Writing a trilogy: The Brides of Waterloo

Welcome to Louise Allen, Annie Burrows and Sarah Mallory who produced Harlequin's trilogy of historical romances, The Brides of Waterloo.

Sarah Mallory writes -





Sarah Mallory



In the summer of 2012 Louise Allen, Annie Burrows and I put our heads together and came up with a trilogy of romances set around Waterloo. The premise was that our heroes were battle-hardened soldiers and we needed a regiment for them, so we decided to try something a little different. We moved away from the glamour of the cavalry or rifle regiments and settled for an artillery unit, a troop called Randall's Rogues, a bunch of misfits who just happened to be excellent artillerymen. They had been given a last chance to redeem themselves and had been brought together into a crack unit under the command of their no-nonsense Colonel, Lord Randall. As Annie puts it, "A dirty dozen in breeches"!

Once Annie, Louise and I had put together our initial proposal, and mapped out three stories, we were ready to approach Harlequin.  The RNA conference was at Penrith that year and Louise and I met up with Harlequin's Senior Editor for the Historical line, Linda Fildew, to pitch our idea in person.  Linda was enthusiastic, took it away to think about it and later that year it was accepted with plenty of time for us to write the books and for Harlequin to plan it into their 2015 schedules.

Then the hard work began, we actually had to write the books.  This involved lots of collaboration, mainly by email (thank goodness for the internet), although Annie and I did meet up in Waterstones, Manchester, where we re-enacted our battle scenes using the cruet set plus any available napkins and a sugar bowl!



Annie Burrows

Louise drew up a spreadsheet for the characters and timelines for the three books, Annie kept a note of the Dramatis Personae and I, well I just wrote!  We managed to schedule our work so that we were all writing our books at more or less the same time, which meant we could swap notes and ideas while the stories were fresh in our heads.

I bagged Randall as my hero and had the honour of writing the first book in the trilogy while Melanie and Annie chose two rakish majors, hard-as-iron Adam Flint and the unscrupulous seducer Tom Bartlett respectively.   Fortunately in Brussels at the same time are three strong and resourceful women who prove themselves to be more than a match for our Rogues!

We decided the Rogues should be in blue uniforms, like Mercer's Battery, the artillery troop that inspired our story, and Annie also came up with a motto (Semper Laurifer, which means Always Victorious).  My heroine, Mary, who finds herself at loggerheads with Lord Randall, translates it as Never Fails – To Infuriate! We also gave the Rogues a regimental mascot, a large and very hairy stray that attached itself to the unit and was tamed by Louise's hero, Major Flint. The breed we chose is known as a Bouvier de Flandres, large dogs weighing up to 120 pounds, and looking very fierce, though actually they are very gentle. Ben, or Dog (you'll have to read our books to find out how he came by his names!) features in all 3 of our stories, playing a particularly important role in Annie's  book, A Mistress for Major Bartlett.



Louise Allan

There was a certainly amount of crossover with the timelines. A Lady for Lord Randall starts some time before Waterloo and continues after the battle, whereas Annie's book and Louise's A Rose for Major Flint actually commence once the battle has ended.  We therefore have each other's characters wandering in and out of our stories. That was a challenge, but great fun, too.

It is important, when collaborating on linked books, to have confidence in your fellow authors, to trust their judgement. Louise and Annie had already collaborated on an earlier series for Harlequin, and I had known both authors for years, so we were pretty confident we could work together.  We all threw in ideas and were not afraid to speak up if we disagreed (which happened very rarely).  When we needed to use each other's characters in a scene we shared that segment, to make sure we were in agreement and towards the end of the process we read each other's manuscripts to make sure the stories and characters did not clash. Our characters were created and they evolved, squabbled, laughed, cried and fell in love against the backdrop of Waterloo in 1815. Their authors worked, sweated and laughed a lot in the process.

We are all extremely pleased with our trilogy and we hope the readers will enjoy reading these three books as much as we enjoyed writing them.

