The Write Way Café welcomes Regan Walker, an author who offers real history in her books.When did you first have the thought you'd like to write a book?
I think It would have been early 2011. My best friend gave me the idea when she said, “You think like a writer.” The result was Racing With the Wind, my first novel, published in 2012.
Where did the idea for A Fierce Wind come from?
A Fierce Wind is book 3 in the Donet trilogy of Georgian romances. Since Zoé Donet, the heroine, was ten years old in Echo in the Wind (book 2), I had to age her if I was going to tell her love story. Twenty seemed like a good age to fall in love and voilà! I found myself in the French Revolution. Worse, it was 1794, the year of the Reign of Terror.
How did you begin to write a story set in the French Revolution?
Slowly and with great trepidation. I began my research not knowing just how I would enter that year in the history of France. There was so much to cover. My desk was littered with stacks of books about the revolution and the people who lived through it. But I could not include them all nor could I tell the whole story of the Reign of Terror. So, after several frustrating weeks, I found something I not only didn’t know about before, but something I could not resist: a rebellion in the northwest of France where thousands of peasants, led by the noblemen they recruited, rose up against revolutionary France. Until recently, this history was not taught in French schools either.
What was your path to getting A Fierce Wind written and published? What type of research did you do?
I always begin with general background research that helps me pick my historical figures to include and events I think my readers might like to experience. I get books from the library, do online research (including Google Books for out of print texts and original journals).
Then I get to know my lead characters. In the case of A Fierce Wind, the hero, Frederick West, was a character in book 2. I had thought to introduce a new heroine, someone very complex but, alas, my readers clamored for Freddie’s love interest to be Zoé who Freddie only met as Echo in the Wind ended. That not only handed me my leads but tied my hands… It meant my story had to be a “Friends to Lovers” story.
Faced with minimal conflict between them I had to find conflict in the atmosphere around them… The Reign of Terror provided it. Most of their disagreements are about her taking risks he doesn’t want her to take. And then there is the fact that Freddie loves Zoé but she thinks of him as only a friend.
Are your main characters completely imaginary or do they have some basis in real people? Do they reflect aspects of yourself?
Usually they are completely imagined, but in this case, I modeled Freddie and Zoé’s relationship after two friends of mine. She had known her husband as a friend for ten years and saw him every week. Then one day she looked at him and there was suddenly more. She thought he was handsome and imagined what it would be like if they were together. I think he was always in love with her but said nothing. I’m told it often happens that way. But it doesn’t make for your usual romance.
Did you face any blocks while writing the book, and if so, how did you handle them?
Yes, I always do. Generally I am able to proceed by looking to the history and putting myself into the story of the real people who lived those events. Another trick I use is to re-read what I have written. Often, when I get to the end of it, the rest just comes.
What have been surprises you've encountered while writing the book and after?
Well, I was surprised this couple wanted no graphic love scene on paper. To Tame the Wind, book 1 in the trilogy, has one love scene; Echo in the Wind, book 2, has many; and A Fierce Wind just does the before and after. Each couple dictates to me what they want to reveal.
What did you learn? For instance, what did you learn about yourself, your process, the writing world; about the royalist army, English spies, and Revolutionary France?
So much. I learned things I never knew about France as I wrote the trilogy. Of course, many of my novels feature English spies. For the Donet trilogy, each book has scenes in England as well as France and captures a bit of the late 18th century history. With A Fierce Wind, I ventured deep into the revolution and the rebel camp in Brittany and the Vendee. I came away with a profound respect for the men and women who stood against “the fierce wind”.
The book is dedicated to those who bravely rose up against the tyranny of the bloody revolution, risking all:
In memory of the Chouans and the Vendéens who fought for their king and their faith and for the men, women and children among them who were hounded, killed, guillotined and massacred by the Republic of France. May they never be forgotten.
