Glenda Garland – A new and exciting author on the Regency
Scene
By Linda Morelli, GWN Historical Editor
This month, I want to
introduce you to Glenda Garland, a wonderful author whose first Regency
romance, A Slight Change of Plans,
premieres November 2003. Glenda entered
her novel in Beau Monde’s 2002 Royal Ascot contest, judged by Kate Duffy of
Kensington Books. Her novel tied for
first place. Of the three winners, Kate said: “They were all apples. All round
and red, all juicy and delicious…”
Coming from Kate, this is high praise indeed, so if you love a great
regency, be sure to check out Glenda’s book! And, without further ado, here’s
the interview:
Linda: Glenda,
please tell our GWN audience a little something about yourself.
Glenda: I
have a wonderful, supportive husband. I call him supportive because after 12
years of marriage, he knows to ignore me first thing in the morning when I am
pre-coffee and starting to write. He is also, thank God, not a fellow writer.
He feels the same way about my not being a lawyer. We have moved all over the
country to pursue my graduate school in rhetoric, his in law, his clerkship,
and different positions — he is now a federal prosecutor. We’ve lived in
California, Michigan, Kansas, Oregon, Massachusetts, and suburban Washington,
DC. In a few of these places I built a freelance copywriting business. I’ve
also worked as a science editor and in public relations. My husband and I have
a boy and a girl who are finally both in school full-time. For hobbies I do
stained glass, needlework, and outdoorsy stuff.
Linda: Please
tell us why you decided you wanted to write romance novels. Did any authors
influence you and, if so, why?
Glenda: Happy endings provide a deep satisfaction
for me. I have had to watch some members of my husband’s family divorce very
painfully, and it has made me appreciate the possibility of people working
things out together instead of just chucking it. I can’t say any one author
influenced me to write romances per se, but Jane Austen certainly made me fall
in love with Regency England. I love all the things that are said without being
said.
Linda: Did you have an agent to send
out your first book?
Glenda: No. I entered my November 2003 release in a
Regency Writers’ Contest: the Beau Monde’s Royal Ascot. The final-round judge
was Kate Duffy of Kensington. She could not settle on one winner, as three of
us finalists had such different voices. She offered us all contracts instead. I
asked for time to find representation, and then queried agents.
Linda: That’s
quite an accomplishment, and one of which you can be proud. How long have you been
writing?
Glenda: I started writing when I was 14. I had an
exceptionally bad ninth grade English teacher, who would discourage me from
doing any outside reading in class, even reading the dictionary when I was done
defining words and putting them into the obligatory sentences. There was
nothing left for me to do but stare out the window. Later, I would write down
the stories I made up to get them out of my head. As a 14-year-old, it was
excruciating, but now I look back on that teacher with something like fondness.
My first book was a space opera, and I still have a copy of it around to keep
me humble. It had a very decided romantic element, so I thought I might become
a stronger writer if I concentrated on the romance and didn’t worry about space
ships so much. Life and all that moving around have intruded on my fiction, but
somehow I always found some time for it.
Linda: How do you go about
developing your characters and plots? Do you use an outline when writing and,
if so, do your characters ever surprise you?
Glenda: I usually start from some
germ idea or image. I turn the idea around and around, trying to figure out
what sort of contrasting characters would work within it. Then I try to find a
situation that will challenge those characters and proceed logically from their
characters. I work at it until I have answered the whys and motivations. Then I
take a stab at writing an outline and do a whole lot of grumbling because I
discover all the holes that I have to plug. I always aim to write a short,
three- to five-page outline, and for some reason they always come out eight to
ten. It’s a mystery. But I do tend to stick to my outlines, and I have been
told that is a good thing. So once I start writing a draft, my characters do
not surprise me by how they act in the broad sense. They do, however, surprise
me by how they get where they need to go, how they express themselves, and what
they observe.
Linda: Who
has been your favorite hero so far, and why? Favorite heroine? Favorite couple?
Glenda: My favorite hero so far that
I wrote is in my March, 2004 release, The
Unexpected Sister. Lord Thomas has
managed to be guilty about being capable, and that is a nice, double-edged
sword. Very fun to work with. My favorite heroine appears in that book, but she
gets to really shine in the book I’m working on now (which I have titled Her Other Thief, but we’ll see what my
editor has to say about that!). Lucy is wicked smart, but completely convinced
she has nothing to offer a man.
For other writers’
heroes and heroines, my favorite hero, hands down, is Lois McMasters Bujold’s
Miles Vorkosigan, second to Dorothy L. Sayers’s Lord Peter Wimsey. Sigh. My
favorite couple is Buffy and Spike. I like each character’s complexity and
idiosyncrasies, and the way they play off each other.
Linda: I
love Lord Peter Wimsey as well. What is
your writing schedule like and, on average, how long does it take to complete a
book?