Sarah Mallory - A LADY FOR LORD RANDALL – pub Harlequin May 2015

Annie Burrows - A MISTRESS FOR MAJOR BARTLETT – pub Harlequin June 2015

Louise Allen – A ROSE FOR MAJOR FLINT – pub Harlequin July 2015

Louise Allen is working on her 49^th historical romance for Harlequin Mills & Boon and her 44^th, Scandal’s Virgin, won the RoNA Rose Award 2015. She focuses on the late Georgian/Regency period and also writes historical non-fiction. To the Field of Waterloo: the first battlefield tourists, will be out on Kindle shortly.



Annie Burrows has been writing light-hearted Regency romances for Mills & Boon since 2007. Her first book, His Cinderella Bride was the top seller in the historical line that year. Subsequent books have gone on to win the coveted Reviewer's Choice award from Cataromance. Her books have charmed readers worldwide, having been translated into 19 different languages

Sarah Mallory has written over 20 historical romantic adventures for Harlequin Mills & Boon and won the RoNA Rose Award in 2012 and 2013 for two of her titles. She also writes as Melinda Hammond, and her latest time-slip short story And the Stars Shine Down is now available on Kindle.

Authors' photos – courtesy of Harlequin Mills & Boon.

Thank you, ladies for this most interesting post and good luck with your publications.

The RNA blog is brought to you by,

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If you would like to write a piece for the blog please contact us on elaineeverest@aool.com

Wendy Clarke: Serial Writer!

Have you thought about writing a short story? How about a serial? Today a very busy Wendy Clarke visits the blog to explain about these different styles of fiction writing.

Welcome, Wendy. How long have you been writing? Is it a full time job for you?

I started writing in the spring on 2011. I had been an English teacher at a small private primary school and had recently received the news that it would sadly have to close due to the recession. Unsure of what the future held, and unable to make any decisions, I enrolled on a writing course for something to do. To my surprise I loved it and when it finished, did a second. The following year, I

was brave enough to send out some stories to magazines and three months later, had my first sale. After much discussion with my supportive husband, I decided that writing would be my new career and have been writing for magazines ever since. It is not a full time job, though – I try and balance my writing life with other things.

You write short fiction for the women’s magazine market. How many stories have you sold and do you have a preference for a certain style of short story?

I recently had a count and found that I had sold one hundred and twenty and I am very grateful to the magazines for liking my work. I write in a range of styles and genres, twist, humour, historical... but I write a lot more romance than anything else and my stories have often been described as having emotional depth – which I hope is true.

At what point did you decide it was time to write a serial?

Until I started writing, I’d never thought of myself as someone who liked a challenge but each year, I seem to be striving for something new and a serial seemed a logical progression. I had been writing regularly for The People’s Friend and my editor had been encouraging me to write a serial for a while, but I kept resisting. Then one day, I was trying to write a short story about the German occupation in Guernsey, and realised that the characters and storylines were too many and too complex to fit into 3000 words. It was my light bulb moment and my first serial, Charlotte’s War, was born.

How does a magazine serial differ from a short story? Is there a certain word length?

There are several differences between short stories and serials - the most obvious being that a serial, especially a longer one, takes more stamina! The plot needs to be more complex, with several stories interweaving, and each instalment must end with a cliff-hanger. This is because a serial has to keep the reader interested for a longer amount of time and at the end of each instalment they must be left desperate to know what is going to happen next.

There will also be more characters in a serial. Whereas a short story will usually have one or two main characters, a serial will have a whole cast – each with their own unique problems which will become sub-plots. Unlike a short story the serial will be told from the viewpoint of two or three characters.

One of the biggest differences, for me anyway, is that a serial needs to be planned out. It’s essential to keep the storyline tight and on track and the magazines won’t accept one without a synopsis. I never plan my short stories, I just get an idea and start writing but, although daunting, being made to plot out the storyline for the serial really helped me get to grips with it before I started.

As for word count, I can only speak for The People’s Friend, as they are the only magazine I have written serials for. They accept stories of between four and ten instalments, the first one being 6000 words and the following ones 5000. Quite a lot longer than a short story.

The bottom line is serials are more intense... but very rewarding.

