Its All in the Details: Dec. 8 A visit with author, Victoria Janssen

My apologies to Victoria-(*stomping snow off boots) I'm afriad this midwestern storm and all the hoopla surrounding it has adled my barin and I forgot today was Tuesday! And that Victoria was getting in to the manor!!  Come on where its warm and let me take off my gloves and scarf...brrr...the snow is picking up in intensity out there, so my guess is that Victoria--like it or not, you're here for at least a day or two!!  Maybe you could share some of your fav holiday recipes as well--you dont have to make them--eating them is good enough for me!;)

So wrap your hands around your warm cuppa and help me welcome the talented Victoria Janssen to the LIT Manor!  And, btw, Victoria, I was in a Barnes & Noble last week and picked up the book in real life!!  Looks like a great read!

A fellow Spice author and with an imagination like no other, Victoria has brought to the reading world a bevy of fantasy, sensuality and history in her work! Her latest release, MOONLIGHT MISTRESS is another in her line-up of steamy, smart reads! Weclome, Victoria! Please tell us about your new release and what inspired this story. I see the cover gods at Spice once again were amazing in their gift! What a tantalizing cover!

 It's great to be back at Lust in Time!
My new book from Harlequin Spice, a historical with werewolves, is titled The Moonlight Mistress and it's out this month. I've been amusing myself by going through my copy and re-reading my favorite moments, many of which are bits of historical detail. I love the tiny bits best.

See, I am a total geek and really love research for its own sake. It grieves me that I don't have time to read every one of my research books cover to cover…I buy rather more research books than I really need, and some of them are only peripherally related to the topics of my novels, but they're all just so interesting! And that's not even counting the books I check out of the library.

Just in case some of you readers are research geeks as well, here are my favorite World War One historical bits from The Moonlight Mistress and where I found them. I think that often the most interesting details, that give the greatest sense of realism to the narrative, are not the most major. It's the tiny, unusual facts that stand out for the reader.

The novel's opening line is "There were no trains to Strasbourg." And this is absolutely true. When the first declarations of war were flying back and forth, all sorts of daily activities were affected. I pored over Lyn Macdonald's 1914: The Days of Hope, which is a collection of first-person accounts placed into chronological order. One of those accounts, from the very day Germany declared war, mentioned in passing that there were no trains to Strasbourg. I couldn't shake that bit of information from my head; something about the specificity of it, and the narrator's shock that things were not as they should be, perfectly summed up for me the feelings of a character who's just found out they are stranded. I never considered using another opening.


"Best of all, there was a shower…with brass fittings on three walls in the shape of lily blossoms, and tiled in green-and-white patterns like lacework." Though I took liberties with the decorative elements, this idea of this period-appropriate shower originated in one I actually saw, at Casa Loma in Toronto; the real shower actually had six taps at three different levels. As a side note, the fancy ducal stables in The Duchess, Her Maid, The Groom and Their Lover were based on stables I saw at Casa Loma.


The extensive section on the arrival of the British Expeditionary Force in France, and the subsequent battle and retreat, was mostly drawn from first-person accounts in Macdonald's 1914 with some fragments of information coming from several more general accounts of the First World War, including John Keegan's The First World War and, to a lesser extent, Paths of Glory: The French Army 1914-18. The fate of the regiment's boy trumpeters – to be left behind when their regiment sailed to war – came directly from the first-person accounts, as did the information that bandsmen might be assigned to be stretcher bearers. More than one account mentioned that many of the soldiers had new, ill-fitting boots. Even the crops growing in the fields the soldiers passed were all noticed by contemporary observers.

Many of the quotidian details about the lives of the British soldiers I drew from Tommy: The British Soldier on the Western Front 1914-1918 by Richard Holmes, including small economic facts such as this one: "…Lincoln owed Hailey a guinea sixpence, enough for a new overcoat."



Finally, most of the information about the hospital where Lucilla goes to work were extrapolated from The Women of Royaumont: A Scottish Women's Hospital on the Western Front and several other volumes about or written by British nurses and VADs. After taking the basic information, that there were hospitals staffed almost entirely by women, I blended details from different sources to suit my purposes, combining occurrences and locations. For instance, "She managed a greeting in Hindustani; her phrases were limited, but efficient" was drawn from a first-person account by a nurse who served on a hospital train, in Diary of a Nursing Sister on the Western Front: 1914-1915. Shipment and supply problems at Royaumont led me to include this bit of detail: "Tanks of nitrous oxide were procured, but some of the tanks of oxygen needed to mix with it had leaked and arrived empty, and had to be replaced."

I could go on, but I think I've made my point. At the start of a project, you never know what details you might need and which sources might have the best details, so it's best to check out a wide range, and to pay close attention to everything.

