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Savanna Walker

Science Fiction & FantasyFantasy

Nicky Drayden

Interview by Savanna Walker

“One of my biggest challenges was to see how far I could push that morally gray area, how uncomfortable I could make the reader feel without having them bail on the book.”

The protagonist of Temper, Auben Mtuze, is literally an evil twin. His brother Kasim was born with six out of seven possible virtues, and only one of the seven vices. Which means Auben has six vices, an almost-unheard-of number that marks him for poverty and disdain in a world where the good and the bad are neatly separated by walls between their respective neighborhoods.

With this striking premise, author Nicky Drayden launches fearlessly into questions of morality, religion and marginalization, following Auben as he struggles to come to terms with his identity, and also maybe exorcize a demon that’s taken up residence in his body. We talked to Drayden about taking the reader into uncomfortable places, creating a visually rich Afrofuturist world and why science is deemed lecherous in her society.

Temper has such an interesting and unique premise. What was the spark of that idea for you?
Well, two main concepts sparked this story. The first was reimagining an African continent that had escaped the ills of colonization. Through examining the “could-have-beens” in this not-quite alternate history, I wanted to open a door to a world where anything was possible. The second concept came to me after reading about how some parts of Nigeria have very high rates of twinning, like nearly one in 10 people are a twin. That left me wondering, “What if we took it further? What if 80 or 90 or 99 percent of people were twins?” And from that, this story was born.

So often in genre fiction, the protagonist of a novel is the moral center, and the supporting characters are the ones who are free to be more morally gray. Did you find that writing from Auben’s perspective opened up new possibilities for the story?
Starting out, I very much wanted to write a “good twin/bad twin” story from the bad twin’s point of view. One of my biggest challenges was to see how far I could push that morally gray area, how uncomfortable I could make the reader feel without having them bail on the book. By exposing that raw, uncomfortable feeling, I’m hoping readers will be willing to look deeper into themselves and see things from different perspectives.

Without giving too much away, Temper explores how a society constructs and legislates morality, and the pitfalls of strictly adhering to either end of a good/evil spectrum. What do you think compels you to pose questions like this?
In Temper, people are dealing with lots of issues, prejudices and discrimination brought into play by fantastical societal constructs. In this story, twins are divided into groups based on the number of vices they are assigned as children. There are seven vices: Vainglory, Envy, Duplicity, Doubt, Lechery, Greed and Temper. The twin with the least number of vices is deemed the “greater twin” and has better opportunities in life. The other is the lesser twin, pretty much destined for a life of poverty.

I think this structure, with its clear and visual recognition of the ways we divide people, magnifies the divisions laid upon us in the real world. How do these divisions give power to some, while taking it from others? What happens when a person from one marginalization refuses to open their mind to the struggles of other marginalizations? And who gets to define what constitutes good and evil to begin with? I don’t have all the answers (or maybe any of them), but I do enjoy chewing on the questions.

Your previous novel, The Prey of the Gods, was set in a futuristic South Africa. Temper is set in a fantastical world inspired by many African cultures, but still shares quite a few similarities with South Africa. Why is that country such a rich source of inspiration for you?
I visited South Africa as a college student, and the experience challenged me and changed me well before I became a writer. I’m excited to see more genre fiction coming out of the country, because there are infinite stories to share from a place brimming with so many cultures, languages, accomplishments and struggles. In the way that The Prey of the Gods was a near-utopia, I wanted Temper to tell a story that was the opposite . . . something dark, gritty and stifling, but also something hopeful and even humorous at times.

A detail I thought was particularly inspired was how the society in Temper characterizes science and a desire for scientific knowledge as lecherous. Was this inspired by the ways in which many religions have demonized sexuality and science throughout history?
There is definitely precedent for religion looking down upon those things, and one of my favorite themes is how religion and science don’t have to always be at odds. Deeming science lecherous in this book made sense to me. . . . It’s a sort of self-flagellation of the mind, often consuming all other thought, taking pleasure in logic and the underlying structures of nature, exploring wild theories, experimenting with risky ideas . . . until that moment of “Ah-ha!” when all the world suddenly bursts into absolute clarity. How could science not be seen as lecherous?

The plot of Temper constantly kept me on my toes—what did structuring this novel look like on your end? Did you always know that the story would go to so many different places?
Well, I had to rewrite the last quarter of the book twice, so there’s that. My outline was very thin, maybe a half a page of notes. Structuring this novel involved a lot of touch-and-feel, making sure I was taking care of the reader, reassuring them when needed before pressing them and challenging them to go to new (and often darker) places. There’s just so much to this world, and I had very few opportunities where I could ground the reader using clues from our own world. With a young protagonist possessing a limited worldview and a hunger to learn more, I had a great vehicle to ease both the reader and myself into this very layered story.

As someone who completely geeks out over costuming and fashion, I adored the attention you paid to clothing in Temper. Were there any real-world inspirations you pulled from? If not, how did you establish the look of the book in your head?
Ah, thank you! That was a big part of the world building for me. My inspiration came from South African Fashion Week, which is an amazing display of artistry! I wanted a world where fashion consciousness is a way of life, even for those without means. Each character’s dress and look comes from one of the runway models, and it was totally fun to describe them all. Here’s a peek at the current season.

Would you ever set another story in the world of Temper? And if so, what would it be?
I’m not big on writing sequels, but I’d never say never. My next book is shifting away from South Africa, shifting away from Earth altogether, in fact. I’m working on a space opera about the unlikely heir to the command of a biological, city-size starship carved up from the insides of a spacefaring beast. “Space politics and family drama with a heaping side of tentacles” sums it up nicely.

The protagonist of Temper, Auben Mtuze, is literally an evil twin. His brother Kasim was born with six out of seven possible virtues, and only one of the seven vices. Which means Auben has six vices, an almost-unheard-of number that marks him for poverty and disdain in a world where the good and the bad are neatly separated by walls between their respective neighborhoods.

RomanceRomantic SuspenseContemporary Romance

HelenKay Dimon

Interview by Savanna Walker

HelenKay Dimon must be one of the busiest people in romance. She won the RITA for Best Romantic Suspense at this year’s RWA convention, she just published The Protector, the last book in her Games People Play series, and she’s also president-elect of the RWA. We caught up with Dimon to talk about her goals as incoming president, the fate of the Golden Heart Contest and where the romance genre and community need to do better.

You just won a RITA for The Fixer! What was that moment like for you?
Unreal but fantastic. My category—romantic suspense—was so strong. My fellow finalist authors are really doing amazing work, writing great books. I spent the entire conference name-checking the other finalists, insisting they all deserved to win. I truly believed that and didn’t prepare a speech. I was sitting with friends, just enjoying the night, when my name was called. I’ve had time to reflect, and some of the shock has worn off, but I am still so grateful and honored. I loved writing The Fixer. I love working with my editor, May Chen, and with Avon. To have all of that come together in a RITA win is pretty amazing and special.

How do you think the diversity summit at this year’s RWA conference went? What new ideas or initiatives came out of it?
I’ll put on my President-Elect hat for this one. . . . In an effort to promote open and honest discussion during the Diversity Summit, RWA keeps the attendance to invitation-only and follows the Chatham House Rule. The Summit is an opportunity for industry professionals, members of the RWA Board, RWA’s Diversity Committee, authors in leadership roles and other individuals to come together to discuss inclusion. Those discussions lead to ideas that need time to be assessed, so I don’t have any initiatives to report right now from this year’s Summit, but a summary of the event will be released by RWA this week.

I also can report on an initiative that arose out of the 2017 Diversity Summit. In July, the RWA Board voted to fund up to two housing stipends for summer interns who are from traditionally marginalized groups to work in publishing houses with established romance publishing programs. The idea is to help offset the housing costs associated with living in places like New York City during an internship. With the stipend, publishing houses can look for interns outside of the usual local universities they recruit from to find interns. The stipend recognizes that representation is not just about authors. It’s about promoting diversity when it comes to the people in publishing with the power to acquire and work on books. It took a year to work out the feasibility of such a program and the details, but we are very excited about it.

There have been several high-profile books and authors over the last few years that seem to prove romance is changing for the better in terms of diversity and representation. But do you think books like The Kiss Quotient and An Extraordinary Union are representative of a more lasting change?
I would say all authors need to fight to make sure this is representative of lasting change. Diverse authors are talented and right there. They are not invisible. It’s time to end the thinking that publishing is only a career for people who look or love a certain way. For years the message has been that successful books by authors from traditionally marginalized groups were outliers. Their success was portrayed as something “special” and outside of the normal. The insulting message was then reinforced in cover art and by separating out books, especially those by black authors and LGBT+ romances, onto different shelves in bookstores. That was a huge disservice to authors, readers and the industry. My hope is that we are all more aware of the harm that outlier message sends, whether spoken or unspoken, and that the romance community can lead the way in doing better.

In May, RWA announced that it was reconsidering the Golden Heart Contest for unpublished manuscripts, and potentially ending it. Do you have any updates on that decision-making process you can share? And what led the organization to consider discontinuing the contest?
At the July meeting, the RWA Board voted to discontinue the Golden Heart after one final contest that will begin in fall 2018, with awards being given out at the conference in New York City in July 2019. The Golden Heart is an incredible and important part of RWA’s history. It helped to launch careers and bring unpublished authors together in invaluable support groups. It was also created when there was only one path to publishing—traditional publishing through New York publishing houses. As the industry changed, more people self-published and made other publishing choices, and fewer people were eligible for the contest. Over the last few years, different RWA Boards have made changes to try to highlight the contest and increase the benefits, but the number of people who entered continued to sharply decline. Decreasing interest, changes in the marketplace and the reality that the contest lost money every year for the last few years made continuing it impossible. One of the things I have promised the RWA Board members who will remain next year and the general RWA membership is that we will make figuring out what happens after the Golden Heart a priority.

If you could guarantee that one of your goals as incoming president would be accomplished, what would it be?
The RWA Board is made up of many talented, smart and dedicated members, so I don’t do anything on my own. I wouldn’t want to, because when the RWA Board is working at its best, it’s collaborative. I do have some power over the agenda and can say that my plan is to continue the forward momentum, working to ensure that RWA is open, meaningful and welcoming to all. That means honoring our commitment to our historically marginalized members and pushing to open as many doors as possible in publishing.

In light of industry changes, I believe RWA needs to re-evaluate what it offers all of its members—unpublished, traditionally published, self-published, hybrid published, those switching between groups and those trying to find their way back into publishing. That includes a need for discussions about programs and benefits, as well as making a commitment to figure out what comes after the Golden Heart Contest now that it is ending. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but my presidential year will be my sixth year on the RWA Board, and I’m hoping it will be the most productive one yet.

What is something you think romance writers and fans would be surprised to learn or don’t quite understand about how RWA functions?
Probably how much time, resources, planning and work goes on behind the scenes. RWA is lucky to have an extraordinary and dedicated staff that keeps everything running. As for the RWA Board, every decision is weighed, discussed and assessed. Change might take longer than people would like, but generally that’s because we’re dealing with approximately 10,000 members with 10,000 different careers and needs. It’s detailed and time-consuming work, but it should be. When we make a change, we don’t want to make the wrong one.

The romance community has really embraced self-publishing and eBooks. Why do you think the other literary genres are still holding out?
Romance tends to be on the forefront of changes in publishing. The genre is made up of so many smart business people. When they found it difficult to get the price of their books where they wanted, or to publish the type of books they wanted, they found a way to get the books into the hands of their dedicated fans. Maybe it’s because romance authors hear the “When will you write a real book?” nonsense all the time. We have thicker skin. We’re willing to take chances and not worry about what people outside the genre think. Honestly, I think other genres could take a lesson.

