One of the best things abut going to the Romantic Novelists' Association conference - which, as you'll remember , I did in July this year - is that as well as getting the opportunity to meet up again with many friends I've known for some time, there is also a wonderful opportunity to meet new writers, published and unpublished (yet) who may start out being strangers but by the end of the conference have become friends and people I look forward to seeing again.
This time, one of these new friends was someone I met by the happy accident of the fact that she was allocated a room in the same flat as I - and some of my other friends - was sleeping in.
So I first met
Lara Temple on that Thursday night when the early arrivers all get together. We started that night only knowing each other's names - and ended it firm friends. Several of my other friends/past student/fellow writers were also in the same flat, but by the end of the first evening you would have been hard put to separate the 'old ' from the new - and by the end of the conference it was as if we had all known each other for ever.
Lara had just had her very first Harlequin Historical novel (
Lord Crayle's Secret World) published and she was kind enough to give me a copy. I loved the 'shout line' -
A Desperate Highwaywoman - and from reading the opening I was hooked, just wanting to read on - and on. (Thanks, Lara! Just what I needed - not! - with my own deadline bearing down on me!)
I also learned that Lara's new book -
The Reluctant Viscount - would be published later in the year - it's actually out today so
Happy Publication Day, for The Reluctant Viscount, Lara - As you know I love introducing readers to new authors, I asked Lara if she would come and visit my blog and tell you a little about herself. She has also kindly agreed to do a giveaway for both her books - all you have to do is to answer her question in the comments either today or on the second part of the Meet Lara Temple blog - we'll leave this open over the weekend to give you time to read and comment.
So meet Lara Temple - and maybe you'll discover a brand-new favourite Historical Romance author.
Welcome to the
blog, Lara and thank you for agreeing to answer my questions:
1.
Can
you tell us a little about yourself ?
Hi
Kate, thanks so much for inviting me on your blog! I write strong and sexy
regency romances for Harlequin Mills & Boon – my first
book “Lord Crayle’s Secret World” came out in March, my second “The ReluctantViscount” is out on the 25th of August, and I am hard at work on
three more books in the same line. In my previous and very different life I was
a financial analyst on Wall Street and a high tech executive and I also moved
around the world a lot. But throughout all this change, the one constant was my
love of reading and writing. I’m VERY lucky Harlequin gave me a chance to
realize it. I’m also lucky my husband and children are very happy and
supportive about my change of career – I think they like the author more than the
banker. Surprising!
2.
Have
you always wanted to write?
Yes. Yes. Yes! When
I was three I forced my mom to write down my stories (they were rather mad
adventures and I often wonder what they were feeding me back then…) and as soon
as I could hold pen to paper, I took over. I had a little setback when my older
brother discovered my secret notebooks where I had a story about teaming up
with Batman, but I kept at it, just found a better hiding place. Still, it was
always ‘for the drawer’ until I struck lucky when my mom pushed me into
entering Harlequin’s So You
Think You Can Write 2014 contest competition and my submission earned me a contract and a new direction
in life.
3.
You
write for Harlequin Historical can you tell us why you chose this
particular line? Are you a great fan of historical fiction? Any special
favourite authors?
I’m one of the many Jane
Austen addicts and Georgette Heyer. I found my first Georgette Heyer book in a
dusty bookstore in New York as a teenager and from that point on all my (many)
daydreams migrated to the regency period. Whenever I needed to escape life and
work I slipped into this
world, daydreaming or writing, and it is still “home.”
I also adore contemporary and historical murder mysteries, and aside from
rereading my Austen and Heyer books until they disintegrate to dog-eared dust,
I do the same to my Sherlock Holmes’ collection. I especially love those with
psychological depth, like those by P.D. James and Minette Walters. And too many
others…I need more time!
4.
Your
first novel, Lord Crayle’s Secret World has the ‘shout line’ A desperate
highwaywoman . . . Now that would immediately make me want to pick
up the book when I saw that. Can you tell us a little about this
novel.