Are you given free reign to write the whole serial or is the idea pitched to the fiction editor.

How it works is you pitch your idea along with the first instalment, a synopsis and a character list, to the fiction editor. If they like the idea, they will assign you an editor to work with. You then write one instalment at a time which has to be checked (and maybe edited) before you write the next. Patience is a virtue in the serial game!

How long does it take you to write a serial?

I suppose it depends whether you mean how long does it take to physically write it or how long does the whole process take? What I did was to set aside a week to write an instalment then would send it to my editor, who might get back to me with some proposed changes. This would then be looked at by the fiction editor and then the magazine editor before I’d be given the go ahead for the next instalment – maybe several weeks later. While I was waiting to hear, I would spend my time writing short stories which suited me very well. To put it into perspective, I started writing my first serial in July 2013 and it has just been published this month. In that time I have written a second serial.

You write articles for writing magazines. Can you tell us about this?

That was another of my challenges! I fancied trying my hand at writing a feature and wanted to write about things that affected me personally. At the time, my blog Wendy’s Writing Now, was getting more followers and I was starting to have guests (either by request or invitation) on it. I was also being asked to write my own guest posts for others and it made me think about the guest/host relationship and how it could be beneficial to both... as long as certain steps were followed to make things run smoothly. With this in mind, I wrote my first articles for Writing Magazine, ‘How to Be a Good Blog Guest’ and ‘How to be a Good Blog Host’. This was followed by a Writing Magazine article which talked the reader through my experience of putting my first short story collection together using KDP. Finally, I have an article in this month’s magazine where I talk to People’s Friend fiction editor, Shirley Blair and other serial writers about writing serials for the magazine.

You are now a member of the RNA New Writers’ Scheme. How do you balance your writing time between short stories, serials, your novel and articles?

Let’s just say I’d never be any good in a circus, as juggling might not be my strong point! My problem is, I love writing all of these things and don’t want to give anything up. I have to be sensible though and because I have started a novel (and it would be nice to have something to submit to the reader in August!) I have said that I won’t write any more serials until it is finished. The plan is also to cut down on the articles too but I am still writing short stories alongside the novel – after all, they are my income!

How do you see your future as a writer?
I seem to be following a path that others have taken before me – moving from short story, to serial, to novel. I suppose, like everyone else, I would like to see myself as a published novelist... but we’ll just have to wait and see!

About Wendy:

Wendy Clarke is a full time writer of women's fiction. Her work regularly appears in national women's magazines such as The People's Friend, Take a Break Fiction Feast and Woman's Weekly. She has also written serials and a number of non-fiction magazine articles.

Wendy has published two collections of short stories, Room in Your Heart and The Last Rose. Wendy lives with her husband, cat and step-dog in Sussex.

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Thank you so much for visiting the blog, Wendy and good luck with your NWS submission.

The RNA blog is brought to you by,

Elaine Everest & Natalie Kleinman

If you would like to write something for the blog please contact us on elaineeverest@aol.com

John Jackson: The Botallack, a Cornish Icon

Who knew the RNA had their own connection to Poldark? We welcome member John Jackson to the blog to tell us about his connection to the Bottallack Mine.

Most readers will have seen either the new series of Poldark, or remember the old series with Robin Ellis and Angharad Rees as Ross and Demelza. The old mine buildings at Pendeen, all part of the Botallack Mine, or Crown Lands, lie at the very tip of the toe of Cornwall, and they have been photographed more than any other major landmark in the area (with the possible exception of the Land's End signpost).

The mine produced copper, tin and other minerals for several hundred years but closed down in the early 1800s when the seams or reefs of ore ran out.

My great-great-great-grandfather, one Stephen Harvey-James, then took the lease on the mine and, with the help of investors, brought it back into production, becoming the Purser of the Botallack in 1836 (i.e. the head of the mine) and holding the position until his death in 1870. The post was then taken on by his son, also Stephen, who saw the reefs finally run out and production halted five years later. The elder Stephen was Purser when the Prince and Princess of Wales visited the mine in 1865.

