal life. But his parents are insisting he spend the summer in the Maldives catching up on all the school he missed last year.

Anna and T.J. board a private plane headed to the Callahan’s summer home, and as they fly over the Maldives’ twelve hundred islands, the unthinkable happens. Their plane crashes in shark-infested waters. They make it to shore, but soon discover that they’re stranded on an uninhabited island.

At first, their only thought is survival. But as the days turn to weeks, and then months, the castaways encounter plenty of other obstacles, including violent tropical storms, the many dangers lurking in the sea, and the possibility that T.J.’s cancer could return. As T.J. celebrates yet another birthday on the island, Anna begins to wonder if the biggest challenge of all might be living with a boy who is gradually becoming a man.

What genre is it?
Adult contemporary romance.

What kind of readers will it appeal to?
When I was writing the book I assumed my audience would be primarily women. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how many men have written to me and told me they really enjoyed it. On the Island was #1 in the Action and Adventure category on Amazon for over two months. I think a lot of men came across the book there and took a chance on it (which I think is awesome!).

Complete this sentence for us: If you like________________, you’ll love On the Island.
Desert island books and/or survival stories.

Tell a story about an older man and a much younger woman and no one will think anything of it, but the reverse is still considered shocking. Did you deliberately set out to make a point or were you using that shock to give your story additional punch?
No shock value intended. I simply wanted to put two people together on an island – two people who should NOT be together – and see if I could make the relationship believable. I thought it would be a wonderful challenge if I could create two very likeable characters that readers would become emotionally invested in. I wanted the readers to not only be okay with Anna and T.J.’s relationship, but to actually hope that they would get their happily-ever-after. 

There’s a long history of “stranded on island” literature in fiction aimed at young men. We can’t think of any quite like On the Island. Can you?
No, not really. We have T.V. shows and movies, but no books that I can think of. We were long overdue!

Did you have to do extensive research by taking lots of beach holidays?
I did all of my research from the comfort of my writing chair. On the Island was a very research-heavy book, but thanks to the Internet the answers I needed were only a click away. My husband and I have talked about taking a vacation to the Maldives, but I’m not sure if I want to travel so far from home. I have a hard time being on an airplane for so long.

You’ve sold the movie rights for On the Island. That’s great news. What can you tell us about the project?
The project is still at the option stage, meaning that MGM has optioned the book for a feature film but it hasn’t gone into production yet. The last update I received was that MGM was working with their team of screenwriters to narrow down the list of people who would be invited to pitch the studio with their treatment. Hollywood moves very, very slowly so I’ve been cautioned not to get my hopes up too high. I really want to see Anna and T.J.’s story on the big screen someday, so I’m just keeping my fingers crossed.

You achieved great success as an indie author; why did you decide to sign with a traditional publisher? And is there anything you miss from your indie days?
Like most of my self-published peers, the desire to see my book on the shelf was the biggest reason I accepted a traditional publishing deal. Their outreach in physical books far outweighed anything I could do as a self-published author. As for what I miss from my indie days, there really isn’t much because I don’t feel like a lot has changed. I still have input on my covers and I wrote the blurb for my upcoming novel, Covet. I’m very involved with the marketing and promotion of my books.

What can you tell us about Covet?
It’s women’s fiction instead of contemporary romance. Here’s the blurb: 

What if the life you wanted, and the woman you fell in love with, belonged to someone else?

Chris and Claire Canton’s marriage is on life support. Downsized during the recession and out of work for a year, Chris copes by retreating to a dark place where no one can reach him, not even Claire. When he’s offered a position that will keep him away from home four nights a week, he dismisses Claire’s concern that time apart could be the one thing their fragile union can’t weather. Their suburban life may look idyllic on the outside, but Claire has never felt so disconnected from Chris, or so lonely.

Local police officer Daniel Rush used to have it all, but now he goes home to an empty house every night. He pulls Claire over during a routine traffic stop, and they run into each other again at the 4th of July parade. When Claire is hired to do some graphic design work for the police department, her friendship with Daniel grows, and soon they’re spending hours together.

Claire loves the way Daniel makes her feel, and the way his face lights up when she walks into the room. Daniel knows that Claire’s marital status means their relationship will never be anything other than platonic. But it doesn’t take long before Claire and Daniel are in way over their heads, and skating close to the line that Claire has sworn she’ll never cross.

We can’t wait. Tell us a bit about yourself.
I’m married and I have two children (and one hyper dog who keeps me company during the day). I live in a suburb of Des Moines, Iowa. I love to read and write and you’ll seldom find me without my laptop and my Kindle.

Have you got a website where readers can keep up with your work? How can we follow you on Facebook and/or Twitter?
www.traceygarvisgraves.com
Twitter: @tgarvisgraves
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tgarvisgraves.

What’s next?
I’m currently working on an On the Island companion novella which will be released on June 4th, 2013. Readers will be able to meet another character from On the Island (hint: the guy who built the shack). Anna and T.J. will be in the novella, too. After that, I’ll probably return to contemporary romance; I have a few ideas that are speaking pretty loudly to me. I also have an idea for another women’s fiction title. I probably won’t run out of things to write about for quite some time.