Romance and Historicals: A Dual Compassion…
An Interview with Historical Romance Author Hope Tarr
By Linda Morelli, GWN Historical Editor

"Hope Tarr is the author of the critically acclaimed A ROGUE'S PLEASURE. Her historical romances combine opulent period detail with intelligent characters, sizzling sensuality, and compassion for all creatures great and small."

So states Hope's website and, having read her books, I can assure you it's the truth. Hope writes elegant novels of passionate love or, as she puts it, "life-affirming stories in which the hero and heroine find not only their soul mate, but also their souls in the bargain." But she doesn't stop there. Hope weds her passion for British history with another passion: her love of animals. Her novels have also received high acclaim. Tina Engler of The Romance Reader called Hope's debut novel, A ROGUE'S PLEASURE, "Fast-paced, intriguing, and loaded with sexual tension…a real page-turner." Harriet Klausner called TEMPTING a "stand out among the ton of historicals." TEMPTING is also a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award nominee for Best Innovative Historical Romance. Suzanne Coleburn said of MY LORD JACK: "Hope Tarr's storytelling talent sparkles and shines like a diamond on black velvet…"

And with that image in mind, let's get on to the interview with this highly talented and wonderful author.

Linda: Hope, please tell us something about yourself.

Hope: Well, something that isn't commonly known is that for almost six years I directed a national grassroots effort known as the Pet Overpopulation STAMP OUT Project. Every year in this country, U.S. animal shelters destroy between four and five MILLION dogs and cats because there simply aren't enough homes for them all but the good news is that this is a problem that we can all help to solve: by spaying or neutering our personal pets.

STAMP OUT's goal was to win issuance of a U.S. postage stamp to urge pet-owners to "Neuter/Spay" their dogs and cats, and I'm thrilled to report that we not only succeeded, we exceeded our goal. Not one but two Neuter/Spay stamps were issued nationwide September 20, 2002. The stamps, 250 million of them, feature the soulful photographic portraits of former shelter pets Kirby (puppy) and Samantha (kitten) as well as a toll-free English/Spanish telephone number and website. Both the website and telephone number link to a national directory, searchable by zip code, enabling anyone anywhere in the United States to find the veterinarian and/or spay/neuter program (including reduced cost) in his/her local community.

You can purchase the stamps at your local post office, by calling the Postal Service's central distribution office toll-free at 1-800-STAMP-24 or by placing your order online at www.stampsonline.com

Now, back to my "day" job ... :)

Linda: I've already bought a sheet for this worthy cause. :-) How long have you been writing?

Hope: I decided I wanted to be a writer, and a romance writer particularly, at the tender age of twelve when I read my first romance, a Gothic by the late-great Victoria Holt. I wrote my first attempt on a manual typewriter -- an historical set in Tudor England that, I can assure you, will never see the light of day. Even so, for a twelve year-old, it wasn't all that bad. And more to the point, it showed me that I could not just start a book, but finish one, too!

Writing, romantic or otherwise, got put on the back burner until 1993. I was freelancing as a program evaluation/research consultant and on hiatus after completing a particularly grueling project. I ended up wandering a shopping mall and, as usually happens, ended up in a bookstore. In the reference section I spotted a small pink paperback, Kathryn Falk's "How to Write a Romance and Get it Published." I snapped up the book, read it from cover to cover, and then started on my first manuscript. And, as they say, "the rest is history." :)

Linda: You belong to RWA and the local chapter, Washington Romance Writers. How did they help you on the road to getting published?

Hope: RWA and WRW were both invaluable in setting my feet on the path to publication, and I highly recommend them to anyone who tells me that she is considering writing, or writing a romance novel. I joined RWA in 1997 and attended my first national conference that summer. How astounding, and reassuring, to know that there were others out there like me, aspiring writers with the same dream of wanting to publish a romance novel.

