Friday's Guest - Margaret Tanner - Talking About Heroes, Heroines and Villains

1.      Do you write a single genre or do your fingers flow over the keys creating tales in many forms? Does your reading choices reflect your writing choices? Are there genres you wouldn’t attempt?

A.  I write historical, fiction with romantic elements. Because I like reading historical romance, I think that is why I write it. I have written one contemporary romance. I don’t think I could write in any other genre. 

2.      Heroes, Heroines, Villains. Which are your favorite to write? Does one of these come easy and why?

A.     I love writing villains because you can get so much mileage out of their dastardly deeds.

3.      Heroes. How do you find them? Do pictures, real life or plain imagination create the man you want every reader to love? Do they come before the plot or after you have the idea for the story?

A.    I usually just conjure them up in my mind, often before the plot.  I have to confess I like to write strong, ruthless, bad boy heroes. Think Heathcliffe in Wuthering Heights.

4.      Heroines. How do you find them? Do pictures, real life or imagination create the woman you want the reader to root for? Do they appear before the plot or after you have the idea for the story?

A.  All of the above. It just depends on the story. I like sweet, frail looking heroines, but they have to be brave and tenacious also. I can’t stand wimpy heroines.

5. Villains or villainesses or an antagonist, since they don’t always have to be the bad guy or girl. They can be a person opposed to the hero’s or heroine’s obtaining their goal. How do you choose one? How do you make them human?

A.    My villains are always bad, with few redeeming features. Most times I don’t even try to make them appealing in any way. They are there to be hated, but that said, they are always crucial to the story.

6. What is your latest release? Who is the hero, heroine and or the villain?

A.    My latest release is Falsely Accused. The hero is Jake Smith, a man who is transported aboard a convict ship to the penal colony of Australia. He was betrayed by an English aristocrat. The heroine is Maryanne Watson, sentenced to transportation also, for a crime she did not commit. She meets Jake on the convict ship.

7. What are you working on now?

A.  The sequel to Maryanne and Jake's story.

8. How can people find you?

            Website: http://www.margarettanner.com/

            Blog http://wattleglen-margarettannersblog.blogspot.com.au/

            Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/margaret.tanner.399

Books We Love: http://www.bookswelove.net/tanner.php