Romancing the blog . . . Fun-Writing Blog

Today I have Heather King revealing aspects to do with her historical romance novel,

 

“A Sense of the Ridiculous”.

 

 

 

 

 

Heather prefers to remain anonymous!

 

From the age of about seven, when I won a third prize from Cadbury’s for a short story I had written at school, I was hooked on writing and stories. I was a dreamer and could go off into a make-believe world for hours, but I also loved art, reading and animals. For a long time writing was just another leisure activity, particularly during my teenage years. I worked in various jobs before getting the chance to train in a professional yard and pursue my dream of a career with horses. For all I swore never to be a teacher, I love training and schooling!

 

Family commitments brought about a move from the north to Worcestershire, where I now share my lovely home with various life-forms, including two ponies, three cats and a boisterous new addition in the shape of a rescued ‘Staffie X’. I like to write warm, humorous romances, mostly in the Regency and Paranormal genres. I love Georgette Heyer’s Regency novels and whilst writing in my own voice, my aim is to follow (albeit with tiny steps) in her magnificent wake. I have just completed a shape shifter novel and am currently polishing a collection of Vampire Romance short stories ready for publication. A Sense of the Ridiculous is my debut Regency novel, but I have others at various stages of completion as well asmy second work, An Improper Marriage,due to be published sometime this summer.

 

When I’m not looking after the family or frowning over notepad or keyboard, I can be found walking my dog, fighting a losing battle against weeds and lawn, reading or baking chocolate and banana cake.

 

 

 

“The Interview”

 

 

 

(1) What actually inspired the writing of your novel(s)?

 

A love of the Regency and the Yorkshire countryside, coupled with enforced time off due to the Foot and Mouth crisis gave me the background and opportunity. Then, whenmucking out one morning, my pony charged across the field andI started to wonderwhat might happen if my heroine’s horse bolted and she found herself in unfamiliar country.

 

(2) Alpha or beta hero –profession/title/rank?– brief description!

 

 

Richard is definitely an alpha hero, yet he has beta characteristics too. He is an innkeeper, but unbeknownst to him at the start of the novel, he has more exalted connections. Aged 27, he is a handsome and personable man, with brown wavy hair and thoughtful blue-grey eyes. He likes a woman to know her own mind!

 

(3) Can you describe your heroine’s personality- title/rank?– description!

 

 Having lost her mother when still a child, Jocasta (20) has had an unconventional upbringing under the casual guidance of her father, bluff country squire Sir Thomas Stanyon. She has run semi-wild with her brother and his friends for much of her life. She loves dogs and horses and is an excellent rider, but is sometimes impetuous, which leads her into scrapes. She tries hard to be good, but is a little impatient of some the restrictions now imposed on her. She is also frustrated by the dull men in the locality, one of whom her father favours as a suitor.

 

(4) Are there secondary lead characters with important roles?

 

 Yes. It is partly because of heraunt, the Countess of Harford, that Jocasta finds herself lost. Harry, her brother, is instrumental in her separation from Richard. Richard’s mother, Meg Cowley, also has an important part to play, as her actions affect the final outcome.

 

 (5) Where is the novel (s) set? – time-frame – country etc.

 

 Regency England, autumn 1817; specifically the countryside around York (Yorkshire), although some action takes place on the road to London and in the capital itself. The novel covers a period of several weeks, with an epilogue set about three years later.

 (6) What is it about your chosen era/periods that you most enjoy?

 

I love the style, elegance and courtesy of the Regency era (as well as men in neckcloths, breeches and top boots!) I also like the quieter pace of life then. Although I sometimes think I should have been born in an earlier age, I like my mod cons too much!

 

(7) Which if any of your characters do you dislike, and why?

 

I wouldn’t say I dislike him as such, but Harry is annoying because he is selfish and thoughtless. He isn’t deliberately unkind; he just sees the world purely from his own perspective.

 

 (8) Do you avoid sex scenes, gross violence or other in your works?

 

In my Regency novels, while I touch on sensual feelings, I do not have sex scenes unless the characters are married and even then with no graphic detail. It is more emotional. In a contemporary novel, I have no problem with including a love scene if it is pertinent to the story and the characters are in love, but I prefer to leave much to the reader’s imagination.

 

 (9) How would you rate your novel – historical fiction, romantic fiction, tear-jerker, emotional drama, swashbuckling adventure, or…?

 

A Sense of the Ridiculous is romantic historical fiction; a light-hearted romp in the best tradition of the Regency genre, which I hope leaves readers with a smile on their faces!

 

 

 

Back cover blurb:

 When a prank goes wrong, headstrong squire’s daughter Jocasta Stanyon wakes up in the bedchamber of an inn with no memory of who she is. The inn is owned by widow Meg Cowley and her handsome son, Richard, who proves to be more than a match for the unconventional Miss Stanyon. Initial attraction leads, through various scrapes and indiscretions, to love, but their stations in life are far removed from each other and fate tears them apart with a cruel hand. Forbidden by her father to have any contact with Richard for six months, Jocasta is horrified when she is then summoned to receive the addresses of a fashionable stranger..

 

Heather’s author blog  http://regencywriter-hking.blogspot.co.uk

 

http://creative-babble-writing@blogspot.co.uk

(Creative Babble ~ The Online Writing Workshop)

 

Thank you.