One of the great things to come out
of So You Think You Can Write, is the friendships I’ve made and it give me
great pleasure to have Elisabeth Hobbes as the first guest to my blog.
Hi Elisabeth.
First of all, congratulations on
your success in last year’s So You Think You Can Write contest. I’m really
looking forward to seeing your book on the shelves and of course reading it!
As
a historical romance writer you have some fabulous excuses for research. How do
you go about researching for a new story?
Once I have an idea for a story in
mind and know who the characters are I love finding locations for the story to
take place. I grew up in York so was
always surrounded by beautiful medieval buildings so I have a lot of memories
to draw on. My degree was in History and
Art History so I have that to draw on in terms of factual information.
If
you could spend a few hours with any person from history, who would it be and
why?
There are so many inspirational
people I’d love to meet but it would have to be Eleanor of Aquitaine who
managed to influence politics and ensure her daughters were also able to make
influential marriages. We think of women
being, until fairly recently, powerless but she ruled as regent and held her
own in an incredibly male dominated society.
It must have taken an incredible force of will and that is something I
wanted to have Aline, the heroine of Falling for Her Captor, discovering as she
finds her inner strength.
Do
you have a special place for writing?
I’m not disciplined so I have to go somewhere
without internet access. Luckily there
are a couple of fabulous independent cafes and pubs where I live so I take
myself off there (I’m in the pub as I write this) where I can get some peace
and of course a nice pint or cake. I may
have to dedicate my next book to them!
When I am at home it’s usually in an
armchair with the laptop balanced on the arm and a cat on my lap.
Are
you a plotter or punster?
I’m a bit of both. I know when I start writing where the story
is going to end with essential plot points mapped out, but I end up deviating
or adding things in. Sometimes the
characters insist on it, however much I try to make them do what I want!
What
advice would you give to other aspiring romance writers?
Know your reader expectations. I changed a fair bit of Falling for Her
Captor to fit in with series guidelines for Harlequin Historical. Also, the same advice I’d give to any writer:
join a writing group or website and try get some critique of your work. It’s nerve-wracking to put your work out
there for people to read, especially with the sort of intimate scenes involved
in the romance genre, but finding out what readers think is the only way to
improve.
Finally,
how did you celebrate getting ‘the call’?
I was on an early morning ferry from
Calais to Dover when I got the call so I was a little seasick and tired having
driven halfway across France before breakfast.
I wasn’t in a position to celebrate much at the time. Once we docked I called my mum, my sister and
got straight on to Facebook to tell everyone who had supported my through
SYTYCW. My husband and I had been skiing
(our one child free indulgence) and were heading back to pick up our children
from my in-laws so it was lovely to be able to turn up with such exciting news
and a few bottles of Breton cider to celebrate.
Falling for Her Captor will be
released on October 1st with Harlequin Historical.
You can find out more of what
Elisabeth is up to on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ElisabethHobbes?ref=hl
Or her blog http://elisabethhobbes.co.uk
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