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.

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