Saturday, October 13, 2012

Meet multi-award winning historical author, Anna Campbell


Hi  Anna, thank you for joining us today and for sharng your writing adventure

Hi Jean! Thank you for having me as your guest here today. Really interesting questions!

    When did you first consider yourself a writer?

It was VERY early. My mother kept a composition I wrote in grade two where I claim I’m going to be the next Enid Blyton. Clearly my interest in popular fiction started early! I loved books from the moment I heard my first story so I think it was inevitable that I should want to write them.

   What books have most influenced your life most?
           
Oh, that’s a hard question to ask a voracious reader. How long have you got? I’ll stick to the early stuff. Enid Blyton taught me the power of story and that urge to turn the pages to find out what happens next, no matter how late it is at night. I started to read romances when I was about eight – my mum gave me a Mills and Boon (Harlequin) to shut me up. Romance novels have been shutting me up ever since! And finally I think I’ll mention THE WOLF AND THE DOVE by Kathleen Woodiwiss. I was about fourteen when I read this and I was absolutely entranced. I promised myself then that I’d grow up to write historical romance.

  Do you see writing as a career?

I write full time which is a dream come true for me.

   Can you give us some details about your upcoming release/s?

My latest release is SEVEN NIGHTS IN A ROGUE’S BED from Grand Central Publishing in North America (25th September) and HarperCollins in Australia and New Zealand (1st October). It’s the first book of my first series, Sons of Sin, and it’s a very gothic take on Beauty and the Beast. Here’s the blurb:

Will a week of seduction...
Desperate to save her sister's life, Sidonie Forsythe has agreed to submit herself to a terrible fate: Beyond the foreboding walls of Castle Craven, a notorious, hideously scarred scoundrel will take her virtue over the course of seven sinful nights. Yet instead of a monster, she encounters a man like no other. And during this week, she comes to care for Jonas Merrick in ways that defy all logic-even as a dark secret she carries threatens them both.

...Spark a lifetime of passionate surrender?
Ruthless loner Jonas knows exactly who he is. Should he forget, even for a moment, the curse he bears, a mere glance in the mirror serves as an agonizing reminder. So when the lovely Sidonie turns up on his doorstep, her seduction is an even more delicious prospect than he originally planned. But the hardened outcast is soon moved by her innocent beauty, sharp wit, and surprising courage. Now as dangerous enemies gather at the gate to destroy them, can their new, fragile love survive?

You can read another excerpt here: http://annacampbell.info/rogue.html

 In which genre do you prefer to write and why?

I love writing historical romance. It’s always been my favourite genre to read too. I love the larger-than-life quality of a great historical romance, the way it sweeps you away to a different, more dramatic world.

 When you are not writing, what are your hobbies, passions, etc?

Well, reading is a no-brainer answer for that question. I’ve always got at least one book on the go, usually more than one. I love romance but lately I’ve been on a crime binge. I read a lot of nonfiction too. I love music and travel and I’m a recent convert to digital photography so if you stand still, I’m likely to take your picture!

    Do you have any advice for new writers beginning their adventure?

There’s so many distractions now, especially on the internet. If you want to be a writer, you need to write. That means sitting down at your computer and getting words on the page. You’ll find as you write each manuscript that you hit a danger zone when you’re tempted to give up because you’ve got a better idea. Don’t! This is just your mind playing tricks on you to save you the hard work of slogging through the middle to the end. Write that book to the end – finishing a book will teach you lots of stuff that nothing else will. Including persisting through the doldrums that strike every manuscript. Then once you’ve finished that manuscript, put it away for as long as you can – six months is a good idea – and write something else. When you come back to edit the first one, you’ll have some distance from it and it’s MUCH easier to see mistakes. Not only that, you’ll have learnt additional skills from tackling your next project that you can then use to improve your previous project.