Glenda: I write pretty much every
day, even during hurricanes and vacations, although I don’t tend to write as
much on paper. I am a first-thing-in-the-morning writer. I get up before the
kids, stagger to the coffee maker, add cream, then go to the computer, and work
until my kids get up. My son will climb into my lap for all he’s seven, and
read my rough drafts. I’ve found that if I work first thing, I can come back to
it pretty much anytime after, although I usually go back to work right after
firing the kids off to school. I love my kids’ sweet faces, but the days when
one of them wakes me up and wants me to read them someone else’s words are not
good days for me. I keep myself working until I have done at least 1,000 words:
about four pages. Some days I have done as many as eight. But I’ve given up
writing past 6:00 pm. Synaptic decrepitude sets in then. As to how long
finishing a manuscript takes me, it varies by whether school’s in or not. I can
usually write a draft in about three months.
Linda: Have
you ever suffered from Writer's Block and, if so, what do you do?
Glenda: I don’t remember the last
time I suffered from Writer’s Block, capital W and B. I get slowed down when I
take more than a few days off from writing. It usually takes me a few days to
get back into the swing of things again. When plotting out a book, I get pretty
frustrated because I don’t know the shape of it yet, but I wouldn’t describe it
as being blocked. I pace, cut some glass, sleep on it, go to concerts, and work
out. I sometimes think I should have charged my freelance clients for my time
on the exercise bicycle, because I would invariably come up with just the right
idea in the shower directly after.
Linda: Did
you belong to any critique groups when you started? If so, do you find this
helpful?
Glenda: I did not when I started,
but I have since found them very helpful. Not all critique groups or partners
have to meet formally, either. I am thankful for having trusty writer friends
who can help me think through ideas on the spur of the moment. I have a
critique partner now that I send stuff to online whenever I need feedback on a
draft. She suggested that I write Lucy’s story (see above under heroes and
heroines), which has turned out to a great project.
Linda: What
do you like most and/or least about writing?
Glenda: I despise writing endings. I am known to
procrastinate and grumble and snarl. On the other hand, I love being right in
the groove of a story, listening to my characters figure out how to talk to
each other. I also love having the ideas come and feel round and promising and
right.
Linda: Your family must be very
proud of you being a romance writer. What did they say when you got the call
that you sold your first book?
Glenda: When my editor called me, I
was in the middle of moving from Boston to Washington, DC. I first thought she
was a real estate agent telling me I had to get the kids out of the house so
she could show it. She had to tell me twice she was calling to buy my book, and
then laughed when I got quiet. When I got off the phone and had finished
jumping up and down, my little boy said, “Does this mean you won, Mom? Good
job.” My husband had a co-worker help him track down champagne in Boston’s
financial district, and he had my first cover framed straightaway. My mother
also brought champagne on her next visit.
Linda:
Could you please tell us about "A Slight Change of Plans," your
November 2003 release?
Glenda: With pleasure. Penelope Lindon has raised
her sister’s twins since her sister died in childbirth five years ago. Trouble
is, she promised her brother-in-law she would not marry. Then the murder of her
neighbor, the Marquess of Worthington, brought his cousin and heir Lucas
Pargetter into her life. A former rake, and now suspected of his cousin’s
murder, Lucas quickly recognizes that Penelope is the one person who can help
him solve his cousin’s murder and restore his reputation. But Penelope knows
Lucas is the one person she cannot be associated with if she wants to keep her
beloved children. It is about how love can be used to chain someone or to
release them.
Linda:
How did you do your research for your book? How much time do you usually spend
on research before you begin writing a story?
Glenda: I have read widely about the
history of the Regency period, so I feel pretty comfortable getting the tone of
it — what’s possible as a plot and what’s not. I browse websites, consult my
own reference books, talk to librarians, and order things from interlibrary
loan. When I have some very specific questions, I have excellent experts to
ask.
Linda: What advice do you have for new romance
authors?
Glenda: If other authors working for
your house sponsor a listserv, I’d recommend getting on it. Also, give back to
other writers who are still trying to get published. Odds are, someone gave you
some good advice once or twice. We’re now the ones to do some giving.
Linda: Where do you see the romance
genre going in the future?
Glenda: Romances are exploring so many different
issues that I wonder where they won’t go.
Linda: LOL. Good answer. What are you going to be writing next? Is there anything you're
working on that you would like your readers to know about?
Glenda: As I mentioned under the question about
heroes and heroines, I have another Regency coming out from Zebra in March 2004
called The Unexpected Sister. I will
also have two other Regencies from Zebra after that. The first one will spin
off the best friend of the heroine from The
Unexpected Sister. The publication schedule, however, is still in process.
I am also exploring some other ideas, but they’re still in that frustrating (to
me, at least) unformed stage right now. I hope you’ll enjoy my books. Except
for having to say good-bye to the characters at the end, I had a great time
writing them.
Linda:
Thank you so much, Glenda, for a wonderful interview! If you have any questions for Glenda, you
can write her directly. Glenda’s email is: glendagarland@comcast.net.
Linda Morelli
GWN Historical Editor