Please make welcome Anne Manning as she joins us today, here at Coffee Time Romance to answer a few questions I have for her.
First off I would like to ask you about your book, The Pirate’s Lady. What was the inspiration behind your writing this story?
The characters in this book, Black Hal Merritt and Elspeth, Countess Greymere, came to me as the parents of a hero in a western romance. They were so compelling, I figured I’d better get to know them better before I put them in another book as secondary characters. And once I started thinking about Hal, who I already knew was part-Cherokee and part-Scot, and a pirate as well, I knew a Scot-Indian-Pirate would be a winner.
It so happened that the timeline of the book I had started writing, when Hal and Elspeth’s son Chandler was an adult, put Hal and Elspeth’s story in the early 1840’s when Queen Victoria had just begun her reign. Researching Victoria revealed some interesting things I was able to use in discovering Elspeth’s connection to this fascinating woman.
Was it hard to write this book and also what type of research did you have to do?
It wasn’t hard at all actually. The characters were so real by the time I started, that their story just flowed. Because I included Queen Victoria, “Drina” as her childhood friends called her, I did quite a bit of reading to learn some things about her. She was quite a hoyden in her youth and very strong-willed. And until her marriage to Albert, actually quite forward thinking. I tried to capture some of this multi-faceted personality in my depiction of Drina in her relationship to Elspeth.
I know you write about different time periods but which time period is your favorite, if you have one and why?
I love the West. Cowboys and Texas are my favorite plots. I have several stories I’ve yet to write set in Texas in the 1870s and 1880s and I’m hoping to get them done someday. In fact I had a whole series of stories that I think of as “Texas Reunion” stories, where the hero and the heroine are reunited and rediscover their love for one another. Ripples (www.hardshell.com) was one of these stories, where the hero and heroine are first seen as old folks in a Florida nursing home. Ripples is about how one bad choice can screw up your whole life and how God might give special people, like Norah and Egan in this book, a second chance to do it right. The story which gave birth to The Lady’s Pirate is another reunion story.
I also love old Ireland. The Raven’s Lady (www.newconceptspublishing.com, now available in paperback) is set in 1013, during the last months of Brian Boru’s life and reign as High King. It’s another time period I’d love to revisit to see how Eibhlin and Brandubh’s kids are turning out.
The Lady’s Pirate is, to me, quite a strong story and very emotional, did you expect it to be this way when you were writing it?
Thank you for those kind words. I hadn’t thought of writing an emotional book, but when I created Elspeth, a married woman, I knew there had to be a very strong motivation for her to do the unthinkable in her day–divorcing her husband. A noblewoman who did such a thing would face social ostracism, which continues to this day, as witnessed by Charles’ inability to marry the woman he loved and keep his job as Prince of Wales. Though he’s finally married Camilla, the social stigma of divorce is still clear in the fact that it is
assumed she will never bear the title of Queen.
I also had to find Hal’s motivation for seeking revenge on Elspeth’s husband, which drives him to take up piracy. Only a henious crime could be such a motivator. So it ended up being a bit dark, which I’ve been told is my style 🙂
Do you use critique partners or groups? And if so, why and does this influence your writing at all?
Not so much. Sometimes, I’ve gotten comments that have diverted me from the story I wanted to tell, so I usually don’t get critiques until after I’ve completed the first draft. Then I can take the comments in a more objective frame of mind and make the best use of the input in the re-write. I know there are certain things I do, like writing too tight, not enough description and sense of place, that I can fix in the re-write, but I need to get the whole frame of the story down first. I know a lot of people who use a critique group during the first draft and that works well for them. Guess we all have to find our own best process.
Which comes first when you write a book, the characters or the storyline and why?
Oh, gosh, it can be either one. Ripples came from watching a commercial in 1997 during the World Series. Two old folks were necking on the couch and lights flash in the window. They unclinch and sit up, wide-eyed. The lights move on and the old lady says, “I thought my folks were home.” Then they go back to necking. It was hilarious! I got to thinking about an elderly couple and somehow, that light moment morphed into the somewhat darker image of an old woman sitting by the bedside of her dying love, whom she’d met too late. So the characters came first here.
