Love romance? You've come to the right place. Each week, a band of merry romance writers chat about love and writing. Just hop along from blog to blog to join the fun. Whether you landed here by happenstance or by way of Susan Peterson Wisnewski's blog, welcome! This week's questions are brought to us by Leslie Hachtel.
1. Do you prefer to write futuristic, contemporary or historical romances and why?
Contemporary all the way! I'm not studious enough to write historicals and I'm not inventive enough for futuristic. That said, I am in total awe of anyone who writes in either of these genres.
2. What is your favorite time in history and how and why does it inspire you?
I really love the 1920's - 1940's. There's so much complexity to delve into. You've got:
The Great Depression
The Dust Bowl, Prohibition
the heyday of the mob and Speakeasies
WWII and military men
Jazz
Swing dancing
Women rebelling against social norms
and oh, all that glorious fashion.
What's not to love! As you can see by the photo, The Road to Perdition with Tom Hanks is one of my favorite movies about this time period.
3. How has your life experience contributed to your writing?
I've always been controlled by my emotions and it tends to have a funny way of showing up in my writing. I might be happily married now, but that wasn't always the case. My past romantic disasters are sort of legendary in my family, and cause for many laughs. For those of you who doubt the extent of my dating stupidity, here is a book that my father bought me when I was between marriages in my early 20's. Gee, thanks, Dad.
When in doubt, I can always write about my failures in love and rewrite my history.
I'm also fairly sentimental. I like to keep tokens of my past nearby. My hubby calls it being a hoarder. In all seriousness though, usually shades of my life are strewn throughout my story lines. I rollerskated, therefore Maya rollerskates. I love to sing and dance, so Angie sings and dances. I can look back on those silly trinkets and awards and use them as backstory for my characters. It helps me build a realistic world for my readers to become immersed in.
Damn, I wish I'd had that book. Not that it would have stopped me
ReplyDeleteYeah, Dad was a bit late in giving me the book. Soon after I met my now husband. My dad probably should have given me the book as soon as I hit 13.
DeleteLMAO - I love the book your father bought you. It's not easy having romantic disasters, but what a great minefield you have for future books. Every cloud has a silver lining!
ReplyDeleteElizabeth, we have a lot in common, even teaching elementary school. I prefer the present too. I'm constantly nagging at my hubby telling him he lives in the past. He doesn't want to let go of it.
ReplyDeleteI love roller skating too! And it was sheer dumb luck that led me to my husband of 20 years. That and maybe that I told him I'd given up on romance & relationships on our first date.
ReplyDeleteRomantic disasters make good fodder for stories :-)
ReplyDelete20s-40s seems like such a great time, a lot of events and fun things to draw from for inspiration :D
ReplyDeleteThe book gift from your dad is hilarious :) I also have had my share of 'bad' relationships over the course of time, thank goodness we both finally found good ones :) Great blog!!!
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