Interview with Elizabeth Moss

Photo courtesy of Anna Rybacka

Elizabeth Moss lives in the South-West of England with her husband and large family. She also writes commercial fiction as Victoria Lamb. For more, visit http://www.elizabethmossfiction.com.

Members of the RNA may be thinking, hello, the woman in that photograph looks oddly familiar. But the name is wrong.

Well, your instincts would be correct. I am in fact Jane Holland, aka Victoria Lamb, historical novelist and daughter of romantic novelist Charlotte Lamb - and now also Elizabeth Moss, author of a raunchy new series called Lust in the Tudor Court. The first book is Wolf Bride, out in paperback November 7^th. (The ebook is already available for those who can’t wait for a bit of steamy frock action.)

So how did I become Elizabeth Moss?

Three years ago, I was writing Regency romances, hoping Harlequin Mills & Boon would take pity on me and publish one. Sadly, they never did. But my luck was just about to turn.

In 2010, my late mother’s agent emailed me. ‘Can you write Tudor fiction?’ he asked. ‘Um, yes, if that were required,’ I replied, bemused. Apparently it was. And urgently.

So off I went to look up the Tudor dynasty and bash the keys. Luckily I’d studied Elizabethan playwrights at university, so some of it was familiar territory. Victoria Lamb became my pseudonym with Transworld. Later I branched into Young Adult fiction under the same name. (Ironically, my YA debut Witchstruck has just been published by Harlequin Teen in the States – so I finally got in, albeit by the back door!)

Then about ten months ago, an editor at Hodder approached my agent with an indecent proposal, or rather a request for one. Lust in the Tudor Court was born. So was Elizabeth Moss, a middle name allied to my first married name – I’ve discarded a few husbands along the way – as I didn’t want to confuse my teen readers.

I’ve now written the first two books in the series, Wolf Bride and Rebel Bride, and am starting the third soon. Never one to miss an opportunity, I’ve also self-published some of those old Regency romances under the name Elizabeth Moss!

Writing Wolf Bride was fantastic fun. It’s a holiday read, and very steamy indeed – think Sylvia Day – reflecting the decadent times in which these characters lived. My hero and heroine, Lord Wolf and Eloise Tyrell, are fictional. But the turbulent historical events that play out behind their love story are based on fact. So do give it a whirl. But be warned, it’s highly erotic.

Wolf Bride is the first in a debauched, decadent and passionate series set in the last months of Anne Boleyn’s reign, perfect for fans of Philippa Gregory, Sylvia Day and raunchy, revved-up BBC costume dramas like The Tudors.

Lord Wolf, hardened soldier and expert lover, has come to King Henry VIII's court to claim his new bride: a girl who has intrigued him since he first saw her riding across the Yorkshire moors.

Eloise Tyrell, now lady-in-waiting to Queen Anne Boleyn, has other ideas. She has no desire to submit to a man she barely knows and who - though she is loath to admit it - frightens her not a little.

Then comes that first kiss...

Thank you for sparing time to talk to us today, Elizabeth/Jane. We wish you continuing success with your books.

Best wishes, Henri

Interviews on the RNA Blog are carried out by Freda, Henri and Livvie. They are for RNA members only. If you are interested in an interview, please contact: freda@fredalightfoot.co.uk