At its greatest the mine shafts ran to a depth of 250 fathoms, or 1500 feet, and up to a quarter of a mile out to sea. In the height of a storm, the miners in the shafts and adits closest to the seabed could hear the sound of boulders and stoned being rolled around and crashing against one another in the waves.

The miners used to descend on wooden ladders, wearing leather aprons and a leather or felt hat with a candle stuck to the brim. This was their sole source of light. Miners did sometimes get lost in the maze of tunnels. Deaths were frequent in all the Cornish mines. The concept of “health and safety” didn't exist in those times.

The miners would hack out the ore and it would be taken  up to the surface in buckets or tubs, using blocks and tackles or pulleys in the earlier years. Steam power, when it arrived, allowed the mines to work deeper, as they could pump out the water that always leaked through the cracks in the rocks. When they developed winches they could pull larger buckets of ore out. The ore would be spread out on wooden tables near the head of the mine and broken up into small pieces by teams of women. After the rubbish had been removed the finished ore would be sent inland to the smelters.

Sporadic attempts have been made to restart production at the mine but, even with the massive rise in the price of copper and tin, so far it hasn't proved a practical proposition. R M Ballantyne, the late-Victorian author, wrote a book about the mines called “Deep Down”. It's free on Kindle and provides a very real picture of life in a mining community. Its also very readable.

Both the Stephen Harvey-James' mentioned here are buried in St. Just Church – the churchyard there is FULL of James' in particular. Later Harvey-James' tended to go into the Indian Civil service. My cousin, Justin is, I think, the last of the Harvey-James line.

John Jackson

NWS Member

John is a member of the New Writers Scheme and is some 75000 words into his first book, based on some family history. He Tweets and posts on FaceBook incessantly.

Thank you, John for a most interesting article.

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If you would like to contribute to the blog please contact us on elaineeverest@aol.com

Philip Whiteley: A Romantic at Heart

Philip Whitely tells us about his love of Romantic Comedy.

I believe you are a fairly new member of the Romantic Novelists' Association (RNA). What prompted you to join and can you tell us a little of your experiences so far?

I’m an experienced writer, but Close of Play is my first novel. I wanted to join an association as I find talking with other writers to be so rewarding, so I just Googled something like “UK association for romantic novelists” – of course the RNA came top of the search list! My experiences so far have been very positive: lots of encouragement, and a great first event – Eloisa James on 7 March.

It isn’t unheard of but it’s more unusual for a man to write a romantic novel than for a woman. What made you choose this genre?

It was more by accidental evolution than conscious design! I began Close of Play many years ago. Originally it was going to be a more ambitious, philosophical work. That was beyond me, though maybe there are some more thoughtful elements that have been retained. I realized that, by making the male lead more verbally clumsy, more fearful of loneliness and in need of rescue by the love of a good woman, it could become a romantic comedy. So I focused on making it more heartfelt and with more sweet moments.

Has writing always been part of your life? When did you begin ‘putting pen to paper’?

I’ve always had a little commentary running in my head about things. So I’m always ‘writing’ in a sense; but I only began doing so as part of my work in my early 20s when I did some press work for the charity I was working for. I quickly realized that this was my real calling and I’ve been full-time as a journalist and author since the 1980s.

Today is publication day for your debut novel, Close of Play. I’m wondering if you struggled with choosing point of view. Do we read through the eyes of a hero or a heroine?

Brian ‘Colin’ Clarke (there’s a story behind the nickname) is the central character and it’s written in the first person, but he’s quite an eccentric character and I imagine the reader will often view his actions through the eyes of the female lead Elizabeth, who’s more rounded and in touch with the modern world, but also rather troubled in a different way.

Writing is a pretty time-consuming occupation. Are you otherwise ‘gainfully employed’ and, if so, how do you fit writing into your day – or night?

I earn my living full-time as an author, journalist and ghost-writer. I’ve written eight books on business management. It may seem a world away from romantic fiction, but there are some common points around how our beliefs affect our decisions. Close of Play was a hobby for many years, so I had to prioritize fee-paying commissions and fit my fiction work around them.

