#TBT Interview with Julia Quinn
This interview with historical romance bestseller Julia Quinn was originally published in RT BOOK Reviews magazine (print edition) as “Sitting Down with Julia Quinn.” An abridged version appears below. Enjoy and happy #TBT!
Interview with Historical Romance Author Julia Quinn
I recently chatted up bestselling historical romance novelist and triple RITA® Award winner, Julia Quinn. Here’s what she had to say about globetrotting on the cheap, the unexpected inspiration of really bad music, and why Happily Ever After really is the best way to go in real life as well as fiction.
Infrequently Known JQ Facts
HCT: You sat down to write your first romance novel when you were a college senior at Harvard and went on to publish your first few novels when you were going back-and-forth in your head about pursuing medical school. Less well known is that in the early ‘90s you worked as a writer and researcher for Let’s Go: Europe. That must have been a fun job. Can you tell us a bit about that?
JQ: It was a terrific job, but I don’t think I’d describe it as fun. Let’s Go: Europe is designed for the budget traveler, so to make sure it contains the most relevant information, researcher/writers are dispatched on strict budgets. I was given airfare and $32 a day to survive on Crete and Cyprus. Trust me when I tell you that $32 a day did not go far even in 1990. I stayed in many youth hostels, survived an infestation of fleas and was propositioned by a monk.
But on the other hand, I learned a tremendous amount about resourcefulness and resilience. It was the first time I’d ever spent more than a week in a non-English-speaking country (most important words in Greek: “Oil,” “Vinegar,” and “Boyfriend in America”), and this was pre-Internet, pre-cell phone. I was truly separated from my friends and family. If I wanted to call home, I had to find a hotel that didn’t charge exorbitant rates and get them to place an international call for me, which might or might not go through.
1990 was also pre-laptop, so I had to do all of my writing and editing by hand. I traveled with a copy of the previous year’s books (both Let’s Go: Europe and Let’s Go: Greece & Turkey), several 8.5 x 11 notebooks, carbon paper, scissors, and a glue stick. Anything I wanted to keep from the previous edition I had to cut carefully from its pages and glue-stick it into the notebook. New stuff I wrote by hand. Oh, and I had to use carbon paper so that I had copies in case my writing got lost in the mail. I’m not sure what we would have done if that had actually happened. The carbon copies were missing all of my glued-in bits. I have a feeling current researcher writers have it a lot easier.
HCT: You were the first romance writer to ever do a book signing at the Borders in Singapore. What does it feel like to meet fans of your books in a culture so different from the U.S. but also from the U.K. where your historical romances are set? Is the language of love and love stories truly universal? Are there any differences, cultural or other, that stand out in memory?
JQ: I visited Singapore in 1999 before my career had really taken off, so I don’t know if I actually had any fans there before my signing! Mostly I remember how grateful everyone was that an American author had taken the time to visit their country and do a book signing. I would love to do more international signings. I have a very active Facebook Fan Page, and I’m constantly amazed at how international my readership is. Sadly, I have not yet managed to convince my publishers that I need to be sent on a world tour. 
