Friday's Interview with Elf Ahearn #MFRWauthor #Regency

What's your genre or do you write in more than one?

My genre is exclusively Regency romance, but I do it with a dark twist that can kinda freak some readers out. Most of those books are light, parlor novels where folks get miffed at each other over misunderstandings. In A Rogue in Sheep’s Clothing, the heroine despises the hero for buying her prized stallion, and the hero feels betrayed because she pretended to be a lowly stable hand that he fell in love with.

2. Did you choose your genre or did it choose you?

Neither. My sister chose it for me. I was out of a job, and she said I should write Regency romances because that’s what she liked to read. As a reporter, I’d met Jim and Nikoo McGoldrick, who are New York Times Bestselling authors, and they seemed to have a good life, so I thought I’d give it a try. Bless my cotton-picking heart, I love writing romance!

3.  Is there any genre you'd like to try?  Or is there one you wouldn't?

I’ve got this great idea for a story that takes place in the 1920s. Not sure anyone would publish it though, cause it’s kind of an awkward age.

4.  What fiction do you read for pleasure?

I read everything—romance, literary fiction, magazines, newspapers, the crawl at the bottom of the TV screen, and the back of cereal boxes. You name it, I’ll read it.

5.  Tell me a bit about yourself and how long you've been writing,
Well, I wanted to be a writer, but I’m dyslexic, so if PCs hadn’t been invented the whole experiment would have gone bust. During a typing test I took once, I blasted out 60 words a minute, but with so many errors the score was actually -5 words per minute. That’s a handicap for a writer.

Plus, I’m a social creature. The idea of sitting alone in a garret counting rejection slips held little appeal, so instead I became an actress. After about 20 years of trodding the boards, I got a job as a journalist, then as a corporate communicator, then as an unemployed person. That’s when my sister came to the rescue with the idea of writing romance. It just so happens that romance writers are really great people, and they like to get together too, so it’s kind of been the perfect fit for me.

6.  Which of your characters is your favorite?

I could say Manifesto, the horse in A Rogue in Sheep’s Clothing, but I shouldn’t, I really shouldn’t. Except he’s a dapple gray (my favorite color), he’s super fast, and he can jump—so I can’t resist.

7.  Are there villains in your books and how were they created?

Villains are my absolute favorite characters to write. Baron Wadsworth is this horrible guy who has spasms, and he likes to twitch just as someone is shaking his hand. It’s gross. He passed valuable information to the British that helped the crown win at Waterloo, so he’s got an in with the Prince Regent. As a result, he can get away with all kinds of misdeeds scot free. It makes him even more dangerous.

8.  What are you working on now?

A Rogue in Sheep’s Clothing is the first book in a series of four. The second book was published, but it had so many problems I yanked it from the market. Right now, I’m rewriting the novel, and it’s got a very vexing villainess. Very vexing, who makes it quite an exciting read.

The first draft of the third novel is done, so now it’s up for rewrites, and I’ve started the fourth book in the series. Yikes—so much work to do!

9.  What's your latest release and how did the idea arrive?

Amazon Encore bought A Rogue in Sheep’s Clothing, and though they may be considered by some as the Darth Vader of publishing companies, they’ve done an awesome job of promoting the book. This is the third time they’ve selected it for special attention, so I’ve got nothing but praise for those guys. Jeff Bezos, you’re starting to seem heroic.