We’ve all heard the expression ‘Oh, that’s a girl’s film’. Would this prevent you going to see one?

Absolutely not! I love romantic comedies, and I think the last action movie I saw was Jaws in 1976, which I hated. I have a sentimental heart and one of my favourite movies is Serendipity, with the lovely Kate Beckinsale. I’m fascinated by the excitement of a new love affair as two people struggle to understand one another. I do struggle to empathize with our heroine if she’s drinking red wine and eating chocolates (what a ghastly combination) but overall I prefer relationships to car chases. Ideally there is some humour. Bad Teacher was funny.

Finally, did your novel involve much research and is this an aspect of your writing that you enjoy?

I’m firmly of the ‘University of Life’ school. There are things I need to check, but I mostly draw on my own experiences, without (intentionally) basing a character on a real person. It helps that I’ve studied personality types for management books; also that I’ve had an eventful life, involving travel and having my heart broken. I write about the world that I know about. I focus more on strength of emotion than detail of place. You can have both, but I’d prioritize listening to a Joan Armatrading song like The Weakness in Me over studying the Ordnance Survey maps of the novel’s location.

Close of Play by PJ Whiteley, published Urbane Publications April 2015

Brian Clarke has a life of weekend cricket and careful interaction with those around him. Then he meets Elizabeth, a caring soul who breathes hope into his heart. Dare he risk falling in love? Close of Play is a thoughtful, funny tale of missed opportunities and a chance at redemption. 

About Philip

PJ Whiteley becomes a first-time novelist in April 2015 with the publication of Close of Play, a romantic comedy. As Philip Whiteley, he is an experienced journalist and author of business books. He is a member of the Society of Authors and of the Romantic Novelists' Association.

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Thank you for joining us today, Philip, and good luck with Close of Play

The RNA Blog is brought to you by

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If you would like to appear on the Blog please contact us at elaineeverest@aol.com

Catherine Miller: Winner of the 2015 Katie Fforde Bursary

We're thrilled to hear that Catherine is the recipient of this year’s Katie Fforde Bursary. We managed to catch up with Catherine soon after the awards presentation to chat to her about the award and her busy life

Photo courtesy of Jan Jones

When did you hear that you were to be the recipient of this year’s award and what was your reaction?

Katie contacted me in January. It was completely out of the blue and I thought it was related to something else so I was shocked and over the moon.

How did you feel at the award ceremony? Did you have to make a speech?

I took my mum as it was a very proud moment. It was also a memorable moment, because I managed to drop the top half of the trophy. Fortunately it’s made of metal and is very durable so no harm done. I did make a short speech, after dropping the trophy it didn’t seem so daunting!

What does winning the award mean to you?

A tremendous amount. I can’t shout the praises of the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s New Writers’ Scheme loudly enough. It has taken me from having no idea of how complex novel writing is to having a manuscript that is far closer to the real deal. Katie’s bursary award is an amazing boost knowing I’m heading in the right direction and I hope I’m able to follow in previous winners' footsteps, many of whom have gone on to achieve publication soon afterwards. The RNA is a wonderful association and I’m so glad to be part of it. 

When did you join the RNA New Writers’ Scheme?

This will be my fifth year on the NWS, after joining in 2010. I found out about it from my local writing group and the feedback I’ve received so far has been invaluable.

Have you managed to submit a manuscript each year?

I have, just about. Overall I’ve written two manuscripts in that time and for the past two years I’ve sent a partial. I remember very clearly in 2013 managing to send a first chapter only because at the time I had six-week-old twins. It took some effort, but we managed to get down to the Post Office.

How do you fit your writing around your busy life and have you always wanted to be a novelist?

Since having the twins I’ve reverted to pen and paper. When I get a spare few minutes I scribble during the day. I then type it up in the evening. I rather like doing it this way as it means I notice errors easier.