My local chapter, WRW, was and is a wonderful resource for authors at all levels, from aspirant to newly published to mid-list and beyond. I met both my current agent and editor at WRW's annual spring retreat in Harpers Ferry, WV. Every year, the retreat speakers are top notch -- last year we had Suzanne Brockman AND Teresa Medeiros -- and the laid-back "retreat" atmosphere is definitely conducive to meeting new people as well as reconnecting with old friends.

Linda: For readers who aren't aware of this, I'm also a member of WRW and agree entirely with Hope's statement. I never miss going to the retreat. Hope, could you please tell us how you got that all-important contract for your first book, A ROGUE'S PLEASURE?

Hope: I said that I started writing my first "grown up" manuscript in 1993, but it wasn't until 1999 that I made that first sale -- to Berkley/Jove. My agent, Jenny Bent, made the deal and the Regency-set historical that would be titled A ROGUE'S PLEASURE was published in November '00 as one of the launch book's for B/J's new "Seduction" romance line.

Linda: Did you have an agent at that time and, if not, do you have one now?

Hope: I'm happy to say I'm still with Jenny [Bent], who has since moved from Graybill and English to the Harvey Klinger Agency in NYC.

Linda: Your characters and plots are so multidimensional, sensual and compassionate. How do you go about developing them?

Hope: Oh my, Linda, you're going to turn my head, not that I'm asking you to stop, mind. ;-) Seriously though, it is and probably always will be the characters that come to me first, closely followed by snippets of dialogue and lastly followed by... the plot. Frankly, it feels like a "visitation" more than character development, as we know it. Take, for example, the character of Jack Campbell, the hero of MY LORD JACK (Jove, May '02). For almost a year before I sat down to write the book, this woodsy, almost feral man haunted me. He was tall and broad shouldered (but of course), red-haired, and a sublime combination of unstudied sensuality and innocence. By the time I actually gave in to him and committed to writing his story, I knew him down to his favorite color and his worst fear. I could smell him, hear him, recognize him down to the shape and feel of his hands.

So, um, I guess you can tell, these "characters" are pretty real to me. :)

Linda: Do you use an outline when writing and, if so, do your characters ever surprise you?

Hope: I do a detailed synopsis, as in twenty plus pages, before sitting down to do any serious writing, though I've usually taken down a ton of notes beforehand. Once I have the synopsis written, I never feel bound by it. To me, a synopsis is a roadmap, to be picked only when you absolutely, desperately need it. And like any car trip, with writing a book, it's always easier to steer off course for a side trip if you have a course charted already.

Linda: Who has been your favorite hero so far, and why? Favorite heroine? Favorite couple?

Hope: Jack Campbell, whom I mention above, is my very favorite hero. Like me, he's a huge animal lover and there's something especially appealing to me about a big, bluff man who can cradle a cat or even a pet mouse with such rough gentleness.

My favorite heroine is Christine Tremayne of TEMPTING (Jove, September '02). Christine is what I like to call my "woman-child" heroine and, as such, the perfect woman to tame my wounded male hero, Simon. Christine, like Yours Truly, is absolutely devoted to her cat, Puss. (Puss is modeled after my own tiger-striped tabby cat). Early on in TEMPTING, she persuades my curmudgeon hero to help her break into a boarded up brothel to rescue Puss, who has been left behind. Another poignant scene occurs later in the book when she breaks through to Simon's walled up heart by giving him... a puppy.

Linda: What is your writing schedule like and, on average, how long does it take to complete a book? Also, have you ever suffered from Writer's Block and, if so, what do you do?

Hope: When I'm working on a manuscript, I typically write six days a week and anywhere from two hours to twelve hours a day. If the story's really cooking, I may write longer. If not, well as I write historical fiction, there's always plenty of research to do, some pesky fact that needs looking up. And if there's a snafu with the story, well who's to say that brainstorming with my hubby over a bottle of wine doesn't count as "work." <VBG>

Linda: Hmmm. Give me a glass of wine and I get passionate as well. My husband has yet to complain. ;-) How do you go about researching your books? How much time do you spend on research before you begin writing the story?