Presidential Liaison came from just hearing the storyline of The American President, and when I learned more about the story of the movie, I decided I didn’t like it much and came up with one of my own. 😉 That one was story first, but once I’d started thinking about the characters, they took over and I was hearing dialogue (most of which actually ended up in the book) and seeing scenes. It was a great experience.
The Lady’s Pirate was characters first. They hadn’t even walked on the scene in the unfinished book I mentioned before and I knew I had tell their story.
Why? Don’t have a clue. Every story is different and will evolve in its own way. One thing that writers have to understand, though, is that “It’s the characters, stupid!” You can write the most perfect prose ever, but if the reader doesn’t care about the characters, they’re not going to care about your writing, either. So in a way, the characters must always come first, in that they have to be real people a reader can identify with, love or hate, and want to read the story to see what happens to them.
Do you have any favorites from characters have written and why?
I actually love all my heroes. I think romance writers are always in love with our heroes, since we identify so much with our heroines, who, obviously, are in love with them, or there wouldn’t be a story, would there? 😉
My favorite hero is Bill McAllister from Presidential Liaison. He’s the kind of leader and man I wish all politicians were. Even after all these years–I wrote that in 1997–he’s still in my head. I think he wants another book!
My favorite heroine has to be Martha from Rustler’s Bride (www.hardshell.com), an older heroine who has accepted her state as an old maid, but finds love with Jake Bowman, another favorite of mine (see how I get back to the heroes?).
I think the very favorite character of all is Dougal, Brandubh’s father, in The Raven’s Lady. He’s an Italian, transplanted to Ireland in the late 10th century, who has become an Irishman. He was such a hoot to write!
So what do you like to do when you are not writing? What do you do for fun?
Oh, I read! And I’ve taken up some crafty things, like quilt making. I made six for my husband’s family this past Christmas, complete with family crest in the middle square! I was so proud of them and had a blast making them. I also make beaded bookmarks that I give away in baskets and in different promotions. And decoupage! What fun to take a plain item and give it a personal look. I also embroider baptismal napkins for my church and it’s such a rewarding thing to know I’ve given a child has a special keepsake of their “second birthday.”
I also love to watch all the forensics shows on TV, CSI, Forensic Files, Cold Case, Investigative Reports, I watch ’em all. Love to see how they can catch the bad guys with just a sliver of evidence. If I ever move into suspense, I should have a good background!
What is the best piece of advice you have received and what is the worst?
The best is from Nora Roberts: I can fix a bad page, but I can’t fix a blank one.
The worst was from a guy who talked my husband and me into buying whole life insurance. 😉
Do you have any rituals you do when you start or while you are writing your books?
Not really. Maybe I need one! I do have a CD I listen to all the time when I’m writing, especially when the book is about Ireland. It’s Turlough O’Carolan performed by great Irish artists. It really puts me in the mood to write!
Have you any “works in progress” and when will they be released?
I’m working on a contemporary suspense novel, set in San Antonio. It’s the story of a woman who gets a heart transplant and starts experiencing the memories of her donor, right up to the moment of his murder. This one isn’t contracted yet, so I have no idea on the release date.
I also write as Taylor Manning with my dear friend Kathryn Overton. We have a novella, The Lady of the Loch, which will be in the New Concepts Publishing anthology From the Deep. This will be released soon, I hope.
And of course, some day, I’ll get back to the western story that got Hal and Elspeth started.
Do you have a website where readers can find out more information about your books or contact you?
My website is www.annemanning.com. I hope readers will drop by and leave me a note. There’s a link for email there too. My email is writeranne@yahoo.com and I love hearing from readers!
Taylor’s website is taylormanning.homestead.com, and there are lots of interesting things there and more coming!
Thank you Anne for giving up your time and being here with us at Coffee Time Romance. We, at Coffee Time Romance, wish you all the best on your upcoming projects and your future works.
Thanks so much, Sheryl. I had a great time!
Sheryl
Interviewer
Coffee Time Romance
Leave a Comment