Excerpt from Seven Nights In A Rogue’s Bed

Devon Coast, November 1826

In the cavernous hall, Sidonie Forsythe stood tall and straight in a pool of pale sunshine. She wore her heavy cloak and she clutched her valise at her side.
“What the hell are you doing?” Jonas strode across the flagstones and stopped a few paces short of her. Thank God he was an early riser or he’d be too late. He’d been flicking through the prospectus for a canal scheme when Mrs. Bevan lumbered into the library to announce the young lady requested use of his carriage.
At his furious question, Miss Forsythe whipped around. She stared dismayed into his face and he knew they both revisited those blazing moments in his bed. The memory thundered through him like the blast of a thousand cannons. Her lovely eyes darkened with what he could only interpret as humiliation before anger rescued her. “Don’t you ever dress like a Christian?”
Again, she surprised him. He liked that. He liked it almost as much as he’d liked seeing her unclothed body last night. And he’d liked that very much indeed.
He released a derisive grunt of laughter. “This is my house. If I want to run around in my shirtsleeves, I will. If I tour the estate stark naked, I daresay it’s my privilege.”
Delicate color tinged her cheeks at the mention of nakedness. This morning she looked brighter. She must have managed some sleep after he’d stormed from her room.
He wished to Hades he had.
“It’s nothing to me what you wear.” Calm determination masked any disquiet. He’d lay money that composure was as false as the canal scheme’s projected profits. “We’ll never see each other again after all.”
“I wouldn’t place too much store in that particular prediction,” he said drily. “It’s a devilish shabby trick to sneak away without a by-your-leave.”
“We have nothing to say to one another.”
“You think not?” He turned to Mrs. Bevan. “Tell Hobbs the carriage isn’t required.”
“Mr. Merrick—” Miss Forsythe began in a repressive voice.
He’d be damned if he was squabbling with her out here while his housekeeper stood around with flapping ears. “Perhaps you’d rather continue this discussion in the library.”
“I’d rather leave your house and pretend these lamentable twenty-four hours never occurred.”
“So vehement for daybreak.” He weighted his tone with completely spurious boredom. “It’s a trifle fatiguing.”
“Only for a man of your advanced years,” she snapped back.
Brava ancora. He could guess how awkward she felt in his presence after what had happened—and not happened—last night. Still she came back fighting. “At least let me rest my ageing bones on a cushion while you harangue me.”
No answering humor. She continued to eye him warily. “I’d prefer to go.”
“I’m sure you would. But I’ve still got Roberta’s vowels. Or had you forgotten?”
Her magnificent eyes flashed hatred. “I hadn’t forgotten. I paid you last night.”
He gave her a nasty smile. “That’s a matter of opinion.” He gestured toward the library. “Miss Forsythe?”
She glowered at him, then glanced at Mrs. Bevan who watched with avid interest. The girl’s color deepened and she nodded abruptly. “Five minutes.”
Jonas knew not to push his advantage. Or at least to wait until they were alone before he did. He opened the door and ushered her into the book-lined room.


About Anna

 
Aussie ANNA CAMPBELL has written six multi award-winning historical romances for Avon HarperCollins and her work is published in eleven languages. Always a voracious reader, Anna decided when she was a child that she wanted to be a writer. Once she discovered the wonderful world of romance novels, she knew exactly what she wanted to write. Anna has won numerous awards for her Regency-set romances including Romantic Times Reviewers Choice, the Booksellers Best, the Golden Quill (three times), the Heart of Excellence, the Aspen Gold (twice) and the Australian Romance Readers Association's favourite historical romance (four times). Her books have twice been nominated for Romance Writers of America's prestigious RITA Award and three times for Australia's Romantic Book of the Year. In 2012, Anna launches an exciting new publishing venture with Grand Central Publishing and her first series, "Sons of Sin", with SEVEN NIGHTS IN A ROGUE’S BED in October 2012.

Thank you for sharing with us, Anna. Best of luck with your new series.


4 comments:

  1. This story sounds so intriguing Anna, i can't but wonder what his afliction is.

    Jane

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  2. Hi Jane! Lovely to see you here. Jonas is scarred (the story behind that comes out as the book progresses). Glad you like the sound of Rogue!

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  3. Hi Anna, hi Jean!

    Nice interview. I love your long association with books and with writing, Anna. Your career as a romance writer was destined to be! Love SEVEN NIGHTS IN A ROGUE'S BED too. It's a corker of a story with so much passion and intensity. The gothic theme was such fun too.

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    1. Hey, thanks, Annie! So glad you enjoyed Rogue. I had enormous fun with the gothic elements. Ruined castle? Check. Scarred, brooding hero? Check. Sea pounding on jagged cliffs? Check. Lots of wild weather? Check. Yup, pretty much the whole gothic kit and caboodle!

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