What is your novel Aged to Perfection about?
Aged to Perfection is about family and about remaining true to yourself. When Lord Cedric Godwin’s father demands that all of his sons marry, the hero decides to propose to his friend’s sister, Lady Muriel. But Lady Muriel is a strong, independent woman, and wooing her turns out to be more than Lord Cedric bargained for. And for Lady Muriel, who is charmed by Lord Cedric, maintaining her independence is a challenge when she’s falling in love.
Aged to Perfection is the first novel in the Unlucky in Love series. What else can we look forward to in the rest of the series?
All of the men in the Godwin family go in search of brides in this series, since the last man to marry will inherit a cursed castle that brings bad luck to whoever owns it. They all find themselves falling for ladies who are part of a group of friends who met while attending Oxford University. The ladies are all very proud of their independence, so the path to true love is definitely not easy for any of these couples. In later books in the series, you’ll meet a herpetologist and a party planner, two spies who always seem to be set against each other, an artist and a goth, and a housekeeper and a down-on-his-luck nobleman looking for a second chance.
How did you come up with your version of Regency England?
I majored in History in college, and I’ve always been interested in how the story of History could have turned out differently if only a few small things had changed. That’s especially true when it comes to the rights of women, which have changed throughout history. There have been times, especially in the Middle Ages, when women had more rights than modern people might think they did. I wanted to play with the idea of a Regency where some women had just as many rights as men, but I wanted to create conflict at the same time. So I ran with the idea that the Heptarchy, which was a situation in the 900s in the British Isles where there were seven separate kingdoms, continued to exist well beyond the time of the Middle Ages. It’s been a lot of fun playing with seven very different kingdoms with different laws and standards within what we now think of as the United Kingdom.
What makes this novel special to you? Is there a passage that has stuck in your mind (more than the others)?
One of the things I really love about this book, without giving too much away, is how even though Cedric and Muriel believe they’ll never work as a couple, they still try to do the right thing and work together to protect another innocent young lady from a terrible fate. Trying to do the right thing creates bigger problems for the two of them, but it also helps them to realize how much they love each other.
And I really love the secondary character of Lady Muriel’s brother, Lord Arnold. So much that I’m adding a story just for him at the end of the series.
If you could choose, which person in the series would you like to switch lives with for a day?
I think it would be a lot of fun to be Lady Muriel for a day. Not only is she more than meets the eye in terms of helping her brother run their family’s cheesemaking business, she’s clever and quick-witted, and she makes a strong impression wherever she goes.
You have written many different romance novels by now. What makes a good romance novel to you and do you have a favorite trope?
I think the essential thing for a great romance novel is that push and pull of love and conflict between the hero and heroine. I love it when the hero and heroine know they love each other, but there’s a really good reason that they just can’t be together. A reason that they end up overcoming, of course!
As far as tropes, I really love a good road trip, especially when it forces the hero and heroine to be in proximity with each other. I’ve always loved the fake relationship and marriage of convenience tropes, too.
Do you have (literary) role models?
I’ve been so inspired by a lot of what my fellow indie Romance writers have been doing in the last few years. There is so much creativity and so many original ideas out there right now! Some of my good friends who are doing exciting things are Scarlett Scott, Sasha Cottman, Emanuelle de Maupassant, Emily E.K. Murdoch, Beverley Oakley, Amy Rose Bennett, and Felicity Brandon.
Did you always want to be a writer? What surprised you most after the publication of your first book?
I have absolutely always wanted to be a writer! I started writing stories for myself when I was ten years old, and I never really stopped. I think the thing that surprised me the most after publishing my first book was how much marketing goes into making a career as an author. Writing books is only part of the job. The rest is learning about sales and marketing. But it’s such a great community, and we help each other out.
Where is your favourite place to write and do you have any particular writing habits?
I have an office where I do most of my writing, and I’m really strict about my schedule. I work six days a week, doing a lot of the writing work in the morning, then doing the administrative and marketing work in the afternoon. I have some friends who say I’m a workaholic when it comes to my writing, but I love it so much that it doesn’t feel like work! Well, the marketing part does feel like work, but it’s worth it.
What do you like to do when you're not writing?
I love to travel! I especially love cruising. I just love being on the ocean. The ocean is so calming and healing! I also started taking ceramics classes this year. It’s so good for my soul to get out of my apartment and go into the studio to play with clay and spend some time with people who aren’t part of the writing world. I’m getting better at that all the time.
Are you working on any new projects at the moment, and if so, what are they?
I’m always writing something. I’m hard at work on more books in the Unlucky in Love series right now. I also write Gay Romance, and I’ve been working on several of those stories as well.
What kind of novels do you read yourself? Do you have any recommendations for us?
To be honest, I’ve been reading mostly Gay Romance these days. After spending most of my life reading MF Historical Romance, I feel like a lot of the stories that people tell in Gay Romance are fresh, new, and interesting. Some of my favorite authors in that genre are Roe Horvat, Lucy Lennox, Ana Ashley, Rhys Everly, and Taylor J. Gray.