Question. Do you write a single genre or do
your fingers flow over the keys creating tales in many forms?
Do your
reading choices reflect your writing choices?
Are
there genres you wouldn’t attempt?
Answer.
I only write Romantic Historical Fact Fiction. Writing, researching and my
interest in history keeps me too busy to write in other genres. Reading
historical non-fiction inspires me. I am reading Set in A Silver Sea, Volume
One, A History of the British People, by Arthur Bryant and intend to read Volumes
2 and 3. His description of the Dark Ages and the successive invasions of
Britain has stirred my imagination.
I
wouldn’t attempt erotica or novels with explicit sexual content. I might write
contemporary short stories but not novels.
Question.
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?
Answer.
Imagination creates the heroes in my novels but their lives, not their
appearance or character, are based, are influenced by biographies. Sometimes they evolve in unexpected ways. For
example, I dreamt about a young man called Justin who lived in Queen Anne
Stuart’s reign, 1702-1714, who asked me to take him shopping at The Royal
Exchange in a novel. If he is lucky he might be the hero in a future novel.
The
themes for my novels are derived from reading historical non-fiction.
I
choose a name appropriate for the era. Next, I create him by writing a detailed
character profile, so thorough that I get to know him as well as I know a close
family member.
Question.
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?
Answer.
My heroines are products of my imagination dependent on the eras in which they
lived. I don’t write about 21st century women dressed in costume
with 21st century attitudes. I read biographies, base my imaginary
heroines on them and decide on the theme. Next, I write a detailed character
profile. From this the plot emerges. Illustrations and painting help with
descriptions of hair styles and costumes as well as books on these subjects.
Question. 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?
Answer. They evolve
according to the plot and are used as devices to create conflict. To avoid
stereotypes, I give them a redeeming quality, love for someone or a pet or a
moral boundary they would not cross. For example, in Sunday’s Child, the villain
kidnaps a little girl but he would not cause her bodily harm.
Question.
What is your latest release? Who is the hero, heroine and or the villain?
Answer.
My latest release is Yvonne, Lady of Cassio, set in the reign of Edward II
which begins when Yvonne, daughter of Simon, Earl of Cassio is born. This novel
has many twists and turns so I won’t reveal the hero and the villain.
Question.
What are you working on now?
Answer.
I have finished Wednesday’s Child, Heroines Born on Different Days of the Week,
Book Four and am writing Thursday’s Child, Book Five, also set in the popular
Regency era. It is unnecessary to read Sunday’s, Monday’s and Tuesday’s Child
to follow the stories, each of which have strong themes modern day readers can sympathise with.
For example, the heroine in my Regency novel, False Pretences is desperate to find out
who her parents are.
Question. How can people find you?
Answer.
On my website, at Books We Love, my publisher’s website and Facebook.
www.facdebook.com/writerinagarret.
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