Suzanne Brockmann’s Lifetime Achievement Award speech this year basically lit Twitter on fire. While the reaction was largely positive, there was some criticism of her calls for greater diversity in romance and support of the Democratic Party in the midterm elections this fall. Why do you think there can be such a resistance to romance authors taking explicitly political stances, or even advocating for greater representation in their own genre?
This is me, speaking purely as an author and not as the President-Elect of RWA or on behalf of RWA, because this issue is very important to me on a personal level. For so long authors, not just romance authors, have been told not to be political online. The advice relates to branding and is about not upsetting some readers. I understand why the advice is out there, but it’s just not relevant or realistic in today’s world, to the extent it ever really was. The advice ignores the fact that writing romance is in many ways an inherently political act. Women in charge of their lives, finances, futures and sexuality? Unfortunately, that’s considered bold to some, but romance has been spreading that message for years. What we, as a community, have not been so great about is recognizing that some of our fellow members are hitting roadblocks due to ethnicity, disabilities, sexual preferences and other issues. I hope there is a greater awareness now and a better understanding that fighting for all romance authors is right and needed. I’m happy that people are standing up, that Suzanne Brockmann and Sonali Dev and other speakers issued a challenge for us to do better. I think we need to listen.

You’re about to publish The Protector, the fourth book in your Games People Play series. Will this be the final book? And what would you like to write in your next series?
The Protector is the final book in the Games People Play series. I have loved writing about these couples and solving the cold case in each book. I am working on my new series, which will also be published by Avon starting in summer 2019. It’s a character-driven romantic suspense series set on a fictional island in Washington State where people go when they want to start over. I’m unraveling the first book right now and generally making the lives of the hero and heroine very difficult, which is the fun part.

What recent reads would you give a (metaphorical) presidential stamp of approval?
You might be sorry you asked. I literally could spend pages writing about the books I’ve recently bought and those I’ve already read and loved. To save some space, I’ll tell you about some of the romance authors I’m loving right now who I think you should try: Alyssa Cole, Jill Shalvis, Beverly Jenkins, Scarlett Cole, Jayne Ann Krentz (an all-time favorite), Rebekah Weatherspoon, Vivian Arend, Courtney Milan, Alisha Rai, Lauren Dane, Mia Sosa, Kit Rocha, Farrah Rochon, Alexis Hall, Sarah MacLean, Jackie Lau, Damon Suede, Reese Ryan, Priscilla Oliveras, Tessa Dare, Sonali Dev, Laura Griffin . . . should I keep going? But if you want book titles, the last two romances I read and recommend are The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang and The Naked Truth by Vi Keeland.

HelenKay Dimon must be one of the busiest people in romance. She won the RITA for Best Romantic Suspense at this year’s RWA convention, she just published The Protector, the last book in her Games People Play series, and she’s also president-elect of the RWA. We caught up with Dimon to talk about her goals as incoming president, the fate of the Golden Heart Contest and where the romance genre and community need to do better.

RomanceHistorical Romance

Tessa Dare

Interview by Savanna Walker

It’s clear from the first chapter of The Governess Game that author Tessa Dare’s irreverent sense of humor is in rare form. Readers are introduced to dashing ne’er-do-well Chase Reynaud as he is woken up by Rosamund, one of his two newly acquired wards, for a funeral that he has to officiate. The funeral is for Millicent, his other ward Daisy’s beloved doll, who is frequently dead or dying. Into this dysfunctional almost-family walks Alexandra Mountbatten, an aspiring astronomer who accepts the position of governess—and nurses a nearly uncontrollable crush on Chase. Of course, he soon finds her equally irresistible.

We talked to Dare about writing a governess romance in the midst of the #MeToo movement, the joys of Twitter and the real-life inspiration for her latest lovable heroine.

Something I really appreciated about Alex is that she wants to be sensible and no-nonsense all the time, but she also has a corner of her brain that is dead set on a sparkly, fairy-tale love story. What led you to write a heroine who is basically resisting the fact that she’s in a romance novel?
As Jane Austen wrote in Pride and Prejudice, “A lady’s imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.” I suspect a lot of women can relate to that quote. At least, I know I can! Sometimes, even though we know it’s absurd, we find ourselves plotting out a whole life with someone solely on the basis of a first date or even a chance encounter. That’s the situation Alex finds herself in. She bumped into a handsome, charming man in a bookstore—one she knows she’s unlikely to ever see again, much less marry—and yet she can’t get those thoughts out of her mind.

Alex’s backstory is inspired in part by your parents-in-law’s experiences as Filipino immigrants. What was it like to write a story where some aspects were based on people who are very close to you?
Alexandra isn’t based as much on my parents-in-law as she is on my own children, who are half Filipino and half Caucasian. After Alex’s mestiza (half Spanish, half native islander) mother died, she was raised by her father, a white sea captain from America, and she has lived in England since her adolescence. Basically, even though my daughter doesn’t read my books—understandably awkward for a 14-year-old to read her mom’s romance novels!—if she ever does, I want her to find a heroine who looks like her and shares a similar heritage. As for research, I lived in the Philippines for a year before I even started dating my husband (who lived in California—it’s a long story). A few of the story elements are from folklore and traditions that I heard about there or from my in-laws. I also tracked down the journal of one of the first American sailors to trade in the Philippines to read an outsider perspective of the era.

The governess trope in historical romance is well loved but also fraught with potentially sexist peril. What parts of this dynamic were you excited to write, and what parts did you know wouldn’t be in The Governess Game?
Governess romances have been a tried and true plot since Jane Eyre, and I love the trope as much as any reader. That said, I happened to be writing this book at the height of the #MeToo movement, and the power imbalance of rake/governess was something I worried about constantly. Any time you have an employer and employee pairing, it’s a delicate line to walk. I tried to acknowledge that in the characters’ thoughts and dialogue, and to make it clear to both the reader and Chase that Alexandra was equally interested in a physical relationship. In fact, she’s often the one initiating!

Romance heroes and heroines generally have a distinctive and alluring scent, as the gods of the genre demand. I’ve always wondered, how do you go about picking the perfect scent for your characters?
Hah! This is a funny question. Honestly, I don’t believe people truly ponder the particular ingredients of a perfume or aftershave, but I think many of us do have that instinctive attraction to a lover’s scent. Saying “he smelled good” over and over again would get boring for both me and the reader, so I use it as an opportunity to throw in a bit more historical detail or characterization. Alexandra smells faintly of orange flower water, which was a common scent of the era, but it’s also a clue to her personality. It tells Chase that she craves a little feminine indulgence, but she has to use the scent sparingly because of the cost.

This made me laugh out loud at my desk, so I have to ask—where on earth did the doll funerals come from?
I wish I could give you a specific answer! It evolved as I developed the characters. At first, I imagined the girls playing sick and/or dead, but then that felt a bit too bratty of them. So poor Millicent had to suffer instead. I liked that I was able to make it a comic element but also an emotional one. Everyone in the household knows the doll isn’t real, but Daisy’s emotions are. She’s still processing the realities of death and loss, and Chase is respectful of that despite the absurdity of the daily funerals.

As someone who adored The Duchess Deal, I was delighted to see Ash take on the role of the protective friend (albeit the most hilariously aggressive version possible). When did you know you wanted him to make more than just a cameo, and will he play a similar role for the remaining two heroines in the series?
Oh, Ash will always be protective. Chase will be protective of Penny and Nicola, too. By the time the fourth hero walks into the series, that unsuspecting guy is going to have a whole trio of protective, overbearing men to contend with—which will be so much fun to write.

Your Twitter feed is a total joy. What has been your favorite moment or tweet of the year so far?
I’m glad you enjoy it! I am pretty unfiltered on Twitter, so that’s always a relief to hear. My favorite Twitter experience of the year was most definitely the “Halloween Eagle” thread. A friend’s daughter saw a crow and said, “Look, mom—a Halloween eagle!” I posted this on Twitter, and people started chiming in with their own children’s hilarious and inventive names for common things. The thread kept growing and getting shared, and eventually it ended up being featured everywhere from Buzzfeed to “The Today Show!” The tweet is still pinned to my profile if anyone wants to read through the thread.

**Spoiler alert for the following question** Alex is a virgin, and the first time she and Chase have sex, it is physically painful for her at first. Why do you think that’s still a thing the genre shies away from depicting, despite the abundance of virginal heroines?
To start, I don’t actually consider it their first sex scene. One theme I enjoyed exploring in this book is that “sex” has a broader definition than just intercourse. That said, I know I’ve read quite a few painful deflowerings in romance, but it’s often that just-a-twinge-then-bliss sort of thing. And that’s not necessarily unrealistic. Every woman’s first time is different. However, Alex and Chase’s first go at it requires some communication, patience and collaborative problem-solving—all of which is so very them. Every couple’s love scenes should be very them, in my opinion. Of course, Chase and Alex do work it out and get to the bliss part pretty quickly!

What’s next for you?
I’m writing the third book in the Girl Meets Duke series, The Wallflower Wager. This will be Penny’s book. I don’t want to give away too many details yet, but Penny is a softhearted champion of wounded creatures and an incurable romantic—so naturally, her hero will be the opposite.

It’s clear from the first chapter of The Governess Game that author Tessa Dare’s irreverent sense of humor is in rare form.

Science Fiction & FantasyScience Fiction

Icebreaker: David Weber

Interview by Savanna Walker
This BookPage Icebreaker is sponsored by Baen Books.

When one talks about military sci-fi, one has to talk about David Weber. Author of the long-running, deeply influential Honor Harrington series, Weber has been delighting readers with the action-packed adventures of his titular character since 1992. A decorated politician and soldier, Honor is a “strong female character” that is allowed to have more personality traits than simply strong and female. Clever, empathetic and dedicated to her loved ones and country, Honor has starred in 13 standalone novels, and fans have been eagerly awaiting the 14th, Uncompromising Honor.

We talked to Weber about visualizing warfare in space, plotting character arcs over several novels and if his latest book is the last we’ll see of the indomitable Honor Harrington.

I know that the Honor Harrington books were reportedly inspired by the Horatio Hornblower series, but when you originally conceived of them, were there any other influences for her character in your mind?
Well actually, the inspiration for the books wasn’t Horatio Hornblower. I knew that if the books succeeded, that was who she would be compared to. So I decided to go with that motif all the way through. She’s actually much more as character inspired by a mix of Horatio Nelson, who was killed at the Battle of the Nile, and Alexander Cochrane, who is a much less well-known, at least in the United States, British admiral. And so in a sense, she and Horatio Hornblower share a historical ancestor, since Hornblower was clearly modeled on Nelson.

Now, people have asked me many times why I made Honor Harrington female. And the answer to that is that it never occurred to me to make her anything else. Not because I was making any feminist statements or anything else, but because—alright, if you follow my books in general, most of them have very strong female characters, and I would say the majority of them, probably, have female protagonists. If you look at the Safehold books, you’ve got Merlin Athrawes, who was born a woman but who had to become man by reconfiguring a cybernetic body. I write about strong female characters because I like women and I like strong people, and that produces strong female characters.

I think probably my statement on women’s rights is to be seen in the fact that nobody’s fighting about it in my books and it’s a done deal. I think that maybe near-future science fiction is a good platform for novels that emphasize the role of women and the equalization of genders. But I think if you write far-future science fiction like I do, and your female characters are still facing the same glass ceilings, the same restrictions and so forth, then you’re really shortchanging women. Because 2,000 years from now, I’d like to say the whole question of gender equality will have the burning significance to people of say, the pharaoh’s policy towards the Hittites does to us, because it will be a done deal. Half the human race, at least the last time I looked, is female. And that means that half the capable people on the planet are female. And my theory is that any society that doesn’t want to take advantage of that deserves to be stuck in the Middle Ages and probably will be.