I started writing in my teens but, as a dyslexic, developing my writing wasn’t encouraged any more than making sure I knew the difference between there/their/they’re, which I still have to think about before typing. Instead, I qualified as a physiotherapist and even at university

I attempted a novel. Early in my career, I was diagnosed with Sarcoidosis, an auto-immune condition and eventually it meant giving up my job to maintain my health. Lots of people had told me I wouldn’t be able to become a physiotherapist, and I didn’t listen to them, so why listen to my own doubts about being a writer? If I couldn’t be a physio (a job I loved), I was going to follow my ultimate dream of being a writer.

Thank you, Catherine. We are sure it won’t be too long before you graduate the New Writers’ Scheme and we see your novels in our book stores.

The RNA blog is brought to you by:

Elaine Everest & Natalie Kleinman

If you would like you write for the blog or have an idea for a feature or series please contact us on elaineeverest@aol.com

ASHLINN CRAVEN: Keep up...if you can

We are delighted to welcome Ashlinn Craven to the blog today. She was happy to answer a few questions for us:

2014 was a busy year for you with the publication of High Octane: Ignited followed by High Octane: Unleashed. It’s evident from the titles that they are fast paced. Is the excitement of the genre reflected in the speed of your writing? Tell us something about your working day.

Hi Natalie. It’s such a thrill to be on this blog. Yes, the High Octane books are set in the Formula One (F1) racing world, and there’s nothing faster on the planet. I wish I could say the same for my writing speed … I write in snatches, sometimes at 5a.m., sometimes lunchtime, sometimes on a Sunday evening, always tapping away in my three-fingered manner. Not an exact science, but maybe four months later I’ll have that first draft.

Explosive and Kick-ass are just two of the expressions I’ve seen to describe your books. Had you visited the world of Formula One before? I imagine there was a good deal of research involved.

Oh yes, behind all the money and international glamour there’s much to learn, some of it even interesting. The day-to-day routine for an F1 driver is Spartan--they have to be sickeningly fit to survive at their level. An average person has a resting heart rate of 70 bpm but drivers have more like 45-50, which ramps up to 180 during a race. A normal person could survive two, maybe three, laps at F1 speeds before they’d crumble under the g-forces. And as for the mental training … drivers need to enter a meditative state before the race to cope at all. So, to give them relationship issues to deal with at the same time seems almost unfair of me, but, heck, I do it anyway!

What would be your choice of reading? Something in your own genre or a complete change? A favourite author?

My genre choice is very mood dependent. Currently I’m glomming (buying everything of) Rhoda Baxter, Julie Cohen, Jenny Colgan, Rachel Cross, Nick Hornby, and it kills me to leave out a whole bunch of other fantastic authors but I don’t think you’d appreciate a list that goes to the end of the page!

Your characters all have wonderful names. Do your heroes and heroines choose their own or are you allowed some input?

Thanks. They choose their own names. They’re bossy like that. But I get my revenge when it comes to choosing the cover. Aha yes, that keeps them on their toes.

Have you always been a writer?

If we discount academic papers and computer programs, and we probably should, then no, it’s a relatively recent thing for me. I started writing romantic fiction in 2009 when I did a correspondence course with the London School of Journalism, which was brilliant.

When you’re not working what do you do to relax? I’m assuming you’re not a Formula One racing driver but I could be wrong of course.

<Laughs> I’m a useless driver. To relax, I stay as far away from the road as possible, preferably in warm water of some kind, preferably with friends or family, preferably with a glass of chilled Prosecco, and preferably with a view of the Alps (not too hard as I live I Switzerland). This prevents me from reading, which is probably a good thing.

As all members of the RNA know, romance offers a multitude of genres and opportunities to the writer. Are you ever tempted to try something else or is your foot firmly placed on the accelerator pedal?

Situations that engage the mind and the heart battling it out will always grab me, and the romance genre is perfect for exploring those. I’ve eased my foot off the accelerator pedal and with my next novel (Core Attraction out April 27^th  published by Crimson Romance), I’ve stepped into the world of nuclear power where my heroine is a nuclear plant employee who runs up against an environmental activist who’s returned home from Japan not a happy bunny. Set on my native east coast of Ireland, its theme is tolerance in the face of the unknowable.