Of course, this is not a sad book or a book without humor, lighter moments and love. Freddie and Zoé are wonderful characters. He’s the most incredible man, the kind we all want to marry. Zoé is a strong, spirited woman who grows to womanhood in the book and comes to realize Freddie is the man of her dreams.
Tell us about your writing space and how or why it works for you.
I recently moved into smaller quarters and so I’m feeling a bit cramped at the moment. My preference is for one huge table where I can spread out with my computer, printer, research, promotional materials, etc. Alas, the condo I am now in has no space for that. So I am getting used to a smaller writing space with a less comfortable chair. Sigh.
What are some of your favorite books and why?
All of my favorites are historical romances. I like the deep ones with real history. I have a list of the “Top 20” you might like to see. It’s on my blog, Historical Romance Review: https://reganromancereview.blogspot.com/2017/05/my-top-20-historical-romances.html
Who is your favorite hero/heroine?
In my own stories it would be a toss up between Renaud from The Red Wolf’s Prize and Emma from Rogue Knight and Jean Donet from Echo in the Wind and Tara from Wind Raven.
As for the books I read, that is so hard to say. It might be Alexander MacHugh and Elspeth Lamond from Bride of the MacHugh. I also have a Favorite Heroes and Heroines list on my blog you might want to take a look at: https://reganromancereview.blogspot.com/2017/12/favorite-heroes-and-heroines.html. All of the featured heroes and heroines on my list are from novels I’ve rated 5 stars.
What are you working on now?
My next book will be Rogue’s Holiday, a Regency and book 5 in the Agents of the Crown series. It’s the story of Robbie Powell from A Secret Scottish Christmas (book 4) and takes place in London and Brighton in 1820 just as the Prince Regent is made king and it features the Cato Street Conspiracy. All of my stories are “stand alones”, which means they can be read as a single title, but all the books in a series are related.
Would you like to try your hand at writing a different genre? Which one and why?
Maybe. I’ve had a vampire story floating around in my head for years but there are too many historicals I want to write first. I’m hoping to begin a new series in 2019, the Clan Donald Saga.
If you were not a writer, what would your dream job be?
Well I was a lawyer for most of my career, although I can’t say it was my dream job. I might like to be a travel critic, which is also a writing job, I guess. I like to travel and see new places, meet new people.
What aspect of writing gives you the most trouble?
I’m not a plotter so there are many bumps along the way. But I’d be bored with a plot. I don’t know when I set off down the path just where I will end up. It’s much more of an adventure that way, don’t you think? For organization, I settle for a historical timeline so I don’t forget to include anything important. As one of my unofficial mentors, Virginia Henley, once said, “Research is my passion; writing is hell.” So true.
Love in the time of revolution
France 1794
Zoé Ariane Donet was in love with love until she met the commander of the royalist army fighting the revolutionaries tearing apart France. When the dashing young general is killed, she joins the royalist cause, rescuing émigrés fleeing France.
One man watches over her: Frederick West, the brother of an English earl, who has known Zoé since she was a precocious ten-year-old child. At sixteen, she promised great beauty, the flower of French womanhood about to bloom. Now, four years later, as Robespierre’s Terror seizes France by the throat, Zoé has become a beautiful temptress Freddie vows to protect with his life.
But English spies don’t live long in revolutionary France.
Regan Walker is an award-winning, bestselling author of Regency, Georgian and Medieval romances. Her stories often feature a demanding sovereign who taps his subjects for special assignments. Each of her novels includes real history and real historical figures as characters. And, of course, adventure and love, sometimes on the high seas!
4 comments:
It's great to have you on our blog today. Thank you for sharing a bit about yourself and your writing process. Your writing is amazing.
Thanks so much for hosting me and my new release, A Fierce Wind--and for the very kind comment, Lynn. It's always a good feeling to know a series is complete and that readers have enjoyed it.
Thank you so much for sharing your gift with us . I adore your books and can't wait to read A Fierce Wind.
Jenny, I'm thrilled you like my stories and look forward to A Fierce Wind. It's the "Friends to lovers" story my readers asked for!
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