I feel like your books take that same stance in regard to race—that we wouldn’t define race in the same way that we do on Earth once we’ve colonized a galaxy. So of course it’s going to be a multicultural society.
Actually one of my friends who is black called me up after reading Field of Dishonor and said, “The queen of Manticore is black.” And I said, “Yeah.” And he said, “You don’t understand, the queen of Manticore is black!” And I said, “Yeah, I wrote the book. I know she’s black.” And he said, “But no one says anything about it.” And I said, “That’s what they said about it.”

Right, there you go, that’s it.
Yeah, I think that science fiction in general tends to be an optimistic genre. Even the most dystopian people at least assume we’ll have a future to be grim about, if you know what I’m saying. But I think that in general, it tends on the social side to take current problems and visualize solutions to them, whether that’s a good solution or a bad solution, and see how that plays out.

So I always stalk the person I’m interviewing online, as a matter of course. You have to be prepared. And in several of the interviews I’ve read with you, you’ve said that you see yourself as a storyteller as opposed to an artist. I was wondering if that is how you personally approach your work or do you think that is a thing that is, for want of a better word, necessitated by the genre?
I really can’t answer that question for other people. Those who write the stronger stories, for me, are those who are storytellers first, and writers second. Writing is the medium through which they tell their stories. And I think that my judgment has been that people who set out to grind a partisan ax, whatever the ax may be, I think that really weakens your work. There are exceptions, but those exceptions are usually where the entire object of the story was to be polemical, like Orwell’s 1984.

Or Brave New World or something along those lines.
Yes, exactly, exactly. And you’re in a different readership, reading for a different reason, than you are for the general readership of science fiction. And that’s not to say that there’s not crossover between the two, because there definitely is. I think that to me, the crunch point comes when your vision of yourself as a writer, as a stylist begins detracting from the story you’re trying to tell. The point at which the reader begins looking at how you’ve done it rather than what you’ve done.

My judgment is that you can learn to be a writer, but you can’t learn to be a storyteller. You either are a storyteller or you’re not. Now you can learn to tell them better. But you have to have that storytelling bug.

Going back to the social structure of the world you’ve created, something I think is unfortunately rare in sci-fi especially is a religion that is not a terrifying cult or seen as alien or prehistoric. I think there’s this idea that, when we’re talking about a society evolving beyond sexism and racism, that somehow society will also evolve beyond religion. And I don’t think I agree with that, and I like reading books like yours where that is very much not the case.
Well, I am proof in advertising. I’m a Methodist lay speaker, although my certification has lapsed. I think that the people who believe that religion has to wither away probably don’t really understand faith in the first place. And I don’t intend that as a slam, because there are people who are people of faith, and there are people who aren’t, and a lot of depends on what your own personal experience has been. I know people who are blindly religious and don’t care about any possible challenge to their beliefs. I know people who are equally blindly secular, and will admit no evidence that might challenge their beliefs.

My personal view is that religion is very unlikely to ever wither away completely. I think that for whatever reason, we as a species are hardwired to look for something beyond ourselves, something greater than ourselves in which to believe. And I think that people who claim to not be religious have, in many cases, simply expressed that need to believe in and identify with something greater toward something other than God. There’s something that they put at the top of their hierarchy. And again, I’m not condemning them for that. I think that all of us have that need, that hunger.

I have met that need in myself through my faith in God. And I try to portray religion fairly in my books. As a practicing Christian and as a person of faith, I obviously believe that religion has a place in people’s lives. As a historian, I am aware of how that need to give God a place has been distorted and used for absolutely counter purposes time and time again. And I try to show both the positive and the negative side in what I write.

And as a historian, how do you visualize warfare in space? Are there forms or kinds of historical battles that have helped you figure out how you would plot a battle in space?
Well, I must confess—I think it’s probably the worst kept secret in science fiction—that I deliberately structured the technology in the Honor Harrington books to do the line of battle of naval warfare. I designed it so they would do broad sides at each other. The elements of naval strategy aren’t going to change all that much. The environment will change. And I think that naval combat is going to be a better guide for what goes on in space combat that say, air forces are.

That would have been my first assumption, because aerial battles are more three-dimensional.
Right and see the U.S. Navy has carriers and it has submarines, so it’s already a 3-D playing field.

Oh, I didn’t think about that!
And the U.S. Navy is unique because of our carrier fleet. The Navy has to be able to practice air-to-air warfare, anti-submarine warfare, commerce raiding warfare—it has to be able to put an invasion fleet ashore. And no one else in the world has anything like that capability.

Now, in the Honorverse and in interstellar warfare, it’s going to have a lot of resonances with World War II in the Pacific. Because the islands of the Pacific were isolated points in the middle of the ocean. Once they can be isolated by your fleet, nobody could possibly reinforce them, so one way or another, the island is going to fall.

In the Honorverse, once you control the gravity well of the planet, the planet is expected to surrender under the laws of war. Because if they can’t keep you from dropping rocks on them, you’ll eventually control the planet. And the Honorverse has the equivalent of the 18th-century, 19th-century laws of war that very clearly specify when a besieged city is supposed to surrender, what happens if it doesn’t surrender, etc., etc. And those grew out of the Forty Years War in Germany, which was just incredibly brutal. So they evolved a code of recognized practices of war.

I write military stories, and they tend to be about combat. Combat is absolutely horrific. And as a writer, writing about it, you have a responsibility to not sanitize it. I tend to be more of a believer in that you deal with the personal costs in terms of grief or guilt, and just every so often, you whack the reader in face with a scene that tells them how horrific it was. The hardest scene I think that I have ever had to write in the Honorverse was from Honor of the Queen. When Honor is dealing with the ensign who survived the mass rapes and the atrocities at the hand of the Masadans. And figuring out how to tell that critical part of the story without being overly graphic on the one hand, without dismissing it on the other.

And I think that the way I did it works. And I’ve had many women tell me that it works. It’s basically that you don’t actually see the assault at all. You’ve got this woman who’s obviously been shattered by what happened to her, trying to hang onto her sanity long enough to tell her commanding officer what happened. And then you have the commanding officer’s reaction to it. And I personally feel that that was a more effective way to handle it. Because you’re dealing here with what did it actually cost the human being involved.

So with such a long-running series and a character that’s been with you for so long, how do you approach plotting out a character arc?
With Honor, I knew a whole heck of a lot more than I told the reader in the first two books. If you read the first two books, you are introduced to this young, very focused, cool, calm collected person, and there’s truth to that. But it’s not until she meets Paul Tankersley and is forced to deal with things that she had suppressed—that had turned off one entire side of her life—that you begin to see that the Honor you met in the first two books is only a part of who she is.

I did that deliberately, because I knew that the character was going to grow and change over the course of the series. I wanted something that I could unpack for you as the reader. I wanted to be able to unwrap pre-existing parts of her that you didn’t know about to maintain that revelation process. I always knew that she was going to wind up with Hamish and Emily. That was really the only nailed-down part that I had.

So what’s coming up next for you?
The next Honorverse novel is A Call to Insurrection, which I am working on with Tim Zahn and Tom Pope. The next solo novel in the Honorverse will almost certainly be about Honor’s father and will be the story of his marine service. And Through Fiery Trials, the next Safehold book, is coming out in January.

I don’t know when/if there’s going to be another Honor-centric novel. One of the problems I had was that she was supposed to die in At All Costs, and she didn’t. And that’s fine! I love Honor, I’m glad she didn’t die, I’m good with that. The problem was that she was supposed to die at the pinnacle of her career. So here I have this woman who’s the commander of the grand fleet, and she’s this and she’s that—you can’t send her on death rides anymore! She’s too senior to be interacting with any junior officers. So the analogy I use when people ask me about this is that Honor will probably become Lessa from the Pern novels. Lessa and F’lar in the later novels are the senior leaders and not going out doing any of the crazy stuff. They are still central characters tying everything together, but they’re no longer the focus of the action.

Sci-fi/fantasy editor Savanna Walker talks with David Weber about visualizing warfare in space, plotting character arcs over several novels and if his latest book, Uncompromising Honor, is the last we’ll see of the indomitable Honor Harrington. Sponsored by Baen Books.

RomanceInspirational RomanceHistorical Romance

Sandra Byrd

Interview by Savanna Walker

American author Sandra Byrd’s Lady of a Thousand Treasures is a finely detailed, slow burning Victorian romance with just the right amount of shivery gothic touches. Heroine Eleanor Sheffield is poised to take over her family’s art appraisal firm despite her gender, but her uncle’s failing memory and their precarious finances might destroy their business before she gets a chance. Painfully complicating matters is the dying bequest of Lord Lydney, who gave Eleanor complete control over his dazzling collection of art and antiques. She must decide whether to donate the pieces to a museum, or give them all to his son Harry, the man she once loved and who may or may not be trustworthy.

As Byrd follows her determined heroine through the muddle of her professional and personal lives, she paints a moving depiction of spiritual faith as well as an infuriating portrayal of the obstacles placed in front of competent, talented women.

What was your initial inspiration for Lady of a Thousand Treasures?
My husband and I are devoted fans of British television and film, and we are especially partial to the early seasons of “Jeeves and Wooster.” In one episode, the older men are after one another’s silver collections, stooping to all manner of shenanigans to acquire them. Wodehouse uses humor, as always (the lowly silver cow creamer!) to wryly remark on an upper-class habit, the collecting of things and envy of others’ possessions.

I do admire the many collections the British have amassed over the years, though. Some are in country houses, as in my book and the Wodehouse episode, but some are in tiny cabinets of the middle class, and others consist of large numbers of pieces that have been donated to museums. I have always loved the Victoria & Albert Museum just for its sheer size, and I loved learning a wee bit about its predecessor, the South Kensington, and how some collections came to partially populate museums.

I think that we are all collectors of sorts. I moved recently, and one of my friends noted how many baking pans I had collected—Bundt pans in 10-inch, 9-inch, 8-inch and 6-inch sizes, for example. Why? Baking is a way I provide affection to my family, and therefore it wasn’t so much about hoarding as what those pans meant to me. Jewelry, tea sets, artwork, even pennies and empty perfume bottles all carry an emotional value for those of us who treasure them.

This is a historical romance novel in addition to being a mystery with a lot of moving parts and suspicious side characters. What was the biggest challenge in terms of plot for you?
Keeping all those moving parts straight is the challenge, and I find I must plot in layers. I research extensively, and those learned bits get put on my outline. Dates and the mystery’s clues and outcome are layered on next, and then the various threads: romance, character arcs, spiritual aspects. When I have the house framed, as it were, then I feel free to let my creativity loose because—hopefully—I haven’t forgotten anything. I don’t think I could write historicals without setting a plot and a timeline ahead of time. It’s too much for me, personally, to keep in my head. Then once the math is done, so to speak, I relax and let my character command the pages.

I was impressed with the book’s realistic treatment of religious issues, such as going through a dry spell or a period of doubt in one’s faith. How do you approach writing something as internal and specific as an individual’s own spiritual experiences?
In my own faith life, I’ve had the benefit of a “long walk in the same direction,” to paraphrase the inimitable Eugene Peterson, and that walk has included breathtakingly beautiful experiences as well as plenty of skinned knees and dark nights of the soul (St. John of the Cross)—I draw insight from both. Friends and readers have shared their insights with me along the way, too, and their honesty bolsters me in my dry times, or even times of despair and God’s seeming silence. Fiction is not the place to teach or preach, but it’s an amazing format to explore the inner workings of an individual’s heart. God promises never to leave us or forsake us, and He reminds us that He’s a very present help in times of trouble. However, God is not a helicopter parent. He lets us work things out because He trusts us, and we are adults. I like exploring that in my novels.