Hope: I do some basic research prior to writing, enough to make sure that the story I'm writing won't conflict with the history, but mostly the research is ongoing, which is to say it doesn't end until I type THE END. And even then, my editor or the copyeditor may raise a question or issue with a particular historical fact, and I'll do some fact checking to make doubly sure I've gotten it right.

Linda: What type of promotion do you do for your books?

Hope: Oh my, an easier question to answer would be what *don't* I do. <GG> I'm a big proponent of book signings with the caveat that they're well planned and well thought out. I send review galleys out to everyone under the sun, it seems, in addition to the reviewers that my publisher contacts directly. I always do a press release about a month prior to my book coming out. I have a short-list of romance-friendly booksellers and readers groups, to whom I send ARCs or the actual book in the hope that they will review it or select it as their book club read, respectively.

I have a website maintained by Writerspace, and I work very hard with them to make sure that the content is current and interesting. I run a monthly contest online through which I give away three books per month. To celebrate the winter holidays, I gave away a lovely amber pendant like the one Simon gives Christine in TEMPTING. For details, go to www.hopetarr.com and click on Contests.

Also on my website, I have a special offer to romance book clubs ,which I will be extending into the spring of '03. For any club in the US that selects TEMPTING as its reading pick, I will telephone the group and chat up to thirty minutes on my nickel. Again, for details, including sample discussion topics, visit www.hopetarr.com and click on Book Club.

Linda: Book clubbers take note. What do you like most and/or least about writing?

Hope: I love absolutely everything about writing, without caveat or exception. For me, a "bad day" at writing is still a hundred times better than a "good day" doing anything else.

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?

Hope: Both my husband and my mother said, "I KNEW you would do it." My husband tells me several times a week how proud he is of me -- if that doesn't qualify as "support," I don't know what would.

Linda: Can you tell us a little about your May 2002 Scottish historical, MY LORD JACK, and your latest release, TEMPTING?

Hope: MY LORD JACK is an opposites-attract story and yet it's not. In the course of the book, my hero and heroine, Jack and Claudia, find out that they have a great deal more in common than they had thought. Claudia is half-French, a former courtesan, and a highly sophisticated woman wrenched out of her element and forced into anything but sophisticated circumstances. Fleeing the French Revolution, she comes to Scotland in search of the Scottish father she has never met. Instead she meets Jack Campbell, a rough-and-tumble Scottish outcast who makes his living as... a hangman. As you may imagine, being an executioner isn't going to win Jack any points with Claudia, who has witnessed both her mother and former protector being guillotined.

But of course there's a great deal to Jack than at first meets the eye. He's sensitive and compassionate with a personal code of honor that is nothing if not sterling. And then there's the reason why he became a hangman, which wins Claudia's sympathy -- and the readers' sympathy, too (I hope). :)

TEMPTING is best summed up as "My Fair Lady" meets "Pretty Woman." When newly appointed Morality & Vice Commissioner, Simon Belleville finds the waifish Christine locked up in a brothel attic, he knows he really should remand her to Newgate Gaol with the other prostitutes, but something in her sweet face, perhaps the innate innocence in her eyes, persuades him to take her home with him instead. He vows to train her for a governess -- or a lady -- but when their private lessons turn steamy, it's the lively, worldly-wise Christine who ends up teaching Simon a thing or two about matters of the heart.

You can read first chapter excerpts of MY LORD JACK or TEMPTING at www.hopetarr.com -- click on The Books.

Linda: What advice do you have for new romance authors?

Hope: To my mind, more often than not, success is incremental -- and far from linear. Two steps forward, followed by one step back. So to new authors I say, be patient and be prepared to be in this for the long haul. For every "overnight success," for every shooting star in this business, there are several hundred talented writers who simply kept at it. It's the tale of the tortoise and the hare all over again and, of course, we all know who wins in the end.

Linda: Where do you see the romance genre going in the future?

Hope: We're already seeing a blurring of the lines between "romance" and what is known as "women's fiction," most notably in the subgenre of "contemporary romantic suspense." But as more and more romance authors continue to push the proverbial envelope on "the rules," I think we may well see more of a meshing taking place for historical fiction as well.