~Victoria


So true, Victoria  and the more detail , the more real it becomes for all of us as readers as well as writers, I think. Thanks for stopping by today and sharing with us the backstage process of this fascinating book! I think I have another for my TBR pile!!

Welcome Harlequin's Lara Hyde

Good morning! I'm just finishing up my first cuppa, pushing hubby and children out the door for the day! (Yippee for mopeds!) They say its going to get warmer here today-a whopping 55! Not exactly beach weather, but for early spring in Iowa, not too bad. The bright side is that next week I head south to Orlando!! Now to figure out how not to scare the Florida natives with my extreme, white skin!

But today, we set our minds on the northland, eh? And the mecca of quality reading, Harlequin Enterprises! Joining us for a second day, is Spice/Mira editor, Lara Hyde!
Woohoo <><>clapping<><> Oops, Lord CM is still asleep! Sssh!

Hi Lara, hope your baby girl is doing better! Today I would like to focus a bit on the mechanics side of the industry. First, I'd like to ask, what advice would you give to an aspiring author who wants to get published with Harlequin/Silhouette?

Lara: Do your homework--check out the writing guidelines for the various series and imprints on the www.e-harlequin.com and follow them! Read other books published in that genre. Also, get your manuscript proofread and, ideally, "edited" by a trusted critique partner or even a paid freelancer before sending it in. There is nothing more distracting than a submission that comes in full of errors. Besides that, just send us an exceptionally written, original story that we can't say no to!

Amanda:I heard an editor once state that he's waiting for that book about "Scottish Ninja Warriors" to land on his desk. That unique book that is going to blow him away. Do you have any "wishes" of what you would love to see come across your desk?

Lara: Hmm...that's a dangerous question! LOL Actually, I've never really thought about it. Authors are always surprising me with their originality...someone will suggest an idea for their next proposal or I'll come across a Spice Brief in my in-box, and I'll be like "Wow! I really want to read that!" but it's not necessarily something I would ever have thought of. But the premise is really second to the characters. If the characters are rendered realistically and the emotions between them can heat up the page or get me to cry--that's what I wish for.

Amanda: That's what is so amazing about Spice to me. You keep a pretty open mind when it comes to unique story lines. It really gives the author the giant box of crayons to choose from;) That said-in the current economy, what can authors do to help promote their books?

Lara: Authors should take advantage of any self-promotion opportunities there may be, including offering to do readings/signings at local libraries and bookstores, maintaining web sites and doing book giveaways, etc., mass e-mailing fans about their new book, entering contests and contacting reviewers and local media.

Amanda: Most authors now spend equal amount of time promoting and writing. It makes sense to partner with the publisher in this endeavor, after all. That , to a certain extent is something I have seen more and more authors take hand in and I think that's a good thing! In your opinion, what is the greatest change in the writing end of the industry in the last ten years? What do you see as being the biggest change in the next ten?

Lara: Wow. Seeing as how I've only been in the industry for seven years, I'm hard-pressed to say, but I do believe that we've seen a relatively recent explosion of new venues for writers to be heard. With the economic downturn of late, some traditional publishers may be cutting back on the number of new books they acquire, but now there are also e-publishers, print-on-demand publishers and blogs. All kinds of ways for authors to get their stories out there and potentially develop fan bases before they are ever traditionally published. I see this phenomenon as something that is going to continue to grow.

Amanda: It boggles the mind to see the changes in even the last seven years! The education and market awareness of e-books, a resurgence in audiobooks,the creation of multiple handheld readers and iphones that download books, places that offer the classics for download. Personally I have always thought an untapped market of readers were the college students. With nearly every one of them having computers or easy access to them, the potential is endless!

Lara, thank you so much for taking the time from your busy schedule to be here. We appreciate you allowing us to pick your brain a bit and here more about one of Harlequin Spice/Spice Briefs lines. Viva la' Spice! Viva la' Harlequin!

Welcome Harlequin's Lara Hyde!

Today we are happy to have visiting us at the manor a gifted , intelligent woman that I am proud to call friend and editor. And yes, she is fresh, vibrant and gorgeous, but we don't hold it against her;)

I speak for Charlotte, Kristi and myself when I say her vision and encouragement has not gone unnoticed. A rare gem among today's editors, we warmly welcome Lara Hyde to the Manor. She was hoping that Lord Craven-Moore might offer to make her blueberry-banana pancakes in his skivvies.

Spoken like a true Spice editor;)

To all who leave comments, I am giving away some yummy Spice Brief mousepads for as long as they last!

Grab your coffee , tea, or soda and join us for part I of our visit with Lara Hyde.

Amanda: Good morning, Lara! (we'll dispense with the our usual Bawanna for today;) Your picture is gorgeous! Darn it! Beautiful and brainy to boot! *sigh we love you anyway ;) Why don't we begin with a little bit about you and how long you've been at Harlequin?

