INSIDE THE MINDOF A NOVELIST A Casting Couch BookIntervie...
INSIDE THE MINDOF A NOVELIST
What prompted the idea for this book? While on a visit to Lucca, Italy, wevisited Puccini’s home. I wanted to write about a heroine who lived in the sameera. Puccini wrote in the ‘verisimo’ or realism style. His plays show brutalityand violence, poverty and want. My heroine has been sheltered. She knowsnothing of the world outside her small circle of wealth and privilege. Her tripto Italy is an eye-opener for her. Another inspiration came from a painting byJohn Singer Sargent called ‘Group with Parasols’. The light he used reminded meof Italy. The ladies in the scene are dressed in white linen and are enjoyingan outdoor picnic, something my heroine would love to do.
Did you work through the plot first andthen cast the characters, or was it characters first? Idecide on the story I want to tell and then pick the characters who best helpshow the elements of the story.
In A Most Ineligible Suitor, the heroine ison holiday with a distant cousin. She is very much a free spirit who hasescaped to a country with fewer social restrictions and a decorum differentfrom English society. She is having the time of her life. The hero is anEnglishman. He is in disguise and his purpose for being in Italy—to catch aninternational jewel thief--is complicated by her antics. He is not comfortablebeing dishonest with her, and yet he has a duty to his profession to pretend tobe someone he isn’t.
What she teacheshim about life and love is the theme of the story.
Which characters were the hardest for youto develop and why? The male POV is more difficult for me. Thechallenge is to make the hero strong without being brutal, decisive withoutbeing unkind. The reader must understand his motivation, even sympathize withhis flaws, but he can never be pitiful or weak.
How did you decide how your charactersshould look? There aremany wonderful websites that show pictures of the ladies in the late Victorian era.I especially took note of the couture dresses and bridal dresses of the times,which are a delight. www.Victoriana.com is one of my favorite websites to visit.
How did you develop your characters’traits? I rely on Heroes and Heroine by Tami D. Cowden,Caro LaFever, and Sue Viders. When I have a heroine in mind, I look through Hand H and find the worst possible traits in a hero for her to fall in love withwhich leads to all kinds of delicious conflict.I also usepeople I have met on my travels. Some characters are a combination of traits ofthe people I have known. Marjorie is amisfit in some ways and doesn’t realize why until she comes to Italy. Edward,having been raised in a strict household with no mother, doesn’t know how toexpress love. He may not even know, in the beginning, what love is.
All characters have goals. Can you sumyour characters’ goals in a word or two, or are they multi-layered? There are the short term external goals:he is trying to catch a thief, she is on vacation and wants to see the sites.There are the long term internal goals: To love and find love.
Do you like the characters in your book?Are they people you would want to spend time with and if so, which one is yourfavorite, and which one would you most like to meet and why? Marjorieintroduces herself this way: “My name is Marjorie Mayweather and people tell meI have a sunny disposition. Who wouldn’t with a name such as Mayweather?” I like a heroinewho can be at ease with people, probably because I have always been rather shy.She’s smart. She knows in her circle she must act totally defenseless so thatthe suitor will feel manly. This does not bother her until she meets the hero. Heunderstands her better than she understands herself.Meeting theright man makes all the difference!As for who I’dlike to meet, the villain of the story is my favorite character of all. Thevillain is so much fun to read about, trying to figure out a motivation, orwhat possible reason there must be for such bad behavior. I could have such agood conversation with my villain, I think.
Thank you for thisopportunity to talk about A MostIneligible Suitor. I had so much fun writing the book.
Best wishes toall.
Sarah Richmond
A Casting Couch BookInterview by Sheila Claydon:
A Most Ineligible Suitor by Sarah Richmond
What prompted the idea for this book? While on a visit to Lucca, Italy, wevisited Puccini’s home. I wanted to write about a heroine who lived in the sameera. Puccini wrote in the ‘verisimo’ or realism style. His plays show brutalityand violence, poverty and want. My heroine has been sheltered. She knowsnothing of the world outside her small circle of wealth and privilege. Her tripto Italy is an eye-opener for her. Another inspiration came from a painting byJohn Singer Sargent called ‘Group with Parasols’. The light he used reminded meof Italy. The ladies in the scene are dressed in white linen and are enjoyingan outdoor picnic, something my heroine would love to do.
Did you work through the plot first andthen cast the characters, or was it characters first? Idecide on the story I want to tell and then pick the characters who best helpshow the elements of the story.
In A Most Ineligible Suitor, the heroine ison holiday with a distant cousin. She is very much a free spirit who hasescaped to a country with fewer social restrictions and a decorum differentfrom English society. She is having the time of her life. The hero is anEnglishman. He is in disguise and his purpose for being in Italy—to catch aninternational jewel thief--is complicated by her antics. He is not comfortablebeing dishonest with her, and yet he has a duty to his profession to pretend tobe someone he isn’t.
What she teacheshim about life and love is the theme of the story.
Which characters were the hardest for youto develop and why? The male POV is more difficult for me. Thechallenge is to make the hero strong without being brutal, decisive withoutbeing unkind. The reader must understand his motivation, even sympathize withhis flaws, but he can never be pitiful or weak.
How did you decide how your charactersshould look? There aremany wonderful websites that show pictures of the ladies in the late Victorian era.I especially took note of the couture dresses and bridal dresses of the times,which are a delight. www.Victoriana.com is one of my favorite websites to visit.
How did you develop your characters’traits? I rely on Heroes and Heroine by Tami D. Cowden,Caro LaFever, and Sue Viders. When I have a heroine in mind, I look through Hand H and find the worst possible traits in a hero for her to fall in love withwhich leads to all kinds of delicious conflict.I also usepeople I have met on my travels. Some characters are a combination of traits ofthe people I have known. Marjorie is amisfit in some ways and doesn’t realize why until she comes to Italy. Edward,having been raised in a strict household with no mother, doesn’t know how toexpress love. He may not even know, in the beginning, what love is.
All characters have goals. Can you sumyour characters’ goals in a word or two, or are they multi-layered? There are the short term external goals:he is trying to catch a thief, she is on vacation and wants to see the sites.There are the long term internal goals: To love and find love.
Do you like the characters in your book?Are they people you would want to spend time with and if so, which one is yourfavorite, and which one would you most like to meet and why? Marjorieintroduces herself this way: “My name is Marjorie Mayweather and people tell meI have a sunny disposition. Who wouldn’t with a name such as Mayweather?” I like a heroinewho can be at ease with people, probably because I have always been rather shy.She’s smart. She knows in her circle she must act totally defenseless so thatthe suitor will feel manly. This does not bother her until she meets the hero. Heunderstands her better than she understands herself.Meeting theright man makes all the difference!As for who I’dlike to meet, the villain of the story is my favorite character of all. Thevillain is so much fun to read about, trying to figure out a motivation, orwhat possible reason there must be for such bad behavior. I could have such agood conversation with my villain, I think.
Thank you for thisopportunity to talk about A MostIneligible Suitor. I had so much fun writing the book.
Best wishes toall.
Sarah Richmond
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