• Regency

    Regency: Some Like it Haute @JillianLeigh003 #rlfblog

    Some Like it Haute.

    Jillian Leigh, welcome to Romance Lives Forever. Let’s talk about
    your book, Some Like It Haute. What a great title! Tell us more about it.
    Genre: Historical Romance (Regency)
    Publisher: Boroughs Publishing Group
    Cover artist: Boroughs Publishing Group
    Length: 10,000 words
    Heat rating: Sweet
    Tagline: Too haute for comfort? A stylish gentleman meets his
    match when he wagers he can make a dowdy spinster the talk of the ton in Regency
    England.
    Blurb: Stylish leader of the beau monde Sir Richard Sheridan
    has managed to avoid most forms of vulgarity for almost thirty years, but one evening,
    when he is goaded by a drunken young pup in the middle of a ballroom, Sherry finds
    himself embroiled in the most vulgar of wagers: to turn a dowdy young woman into
    the talk of the ton. Jane Smith, in town as chaperone to her niece, isn’t interested
    in a dandy such as Sir Richard, even if he is the most handsome man she’s ever encountered.
    But when he offers to help make her niece’s season a success, how can she refuse
    his company? Soon, they discover that they are–despite appearances to the contrary–
    more evenly matched than either could have imagined.
    What are your main
    characters’ names, ages, and occupations?
    Sir Richard Sheridan,
    known to the world as Sherry, is almost 30. He’s a Regency gentleman, so
    naturally he does as little as possible.
    Jane Smith is about
    the same age, though it’s impolite to speculate about a lady’s age. Suffice to
    say she’s old enough to play chaperone to her young niece in London society.

    Interview

    Tell us about your latest book, including its genre. Does
    it cross over to other genres? If so, what are they?
    Some Like It Haute is an historical Romance, set during the period
    of English history known as the Regency. It’s my take on traditional Regency. I
    hope I’ve captured some of the elegance and wit that this kind of historical is
    noted for.
    How do you come up with ideas?
    Ideas come from all sorts of places. Sometimes I’ll see a scene
    in my head. I don’t know exactly who these people are or what they’re doing there,
    precisely, but it’s fun to find out. Or I might start with a premise: a what if?
    Movies and books often start little ‘fires’ in my brain. Not all my ideas are suitable
    for turning into stories, though, or they may need to be tweaked and refined a bit
    first. Occasionally I’ll get a kernel of an idea that ends up sounding almost unrecognizable
    by the time I’ve finished with it. But that’s writing for you.
    What do you enjoy most about writing?
    As Dorothy Parker famously said, “I hate writing. I love having
    written.” While I don’t hate writing–or I probably wouldn’t do it–it’s hard work.
    Once the draft is written, though, it’s fun to edit, revise, shudder at what’s on
    the page, then come back and realize it’s not so awful after all. Even though reading
    your own work can be a humbling experience, occasionally you come across a bit of
    dialogue or a scene that you almost forgot you wrote–and it’s not bad!
    Where do you start when writing? Research, plotting, outline,
    or…?
    A great deal depends upon what sort of idea has possessed my
    mind. I do try not to do a lot of research before I start, because it can become
    a distraction. So I either look up something as I need to, or make a note to come
    back later (as long as an important plot point doesn’t hinge on knowing the answer).
    Generally, I try to start with a vague but almost coherent outline. I used to think
    I was a plotter, someone who needed to dot the ‘I’s and cross the ‘T’s before starting
    to write. Somewhere along the way, I came to the conclusion that I was either too
    lazy or too impatient to be a dedicated plotter. So then I decided I must be a pantser,
    who wanted to launch into things and work out the finer points later. Now I realize
    that I’m somewhere in between. I do need some sort of plot to work with, but writing
    outlines and character sheets just makes me grumpy. Does that mean I’m a plantser?
    If you could give the younger version of yourself advice what
    would it be?
    I would tell young me to ‘go for it’–not worry so much about
    what I should be doing and do all the things I want to do, no matter how wild or
    improbable they may seem at the time. I’d tell myself that your regrets tend to
    be about what you wished you’d done, rather than the things you did do. I would
    also tell young me to start writing sooner.
    What do you hope readers take with them after reading your
    work?
    I would love to think that readers are transported to another
    world for a little while, so much so that they forget their everyday existence and
    go along for an entertaining and amusing ride.
    List two authors we would find you reading when taking a break
    from your own writing.
    If I had to choose two only, I suppose I’d have to include Jane
    Austen and Georgette Heyer. But if I could mention more than two–which I’m going
    to do blatantly and unapologetically now–I would want to include writers such as
    Dickens and Trollope. In the genre of historical Romance I enjoy, amongst others,
    the fabulous Julia Quinn and Tessa Dare.
    A biography has been written about you. What do you think
    the title would be in six words or less?
    She was a good girl, but…
    If money were not an object, where would you most like to
    live?
    I’ve often thought, being an Anglophile and a history buff, that
    I’d love to live in the UK. In some picturesque English hamlet, no doubt. I’d grow
    a cottage garden and visit all the places I’ve mostly read about. But then I think
    of how cold it would get and suddenly I’m thankful I live in Australia, where it’s
    warm (no, make that hot). Actually, I’d love to have residences all over the world,
    like Summer and Winter Palaces, that I could drop in on from time to time as the
    mood took me. A girl can dream!
    Picture yourself as a store. Considering your personality
    and lifestyle, what type of products would be sold there?
    My store is a cross between an elegant department store and something
    out of a Dickens novel. You’d find an eclectic mix of old and new. In one corner,
    you can try on the latest fashions, gorgeous shoes, sample makeup and perfume. In
    another, you’ll wade through old collectibles and antiques. In a third corner of
    the store, you’ll find books and DVDs. People will be dancing, performing live theater
    and having debates. Of course there would be a café where you can enjoy a cup of
    something and a great pastry. I don’t know whether my store would make any money,
    but it would be a fun place to browse.
    If you came with a warning label, what would it say?
    Keep Her Fed and Watered Properly

    Please Fill in the Blanks

    Jillian Leigh
    I love
    pizza with almost anything except olives.
    I’m always
    ready for a good laugh or a great conversation.
    When I’m
    alone, I daydream.
    You’d
    never be able to tell, but I can swear with the best of them.
    If I had a halo it would be chipped, dented and slightly
    crooked, but basically intact
    .
    If I could
    go back in time I’d visit the 19th century (of course).
    I can
    never read a map properly because I’m spatially challenged.

    Find Me Here

    Website and blog: http://jillianleighauthor.com/