How did you research Victorian appraising techniques? And what was your favorite thing that you learned?
When researching, I always use a mix of experts in the field, as well as books and articles. I visited several collections in the U.K.; my favorite is the Wallace Collection. I love it not only for its beautiful objects but also for its history. It has a few more than five thousand objects, and one of the conditions of the bequest was that the collection remains intact forever—no sales, no loans, nothing. That allowed me to see a whole collection and how the collector’s interests varied.

I spoke with curators and experts in the U.K. and right here at home. I have a friend who is a museum curator, and when I asked a few questions that stumped her, she gave me the contact of her go-to girl. That woman has been an evaluator and estate liquidator (and a collector in her own right) for nearly 30 years. She answered many of my questions—like how to see if a piece of glass is blown, because it has a putty mark on the underside, or how to tell if a statue has been broken and repaired or faked. She also shared her book research collection with me. We’ve grown to become friends; I call her my Friend of a Thousand Treasures!

My daughter’s mother-in-law knew the trick for testing pearls against your teeth; she also gifted me a lovely set of family pearls when our children married. I think my favorite learned fact was how gelatin from fish intestines could be used to falsely “age” contemporary treasures. Fish guts! Forgers are clever, if dishonest.

Eleanor is an excellent example of a heroine who is dynamic while still operating within the historical constraints of her era and class. How do you put yourself in the mindset of a character who has much fewer options in her life than we do as women today?
Victorian women had major constraints, and the heroines in my books cannot just solve their problems as you or I might—but I love them the more for that. They are forced to cleverly use the tools at hand. Truthfully, all of us, then and now, are constrained in some way from the full self-determination we would prefer, and perhaps that is one way we identify with them. And yet . . . the human spirit—a strong woman’s spirit—faces those challenges head-on, tries to think through what she wants and then plots a way toward it. When roadblocks occur, she finds a way over, around or through. That was true a thousand years ago, and it is still true now.

Also, we must all be risk-takers to gain what we want: love, respect, a meaningful life and personal fulfillment. Today’s readers certainly have that in common with yesterday’s women, my historical heroines.

Which of the treasures and artifacts in this book would you most like to own?
An adore ring. My husband and I looked for an authentic Victorian adore ring when we were last in London, but they were so, so tiny. I have the thicker fingers of a 21st-century woman who types for a living and washes up after dinner. These ladies had like, size four hands. I will keep looking, though. Or maybe my own hero will have one crafted for me one day.

There are a few real-life, fascinating historical figures that appear in this book—how did you decide which ones you wanted to include?
I work hard to ensure that my heroines are actually of the era, so I don’t allow one to take on a role for which I can’t find an actual Victorian woman to emulate in some capacity. I wanted Eleanor to be a curator and collector, to be an appraiser, to be good in her field. To ensure that she is not anachronistic, I first had to make sure there was such a woman in Victorian England. There was! Lady Charlotte Schreiber. Lady Charlotte was an amazing woman in her own right—she married the younger man she wanted the second time around, dyed her hair, pursued professional interests. As such, she made an excellent friend and mentor to my Ellie. You can see some of Lady Charlotte’s donations to the V&A and the British Museum online.

Dante Rossetti was well-known as both a man who enjoyed curiosities—a very Victorian pastime—and an artist in many mediums. He made a perfect addition to my book. I seek cameos, or even more substantive roles, by people who were not only of the time but organic to my book.

Your last series also took place in Victorian England, but your previous was set in the Tudor era. Why did you return to the Victorian period, and why do you think that era is such a popular setting?
The Tudors were my first English loves, and I adore them still. You can often find Tudor material in my pleasure reading. I only wanted to explore three women of that era: Anne Boleyn, Katherine Parr and Queen Elizabeth I. So when I was finished with Elizabeth’s book, I knew it was time to move forward. I mean, who can follow Queen Elizabeth I?

I skipped forward a few hundred years because I love the 19th century, too. A friend asked me why I hadn’t written Regencies, and I teasingly told her I wasn’t interested in picnics, to which she replied, unless they are set at midnight or in a cemetery. Exactly! That led me to the gothics of the Victorian Era.

I think the elements of a good Victorian—a mysterious hero of whom we are not quite sure till the end, a heroine without parental support so she must stand on her own, the commingling of dark and light—all make for a compelling read. It doesn’t hurt that it was such a long reign. Lots of decades’ worth of good material to discover.

What’s next for you?
Another Victorian, of course, the second book in the Victorian Ladies series. It will publish in spring 2020. I hope you’ll keep an eye out for it!

 

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read our review of Lady of a Thousand Treasures.

American author Sandra Byrd’s Lady of a Thousand Treasures is a finely detailed, slow burning Victorian romance with just the right amount of shivery gothic touches. Heroine Eleanor Sheffield is poised to take over her family’s art appraisal firm despite her gender, but her uncle’s failing memory and their precarious finances might destroy their business before she gets a chance.

RomanceHistorical Romance

Grace Burrowes

Interview by Savanna Walker

When banker Quinn Wentworth marries preacher’s daughter Jane Winston, he has no illusions that it will lead to happily ever after. Quinn is in Newgate prison, condemned to die the following morning. Having enjoyed the company of the self-possessed Jane when she accompanied her father on aid missions to the prison, Quinn offers her the protection of his name and family after learning that she is pregnant. Jane agrees to his proposal, they share a tender kiss during their wedding, and she leaves, intending to honor his memory. But then, Quinn shows up on her doorstep, very much not dead. He’s been pardoned by the crown at the very last second, because he’s the heir to a dukedom.

What follows is a tender love story between two solitary, guarded souls, laced with delicious wit and shadowed by the ever-present danger of the conspiracy against Quinn’s life. We talked to Burrowes about bringing this unexpected marriage (and the dark corners of Regency society) to life.

I really adored Quinn as a character, and think he is a fantastic example of a hero who reads as a man of the 18th century while still appeasing those of us who, you know, believe in equal rights for women. How do you thread that needle in regards to your historical heroes?
Great question! One of the reasons I like writing Regency era stories is because, in many ways, that period mirrors our own. The Napoleonic wars dragged on for twenty years prior to 1815 and resulted in the deaths of millions of (mostly) men. English women as of 1816 had thus seen tremendous expansion in their societal roles. Just as American and British women moved into factory jobs during WWII, so too, did British women become more commercially and logistically independent in wartime—with the backlash of repression once the wars ended.

Recall as well, that Georgian women went to war with their menfolk. They “followed the drum,” and kept the army fed, clothed, organized and medically tended to, despite the genteel image the Victorians tried desperately to fob off on us regarding their parents and grandparents.

A Regency hero, at least one who glanced beyond an aristocratic ballroom, was thus well acquainted with women who’d gone to war, women who ran business empires, and women involved in everything from blacksmithing to professional pugilism to membership in the Royal Academy as artists.

The more difficult needle to thread is not that Regency heroes were navigating in a sexist culture—aren’t contemporary heroes also faced with that challenge?—but that reader expectations regarding Regency women’s roles are in many cases narrower than the historical reality.

Turning our attention to Jane, I was delighted to read a pregnant heroine who was still a sexual being while also experiencing morning sickness and all the other not-so-fun physical elements of pregnancy. Was this the plan from the very beginning and why did you make that choice?
Yes, this was the plan from the beginning. For her own sake, Jane would probably not have accepted a stranger’s proposal. She’d have slogged along, putting up with her situation, trying to make the best of it. The looming prospect of motherhood, though, and single motherhood at that, raised all the stakes. She no longer had the luxury of thinking only of herself, and thus Quinn’s offer merited serious consideration (thank heavens!).

Another unique element of this romance is that certain sections of it are written from the point of view of other characters, not just the hero and heroine. What led you to include other perspectives?
Readers are smart—I mean, really smart. When an element of a book becomes predictable, whether it’s alternating points of view, chapter length, tea-and-crumpets stage business or the contour of a plot, readers pick up on that very quickly. Anything the author can do to make the reading experience more engaging is fair game by my lights. I thus tend to include secondary points of view in my books, which can add tension, preview future story arcs and make red herrings more believable. To give a lesser character some point of view scenes can diffuse the focus on the protagonists, so it’s not a tool to overuse. As an occasional departure though, it can keep the story and the writing fresh.

When Jane’s father first appeared, I thought I knew exactly what type of overbearing, overly religious character he would be. But he’s terrible in a less obvious, much more passive-aggressive way. What was the inspiration for his character?
Isn’t he a stinker? A villain is often what the hero (or heroine) could become, if the hero makes bad, fearful choices, instead of good, courageous ones. With Jane’s father, I wanted to create a character that talks the talk, chapter and verse, but is in fact, a frightened, lonely, hollow little man. Quinn, by contrast, isn’t fancy, doesn’t have the pretty words, is never going to be accepted by polite society and hasn’t much use for churches (including the York Minster), but he’s a brave, honorable, fierce man. Honor—which I define as kindness and honesty—makes all the difference.

Which Wentworth sibling would you most like to get a drink with?
Stephen. I know he’ll have a book at some point in the series, but he’s being all coy and shy-guy with me so far. Maybe over a glass of brandy, he might give me a hint or two.

I have to ask because I saw this on your website and it made me giggle to myself at my desk—why have you tried, several times, to ride a cow?
I eventually DID ride a cow, in fact. One of my farming friends got tired of hearing his wife’s horsey-buddies brag about their noble steeds, so he trained his bullocks to go under saddle. The pace was sedate, and we certainly didn’t engage in any fancy dressage, but the general result was forward locomotion.

There are all these perfect little human details in My One and Only Duke, from Jane loving the smell of Quinn’s soap to Quinn loving the way she bundles herself up in his bed (even though she initially steals his side). When do those grace notes come in during your writing process?
Sometimes, I’ll read a scene in the revision phase and think, “This is talking heads in a white room, Grace. What does this scene smell like? What does it sound like? Is there dead silence in the middle of a fancy London neighborhood? Are all the textures bland, smooth and comfy? Where is the light coming from?” And I’ll add in details at that phase. Other aspects of the scene—like a pregnant woman having a very acute sense of smell—are there from the first draft.

Tell me about Elizabeth Fry, the Newgate reformer you discovered during your research.
Elizabeth Gurney Fry is an example of how one person can make a tremendous difference. We know a lot about her not only because her work gained the notice of Parliament and Queen Victoria, but also because she kept voluminous, meticulous diaries. She was a Quaker (and a minister in that tradition), who visited Newgate in 1813 and was appalled at the conditions she found.

She inspired the prisoners to organize their own set of rules for governing their wards, challenged members of Parliament to spend a night in prison (which she did herself), wrote extensively about prison conditions and was the first person to successfully promulgate the idea that incarceration should be rehabilitative rather than purely punitive. To that end, she organized a school for children jailed with their mothers, taught female prisoners sewing skills and equipped women bound for transportation with sewing supplies and fabric so they might occupy themselves on the long voyage and have something to sell when they arrived in New South Wales.

She was, in short, a force of nature who put her money, her time and her energy behind the cause of prison reform. She was the first woman to testify as an expert before the House of Commons, and she was eventually successful at ending the transportation of prisoners. She also founded London’s first homeless shelter when she saw the body of a boy who’d died of exposure in the London streets. She was brave, kind and tireless, all while raising eleven kids. She’s a fine example of a Regency-era lady who had a significant, positive and lasting impact on her whole society.

What’s next for you?
Thanks for asking! A book for Duncan Wentworth, When A Duchess Says I Do, is scheduled for release in April 2019. I had great fun with that one, and now I’m in the drafting stages of a story for Wrexham, Duke of Elsmore, and the Wentworth and Penrose bank auditor, Mrs. Eleanora Hatfield. Just how is that our Mrs. Hatfield knows every accounting scam ever devised to suborn fraud and theft? Enquiring dukes want to know . . .

 

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read our review of My One and Only Duke.