About Ashlinn:

Ashlinn Craven writes romantic fiction about people who find love, themselves, and each other, in odd circumstances. When she isn't dreaming up stories that engage the mind as well as the heart, she works in the high-tech sector where she sees the future being rewritten daily. Her favourite part of being an author is hearing from her wonderful readers from around the world.

Thank you for joining us today, Ashlinn, and good luck with the new book.

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The RNA Blog is brought to you by

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LYNNE CONNOLLY: Hot and Steamy!

Today we are delighted to welcome Lynne Connolly to the blog to answer a few of our questions: 

I’ve been looking at some of your book covers. They leave the reader in little doubt of what might be found within their pages. Some say a cover sells the book. What do you think – and where do yours come from?

My covers are largely provided by my publishers. For the self-published ones, I do my own, but I’ve had some art training, and I find it fun to do a cover or two as a break from writing. I’ve been very lucky with my covers!

You write romance under three sub-headings: Historical, Paranormal and Contemporary. Do you have a favourite?

The one that I’m writing at the time. Sorry, but it’s true. When I write historicals, I immerse myself into the time and mind-set, as much as I can, but that can be exhausting. The contemporaries and paranormals have their own challenges. I have to keep the world I’ve created for the paranormals consistent, for instance. And in the contemporaries, keep the points of view nice and deep and the characters emotionally compatible.

Arrows of Desire was published this month. With larger than life mythology, do you struggle to keep your characters’ feet on the ground?

It’s a different kind of challenge, and one that constantly fascinates. The basis of this series is completely new for me, but when I read a textbook on the Classical Revival, the “what if…” premise that started it all came unbidden, and I had to work on it, and see if it worked out. It did, beautifully. In this mythology, the gods of ancient Greece and Rome are entities and their attributes that live on after the body dies. So the people in the books are eighteenth century people, but they have to live with the spirit and the powers of the gods that have blended with them. It gives me extra conflicts to play with. Add to that, the enemies, the old Titan gods who want to regain the power they used to have, and the mix makes for delicious storytelling.

When not writing, how does Lynne Connolly keep her own feet on the ground? Tell us a little about your ‘away from the keyboard’ activities.

I have a family that keeps me on my toes! And I make and fill doll’s houses. Creating worlds in a different way, you might say. I love to travel, too, and there are places I have yet to visit. I love visiting my friends in the States, especially Texas, and carrying on exploring Europe.

I love to do historical research, too, finding out more about the people who often inspire my books. The “Emperors” of my other current series, “The Emperors of London” belong to a powerful family of aristocrats, their nicknames because of the outlandish first names they were saddled with, but substitute one of the famous families of the era for them, and it takes one step away from fiction. The Howards, the Pelhams, Grevilles, Foxes and so on had huge power in this time. And their private lives were the stuff of legend! So I spend a lot of time visiting their houses, reading their letters and journals, and generally trying to get the feel of the era right.

Do you have a favourite myth or fable that has inspired one of your own books?

I’ve always had a copy of Bullfinch’s Mythologies by me! For the “Even the Gods Fall In Love” series, I’m working mainly from Ovid. The “Metamorphoses” captivated me in my teens and it’s never let go, so it’s a joy to reinterpret the myths and add a slightly different slant to them. Plus, my awesome editor, Amy Sherwood, who is as passionate as I am about the mythology.

Are you writing anything else right now?

My other historical series, “The Emperors of London” is also set in the eighteenth century, but this is factual, with a little “what if…?” that isn’t too far-fetched. It’s known that the Old Pretender, James Stuart, had mistresses, but what if he also had a deeper secret than that? Taking the political and economic atmosphere of the 1750’s into consideration, when old King George was frail and his heir was a boy, would the Stuarts have tried to do what they failed to do in 1745? They were done with battle, but even a cursory glance at their history tells the observer that they weren’t done with scheming or politics! I’ve just sold a new series of contemporary paranormals, “The Agents of CAT.” But more about that later! It’s secret agents who also happen to be shape-shifting dragons and the like.

