Interview With Collette Cameron, Author of The Earl’s Enticement

I’m delighted to welcome back Collette Cameron for an interview and a peek at her new regency romance, The Earl’s Enticement, releasing May 28^th.

Hi, Collette, so glad to have you here today. Tell us a little about The Earl’s Enticement:

The Earl’s Enticement is the third and final book in The Reluctant Brides Series. Adaira and Roark were introduced in Highlander’s Hope right after she releases him from the dungeon she’d kept him locked in for three days. Let’s just say our hero is not a happy camper.

Blurb:

She won’t be tamed.

A fiery, unconventional Scot, Adaira Ferguson wears breeches, swears, and has no more desire to marry than she does to follow society’s dictates of appropriate behavior. She trusts no man with the secret she desperately protects.

He can’t forget.

Haunted by his past, Roark, The Earl of Clarendon, rigidly adheres to propriety, holding himself and those around him to the highest standards, no matter the cost. Betrayed once, he’s guarded and leery of all women.

Mistaking Roark for a known spy, Adaira imprisons him. Infuriated, he vows vengeance. Realizing her error, she’s appalled and releases him, but he’s not satisfied with his freedom. Roark is determined to transform Adaira from an ill-mannered hoyden to a lady of refinement.

He succeeds only to discover, he preferred the free-spirited Scottish lass who first captured his heart.

What inspired this story?

As I said above, Adaira and Roark were introduced in Highlander’s Hope. I knew they had to have their own story, but they had to wait until I wrote The Viscount’s Vow. And let me tell you, they were not patient!

What are you working on now? Do you have any releases scheduled for this year?

I’m working on Virtue and Valor, a Regency-Scottish historical. It’s the second book in my Highland Heather Romancing a Scot Series. I finished Triumph and Treasure in January.

What are your writing goals for this year?

Chuckling here. My goal was to write three books this year. That was before I was snared for an emergency teaching position at the end of February. We’ll see how close I get to that!

How do you come up with ideas?

Ideas just come to me, and I jot them down in a notebook. I have several secondary characters in my previous books who are getting their own stories too,  and I’ve found their stories almost develop on their own.

Can you share with us “the call” story?

I’d written Highlander’s Hope (that’s the 3^rd title by-the-way) and submitted queries to three or four publishers and had requests from four agents. They all said, “No thanks,” but one agent said she wanted to see more of my work and gave me some really good advice.

I rewrote the book—well actually, tweaked is a more accurate description—using the advice she gave me. I submitted a partial to Soul Mate Publishing and had a request for a full in four days. Four days after submitting the full, I was offered a contract.

What do you enjoy most about writing?

I think there are two things I truly enjoy about writing aside from entertaining readers. I love it when my stories and characters surprise me while I’m writing. I plan one thing happening and suddenly, they will take me in a different direction. I love the twists and turns and when they say or do something I didn’t see coming.

The other thing that I get tickled about is when I go back and read part of one of my books, and I’m like, “I forgot I wrote that” or “Did I really write that?”

Where do you start when writing? Research, plotting, character, or…?

I start with my characters. I complete a lengthy questionnaire for both my hero and heroine. Even though some of the answers will change as I write the story, I’m forced to really get inside their heads and figure out what motivates them. What do they like? Dislike? What are their fears? I also have a general plot idea that helps guide me when I’m filling out their questionnaire and their Goal, Motivation, and Conflict charts.

What did you learn from writing your first book or what do you wish you’d known before becoming published?

Critique partners are a must. I didn’t have any for Highlander’s Hope, and I’m convinced I’d have had much less editing and rewriting if I did.

Do you have a favorite time of day for writing?

I write much better in the morning. My mind is fresher, and I seem to be more creative. These past few weeks I’ve been writing after I get home from teaching, and I can really tell the difference in my writing voice.

What do you like to read?

Historical romance of course! I really adore anything in the Georgian, Regency, and Victorian eras and anything to do with Scotland…or Vikings…or medievals.

Do you listen to music while you write? What are you listening to now?

I have to have complete silence while I write. If I listen to music, I want to sing along.

What don’t most people know about you but you would like to share?

Unlike many authors, I didn’t know I wanted to be a writer until later in life. I’d always found the mechanics of writing easy, but thought dialogue would be much too difficult to tackle. But as is often the case with writers, once I started, I couldn’t stop.

These are few of my favorite things:

1. Cadbury Milk Chocolate

2. Dogs, especially dachshunds

3. Walks on the beach.

And now Collette has a question for you all: As you can tell from the excerpt, Adaira is a wee bit unconventional. What characteristics do you most like in a heroine, and what can’t you stand? Personally, I don’t like spoilt, whiney ones. I’ll gift a digital copy of The Viscount’s Vow or Highlander’s Hope to one commenter who leaves their email contact.

Excerpt:

“You do know—” Roark’s gaze roved the tidy cell, noting the fat, black spider weaving a web in the corner above the cell’s door, before returning to Miss Ferguson, “you could go to prison, for a very long time, for abducting and imprisoning a peer of the realm.”

“Ah, but then you’re not a peer are you?” She smiled again, the row of her neat white teeth shining bright in the shadowy corridor. “In fact, I do believe I’ve done the Crown a tremendous favor. I’ve apprehended a known spy.”

His gaze captured hers. Her eyes appeared black in the meager light, except for those unusual jewel-like gold specks reflecting in her irises. He fisted his hands, the only outward manifestation of his fury.

“That’s twice you’ve accused me of being a traitor. If you were a man, I’d call you out for it.”

She raised a perfectly arched chestnut brow and grinned. “Swords or pistols?”

Roark swept his gaze over her figure, shaking his head in disapproval. “Don’t tell me you’re trained in weaponry?”

“Of course.” She struck a fencing pose. “En garde.”

He closed his eyes for a brief moment. “Was there ever a more unladylike woman of refined breeding?”

Miss Ferguson dared to inch a bit closer, then bold as brass, pointed at him and chuckled. “You did it again. Spoke your thoughts aloud. My, but that must be aggravating.”

She leaned in a fraction, seeming to assess him with her keen eyes. Her subtle fragrance wafted past his nostrils. Something with lilies? He resisted the urge to inhale deeply.

“Can you keep any secrets, or does everything gush from your mouth like milk from a teat?”

Roark’s mouth dropped open. He gawked at her.

“Had she truly said teat?”

“To a man?”

“She didn’t know?”

Mischief danced in her eyes. “Yes, I did. Teat.”

Read the first two books in the The Reluctant Brides Series

Highlander’s Hope – Book 1

The Viscount’s Vow – Book 2

Bio: Award winning, Amazon best-selling, and multi-published historical romance author, Collette Cameron, has a BS in Liberal Studies and a Master’s in Teaching.  A Pacific Northwest Native, Collette is married, has three amazing adult children, and five dachshunds. Collette loves a good joke, inspirational quotes, flowers, the beach, trivia, birds, shabby chic, and Cadbury Chocolate. You’ll always find dogs, birds, quirky—sometimes naughty—humor, and a dash of inspiration in her novels. Her motto for life? You can’t have too much chocolate, too many hugs, or too many flowers. She’s thinking about adding shoes to that list.

Connect with Collette:

Website     Blue Rose Romance Blog   Twitter   Facebook

You can also connect with Collette on Goodreads, LinkedIn, and Google+  too. Go to her website for the links, her email address and mailing address.