We talked to Grace Burrowes about bringing an unexpected marriage and the dark corners of Regency society to life in My One and Only Duke.

RomanceContemporary Romance

Susan Fox

Interview by Savanna Walker

Most Christmas romances, while they may have some serious undercurrents, are more focused on providing the ultimate cozy, seasonal comfort reading. Susan Fox’s Sail Away with Me is not one of those books. While it does take place over the holidays, beginning in late fall and concluding in the new year, this romance between bookseller Iris Yakimura and popular musician Julian Blake uses the season as both thematic backdrop and complication, as opposed to a central element. It’s a wise choice on the part of Fox, whose latest hero is dealing with a very painful past—Julian is a survivor of sexual abuse, and his return to tiny Destiny Island brings back horrible memories. Yet he finds solace in his friendship-turned-romance with the shy, deeply kind Iris. We talked to Fox about creating the world of Blue Moon Harbor, tackling a serious subject in the context of a holiday romance and the importance of The Tao of Pooh.

Sail Away with Me was finished right as the #MeToo movement picked up steam—what was that experience like for you?
I’m glad that #MeToo has taken off, and I was already very aware of the issues when I started writing Sail Away With Me. I’d previously written about a widowed heroine who survived domestic physical and sexual abuse in Love Me Tender. I’d read Canadian hockey player Theo Fleury’s Playing With Fire, where he talked about being abused by his junior hockey coach. I followed the firing of prestigious Canadian radio host Jian Ghomeshi and his trial on charges of sexual assault. I was aware of the high incidence of sexual assault and harassment of vulnerable people, the disincentives for reporting it and the way society has enabled powerful people to continue getting away with abuse. I knew in the first Blue Moon Harbor book, Fly Away With Me, that Bart Jelinek was an abuser and one day would get his comeuppance.

Now, with #MeToo, I’m encouraged to see that more victims are feeling empowered to come forward, and also to see more sexual predators being exposed and sanctioned for their actions.

Like Iris, you’re an introvert, which can be a challenge for a successful author. How do you approach promoting your work and deal with going to events?
Like Iris, even though I’m shy I do like people and I’m interested in them. Many of the coping tools she uses are borrowed from me—like focusing on the other person rather than on myself. I’ve learned how to deal fairly well with most social situations. I avoid cocktail parties (my definition of hell!), but I’m okay with presenting workshops and doing readings. In November, for example, I was one of two panelists at Vancouver Public Library for a presentation on “Diversity in the Modern Love Story.”

Social activities are taxing for me, though. They drain me, and I then need to retreat to a nice safe, quiet space to recharge.

In terms of promo, I’m happy to do the introvert-oriented things like sending books to reader events, emailing a newsletter and posting on Facebook.

The shadow of Japanese-Canadian internment during WWII hangs over this book, as Iris’ family members were among those imprisoned. What types of research did you do for this aspect of Sail Away with Me, and what led you to include it in the novel?
I’d never even heard of the internment camps until I took a sociology course at the University of Victoria in the 1970s. I was appalled, and over the years did some more reading—books like Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson and Bridge of Scarlet Leaves by Kristina McMorris. When I started the Blue Moon Harbor series, I chose the Gulf Islands for my setting in part because of their very diverse history: Indigenous Canadians, immigrants from all over the world including Japan, fishermen, hippies, artists and big-city escapees. In the first book, when I created Dreamspinner bookstore and wanted an island family to run it, I decided more or less randomly that the family would be the Yakimuras, and Iris, the shy bookseller, would become friends with the heroines of Fly Away With Me and Come Home With Me. As I developed Iris’ character, I knew she needed her own romance, so I started brainstorming Sail Away With Me.

If the family (on her dad’s side) had been on Destiny Island since the late 1800s, of course, they would have been victims of Canada’s horrendous treatment of Japanese Canadians during WWI and WWII. So I had to do more research to get the facts right, and then reflect on how that history might have affected Iris’s family and herself. Then I had to decide how much of that to include in the book, and I thought it was important enough in these troubled times to play a significant part. For example, here’s Iris talking with Julian:

“We carry the wound of the internment camp, even though it happened to our ancestors and not to us. We are also aware something similar could happen again. That affects us. It’s part of the reason we keep our heads down and try to be respectable, contributing citizens who don’t make waves.”

“Jesus. You don’t really think it could happen again?”

“Julian, I want to believe in the good in people, but I see a world where people are hated and attacked, even killed, for their religion, the color of the skin, or their sexual orientation. Even their gender. Yes, horrible things can happen when people get scared.”

What made you decide to pair Iris, who you always knew would have her own story, with Julian?
Julian, too, has been there from the first book, when the heroine of Fly Away with Me saw him onstage, singing and playing the guitar. She thought of him as a “tarnished angel.” Obviously, a man like that had a backstory and deserved his own love story. As I delved into Julian’s backstory (which included being sexually abused as a child), I realized how complex he was, and what a fascinating combination of dark and light. A man who gave so much, yet didn’t believe he deserved love. Who better to pair him with than Iris, the woman her friends refer to as an “old soul”? Though she has her own frailties, she’s serene, at peace with herself, introspective, perceptive and wise. I knew Julian could learn from Iris and begin to heal, and I knew that with his support and love she could find a greater internal strength than she’d ever believed herself capable of.

How do you structure a whole island in your head? Have you drawn a map? Or does it just build out naturally as the series goes on?
I used a real Gulf Island, Salt Spring near Victoria, as a general model, but Destiny is much smaller and less developed. From there, I created what I needed for each story, keeping notes and making sure to be consistent. I’m not much of an artist, so I didn’t even try to make a map.

I was delighted when Julian asks Iris to recommend him a book, and she chooses The Tao of Pooh. When did you first encounter that book, and what made you decide that it would be Iris’ pick for Julian?
I discovered Benjamin Hoff’s The Tao of Pooh fairly soon after it was published, probably in the mid-eighties. I’m not sure if a friend introduced it to me, or if it was vice versa, but I know we both enjoyed it. That book sent me back to read Winnie-the-Pooh again, which is always a pleasure. So then, many years later, when I thought about Iris’s philosophy of life—which she refers to as a “constantly developing spirituality”—it reminded me of Hoff’s book. I read it again —and Pooh as well ☺—and realized what a good fit both stories were for Iris and Julian’s relationship. In a way, The Tao of Pooh, Winnie-the-Pooh and Sail Away With Me might be said to have the same theme: discover and respect your inner nature.

Did any real-life musicians inspire Julian? What type of music do you hear in your head when writing him?
In terms of appearance, I have a photo of Keith Urban dressed all in black, and that’s exactly the way I see Julian. In terms of musical style, no, there was no specific musician. I imagine Julian’s style as being kind of a mix of folk and rock, soulful and a bit angsty. His songs aren’t formulaic, and they tell stories. Like “From Dust a Rose,” based on Iris’s grandparents’ love story (which started in an internment camp). And “Your Reality,” about Julian’s father’s struggle to recover after a horrible accident.

Sail Away with Me takes place during the holidays, but is far less focused on Christmas trappings and events during many other seasonal romances. Was this in response to the darkness and emotion of Julian’s storyline, or did you have other reasons for writing a more holiday-adjacent book?
Partly, it was that the story needed a longish timeline. Neither Iris nor Julian are the type of people who’d leap into an emotionally intimate relationship over the short span of a holiday season. I wrote that kind of story in “Blue Moon Harbor Christmas” in Winter Wishes, and I think it worked for that couple because they’d known each other years before and had a child together. But Iris and Julian were strangers, reserved people, and needed time to develop a friendship and to learn that they could trust each other, so I started their story at the end of October and let it build through the autumn. And then when Julian did reveal his secret and publicly “out” his abuser in the middle of December, that was such a difficult, meaningful, stressful step for him, Iris, his family and their friends, that it just couldn’t be a normal Christmas. On the other hand, it does turn out to be a more emotional, loving Christmas than Julian has ever before experienced.

 

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read our review of Sail Away with Me.

Author photo by BK Studio Photography.

We talked to Susan Fox about creating the world of Blue Moon Harbor, tackling a serious subject in the context of a holiday romance and the importance of The Tao of Pooh.

Romance

Amanda Bouchet

Interview by Savanna Walker

After wrapping up her fabulous debut series, The Kingmaker Chronicles, one would forgive Amanda Bouchet for resting on her laurels. After all, she not only succeeded in writing a near-universally acclaimed trilogy, but that trilogy also happened to be a rare (at the time, at least) combination of fantasy and romance. But instead of trying her hand at a more conventional genre, or staying within her already established fantasy world, Bouchet has returned with an even more ambitious work—the sci-fi romance Nightchaser. We talked to Bouchet about crafting her new fictional universe and why everything is better with a cat.

Were you a big fan of science fiction as a kid? If so, which shows or movies or books were your favorites growing up?
I enjoyed science fiction as a kid, but I don’t think I could call myself a big fan. There wasn’t anything obsessive about it, and I was more drawn to fantasy worlds (dragons, swords, quests, magic!) than to futuristic ones. However, I’ve loved the original Star Wars trilogy for as long as I can remember, with Return of the Jedi being my favorite, and I never missed an episode of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” all through my teen years if I could help it. Before that, I remember being very excited about “Battlestar Galactica” reruns and having big crushes on the main characters. I don’t recall reading much science fiction growing up. It was something I preferred to watch.

Why did you decide to switch from fantasy to science fiction for this new series?
The first draft of Nightchaser only started out in a futuristic setting and then quickly veered toward a fantasy world that could link into my previous series, The Kingmaker Chronicles. I didn’t intend to switch until I realized the sci-fi world I’d set up could carry a story of its own—one I’d already started and wanted to further explore. It was hard to set aside a nearly finished draft, backtrack to only the first two chapters, and then take the book in an entirely different direction from there, but it was the right choice for these characters and where I wanted them to go.

With this new series and your previous Kingmaker Chronicles, you’re a big part of the burgeoning trend of sci-fi & fantasy romance. Why do you think this subgenre has really started to flourish in recent years?
It’s exciting to be a part of something that’s taking off. I think there are a few reasons we’re seeing more sci-fi and fantasy romance, but an important one is that publishers have become more open to it. Some successful books and series have helped pave the way, creating what I see as a cycle that helps everyone. Publishing houses are more willing to take a risk on a new sub-genre of romance and promote it, authors see that and take a chance on writing and trying to sell it and visibility grows all around, helping readers find something they might not have known existed but realize they could very much enjoy. I also think sci-fi and fantasy romance are fantastic escapist reading. With the world as it is right now—and has been for several years—it’s a relief to sometimes dive headlong into a novel and be comforted by the happy ending that romance guarantees. There’s a demand for stories that lift us up, and I think that demand is including more books that sweep us away to a different time and place.

Instead of teasing it out over the course of the book or the series, Tess tells her crew who she really is in the very first chapters of Nightchaser. Why did you decide to have that reveal so early on?
It was necessary to the story for Tess’ crew to know her true identity from the start. Off page, they’d already been kept in the dark for years, but when the action begins, they need to know the facts in order to help her stay safe and achieve her goals—and also so that her actions and motivations make sense to them. The crew needs to understand the stakes in order to believably invest in a cause and risk their own safety. But not everyone knows who Tess is. Keeping the secret from certain people and deciding who to trust is a big part of the unfolding action.

I was delighted by Bonk, the world’s most adorable space cat, and Tess and her crew’s devotion to him. When did you realize that this space adventure would be better with a cat?
Everything is better with a cat! This is where I must admit that I don’t plan ahead much while writing. I start a book with only a few key plot points in mind and then do what feels right to link them together, with each scene growing out of the previous one until I’ve built a book. I was writing and suddenly there were cats. I knew Tess had to have one, if only because she’d never touched a cat before in her life, and that the crew of the Endeavor would instantly be smitten. Their world is full of danger and austerity, and an affectionate tabby cat like Bonk was just what they needed to help balance out the darker parts of life.