Lara: I've been with Harlequin for almost 7 years. I studied journalism in university and worked on the production side in television after graduation, then went back to school and got my teaching degree. After a stint teaching abroad in South Korea, followed by teaching night school English, I realized teaching wasn't my passion. Harlequin was looking for a proofreader at the time, and I jumped on the opportunity to get my foot in the door of a publisher I had always dreamed of working for. In between proofreading and my current position as Assistant Editor for MIRA/Spice, I worked for nearly 4 years on Harlequin American Romance and Superromance.

Amanda: Harlequin is so well known and respected in the romance industry, I can understand your desire to work there! This year Harlequin celebrates its 60th anniversary! That is an amazing accomplishment! Further I note that earnings for Harlequin/Silhouette remain constant and/or have shown improvement, in spite of the recent economic blight. Harlequin /Silhouette provides such a broad variety of lines-do you feel this diversity is part of Harlequin's long-running success? What else would you say continues to work for Harlequin/Sil?

Lara: Absolutely--the variety of lines of imprints that Harlequin publishes is incredible. Harlequin is all about staying relevant and giving readers what they want to read. That means continuously revisiting our current products and launching new products where there is a demand. Because the name Harlequin is synonymous with romance, many people are amazed to learn that Harlequin publishes everything from traditional romances to mainstream thrillers to literary fiction and erotica under its various imprints. Of course, when it comes to series romance, Harlequin is #1, and series readers know that when they buy that Harlequin Presents or Silhouette Romantic Suspense, they will get the happily-ever-after ending they are looking for. And I think that promise keeps them coming back.

Amanda: I'm sure our readers have their favorites. I personally love the diversity of Harlequin /Silhouette lines and the fact that they are always open to growth and researching what readers want. In your experience, what would you say are the tried and true lines and what is new at Harlequin? Anything new coming down the pipeline?

Lara: Well, the tried-and-true lines like Harlequin Presents, Silhouette Desire, Harlequin Historical and Harlequin Blaze aren't going anywhere. And then we have the more recent lines and imprints like LUNA (female-focused fantasy), and of course, SPICE, that offer something really unique. As for new products, we've got Harlequin Teen launching this August, and Nocturne Bites (short paranormal e-books) and Harlequin Historical Undone (short historical e-books), which are following in the footsteps of the Spice Briefs program, which is the erotica e-books program I have the pleasure of being involved in.

Amanda: E-Books and "going green" is a very big step for many pubs these days as well as the devices for reading e-books like Sony's E-Reader and Amazon's Kindle. Hopefully, the move toward e-book will help in offering books to a whole new generation of readers! Is Harlequin/Silhouette planning to offer all of its backlist books in E-Book format?

Lara: We are currently in the middle of releasing a large number of titles in backlist throughout 2009. Since it is difficult to know where to start/stop, so we are using customer requests, sales history, volume of titles by an author, connected editorial etc….as our guidelines. We actually just released 50 titles in March and will be releasing another 85 in May. Our goal is to meet as many of our customers’ needs in eBook format as we can, so it will an initiative that will continue beyond this year.

Amanda: The possibilities are endless certainly! I am impressed the more I hear about Harlequin and its goal to retain its traditional works as well as offer amazing new lines and even non-fiction! The challenge is there to authors and editors alike to find the stories that will please readers on all levels of the reading palette! And I find that challenge very exciting!

Harlequin has its two sides, category and single-title. You currently edit for the single-title Spice and Mira lines at Harlequin. Have you edited for the category side of Harlequin? How is that the same? How is it different?

Lara: I edited a number of American Romance and Superromance novels before moving over to the single-title side. I loved working on series! The editing process is virtually the same; the only real differences are the length of the books you're editing and, of course, the subject matter (my current MIRA authors write ultra-gory, serial-killer thrillers). I really enjoy working on Spice because many of the stories (particularly the historicals) are wonderful romances at their core, but they are edgier and less predictable than category romance. And the authors who write them are really fun to work with!

Amanda: I love less predictable ;)especially if it involves steamy romance!;) So, I'm curious, what does an editor read for pleasure?

Lara: Oh, all types! Lately I've been reading a lot of non-fiction memoirs about quirky families and dysfunctional childhoods, like THE GLASS CASTLE by Jeannette Walls, and RUNNING WITH SCISSORS by Augusten Burroughs. I can't seem to get enough of those.

Amanda: Which conjures up a whole host of questions that I will ask in my second half of our visit with Lara, come tomorrow! Meantime, please feel free to ask Lara questions or tell her what you as readers would love to see in your reading!!

I'll see if I can hunt down Lord C. M and bribe him into putting on his silk boxers. Usually he simply tosses on his silk robe and a wicked smile as he prepares our breakfast;)