If your question isn’t answered here or elsewhere on the website, please send it to
author@lorettachase.com.
Q. Do you design the covers for your books?
A. No. Like most other authors, I have very little to do with the cover design. In the last several years, I’ve had something to do with the story summary that appears on the back cover. The model(s), the art work, the clothes (or lack thereof), and the colors, however, are the publisher’s province.
Q. Do you have any advice for someone who wants to write a book?
A. The best find-it-all-in-one-place resource I know is Laura Resnick’s website.
Under Resources for Writers, you’ll find all kinds of useful information. If you’re considering genre fiction, you may find it helpful to join a writers' organization such as Romance Writers of America.
You should be able to find a local chapter at a reasonable distance, or you can join one of the online chapters. This will give you access to educational programs, special workshops, mentor programs, conferences, and newsletters full of writing tips, and critique groups.
Local libraries and bookstores often host writers' groups. Then there are the millions of writing books--but again, Laura’s site mentions most of my favorites, especially Lawrence Block. Writers Digest is another helpful tool.
The rest is up to you. Sit down, write. Keep on until you’ve finished.
Q. In what order should I read the Fallen Women series?
A. Though I try to write each book to stand alone, here’s the order of publication so far:
1. NOT QUITE A LADY (May 2007--and this is Book Four of the Carsington series as well)
2. YOUR SCANDALOUS WAYS (June 2008)
3. DON’T TEMPT ME (July 2009)
Q. In what order should I read the Carsington brothers series?
A. Though I try to write each book to stand alone, here’s the order of publication:
MISS WONDERFUL (March 2004)
MR. IMPOSSIBLE (March 2005)
LORD PERFECT (March 2006)
NOT QUITE A LADY (May 2007)
Q. What is the fifth Carsington book? When can we expect to read Geoffrey Carsington’s story? Will you write a story about Peregrine and Olivia of LORD PERFECT? Will you write a story about Colonel Morrell of NOT QUITE A LADY?
A. These questions are all related, since they deal with the continuation of the Carsington brothers series. The short answer is, neither my new 2008 nor 2009 releases continue this series. However, I expect to write another Carsington book before too long.
Q. LORD OF SCOUNDRELS is part of your first series of historical romances. In what order should these books be read?
A.
Here’s the order in which they were written and originally published:
THE LION'S DAUGHTER
CAPTIVES OF THE NIGHT
LORD OF SCOUNDRELS
"THE MAD EARL'S BRIDE" (novella) in the THREE WEDDINGS AND A KISS anthology
THE LAST HELLION
Again, though I try to write so that each story can stand alone, it probably makes the most sense to read the first two together, and the last three together, these being the most closely related.People can get confused because the stories don’t follow a neat chronological order. Events in CAPTIVES take place before (1818), during (1828), and after (1829) the events of LORD OF SCOUNDRELS. CAPTIVES is the story of the Comte d'Esmond, whom one meets briefly in LOS. The major part of his story takes place in 1829, some time after LOS.
THE LION'S DAUGHTER and CAPTIVES OF THE NIGHT, which were out of print for several years, were released in fresh formats as Berkley Sensation Spotlights in January and May of 2006. "THE MAD EARL'S BRIDE, " a novella in the THREE WEDDINGS AND A KISS anthology, has had a very long life. The anthology has never been out of print and is available not only in a great number of languages but in several formats, including e-books. LORD OF SCOUNDRELS and THE LAST HELLION are now back in print. For copies of THE LION’S DAUGHTER and CAPTIVES OF THE NIGHT, which are out of print, please contact me at
author@lorettachase.com
Q. When will your next book be out?
A. For a time we were on a regular schedule, of one book every spring. Now it seems to be working out to every 13 months
Q. Where do you get your ideas?
A. It’s a mystery to me. Often, not until after I’ve
written a book do I realize where the story came from. A lot of
fragments from various sources--books, newspapers, movies, TV, dreams,
overheard conversations, magazines, friends, and family--combine
in the brain and via some strange alchemy are transformed into a
single fictional world.
Q. What is your writing routine?
A. It’s usually five days a week, but hours are variable because
Life intrudes. On the best days, it doesn’t, and I can put
in a solid six to eight hours. It’s not all pounding the keyboard.
There’s a good deal of staring-into-space as well as looking-things-up
and deleting-everything-written-yesterday. I like the research better
than the writing and the writing better than actually working for
a living.
Q. What is the most difficult part of writing?
A. The first part. Sitting down in front of the computer every morning
and getting started, moving from the real world into the story’s
world. The story’s world is an Unknown, on many levels, and
sometimes it’s like walking out of a sunlit room into a dark
cellar. You don’t know what you’ll find down there and
you’re not sure you’ll be able to handle it when you
find it.
Q. How much time do you spend researching a book?
A. Before hitting the keyboard, I usually spend a few weeks haunting
the bowels of the libraries as well as trying to purchase books
that will be in frequent use. Some stories demand more research
time than others. Those set in locales outside England, for instance,
tend to eat up more research time. Research is an ongoing part of
my writing process: fact checking, for instance, the layout of a
house or room, the distance between places, the best mode of travel,
the travel times, the clothes people are putting on or taking off,
etc.
Q. What led you to set books in Albania?
A. It’s my ethnic heritage. It’s where my parents were
born and many of my relatives live. My first attempt was in the
first part of THE ENGLISH WITCH, a traditional Regency. CAPTIVES
OF THE NIGHT may be the only historical romance whose hero is Albanian,
and THE LION’S DAUGHTER the only one whose heroine is half
Albanian.
Q. Will character A from book B ever get his or her own story?
A. This question has been asked about Jason in THE LION’S
DAUGHTER, the Marquess of Arden in THE ENGLISH WITCH, Lord Berne
in THE DEVIL’S DELILAH, and some others. The answer is, Probably
not. If they didn’t fire up my imagination for a story back
then, the chances are slim that they will now or in the future.
Q. Are you going to write traditional Regencies that are
officially single-title Regency historicals, or are you going to
write more in the tone of LORD OF SCOUNDRELS (considered a full-blown
Historical Romance)?
A. Until I got this question, I never thought about the difference.
So it’s not a conscious decision. I let the characters determine
the tone of the story and the readers decide whether it’s
more historical or more Regency.
Q. Do you ever travel to speak to RWA chapters and, if so,
what are your requirements?
A. Because I write so slowly, it’s crucial to limit other
activities, no matter how much fun they are--like attending RWA
chapter conferences. Two a year is the limit for this indulgence.
Since preparing a talk takes weeks, I’ve only done it three
or four times in my whole career.
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