Which, if packaged properly by publishers, could be all to the good. To my way of thinking, anything that broadens our audience, while keeping the core romance readership satisfied and preferably happy, will be good for the industry and authors, too.

Linda: Is there anything you're working on that you would like your readers to know about?

Hope: You bet, Linda. Right now I'm working on a late-Victorian set trilogy that I'm tremendously excited about. By the time your readers see this interview, I should have the first chapter of book #1 posted online at www.hopetarr.com. (And of course, if I don't, then shame on me.). <gg>

To request a bookmark or read an excerpt from her books, visit Hope online at www.hopetarr.com.

Linda Morelli
GWN Online Historical Editor
RomRiter@aol.com

Virile Vikings and Sexy Cajuns
An Interview with Sandra Hill, Award-Winning Author of Humorous and Time-Travel Romances
By Linda Morelli, GWN Historical Editor

Sandra Hill is a wonderful, talented and inspiring author, one whose works have graced the bestseller lists of The New York Times, USA TODAY and Waldenbooks. She has graciously taken the time from her busy writing schedule to do an interview for GWN, and she has my heartfelt thanks.

Linda:  Please tell us something about yourself.

Sandra:  A former journalist, I am the mother of four sons, married forever to a stockbroker.  We live in Central Pennsylvania...Penn State Nittany Lion territory.  I love to attend antique auctions, and I collect a few things...Roseville pottery, vintage jewelry, 19th century paintings.

Linda:  Please tell us why you decided you wanted to write romance novels. Did any authors influence you and, if so, why?

Sandra:  I always loved writing and reading, and I had been a newspaper journalist before starting on novels.  What prompted me to try it myself is that I read a few really good romance novels, and I decided this was something I could do.  This was the eighties...Rosemary Rogers, Kathleen Woodiwiss, Jude Devereaux.  However, I didn't start to 'seriously' consider writing till about 1991.

Linda:  Did you have an agent to send out your first book?

Sandra:  Yes, and no.  I had an agent whom I had never met and never talked with on the telephone.  Hard to believe that I accepted that for over a year, but what did I know!  Then, as a result of a contest I entered and wasn't even a finalist, I got my current agent.  She told me how to terminate the first agent, contacted the publisher where my book had been sitting for a year, and within a week had a sale.

Linda:  How long have you been writing?

Sandra:  As I said above, I've been writing in one form or another since I was a child.  Romance novel writing...that, I started seriously about 1991.

Linda:  How do you go about developing your characters and plots?

Sandra:  Each book is different.  Sometimes the first line of a book comes to me, and I write a book from that.  Sometimes it is a secondary character from a previous book that demands his or her own story.  Sometimes it is something I've seen on TV or read in the newspaper that generates an idea.  My March book, THE VERY VIRILE VIKING, for instance, involves a secondary character, Magnus, who was never intended to have his own book.  After all, I gave him eleven children, many wives and mistresses, and big ears.  What kind of hero is that?  But when the title, THE VERY VIRILE VIKING, came to me, there was no one who fit the name better.

Linda:  And the title was obviously perfect for your character.  Do you use an outline when writing and, if so, what do you do?

Sandra:  I wish I did.  I used to in the beginning, but my writing style has changed with each book.  Now, I write by the seat of my pants and the final books rarely resemble the original synopses.  For example, my first novel for Warner Books, TALL, DARK, AND CAJUN, has a thread involving male virility, sterility and vasectomies that was never intended from the beginning.  It really took over the book.

Linda:  Who has been your favorite hero thus far, and why?  Favorite heroine?  Favorite couple?

Sandra:  Selik from THE OUTLAW VIKING and Etienne from SWEETER SAVAGE LOVE are my favorite heroes.  Tortured heroes with a sense of humor.  I also like Magnus in THE VERY VIRILE VIKING; I love the way he complains all the time about his children, but never hesitates to be the man and care for them.  As for heroines...that's a harder question.  Maybe Harriet from SWEETER SAVAGE LOVE, a really competent professional woman who thinks she knows everything but gets taught a good lesson by a roguish male. Alinor from THE BEWITCHED VIKING is another heroine I like...a no nonsense woman who takes charge.  Favorite couple?  Hmmmm. Maybe Thork and Ruby from my first book, THE RELUCTANT VIKING.