If Tess was suddenly transported to our still (relatively) free society, what do you think she’d be most delighted with?
What a great question! I think she’d love the possibility of attending a good show, something extravagant, colorful, over-the-top and just pure entertainment and fun. I’m picturing her singing and dancing her space captain heart out at a Taylor Swift concert right now. The music, the lights, the costumes, the excitement, the heartbeat of an entire stadium, the sheer joyful decadence. Tess would love it!

Tess’ crew plays a large part in the story, and they all have their own fascinating backstories. Which crewmember did you find most intriguing to write?
I love them all, so it’s hard to pick a favorite. I’m going to go with Fiona, the Endeavor’s resident scientist. She’s an interesting mix of ferocious and nurturing. She’s a botanist, growing and caring for her plants aboard the ship and also taking care of the people around her, helping to keep them safe and healthy. At the same time, she’s a warrior ready to jump into battle and capable of creating extremely dangerous biological weapons. She’s as ready to destroy as she is to protect, and it’s this contradiction that made Fiona a particularly interesting character to write.

Speaking of side characters, I found Captain Bridgebane to be a fascinating villain, almost sympathetic at parts. Can you give us any hints as to what the future holds for his character?
Captain Bridgebane seems to be walking a tightrope and keeping a lot of secrets that could change how Tess sees him and his past actions, both relating to her and to the galaxy in general. He’s going to continue to play a role that pushes and confuses Tess and makes her question herself as well as the nuances of resistance.

What’s next for you?
Right now, I’m working on Starbreaker, the second novel in the Nightchaser series. Dawnmaker will close out the trilogy. After that, I plan on returning to fantasy romance and the world of The Kingmaker Chronicles. The original trilogy, starting with A Promise of Fire, followed one main character and brought her adventures to a satisfying conclusion. However, there are several secondary characters that readers fell in love with and who still need their stories told. I’m looking forward to writing their books and helping them find the happy endings they deserve.

 

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read our review of Nightchaser.

After wrapping up her fabulous debut series, The Kingmaker Chronicles, one would forgive Amanda Bouchet for resting on her laurels. After all, she not only succeeded in writing a near-universally acclaimed trilogy, but that trilogy also happened to be a rare (at the time, at least) combination of fantasy and romance. But instead of trying her hand at a more conventional genre, or staying within her already established fantasy world, Bouchet has returned with an even more ambitious work—the sci-fi romance Nightchaser. We talked to Bouchet about crafting her new fictional universe and why everything is better with a cat.

Science Fiction & FantasyScience Fiction

David Drake

Interview by Savanna Walker

Sponsored by Baen Books.

One of the pioneers of military science fiction, David Drake has drawn on his combat experience in Vietnam and his education in history and Latin to create fictional worlds that feel vitally, immediately real. His latest series, Time of Heroes, takes the classic characters of Arthurian legend and transports them to a chaotic universe where humanity is attempting to build a better, safer future. The Storm, Drake’s second installment in the series, follows the heroic and goodhearted Lord Pal as he embarks on a quest for his missing mentor. We talked to Drake about his favorite fictional world, his ideal library and more.

Which fictional world would you most like to live in? Which fictional world would you most hate to live in?
The world of Clifford Simak’s The Big Front Yard in which like-minded members of many—perhaps infinite—universes form a community of positive, problem-solving people.

The world of Asimov’s The Caves of Steel, in which the people of overpopulated Earth live and die in human Habitrails in which there is no hope for a different future.

For you, what is the most difficult aspect of world building?
Finding the world I want to use as a template. I almost always start with a place that is or has been real.

Who are your favorite heroes of fiction?
I guess Ned Beaumont, hero of The Glass Key by Dashiell Hammett. Beaumont is very smart and competent, but he’s not trying to run anything. He’s completely loyal to his boss—even when the boss is willing to sell him out.

He leaves when he’s treated badly enough, but he remains loyal—saving the boss as his final act before leaving.

Beaumont is a man of principles and sticks to them even when those around him fail him and fail themselves. That’s their business; he’s responsible for himself.

What do you need to get into the zone while writing?
Ideally I have a photo or drawing of the setting for the current scene laid out beside my computer.

What is the ideal snack/drink to pair with your latest book?
Pal, the hero of The Storm, is a kid from the sticks. He has simple tastes. He prefers ale to lager, and either to wine, which goes to his head.

The author is from Iowa and avoids alcohol because things went badly for those of his ancestors who were not abstainers. This book was written on tea.

Which books were your gateway drug into science fiction & fantasy?
The Angry Planet was the first real SF I read at age 11. It’s a YA, but the themes were utterly adult. Kids stow away on their uncle’s spaceship to Mars. They find a battle between good and evil, which they join on the side of good.

Evil wins, completely and horribly.

This showed me that SF is capable of thinking the unthinkable.

What is the hardest passage you have ever had to write?
A scene in which the viewpoint character of Igniting the Reaches confronts a pair of men who have betrayed him and his friend, and reaches a friendly accommodation without violence.

I came back from Vietnam with a great deal of anger. Describing a man who is well used to violence stepping away from it was very hard—but I knew it was what I needed to do.

Which of your characters would you most like to get a drink with?
Pal, of The Storm. He’s a decent and polite man who isn’t trying to run other peoples’ lives.

Describe your ideal library.
A lot of classical texts—the Greeks in translation.

A lot of memoirs, many of them military. Relatively few biographies. Some secondary history, but mostly those that are memoirs by participants.

Lots of classic SF and fantasy, including magazines.

What’s the first fictional world you came up with as a kid?
Oh, I don’t know about world exactly, but a jungle place with vine-covered ruined cities. Lots of exotic animals.

 

Order The Storm now from: B & N | Amazon | BAM

One of the pioneers of military science fiction, David Drake has drawn on his combat experience in Vietnam and his education in history and Latin to create fictional worlds that feel vitally, immediately real. His latest series, Time of Heroes, takes the classic characters of Arthurian legend and transports them to a chaotic universe where humanity is attempting to build a better, safer future. The Storm, Drake’s second installment in the series, follows the heroic and goodhearted Lord Pal as he embarks on a quest for his missing mentor. We talked to Drake about his favorite fictional world, his ideal library and more.

RomanceRomantic SuspenseContemporary Romance

Karen Rose

Interview by Savanna Walker

To read one of Karen Rose’s romantic suspense novels is to enter an expansive, photo-realistic world. Each of her books is populated by a sprawling cast of law enforcement officials, their friends and family, and some truly twisted serial killers. Throughout series set in Chicago, Baltimore and Cincinnati (along with stops in Philadelphia, Atlanta and other major American cities), there are no stock side characters—everyone has a story to tell. With Say You’re Sorry, Rose kicks off a new series set in Sacramento, where an attack on radio personality Daisy Dawson reveals a killer that’s been operating for years, unnoticed by the police until now. We talked to Rose about creating her two complicated leads, why film noir inspires how she depicts violence and why she writes while listening to Barry Manilow.

What came first while you were plotting this novel? The cult or the serial killer?
The serial killer definitely came first. I got the idea for him at least five years ago while I was on a flight from Tampa to NYC. Sitting next to me was this man from Scandinavia. We got to chatting (as I do) and he shared he’d been an electrical engineer, but one day he stopped by the store after working very late and envied the woman behind the cash register because she didn’t take her work home. He changed his career, training to become a pilot. He flew for a service that was a mix between a charter and an airplane timeshare. He might be in Barcelona in the morning, Paris in the afternoon and New York the next day. He’d just delivered a plane to Tampa and was on his way home.

I stared at him and said, “If you were a serial killer, you’d never get caught. There would be no pattern.” He stared back, looking very concerned until I told him I was a thriller writer, LOL. I’ve been waiting for the right book to write this serial killer!

The cult came later, once I’d traveled several times to Northern California and realized how remote it is. Which is why so many cults have formed there.

Your previous series have been based in Baltimore and Cincinnati. What led you to pick Sacramento as the setting for your new series?
I have friends in Sacramento and have been able to visit them more often on my way to Northern California to meet with my writing group for plotting retreats. I’d set Taylor Dawson’s (heroine of Monster in the Closet) backstory in Northern California and decided to continue the Dawsons’ story in Sacramento with Daisy. My friends have been very helpful in showing me the city!

You’re known for writing series with a large cast of characters. How did you balance the central couple's love story, along with introducing the rest of the cast and developing the mystery in Say You’re Sorry?
I never know how to answer this. It just . . . happens. I see the story like I’m in a 360-degree movie theater. It’s happening all around me, parallel stories simultaneously, and I write what I see.

Speaking of the central couple, both Gideon and Daisy have complicated, emotionally fraught backstories. Why did you decide to give both of them such difficult pasts, and what was the most enjoyable aspect of writing two powerful, yet damaged protagonists?
My characters always have complicated, emotionally fraught backstories! I’m really mean that way ☺.

Seriously, to me the damaged characters are more interesting and catch my heart. The most enjoyable part is watching them grow and blossom and find their happily-ever-after. It’s so much more gratifying because they’ve earned it!

I found Daisy’s character to be quite layered, because I’d already told the Dawson family’s backstory in Monster in the Closet. But Daisy’s perspective of the same events is so different. I’m fascinated at how two people can grow up in the same home and be impacted so very differently.

Gideon, despite his harsh upbringing, was still kind and capable of tenderness. He’s not as alpha as some of my other heroes, but he’s still strong. He reminded me of Gregory Peck’s character in The Big Country—quietly solid. They’re different people, Daisy and Gideon, yet they have a mutual respect for each other and I loved that.

Say You’re Sorry does an admirable job depicting violence in a sensitive and non-gratuitous way, as well as portraying its serial killer in a three-dimensional light while never losing sight of the horror of his crimes. Has your approach to depicting violence and the perpetrators of it in your novels changed over the course of your career?
Thank you! I don’t think it’s changed that much. I learned a lot from watching the old film noir movies. You don’t see a lot of blood or gore in these films. What you do see is the reactions of the witnesses and victims to what’s happened. That is often scarier because it puts the viewer—or reader in the case of my books—in the place of the victim. We feel their terror, desperation and loss. Adding the POV of the killer increases the terror because we as the reader know what he’s planning—and what he’s capable of doing.

Violence happens every day and doesn’t need to be gratuitous on the page. We see enough of that in the real-world news. Reading about it in detail degrades the victims. Allowing the reader to emotionally connect with the victim is far more powerful.

How do you decompress from writing the darker material in your novels?
I read voraciously, but I don’t read thrillers as a rule. My decompression diet is contemporary romance of all kinds and comedy films. I have very lowbrow taste in movies. Talladega Nights is my go-to decompression flick ☺.

What are your pet peeves as a reader of mystery & suspense?
I hate, hate, hate when the story just ends. The author’s got a great setup and has me all worked up and then, the book just . . . ends. It’s all wrapped up in a few paragraphs of explanation way too soon. Like they ran out of time or pages. I feel cheated.

I also hate when the bad guy is the most obvious suspect, but nobody suspects him. And when the story doesn’t make sense or requires I take a leap of faith across the Grand Canyon. I clearly have feelings on this subject. LOL.

You love Barry Manilow, but many of your villains have murdered people to his music—does this ruin it a bit for you?
Well, to be fair, only one villain heard the music as he murdered. The rest don’t realize that I’m hearing Manilow’s music while they’re busy being villainous. I love Manilow because his voice is so smooth. It allows me to capture a mood and nothing rips me out of it. Which is why I had to remove “Copacabana” from my playlist—I kept getting ripped from the story and dancing in my chair. And maybe having “I Can’t Smile Without You” playing in the background keeps me from getting sucked too deep into the darkness. Or maybe it simply means I’m twisted ☺. So, nope, it doesn’t bother me at all!

