Get
Lost in This Story…
Since resigning his Cavalry commission, Benedict Revelstoke has spent
his time in London avoiding the marriage mart. But when he discovers that the
Earl of Clivesden has set Julia in his sights, Benedict tries to protect his
childhood best friend from the man’s advances—only to discover more than
friendship driving his desire to defend her.
He surprises them both with the force of his feelings, but when she
refuses him and her father announces her betrothal, he fears he’s lost her
forever—until Julia approaches him with a shocking scheme that will ruin her
for all respectable society…
…and lead them into an exquisite world of forbidden pleasures.
You can read the first chapter on Ashlyn’s website.
Ashlyn Macnamara
writes Regency romance with a dash of wit and a hint of wicked. She considers
writing a form of mid-life crisis, but a safer form than hang gliding or
skydiving. She lives the wilds of suburbia outside Montreal with her husband,
two teenage daughters, and one cat. When not writing, she looks for other
excuses to neglect the housework, among them knitting, reading and wasting time
on the internet in the guise of doing research.
Her debut A Most Scandalous Proposal is available
at your favorite bookstore now.
Heather: How often do you get lost in a story?
Ashlyn: As often as I can,
although with working on my own stories and revisions and promotion, I’ve got
less time for that than I used to. But when I do read, I don’t just get lost. I
immerse myself completely.
Although,
it wouldn’t be wrong to say I also get lost in my own stories. When I’m in
writing mode, my characters and settings tend to take up residence in my head
to the exclusion of real life (much to my family’s consternation when I don’t
know what we’re having for supper and have zero inspiration for coming up with
anything).
Heather: What’s your favorite kind of story to get
lost in?
Ashlyn: When it’s not
historical romance, it’s often high fantasy. When I get lost, I like to really lose
myself somewhere that doesn’t much resemble the modern world.
Heather: What’s the first book you remember reading?
Ashlyn: Definitely not the
first book I ever read, but the first one that stuck with me was On the Banks of Plum Creek. Yes, I did
read the series out of order. I was at a friend’s house and she’d borrowed a
library copy of that book. It was a 1970s edition with the Garth Williams
illustrations and the front cover picturing Laura running on top of the dugout
barefoot, while Ma ironed beneath her feet. I could not stop looking at that
picture and wondering how those people lived. So on my next trip to the library
I borrowed that book, followed not long after by all the other books in that
series. The Little House books were
the first series I read over and over.
That’s
something else. Once I get lost somewhere especially good, I like to go back.
Heather: What’s your favorite fairy tale?
Ashlyn: I can answer that
two ways. Before I could read myself, my parents would read to me before
bedtime. One of my favorite books was a collection of fairy tales from all over
the world. When I was four or so, I discovered the wonders of “Wassilissa the
Beautiful.” Not because I was particularly intrigued (or scared) by Baba Yaga
and her house that stood on chicken legs, but because, like any good Russian
story, that one was long. As in a good fifty pages long. It was the best story
for putting off bedtime as long as possible.
And
then, perhaps to divert my attention from Wassilissa, one Christmas I got a
record with a musical retelling of Disney’s Sleeping
Beauty along with an illustrated booklet I could follow the story in. I
played that thing over and over. But by then, it wasn’t too long before I was
reading on my own.
Heather: What’s your favorite cartoon character?
Ashlyn: Bugs Bunny. I love
how that wascally wabbit puts on over on Elmer Fudd every time. I think one of
the best cartoons ever made was “The Rabbit of Seville.” I could probably sing
it, but I’ll spare you.
Heather: If you were given a chance to travel to the
past where would you go and specifically why?
Ashlyn: Regency England,
naturally. There’s nothing like hands-on research. Perhaps I could discover the
answer to some of the issues Regency authors argue about, such as whether
respectable ladies wore underwear or how they dealt with that time of the
month. On the other hand, they’d probably kick me out for asking about such
scandalous topics.
Heather: Which of your characters would you most/least
to invite to dinner, and why?
Ashlyn: Lady Epperley
because she knows the best gossip. Only you have to be careful, because she’s
all too happy to invent what she hasn’t heard yet. She also enjoys saying
whatever is necessary to get a rise out of people.
Heather: Tea or Coffee? And how do you take it?
Ashlyn: Coffee. Please,
coffee. Oddly enough, even though I’m addicted to the stuff, I can’t make it
worth a darn. I have to get my husband to make it for me. And he’s very picky.
He has to buy the fancy beans from a specialty shop and grind them himself—just
enough for one pot at a time. In fact, he’s been known to set the timer so he
can grind his beans the optimal number of seconds. See why I can’t make it
myself? Way too complicated.
Heather: Have you ever written a character who wasn’t
meant to be a hero/heroine but he/she wouldn’t go away?
Ashlyn: Yes, oh my gosh,
yes. This is one of my first manuscripts that never got published, but I wrote
a story involving a young woman living during the American Revolution. Her
father and older brother had gone off to fight in the war and left her in
charge. She had a younger teenage brother who resented her, and ended up
playing a villain’s role in the story. Jonas Chambers was 16 and mouthy and
lazy and petulant. And he only agreed to play the villain if I wrote his story
and redeemed him. Which I did, and I’d love to find a way to get his story out
there, because he inhabited my head for the better part of a year before I
exorcized him.
Wait, does that make me sound slightly insane?
Heather: Dog person
or cat person?
Ashlyn: Cats, and not only for the fact that they’re far easier
to house train. And how can you resist that face?
Even when she’s shoving it into my face at
5 AM because her food dish is empty and that’s completely unacceptable.
Ashlyn: I have to say French, since I live in Quebec. It’s my
husband’s native language, and in my day-to-day life, I speak French more often
than English.
Heather:
I
noticed on your website that one of your hobbies is knitting. Can you share a
favorite project with us?
Ashlyn:
My
very first publishing credit had to do with knitting. When the Harry Potter
series was at its height of popularity, I took it into my head to recreate a
sweater like Harry wore in his Quidditch matches. I made myself one, and then I
posted the directions I’d worked out online and forgot about it. A while later,
I got an email from the editor of Charmed Knits: Projects for Fans of Harry Potter,
telling me they’d like to include my pattern in their collection. I was
thrilled and naturally said yes. So that’s got to top my list for my favorite
project.
GOT A
QUESTION YOU’D LIKE TO ASK YOUR FANS?
Ashlyn:
Regencies
are ever popular, but is there a different era or setting you wished to see
more of in historical romance?
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