Read an excerpt from The Secret Wedding
Visit Jo Beverly's web site
About Jo Beverly
Jo Beverley is one the few authors writing English-set historical romance who is English. She was born and raised in England, and has a degree in English history from Keele University in Staffordshire. She and her husband emigrated to Canada, where they now live. They have two sons.
Though Jo started to write as a young child, it was only in the eighties that she began to think that it was something ordinary people could do, and after a talk at a local library, she settled to seriously writing her first historical romance.
Now, she is the author of over thirty romance novels and many novellas -- see Jo Beverley's booklist which have brought her many awards, including five RITA awards from the Romance Writers of America and awards from Romantic Times including two Career Achievement awards. She is a member of the RWA Honor Roll, and the RWA Hall of Fame.
Book list
http://members.shaw.ca/jobev/booklist.html
An Interview with Jo Beverly
By Tina Pavlik for The Romance StudioTP: Jo, thank you for talking with us at The Romance Studio. Please tell us about your latest release, The Secret Wedding. JB: The Secret Wedding is a secret identity/forced marriage/road adventure romance set in the 1760s. It starts in industrial Yorkshire, moves through aristocratic London and then down to Devon in the West Country, which is where I am as I type these answers!
TP: You hero is a sixteen year-old with hopes of a bright military career, caught in a situation where he was trying to be honorable but ultimately forced into marriage. What do you like best about Christian
Hill? JB: I perhaps should stress up front that after the prologue we catch up
with him as a twenty-six year old military veteran, but yes, that's
the situation in the prologue when these two unlikely people --
Christian Hill, of an aristocratic family, and Dorcas Froggatt, the
daughter of a Sheffield cutler end up married. First of all, Christian
is honorable, which is a most important quality in a romance hero. He
also has what they called back then a "merry heart." He's not foolish,
but he enjoys to the full the pleasures of life when he can. As Dorcas/
Caro learns in the book!
TP: Your heroine is a grown woman who wishes to marry but doesn't know
if she is free to do so. She was married off to a stranger at
fourteen by her formidable aunt to cover a youthful mistake. She's
been told the man is now dead but wants to be certain. What do you
like best about Caro and how do you relate to her?
JB: Because of her background and inheritance, Caro has an unusual amount
of freedom for a woman of the period, but that also brings
responsibilities, which she takes seriously, such as looking ahead to
the welfare of the family firm and all its employees. She also accepts
responsibility for her own actions. It's another aspect of honor, of
course. Men and women of the period were different because their
circumstances were different, but the essential qualities remain the
same.
Also, this explains Caro's link to Diana, Countess of Arradale and
Marchioness of Rothgar, another unusually wealthy and independent
woman of the time, and also a Yorkshirewoman.
TP: Where did you get the idea for this incredible, emotionally charged tale? JB: Good question! In fact the opening scene, the prologue, came to me out
of the blue before I'd begun to think of a story for Christian. It was
vivid and I had to write it before I could get back to the work in
hand. I call this being "mugged by the muse" and as usual I was
muttering at her as I got the scene down. But then later I realized
that the young soldier was Christian.
The prologue is available to read here: http://members.shaw.ca/jobev/booklist.html
I had no idea who Dorcas was, but as I poked at the history of
Sheffield and the steel industry her situation and story simply grew,
as is often the case. I realized that I needed a different name for
her as an adult, and that of itself created the story of a family
moving up out of the middle class trades into the country gentry,
which shaped the marriage she wanted, and her determination that all
be perfect....
But then I had these two people, each seeking the other but not
recognizing each other when they met. In my first run at it, I had
Caro leaving for London fairly early in the book, but I realized that
they needed more time to get to know each other, and the woman in the
inn became important, and...
It's the way I write. No pre-planning. Just riding the wave.
TP: It was nice visiting with favorite characters from Malloren world stories and always appreciated by readers and fans like myself. Can we look for future Georgian romances in this world? JB: Definitely, though I wonder how often I can naturally include the
Mallorens in major roles! I know the readers want this, and also want
to be kept up to date on all their lives, but that can begin to
strangle the natural flow of stories, and for me, the story always
comes first.
This can have strange results. For example, one reviewer wasn't too
keen on the introduction of Robin and Petra from A Lady's Secret into
The Secret Wedding, but it wasn't particularly my desire to have them
in the story. I realized that in a trip from York to London, Rothgar
et al were going to pass through Huntingdonshire and it was impossible
to believe he wouldn't visit family, so I had to. Perhaps I didn't
make it a big enough feature.
It's similar to my dilemma when I needed the French Ambassador to play
a minor part in Rothgar's story, Devilish. When I discovered that the
acting French Ambassador was the Chevalier d'Eon, I knew he could
never be a walk-on part. It was impossible. (If you haven't read
Devilish, search for him on the internet and you'll see why.) So I had
to make him a major character. Perhaps I should have given Robin and
Petra bigger parts to play, but I didn't see a natural way to do so.
TP: You started writing in the eighties, focusing on historical romance. Tell us about making that first sale. JB: >I'd been seriously writing for about four years, and had had excellent rejections. I was describing myself as "ten months pregnant" because it felt it simply had to happen soon, and it did. It felt great, of
course, but I had no idea then that my career would progress so well.
TP: Now you are an award-winning author, a star of the genre. How have things changed for you since you started out? JB: It's wonderful to have a lot of readers enjoying my stories and eager for more.
TP: What draws you to historical romance? JB: I've always loved history and not been as interested in the here and
now, so it's an easy fit. Also, though I try to work within the
realities of my time period, there's a distance and fantasy element to
historical romance that I enjoy. If I write anything contemporary I
tend to become more serious about realities of the time and I don't
think it leads to such an enjoyable story. My second favorite genre is
SF&F.
TP: You're from England originally. Since many of your stories have that setting, do you find your personal origins are an aid to you? JB: It does help to belong to a culture and understand its ways, yes. I greatly admire people from elsewhere who do such a good job of writing stories set in England.
TP: What accomplishment, at this point in your career, are you most proud of? JB: Simply writing stories that give people entertainment and pleasure, and also creating characters who come alive for others, about whom others truly care.
TP: How do you balance a very successful writing career with the rest of your life?
JB: Not always as well as I should! Writing can be consuming and obsessive. I try to make sure I have other interests and spend time doing other things.
TP: What do you have in store for lucky readers in the future? JB: I've recently finished a story for a Grail anthology called Chalice of Roses. This is by the same quartet who create Faery Magic and Dragon Lovers. You can find out more at www.fourinspired.com. I'm also working on the next books in the trilogy, featuring the Duke of Ithorne. That will be out next year.
There are details of my books on my webpage at http://members.shaw.ca/jobev/booklist.html and there are also places to sign up for a one time reminder when new books are out as well as places to sign up for my occasional newsletter. Past newsletters can be read at http://members.shaw.ca/jobev/news.html
All best wishes,
Jo
TP: Thank you!
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