What’s next for you?
I’m currently writing book five in my Cincinnati series, with Diesel and Dani as the central couple. Folks have been waiting for their story for some time, so it has to be good. No pressure, right?

After that book is finished, I’ll be returning to Sacramento for book two—Rafe and Mercy’s story. And I have a few books planned after that, so I’ll be busy!

 

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read our review of Say You’re Sorry.

Author photo by Brian Friedman Photography.

We talked to Say You're Sorry author Karen Rose about creating her two complicated leads, why film noir inspires how she depicts violence and why she writes while listening to Barry Manilow.

RomanceHistorical Romance

Lisa Kleypas

Interview by Savanna Walker

Lisa Kleypas’ Devil in Winter is easily one of the most beloved modern romance novels, frequently appearing or topping Best Of lists, and generally producing much squealing over its hero, the manipulative and charming Sebastian. Kleypas delighted fans by giving them a peek at Sebastian and his beloved wife Evie’s family in Devil in Spring, which featured the pair’s son, Gabriel, as the main love interest. And with Kleypas’ newest book, Devil’s Daughter, Evie and Sebastian’s daughter Phoebe takes center stage as she casts off mourning and attempts to take the reins of her late husband Henry’s estate. But when she encounters West Ravenel, the man who bullied Henry in boarding school, she’s taken aback by his kindness and maturity and the easy sensuality between them. We talked to Kleypas about revisiting two iconic characters, figuring out just what their daughter would be like and the surprising joys of late Victorian farming techniques.

Obviously, fans have always wanted more from Evie and Sebastian. So what made you decide to bring them back in the Ravenels series and to have not one but two of their children as main characters?
It’s been so much fun to write about them again! While I was pondering and plotting Devil in Spring, I knew I needed a special hero for the unconventional Lady Pandora Ravenel. He had to be the kind of man she would never aspire to marry: sophisticated, self-assured and socially powerful. It occurred to me that Sebastian and Evie would have a son around the right age, who would be perfect for the role.

Before I committed to the idea, however, I experimented by writing a scene between Evie and Sebastian. Sometimes it’s difficult, even impossible, to recapture the sense of two characters and their chemistry. To my surprise, it was easy and almost magical—the two of them instantly came to life, and I knew it was going to be fine.

Evie and Sebastian’s oldest daughter Phoebe also made an appearance in that book, and although I hadn’t planned to feature her as a heroine, I loved the touches of humor and heartbreak that crept into her dialogue. I thought it would be really satisfying to give her a happy ending in her own book, Devil’s Daughter.

How have Evie and Sebastian changed over the years?
I think there’s a clear sense they’ve really enjoyed their time together, and grown into their roles as the Duke and Duchess of Kingston. Evie is no longer a shy and insecure wallflower—she’s confident and happy and loves being a mother. Sebastian is still sarcastic and funny, but maybe a little less cynical. He definitely has an authoritative presence in the Ravenel series, since he’s now a man of tremendous power and wealth. In private however, he still loves to tease and flirt with Evie, and it’s clear the sensual side of their marriage hasn’t faded one bit.

How did you approach creating Phoebe, a character who is the daughter of perhaps your most beloved fictional couple?
Phoebe is very much like her father—she’s polished and articulate, and she has his lacerating wit. There’s an interesting parallel between Sebastian’s journey in Devil in Winter, and Phoebe’s in Devil’s Daughter. Just like her father, Phoebe is trying to manage a load of responsibilities she hasn’t been prepared for. She’s in charge of her late husband’s estate and has to learn a lot of stuff really fast. As the story progresses, however, you can see how much Evie has influenced her daughter. Phoebe tries to live by the values her mother has imparted, especially those of kindness and empathy.

West has become quite a fan favorite! Why do you think that is?
Yay, I’m so glad to hear that! I think he’s an interesting mixture of things. He’s irreverent and sophisticated, but also earthy and masculine. He can quote Shakespeare, make witty dinner conversation, fix a broken fence and plow a field. I think West’s most attractive quality is that he genuinely respects the people who are below him on the social scale, including the farm laborers, the servants, even the scullery maid in the kitchen. West’s keen sense of empathy is part of what makes him so smart and effective at managing people. It also makes him a terrific romantic partner—he loves women, but he also genuinely likes them.

Something I loved about West is that he’s a reformed rake, but one who has largely reformed himself, instead of being reformed by the heroine or his desire for her. What led you to make that choice?
West has a life-changing moment back in the first Ravenel book, Cold-Hearted Rake, that made the choice for me. At the beginning of that book, West was a bloated, alcoholic, self-indulgent wreck—hardly unexpected after a childhood of abuse and neglect. But West’s older brother Devon inherits a huge dilapidated estate and asks him to manage all these struggling tenant farms, and it’s the first time West has ever been given real responsibility. So there’s a particular scene when West goes out to a field of oats to talk with a tenant farmer. While they talk, the farmer shows him how to bind the cut stalks, and they work together. It changes everything for West. He feels a powerful connection with the land and the physical work, as well as the people around him. He senses this will give his life the meaning and purpose that have always been missing.

The problem is, even though West has changed his ways by the time Devil’s Daughter begins, he still judges himself harshly. He can’t let himself off the hook for having been a bully and a wastrel. I think that’s where the love of another person comes in. Phoebe forgives and accepts his past because she sees how much there is about him worth loving. It’s what we all need, isn’t it? Someone who’s aware of our flaws and loves us no matter what.

While they feature many of the same characters, Devil’s Daughter is a much brighter and more comic novel compared to Hello Stranger, which was practically a romantic suspense set in the Victorian era. What was that shift in tone like for you as a writer, and was it born out of the characters themselves or something else? And when conceiving a series, do you ever have an overall mood in mind, or does it change based on the individual books and couples?
It depends 100 percent on the characters. When conceiving a series, I have a few plotlines in mind, but the mood occurs organically with each book. I was pretty sure Hello Stranger would have a darker tone because both Ransom, a government agent, and Dr. Garrett Gibson, a female physician, routinely deal with life and death as part of their jobs. And Ransom really works that brooding Irish romanticism! West, who appeared as a minor character in that book, provided a lot of the comic relief, but he also had some touching moments and some take-charge scenes. It was the first time I could see what West would be like as a hero. In light of his personality, I knew his story in Devil’s Daughter would be much sunnier and lighter—and I knew there would be extra fun in adding some glimpses of the original Wallflowers!

Phoebe’s first husband, Henry, died after a lifetime of bad health. Did you have a specific illness in mind while writing about him?
Yes, I based poor Henry’s condition on Charles Darwin’s mysterious disease. Darwin had lifelong health struggles, suffering from a weird collection of symptoms. Among other things, he had excruciating chronic gastrointestinal infections, headaches, nerve pain, skin rashes and ulcerations, all of which eventually turned him into an invalid. Physicians and scientists have debated various diagnoses ever since Darwin’s death in 1882. Some experts think it was Chagas disease, caused by an insect that bit him when his ship The Beagle sailed near Argentina. Others believe his problems were caused by lactose intolerance, Ménières disease (inner ear disorder), mitochondrial DNA abnormalities, chronic arsenic poisoning or even hypochondria.

So I read some of the latest papers and articles about Darwin’s health issues, and the Royal Society makes a pretty convincing case that Crohn’s disease (inflammatory bowel disease) would explain almost all his symptoms including the nerve pain. I thought it showed something wonderful about Phoebe’s character that she loved Henry enough to marry him in spite of knowing how difficult it would be to care for him when he became an invalid.

This is the first romance novel I have ever read that has a sustained plotline about the benefit of modern (for the time) farming. Where did that come from? And did you enjoy learning about farming as much as West and, eventually, Phoebe do?
To my surprise, I did enjoy it. I’d never thought much before about how technology and science were changing farming practices during the Victorian time period—what an upheaval! Some people were determined to cling to the old traditional methods, whereas others were eager to take advantage of the new machines and scientific discoveries. To me, it made sense that West, who wasn’t raised with any farming experience, would want to learn all the latest stuff. He cares more about results than tradition. At the time, of course, a lot of the landowning aristocrats, and many of the tenant farmers as well, were leery about making changes to a system that had worked fine for hundreds of years. I sort of understand that, since I’m the kind who’s resistant to upgrading an iPhone unless I absolutely have to!

What’s next for you?
I’m busy working on what will probably be the final Ravenel novel, featuring Lady Cassandra and Tom Severin. I’ve been looking forward to writing this for a long time—Severin is an antihero. Brilliant, charming, massively successful, immoral and so disconnected from his feelings that he’s very nearly sociopathic. He has only one weakness—he is completely fixated on Cassandra. He would do anything to have her, even knowing it’s impossible. As we’ve seen in past novels, all Cassandra has ever wanted is a loving husband and children and a cozy home of her own. She is domestic, affectionate, sweet and private in nature, and she knows she would never be anything but a trophy to Severin. Fate is really going to have to put these two through the wringer if they’re ever going to find a happy ending!

 

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read our review of Devil’s Daughter.

Author photo by Danielle Barnum Photography.

We talked to Lisa Kleypas about revisiting two iconic characters in Devil’s Daughter, figuring out just what their daughter would be like and the surprising joys of late Victorian farming techniques.

RomanceErotic Romance

Tiffany Reisz

Interview by Savanna Walker

Most of Romancelandia knows where they were when they first encountered Tiffany Reisz’s  The Red. I was a fairly recent convert to romance, dipping my toe into the wild and wonderful world of self-published eBooks, when I stumbled across Reisz’s incredible erotic novel which takes place at an art gallery with love scenes that are all inspired by classic paintings. The fearless, all-in exploration of desire and fantasy of The Red, especially when conveyed in Reisz’s elegant prose, made it a sensation in the romance community.

Two years later, Reisz has returned to that world with The Rose, an erotic novel starring the daughter of The Red’s eventual pairing, which takes its inspiration from the myths of Greek mythology. I talked to Reisz about reinterpreting ancient myths for a modern audience, the surprising inspiration of David Mitchell (the actor, not the writer) and which love scene was the hardest to get right.

When you first wrote The Red, did you have any notion that you would eventually write a sequel?
When I first wrote The Red, I didn’t think anyone would read it. We’d self-published only 100 hardcover copies as a special edition for a conference I was the guest of honor at, and . . . I really thought that 100 would be it. The Red is slightly deranged erotica and I had no expectations for it. But when it went up on NetGalley, we started getting a lot of effusive reviews from readers and then somehow it got a starred Library Journal review and was named an NPR Best Book of 2017 and then hit the USA Today bestseller list. A book I genuinely thought we’d sell 100 copies of just went sort of viral. I think it shocked the hell out of people and whether they loved it or hated it, readers were talking about it. Made sense to write a sequel. The Red was self-published but the sequel, The Rose, is published by MIRA.

What spurred the shift from erotic fantasies based on art in The Red to ones based on Greek myths in The Rose?
The Red was set in an art gallery called The Red Gallery so it made sense all the sex scenes were based on paintings. I didn’t want to simply redo The Red in a different art gallery. And I didn’t want to have the same main characters. The Red was set in the mid-1990s in New York, so I knew my heroine could have a daughter old enough to star in her own book by now. I’m a huge fan of Greek mythology. It’s twisted, it’s funny, it’s weird, it’s wonderful. It was an easy leap from writing sex scenes based on paintings to love scenes based on Greek mythology.

