My interview with historical romance author Sarah MacLean

I interviewed historical romance author Sarah MacLean, whose new book, Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart, comes out in April, for SheWrites. Visit Sarah's blog for all the historical romances you should be reading (by which I mean, where I have discovered a ton of amazing authors) and giveaways and news about her books.



Below are the questions I asked her - read the interview to get the answers!

Why did you decide to focus on historical romance? Do you find the conventions of that subgenre conducive to your writing process or are they limiting?

You have 2 books out in your linked trilogy: Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake and Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord, with the third, Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart, due out in April 2011. How did you get the inspiration for them, and did you have all three mapped out when you started writing the first?

What kinds of research have you done to accurately write about the time period your books cover?

When you were 17, you stated that your dream occupation was romance novelist. What were the biggest hurdles to achieving that dream, and do you have any advice for budding romance writers?

"Can it be true that Uranus causes explosive, unpredictable behavior?"

That is a question, in slightly truncated form, that author Jenny Brown asks about her debut historical romance novel, Lord Lightning on her blog:

Eliza Farrell, the heroine of my debut romance, Lord Lightning, which will be on the stands September 28, is a gently raised lady who is a direct descendant of William Lilly, England’s most famous astrologer.

Though you might be surprised to learn this, the use of astrology was very popular much during the Regency period, and among its greatest challenges was to figure out what the astrological meaning was of the new planet, Uranus, which had only just been discovered in 1789.

Not so coincidentally, this turns out to be Eliza’s biggest challenge, too. For Eliza reads the chart of an anonymous stranger and interprets it as being that of a man who was born to love, only to be told that the chart is that of a well known libertine, nicknamed Lord Lightning, who is famed for his cold heart and shocking behavior.


Sure enough, the outrageous Lord’s chart is dominated by the new planet Uranus, which stands at the very point that shows the role the person takes on the world’s stage. Can it be true Eliza wonders, that, as some speculate, Uranus causes explosive, unpredictable behavior?



I first heard about Lord Lightning on Sarah MacLean's blog, where Jenny Brown serves up "Twelve Ways to Win His Heart (Astrological Version)" as part of Sarah's blog promotion around Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord, which you can hear her read from for free along with me at the Passion: Erotic Romance for Women reading, plus free cupcakes on Thursday, November 11th at 7 pm at Word (or, properly, WORD) in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Full details on Facebook.

Anyway, that guest post sold me on the book - I'll let you know what I think when I'm done with it!

Click here to read an excerpt from Lord Lightning

Click here for Jenny Brown's website

Click here for Jenny Brown's blog