My highwaywoman, Sari, is my favorite kind of heroine
– unconventional. Very little about her life has gone ‘by the book’, and when
she is at her wits end how to provide for her brother and friends, her choice
of action is pretty unconventional, too – she tries her hand at highway
robbery. Unfortunately, or for my purposes, fortunately, she has unwittingly
chosen to hold up the carriage of Michael, the Earl of Crayle, ex-soldier,
current spy, and luckily in need of a female operative for The Institute, an
offshoot of the War Office. Michael is emotionally scarred by war and by the
damaged relations between his parents and as a result he particularly values
order and discipline. But although Sari has the best of intentions, her
ambition to succeed in her new role often clashes with Michael’s need to keep
everyone safe and naturally they clash. But when the hunt is on to stop a
political assassination, the last thing either Michael or Sari count on is that
the heat of their conflicting characters is eclipsed by an attraction they
can’t control.
5.
What
gave you the original idea for this book? What inspired you to write about such
an unconventional Regency heroine?
I worked in
several very male-dominated worlds – I was in the military, on Wall Street, and
then in high tech, and in each case there is a sense of being on the outside
trying to get in (and trying to stay in). One very late night at work in London
I wondered – if it is this frustrating for someone in the 21st century
when all the doors are relatively open, what must it have felt
for someone two
hundred years ago when the thought of being equal never even crossed a woman’s
mind? And the idea of a woman finding herself drawn into the world of early
espionage just appeared and started writing itself.
Lara's Question for giveaways - Please post your answer in the comments to be in with a chance for a giveaway of one of Lara's books.
Both Sari and Alyssa are not your run of
the mill regency misses. History is full of unconventional heroines and I am
always on the lookout for real life examples – do you have a favorite
unconventional historical heroine?
And then he grew a bit bigger - but he could still fit on to the bird table under the birdhouse where he pretended he was waiting for his prey. (He can't manage that any more)
And tonight he has extra treats and a big bowl full of food to celebrate his arrival at the 'mature' age of 6 years and a bit . (He was actually 6 years old while we were in London but he doesn't realise that. Any day to celebrate his birthday with lots of treats is fine by him.
I'm blogging about the joys of Autumn and one of those joys if the imminent publication of my new book Indebted to Moreno.
Oh yes - and I have a special treat - tickets to see Kenneth Branagh in The Entertainer. So it's going to be a fun - if rather hectic week.
1 I hope you enjoyed the first part of the interview with Harlequin Historical author Lara King.
Today is #blackcatappreciationday but Ruby says you can appreciate the white bits of her as well as the black And yes, she knows she's beautiful
Still trying to catch up on everything since I got back home from wonderful Writers' Holiday. And then the weekend celebrating the Babe Magnet's birthday in Harrogate - was that really a week ago?!
But the best moment is always when I open a new box of a brand-new title and get to see the books in reality for the very first time. Unfortunately I still haven't seen the UK's edition of my new (September) Presents title - Indebted to Moreno.
There is also a new reprint edition of an older book that's out right now - and that's the 2013 title A Throne For The Taking which is now reprinted in a 3 in 1 By Request collection in the UK. The title of the collection is Claiming His Princess.
As you'll see, Saturday's Bride is a long ago title - so if you're looking to add a missing title to your collection, this might be the one. There might be more older titles coming up soon - certainly there'll be some news about older titles in the UK in ebook form as well. I'll let you know about that as soon as it's all finalised
Today on Amazon, I was delighted to spot that my 1997 book- The Groom's Revenge had appeared in a brand new form - the Manga edition turned into an English version as one of the line of Harlequin Comic. These editions are great fun because you get all the heightened emotion of the Manga version, the amazing illustrations, but the story is all in English instead of the Japanese translation of the original. So, while I've always loved the Manga version, it's great to be able to actually read this version and understand it.
I recently had some enquiries about any courses I have coming up so I thought I’d just remind you that as it’s
July I’ll be spending my usual wonderful
week by the sea in Fishguard in Wales with the fabulous Writers’ Holiday.
FIRST HALF OF THE WEEK:
c
