Author Interview: Jillian Hunter + giveaway

One of Heather’s favorite historical romance series is the Boscastle family. They have made her laugh out loud on more than one occasion with the antics this family gets up to. When she discovered Jillian Hunter’s next book would be Colin … Gabriel and Sebastien’s brother. Well Heather could have cared less about who the heroine was … She wanted Colin’s story.

Well of course I did … sheesh have you met the Boscastle men?

Can we please get back to Jillian’s interview now …

Now that Heather is done drooling over Colin’s brothers and cousins we are excited to welcome Jillian to The Book Reading Gals.

TBRG: Thanks for coming on Jillian, please ignore any fan gushing from Heather.

JH: I am very excited to be here! That was some intro. Thank you very much. And Heather, gush away all you want!

TBRG: Who has been the biggest influence on your writing?

JH: In terms of writers, my earliest influences were Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm. My books have been described as “fairy tales for adults” and I’m good with that.

TBRG: What is the one thing your readers would be the most surprised to know about you?

JH: I write my first drafts in longhand.

TBRG: Where is the one place you have always wanted to go, a place on your bucket list?

JH: I would like to see what lives in the deepest, darkest part of the ocean.

TBRG: What was the first romance book that you read?

JH: I don’t know if it was the first romance I read, but the one that hooked me was Angelique, and then the rest of that series written by husband-and-wife team, Sergeanne Golon. It was an epic string of escapades that broke most of the rules of what came to be known as traditional historical romance. Sadly, the readers I’ve recommended it to find it a little slow and history laden. That’s true with many of the historicals that were popular decades ago.

TBRG: Who are some of your go to authors, and what are you reading right now?

JH: my go to authors are Maeve Binchy, Taylor Caldwell, Gregory McGuire and Nora Roberts. I always read what my youngest daughter is reading in English. So right now it’s The Odyssey and then it will be Romeo and Juliet.

TBRG: If you weren’t writing and keeping us in books (thanks for that by the way), what would you be doing?

JH: Anything that would let me live by the sea.

TBRG: What is your guilty pleasure?

JH: Staying up all night during the summer to write and blasting my brains out with music to recharge. I love watching the sun rise from my office window.

TBRG: Who is on your playlist when you are writing?

JH: My eldest daughter said I would lose the respect of my readership if anyone knew what I listen to! I like intense music with a blues influence.

TBRG: Where do your ideas/characters come from?

JH: Lately I’ve started to realize that most of what I write about comes from my experiences living in Great Britain. For instance when I began to write A Bride Unveiled I had a vague idea that a workhouse had once existed in the parish where I played with my first friends, but I didn’t realize how close it had been to my house. And I didn’t know until a few days ago why, when I wrote Wicked As Sin, I had such a compelling image of a young boy being punished in the stocks. It turns out I walked past the stocks on my primary school grounds every day. Ideas and characters come from everywhere.

TBRG: Are you a planner or a fly by the sear author?

JH: I’m a flexible planner. It’s too risky not to have some kind of outline when you have a contract and a deadline. If time weren’t an issue, that would be different. You need something to help in case you lose focus and can’t remember why you started a story in the first place. An outline can help you through the fog like a lighthouse, keeping you on course.

TBRG: On the website you talk about how you came up with the Boscastle series? Has any of the characters surprised? How?

JH: I feel like I never really know my characters until I’ve finished at least one draft of the book. Since I’m writing a series, I have the advantage of letting the characters develop, usually while I’m not paying attention. My secondary characters often surprise me because they don’t have to act a certain way. Street criminal Nick Rydell surprised me with his passion for the written word.

TBRG: Tell us about the series?

JH: The Boscastles began as a larger-than-life Regency family who, with the loss of their father, have to either take care of one another or continue on their ruinous course. The biggest burden for saving the clan falls on Grayson, the Marquess of Sedgecroft, who isn’t prepared to marry and take on the role of patriarch. A dedicated scoundrel, Grayson is certain he has a few good wastrel years left to enjoy before he settles down. But then he meets Lady Jane, a woman as eager to escape the marriage trap as is he, and before either of them can help it, they fall in love. Love strikes the Boscastles one at a time, and when it does, it is a potent affliction for which there is no cure.

TBRG: Are you ever going to give Audrey a story?

JH: Maybe. But she has a dark past, a lot of flaws, and I’m not so sure she wants anyone to write her story but her. She needs a man who won’t give up on her, and she doesn’t make herself easy to approach.

TBRG: Tell us about Colin and Kate … but really Colin.

JH: Colin is just your typical Boscastle rogue in search of redemption and denying the inevitable every step of the way until he realizes he can’t live without Kate. In fact, no one in the manor house can live without her, but since everyone depends on her and no one is taking care of her, he decides he’s the man for the job.

TBRG: What do you want us to know about Colin and Kate?

I predict they’re going to have a big extended family and once Georgette’s memoirs are published, Colin might have to leave the country again.

Using 3-5 adjectives to describe Colin and Kate.

Colin is sexy, driven, and protective.

Kate is sensual, driven, and unselfish.

TBRG: We want to thank Jillian for coming on today. She was a great sport.

JH: Thank you all again. Great questions!

TBRG: We are giving away a copy of Jillian’s new book The Mistress Memoirs. Just leave her a comment telling her why you love this series.

Disgraced by her past employer, young governess Kate Walcott owes her loyalty to the only woman willing to hire her—the sought-after courtesan Mrs. Georgette Lawson. Georgette entrusts Kate with the care of her unruly children—and the writing of her shocking memoirs, which detail her affairs with famous gentlemen, including the rakehell who promised to marry her, then ruined her.

Sir Colin Boscastle intended to keep his promise to Georgette–until his father was murdered. Thirteen years of chasing vengeance pass before he returns to find Georgette sleeping in his enemy’s bed. Revenge has destroyed their romance, but the two former lovers agree to set a trap to restore Colin’s honor.

Caught in this deadly game, Kate struggles to resist Colin’s virile charm. She knows he is a born heartbreaker and unreliable rogue. Should she believe him when he whispers that, for her, he will change his sinful ways?