How do you approach social networking? Do you regard it as a blessing or a necessary evil?

I don’t like the “buy my book” promotions that thud into my virtual mailbox every day. On a book’s release, yes, and I like to look at the extracts, but on the whole, it’s much more interesting to see what makes a person tick. It also means I can talk to my friends on the other side of the world and keep in touch. I’m afraid I don’t use it like I probably should—as a marketing tool, but that’s not why I write.

Arrows of Desire - a taster: 

Edmund, otherwise known as Eros, steps onto English shores, and stumbles head over heels in love.

There’s something different about Perdita Seaton and her secretive family. Revealing he’s the Duke of Kentmere could cut their courtship short. Yet he can’t abandon his heritage, and leave his family in deadly peril.

Website (paranormal)

Website (contemporary romance)

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Twitter: @lynneconnolly

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About Lynne Connolly:

Lynne Connolly is the best-selling author of sensuous historical, paranormal and contemporary romances. Lynne fell in love with the Georgian era at primary school, and never fell out of it, visiting historical sites, towns, battlefields and houses.

Lynne gives the reader a real flavour of what it was like to live and love in the eighteenth century. She lives in England with her family and her Mews. She writes surrounded by the doll’s houses she enjoys making and filling.

Wow, Lynne, you are a truly busy lady. Thank you for joining us today.

The RNA Blog is brought to you by

Elaine Everest and Natalie Kleinman.

If you would like to appear on the Blog please contact us at elaineeverest@aol.com

RNA TALK: Eloisa James

Our thanks to Linda Chamberlain who reports on the talk given by Eloisa James at the recent RNA General Meeting.

New York Times best-selling author Eloisa James is a great supporter of literature.

It’s something she does in her day job as Professor of English literature specialising in Shakespeare at Fordham University in New York – a job she would never give up.

And it’s something she does by osmosis as a prolific writer of historical romantic fiction. We all know that it’s the ‘role’ of hugely successful authors to effectively bolster those further down the earnings ladder. With a smile, she reminds us that the entire literary department is included in this scenario.

She is disappointed that so little nurturing of careers goes on in the industry, saddened that so many mid-list authors are thrown out through a perpetually revolving door if their sales don’t improve.  As the writer of, she thinks, 23 books, which have sold in their millions she says a thick skin is essential. Eloisa had some brilliant advice for her RNA audience in London.

Be Machiavellian – know your strengths, your weaknesses and read books that are selling. Stop reading and you lose sight of what is at the heart of the market. Study those ‘reader pleasure moments’ that make a book special and keep the pages turning.

Get in the Zen – she admits to a strong ego. She’s left a publishing house that wasn’t serving her well and she won’t suffer an editor who’s not up to the job. She has sufficient clout to say NO but sometimes she has to accept that she might be wrong and re-write. Remember, she says, ‘Your editor doesn’t own you; your agent is there to serve you.’

Have a thick skin – she describes herself as the queen of such scenes as near-death and outside sex but ‘not everyone will like what you are writing’. High sales increase your chances of nasty reviews and vicious blogs. Never respond. She keeps a book at hand featuring bad reviews for good writers as an antidote.

Be a businesswoman – you have to understand royalty statements and contracts.

Writing can be high risk and humiliating – there were murmurings of understanding from her audience at this point. Writing about relationships and sex bring the inevitable questions of what does your husband think? Have you done all those things? Remember that romance is a fantastic genre; its triumphs may be small but it helps people through the bad times.

Beware of critique groups – they can iron out ‘that voice’, the thing that makes your book original. Better to have one critique buddy.

She finished her talk with a reminder that will resonate throughout the RNA with its remarkable New Writers' Scheme.

‘You have to nurture the bottom if there’s to be a top,’ she said. ‘Readers need great books to read.’

Eloisa is prolific but she can’t write all of them.

Report by Linda Chamberlain

Thank you, Linda

The RNA Blog is brought to you by

Elaine Everest and Natalie Kleinman.

If you would like to appear on the Blog please contact us at elaineeverest@aol.com