Q1. For you - what makes a romance novel a great love story, and who are some of your favorite authors to read?
Hazel: I need to empathize and connect with the hero and heroine. To feel their joys and woes. Like the heroine, I need to fall in love with the hero. Once this is achieved, I am well and truly hooked. I adored Rochester and even now, some forty-eight years later, he remains my ultimate hero. Of course, over the years he has been joined by many others as I have read books by Heyer, Austin, Kinsale, Putney and various others too numerous to mention – but I always return to Rochester.
Martha: Yes, we do like to fall in love with the hero. Those are wonderful authors and I must say that your writing brings Heyer to my mind.
Q2. Can you tell us what inspired you to write this time period?
Hazel: I have always adored history and at the age of fifteen, when I started to write, I chose Victorian times but when I read ‘Regency Buck’, my first Heyer, I knew I had found MY era and I now write, with the exception of two Georgians, in the Regency period.
Martha: Those are lovely romance eras I think with lots of room for feminine conflict.
Q3. What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your book?
Hazel: I write mainly for my own amusement. I do not write to a formula but how I want the story to unfold. The greatest revelation was that people enjoyed reading my work and it was of value to others
Martha: I certainly enjoyed reading Dominic
and hope to read more of your stories!Q4. What comes first for your stories? The plot or the characters?
Hazel: I think I have to say the plot. Once the idea of a story enters my head, I then develop the characters. However, I’m not a great planner. I have an idea in which direction I want the story to go but am not averse to the occasional diversion. I just go where my characters take me. I sometimes hear a statement coming out of their mouths that I never even thought of but just go with the flow.
Martha: I love how authors can be led by their characters!
Q5. In Dominic
what is something your heroine would never be caught dead doing or saying?
Hazel: She would not admit how difficult her life had been on the streets of London and her dread
of having to return there. However, despite her fears, she feels it is the only course open to her when her aunt is intent on forcing Dominic to marry her.Martha: Sophie does have quite a bit of honor and spunk.
Q6. What scene do you like most and would never cut from Dominic?Hazel: I think it has to be the scene in the library after the ball. It’s a very telling scene and a time of great revelation to Dominic
.
Martha: Yes- that is a lovely scene.
Q7. If your publisher agreed to send you anywhere in the world to research your new book, where would that be?
Hazel: I would love to visit London again. There are so many places that inspire me.
Martha: I visited London in 2005 and would love to visit again too.
Some quick finish the sentence statements:
Q8. Why I write ...
Writing is a compulsion I just can’t ignore. I write to fulfill a need in me to recreate my own historical world.
Q9. I am reading/watching/listening to ...
I have just finished watching the film ‘Waterloo’ and the charge of the Scots Grays (so very well depicted), never fails to bring tears to my eyes.
Q10. My inspiration is ...
The romance and elegance of the Regency and Georgian eras inspires me to recreate it in my work.
Q11. If you could have readers finish a sentence what would it be?
Hazel: I have read and enjoyed (not enjoyed) Hazel’s work because ……
Martha: Okay - I will answer: ... because Dominic is a fine historical romance with lively characters, dialogue and entertaining plot.
Thanks so much for visiting with me Hazel and thank you for offering an ebook copy of Dominic
to a lucky commentor. See the Giveaway with the Review.
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