Linda:  What is your writing schedule like and, on average, how long does it take to complete a book?

Sandra:  My schedule has changed because I no longer have the structure of my children's school day to adhere to.  Still, mornings are my most creative time.  So, I try to write all morning, and do writing-related stuff in the afternoons.  Hard to do anything in the evenings when my family is home.  I can write a book in six months, but I don't like to.  It means scrimping on my family and personal time.  Once a year would be ideal for me; however, I recently signed contracts with two publishers, which will mean two books a year for the next few years.

Linda:  Have you ever suffered from Writer's Block and, if so, what do you do?

Sandra:  No, on the Writer's Block, but I and a number of my friends suffer from "I Don't Wanna" Block.  We have deadlines.  We know what needs to be written, but we find a million other things to do. Make cookies.  Clean a closet.  Go to the mall.  The only thing to do is sit oneself down in front of a computer and get the book written, word by word.

Linda:  I love that term, "I Don't Wanna."  I suffer from that myself, especially when I'm looking at my silver that's so tarnished it's turning to a nice shade of gold.  Did you belong to any critique groups when you started? If so, do you find this useful?

Sandra: A 'good' critique group is a blessing.  I had one at one time, but it dissolved.  Wish I had something similar now.  I do still critique with one other writer, but it's not the same.

Linda: How do you go about researching your books?  How much time do you spend on research before you begin to write your story?

Sandra:  I use libraries, the Internet, interviews, whatever.  I research a lot...both before and during the writing process.  Research often gives me ideas for plot and character.  I love it.

Linda:  What type of promotion do you do for your books?

Sandra:  I have done tons of self-promotion over the past eight years, and it changes as my publisher picks up some of this work.  But I still continue direct bookseller mailings.  I'm not as good about keeping my website up to date, but that is critical today.

Linda:  What do you like most and/or least about writing?

Sandra:  I love having written.  I love self-editing a completed manuscript, all the fleshing out and detailing.  I hate writing synopses.  I hate having to get that first couple pages down in polished form; I can't go forward till I have that.

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?

Sandra:  As much as our families care about us, no one understands this achievement like another writer.  So, it was the response of my author friends that gave me the most pleasure.

Linda:  What are you going to be writing next?

Sandra:  Twin Viking men.  A TALE OF TWO VIKINGS.  Each chapter written from the POV of a different man.  That's all I know so far.

Linda:  What advice do you have for new romance authors?

Sandra:  Just do it.  Don't give up.  Read a lot.  Join a writers' group and a critique group, if possible.  Go to regional writers' conferences.

Linda:  Where do you see the romance genre going in the future?

Sandra:  I think it will be increasingly difficult for new writers to sell and published authors to continue to sell if the market keeps on shrinking the way it has the past few years.  A handful of distributors determine which books get shelf space. Amazon.com has set the model for the world to sell our books used, which causes low sell-throughs for authors, which further shrinks the market.  On the plus side, good books by new authors continue to be bought.  There is always hope.

Linda:  Is there anything you are working on that you would like your readers to know about?

Sandra:  I hope my readers will look for THE VERY VIRILE VIKING in March; TALL, DARK, AND CAJUN in July; and A TALE OF TWO VIKINGS in 2004. I am extremely grateful for the reader loyalty and support I have had in the past.

Linda:  Thank you so much, Sandra, for taking the time out of your busy schedule to do an interview for GWN.  I certainly don't want to miss that 'Virile Viking."  To all GWN readers, be sure to keep your eyes open for Sandra's additional releases: DESPERADO (reissue, 12/02), FRANKLY, MY DEAR (reissue, 4/03) and THE LOVE POTION (reissue, 10/03). You can check out Sandra Hill's website at: http://www.sandrahill.net

Linda Morelli
GWN Online Historical Editor
RomRiter@aol.com