RT2014: The Author Interviews, part one

I have spent most of my time at RT interviewing authors. I ask each the same three questions.

What is the most interesting piece of research you ever uncovered while writing a book?

How have people responded to you when you tell them you write romance?

If you had to have lunch with one of your characters, who would it be and why?

Here are some of the responses:

Lorraine Heath:

My latest book is When the Duke was Wicked, first book in a new series set in Victorian London, called The Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James.

I found it fascinating that for the children who were pickpockets, their first choice for theft was silk handkerchiefs.

People respond very supportively when I tell them I write romance. Most people are fascinated just that I write. They often tell me they want write too. I once had a reader of one of my books have an artist render one of my characters–Houston from Texas Destiny–and had him tattooed on her arm.

I would like to go to lunch with Rafe Easton from The Lord of Wicked Intentions. There was a lot he didn’t tell me as he was writing his story.

Megan Frampton:

My latest book is The Duke’s Guide to Correct Behavior, part of a series called Dukes Behaving Badly which is set in early Victorian London.

It was fascinating to learn that in order to get into the London Menagerie you could bring a piece of livestock as part of your admission fee.

People are often startled that I’m not writing literary fiction. I am often surprised by how supportive people are.

All the women I write share my quirks but they are stronger and slightly different than I am. So, I’d pick a woman. So, maybe Lily Russell, the heroine of my latest book. She takes risks for the right reasons.

Maisey Yates:

My latest is Avenge Me, the first in a series I am writing for Harlequin with Caitlin Crews and Kate Hewitt. The series tells of three men determined to take down the man responsible for the death of their friend. It’s out June 1st.

I love all the things I don’t have to research for Silver Creek because I live in Oregon, which is where the books are set. Oregonians aren’t allowed to pump their own gas. And there’s no sales tax.

I was in Paris this year and our waiter, when he found out I wrote for Harlequin,said “Oh, my wife reads them and loves them.” I said I don’t usually hear that in the US. He said ‘”Why would anyone look down on romance? The French love romance.”

I’m tossing between my geek girls. It would either be Evie from Crazy Stupid Sex or Lark from Untouched. They’re fun and they’re awkward. I feel like I would fit in and we would laugh a lot.

Elizabeth Essex:

My latest book is After the Scandal which came out in March. It’s the fourth full book in the Reckless Brides series. A Scandal to Remember is coming out in August.

I have had a passion for ships so long that I’m giddy that other people share my passion. Someone once told me I was “Patrick O’Brian” for chicks. So, the most interesting ship fact is the Royal Navy sent people to sea in ships that the Navy knew were unsafe. They were all falling apart, built with pine during the war and they cut corners. Bureaucrats were in charge of men’s lives but they saw it as just a budget issue.

I hate the typical response. I’m always asked to donate things to auctions and at my kids’ school they always cover them up! My favorite thing was in Heathrow Airport, I saw a lady reading After a Scandal. It was the first time I saw a stranger in public reading my book.

Megs. I would go to her house in Nassau and we would have turtle soup in her gorgeous house where she is warm and happy. We would discuss her passion for clocks which entertain her given she can no longer pick locks.

Caitlin Crews:

Scandalize Me, the second book in the Fifth Avenue series, comes out in July. It’s a series I wrote for Harlequin Presents–it’s their first foray in trade paperback–with Maisey Yates and Kate Hewitt.

My problem is that I find all facts interesting. When I write for Harlequin, I have to know tons of information, but then write on the surface in a way that shows I know the facts that underpin my story.

There’s always the “When are you going to write a real book?” But really, I think it’s much harder to be a romance reader than a romance writer. I started reading romance in sixth grade and would get the most amazingly hostile responses. Teachers would take my books away. When I was in graduate school people would introduce me by saying “She’s getting her PhD and she reads romance novels” as though I were a circus freak.

One of my heroines. I love them. I want to be friends with them. Zoe, the heroine in Scandalize Me, would an excellent person to have lunch with. She is the sort of person who could sum up your life in three sentences.

 

Dabney Grinnan

available books listed in the post are:
                     

The Duke’s Guide to Correct Behavior (Dukes Behaving Badly)