What was the hardest love scene to get right?
The first time August and Lia have sex as August and Lia and not in the guise of mythological characters was definitely the hardest for me and for Lia. She was horribly wounded by a romantic betrayal when she was very young and has enormous trust issues. But she’s also sick of feeling wounded, feeling left out and she’s finally met this unusual man, August Bowman, who seems to be able to touch a heart that she was certain was dead. I wanted their first time together to be tender but also to show how hard it was for her to get there. It’s a very playful scene, lots of teasing. August is doing his best to take the pressure off of her while not letting her run away from something he knows she wants and needs but still scares her.

I thought the first love scene, where Lia and August take the form of Perseus and Andromeda, was particularly delightful. It really drove home to me the importance of humor and laughter in sex. Why did you choose to start the book with this scene, and why do you think love scenes, even in romance, are often so serious?
Thank you! The story of Andromeda and Perseus is also the story of Andromeda and her mother and her mother’s betrayal that leads to Andromeda nearly being put to death. It was a perfect fit for the plot of the book—the mother’s accidental betrayal of her daughter. Plus Andromeda and Perseus were mostly strangers like Lia and August. Perseus was Andromeda’s rescuer, again like August and Lia. Thematically it was the entire story of The Rose in one single myth.

And I’m absolutely certain Perseus was exactly like I portrayed him—young and brash but also doting and silly and besotted with Andromeda. Again, the teasing and playfulness help calm and comfort Lia/Andromeda, who’s just been through hell. I mean . . . Hades.

It makes perfect sense that love scenes in romance novels are usually very tense and serious. Humor is a tension breaker and great sex relies on tension. You break the tension with humor and you risk pulling someone out of the scene. But I wanted to bring myths to life, make them feel real and modern and relatable to the reader. Every generation thinks it invents kinky sex and humor although both have been around since the beginning of humanity. The ancient Greeks were hilarious. If you don’t believe me, read Lysistrata by Aristophanes. We read that in college, and my class laughed so hard we nearly hurt ourselves. Realizing that people 3,000 years ago made the same dirty jokes we do today made the past come alive to me.

There are a few Greek myths in The Rose that are reinterpreted to be less sexist or violent than they usually are. Do you think these myths had those characteristics from the beginning, or did they develop these negative traits as time went on?
The myths are so ancient that I don’t think we can know anything for certain about what they were like in their original form. They might have been more sexist and violent. They might have been children’s bedtime stories for all we know. The fun thing about myths is that they’re so open to interpretation and reinterpretation. And Goddess bless the Greeks for being so generous with these stories that are the foundation of the Western literary canon.

I love Greek mythology and I’m a woman who hates violence, so if I can find a way to read the myths as sex-positive and joyful with plenty of room in them for women to have fun, anyone can. It just takes some imagination. Who knows? Maybe Leda had a swan fetish and Zeus knew about it and that’s why he turned himself into a swan. (For the record, I do not explore the Leda and the Swan myth in The Rose. I gave that one a pass.)

You thank David Mitchell in your acknowledgments for being the inspiration for “a posh and whimsical (and adorably stuffy) English person.” Am I correct in assuming that he inspired, at least in part, Lia?
Since there are two famous David Mitchells in England, I have to be clear we’re talking about David Mitchell, the actor (“Peep Show,” “That Mitchell and Webb Look”) and not David Mitchell, the author of Cloud Atlas.

David Mitchell (the actor) has this wonderfully prickly stuffy posh persona and yet, if you read his memoir, Backstory, he turns into an absolute marshmallow when talking about falling in love with his wife, Victoria, and getting his heart broken. Lia was absolutely inspired by David’s posh and prickly, yet secretly marshmallowy, personality. I could hear so many of her lines in his voice. That’s what I get for watching British comedy panel shows while I’m supposed to be writing.

In an essay for The Huffington Post you wrote in 2012, you talked about how you felt God’s pleasure most strongly while writing. Without going into too much detail, The Rose beautifully unifies the ideas of divine worship and sexual pleasure in really compelling contrast to how sex-negative many modern religions can be. Do you think that that sort of easy union has been lost to us in the modern age? Or are there movements or traditions that are bringing that back?
I’m not enough of a religious historian to say if there ever was the easy union of sex and religion that we imagine there was in ancient Greece or practiced among the ancient Celts and Druids. I’d like to think we had it figured out once and therefore we can figure it out again, but I wasn’t there. Being a prostitute in the temple of Aphrodite might have been a blast. It might have been a nightmare. No firsthand accounts survive as far as I know. But if/when a new movement or religious tradition shows up in my neighborhood that has the soul/body dichotomy all figured out, I’ll be the first to join that clergy.

If you were responsible for casting Lia and August in a film adaptation of The Rose, who would you pick?
Sophie Turner from “Game of Thrones” would do a marvelous job with Lia, her prickly side and her secret sweet side. For August? Maybe Panos Vlahos from “Days of Our Lives.”

As handsome as Greek men are, really any of them would do. Literally any of them . . .

 

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read our review of The Rose.

Author photo credit Andrew Shaffer.

Tiffany Reisz creates an erotic masterpiece based on Greek mythology in The Rose.

RomanceContemporary Romance

Casey McQuiston

Interview by Savanna Walker

The second I heard the premise for Red, White & Royal Blue, I knew I had to read it. The son of the U.S. president falls in love with a prince of England? Put that directly into my veins. And as my increasingly impassioned text message history can tell you, Casey McQuiston’s debut was even better than I in my wildest dreams believed it would be. This romance between cocky, charismatic know-it-all Alex Claremont-Diaz and his nemesis, Prince Henry of England, has everything—a raucous karaoke scene at a gay bar, cutthroat election shenanigans, a very romantic Star Wars through line—and McQuiston perfectly balances the escapist, fizzy fun of her setup with the emotional impact of Henry and Alex’s relationship. I talked to McQuiston about the alternate political reality of her debut, the importance of later-in-life coming out narratives and more.

Red, White & Royal Blue is absolutely hilarious. How do you know whether the humor is working in your writing?
It’s hard! I watched a ton of my favorite comedies while writing this, especially “Veep,” “Parks & Rec” and “Happy Endings.” I spent a lot of time absorbing things that made me laugh, thinking about what specifically made it funny and trying to internalize the natural rhythm of banter. You really can’t force humor. It has to feel like something someone would actually say out loud, off-the-cuff. So most of the time it’s about letting your characters talk, rather than cramming one-liners into their mouths, and then reading it back out loud to see how it actually feels and sounds when someone says it.

Some of the most fascinating parts of this book are the ways the White House Trio (and, to a lesser extent, the members of the Royal Family) take control of their own public images. Did you take inspiration from any real-life figures for this aspect of the novel?
Honestly, the only character who’s actually based on a real life figure is Ellen. I took a lot of inspiration from Wendy Davis, another Democratic woman from Texas. In a lot of ways, I was drawing more from the idea of people. Alex is kind of embodying the concept of a modern Kennedy; Henry’s mom is giving you a little bit of the Princess Diana archetype in her tenacity and rebelliousness; Senator Richards represents entrenched conservative legacy families like the Bushes. But I always say that no real royals or first families were harmed in the making of this book!

Did you always know that Red, White & Royal Blue would be a gay romance?
I write queer fiction for the same reason straight people write straight fiction: because I’m a queer person, and that’s the world I live in and the experiences I draw from and relate to. With this book—and with my future books—my vision was to write a fun, escapist, tropey, smart rom-com good enough to help push queer love out of the margins and into the rom-com mainstream. So, in that way, I always knew this would be a queer book, but the specific way that played out, with Alex and Henry both being cis men, was something that sort of revealed itself to me as the plot started to take shape.

Whose side are you on concerning the quality of Return of the Jedi—Alex or Henry?
Such a good question! I personally love Return of the Jedi, but I still think Empire is a better movie.

Alex’s discovery that he isn’t actually straight felt very realistic and I think spoke to the fact that many people, even if they grow up in a loving and accepting home, don’t necessarily realize their queerness as children or early adolescents. What led you to make that decision for his character?
I lifted a lot of material from my own life for Alex’s big “ah-ha” moment, because I wanted to write it in a way that would have helped me if I could have read a book like this years ago. There’s this prevailing idea that all queer people inherently know from birth, or at least from adolescence, that they’re not straight, and I think that closes the door on people who take longer to get there. So I wanted to show something that was relatable to me and to a lot of other queer people out there who may not have seen that particular kind of representation before. Plus, Alex is a cocky little know-it-all. Of course he would be blindsided by something like this just when he thought he had it all figured out!

I thought Henry’s knowledge and love of LGBT history was a particularly meaningful through line, especially as Alex is inspired to learn about his own country’s history as a result of his conversations with Henry. Where would you recommend American readers who want to learn more about this same subject start?
Love this question! A few of my favorites: And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts, A Queer History of the United States by Michael Bronski, Transgender Warriors by Leslie Feinberg (also Stone Butch Blues), Gender Trouble by Judith Butler, Angels in America by Tony Kushner, Coming Out Under Fire by Allan Bérubé, The Gay Revolution by Lillian Faderman, so many more. Two recent releases I loved were When Brooklyn Was Queer by Hugh Ryan and Tinderbox by Robert W. Fieseler. Also watch Paris is Burning!

This is less a question than a personal plea: I am hopelessly obsessed with Pez. Can you please tell me a fact about him that I wouldn’t know from reading the book?
Oh my god, there’s SO much. Pez has a huge place in my heart. A little backstory on him: In his and Henry’s early Eton days, they gravitated to each other because they were both seen as “different” by their classmates. Pez was more straightlaced and proper as a kid, until too many kids looked at Henry sideways for not having a stiff upper lip and too many teachers praised Pez for being so well-behaved and well-spoken. He definitely went home for summer break one year and came back with his nails painted, swanning around in flashy violation of the dress code just to piss off the establishment, and he never looked back. Also he has lots of other famous friends he’s not legally allowed to talk about.

At a certain point, Henry and Alex start ending their emails to one another with these really gorgeous quotes from famous queer love letters. Do you have a favorite among those?
It’s so hard to choose between these, because there were so many good ones. I lost a lot research hours to just reading letters. But my favorite lines, I think, are Vita Sackville-West’s “I miss you even more than I could have believed; and I was prepared to miss you a good deal” and Jean Cocteau’s “Thank you from the bottom of my heart for having saved me. I was drowning and you threw yourself into the water without hesitation, without a backward look.”

Reading the alternate political reality of Red, White & Royal Blue was a very emotional experience for me, and I expect it will be so for a lot of other readers. What was that like for you as a writer?
It was such a complicated thing to balance, because I wanted that little twist away from reality to be close enough to our own world to feel relatable and possible—and to not gloss over the institutional oppression and discrimination that would still be a problem no matter who was in office right now—while also being an optimistic escape. On a personal level, it was about trying to reconnect with hope and the feeling that progress is possible and that the moral arc of the universe does actually bend toward justice. So it was this journey of, how can I do this realistically and respectfully at the same time? How can I call this out without getting lost in the politics when it’s supposed to be a rom-com? How do I find the hope and still mirror what’s happening right now? I did my best, so I hope people find it as cathartic to read as I did to write.

What’s next for you?
I can’t reveal too much specifically about future books, but I can tell you that I have another queer new adult rom-com in the works! This one centers on two very lost and very lonely girls who fall in love on the New York subway, with a big time travel-y twist. It’s wildly different from Red, White & Royal Blue, but at the same time, it’s still just as fun and full of complicated families and ride-or-die friendships and cinematic kisses. I’m so, so excited to share more about it soon! And of course, there’s also the deal I just signed with Berlanti Productions and Amazon Studios to adapt Red, White & Royal Blue! I could not be more amped to see where that project goes and work with the team we’ve put together to make something incredible.

 

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read our review of Red, White & Royal Blue.

Author photo by Raegan Labat.

We talked to Casey McQuiston about the alternate political reality of Red, White & Royal Blue, the importance of later-in-life coming out narratives and more.

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