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A brooding marquess
And a mysterious widow
On the outside Henry Spencer, Marquess of Clairborne, has it all: title, fortune and dashing good looks. Inside he’s haunted by nightmares. Seeking sanctuary at his Scottish estate, his peace is disturbed by a new tenant, widow Genevieve de l’Omont. Her beauty and spirit lead to a growing desire that distracts him from his troubles, but as he unravels a mystery from his past, he discovers Genevieve has secrets of her own…
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Q&A
Did or do you like to read comic books/graphic novels? Which ones?
I sadly don’t, though they are forms I greatly admire, and have been meaning to properly get into. When I was a teenager I read a few graphic novels – I can’t quite remember which ones, they were what was in the school library at the time – and I absolutely loved them. And as a kid, I did read some vintage superhero comics, and things like Archie comics, and those are always great fun.
Whom did you inherit your love for books/reading from?
My mum! As soon as I could read, she had me reading the classics. We had a rule in the house that we had to read the book before we watched the film if an adaptation was made. I grew up in the States, so we also had Scholastic Book Fairs, and I was always the kid with a pile of books a mile high…
When you need a murder victim or someone you can diagnose with a serious disease or
someone who is involved in a fatal accident do you sometimes picture someone nasty you have met in real life and think got you LOL?
Weirdly I don’t! There’s only one character inspired from real life that got a sort of ‘comeuppance’ shall we say, but otherwise, those I kill are 100% from my imagination. Never say never though…
How do you come up with the names for your characters?
It depends. Usually for my main characters, I find a name that has a hidden symbolism, or meaning. (Genevieve in The Marquess of Yew Park House is an example of this). Sometimes they just come to me, usually for the secondary characters, though for instance Liam from The Housekeeper of Thornhallow Hall just popped into my head and I was like ‘Hi, Liam!’. I do make sure the names were in use at the time I’m writing about, and sometimes if I’m stuck for ideas I’ll have a look at what was popular.
Do you write other things besides books (and shoppinglists 😉 )?
I do! I’ve written some short theatre pieces, some scripts, and some poetry. It’s fun to play with different forms, and let your imagination run wild.
If a movie or series would be made from your books, would you be happy with the based on version or would you rather like they showed it exactly the way you created it?
I would love a proper adaptation – meaning someone’s interpretation of the stories I’ve created. I think I would like to be somewhat part of the process – at least to say ‘no, that completely goes against the point of the book’ – but I love it when artists create from each other’s work, so I would be very excited to experience someone else’s vision.
Who would you like/have liked to interview?
Living – I would probably say Viggo Mortensen, as he’s such an interesting artist. (But then there are so many that fit the bill!) No longer living – I think I’d say Margaret of Anjou, as I did my dissertation on her, and I definitely have some questions.
Do you have certain people you contact while doing research to pick their brains? What are they specialized in?
I don’t, though I do try to find people when possible who specialize in whatever area I’m researching for each book.
Is there someone you sometimes discuss a dilemma with?
I do bounce plot ideas off my mum sometimes, and a writer friend of mine who’s been my beta-reader from the beginning. We function on similar wavelengths in terms of story-telling, but they have different perspectives naturally, so they come up with some great ideas to help me get out of corners I’ve painted myself into.
What is more important to you : a rating in stars with no comments or a reviewer who
explains what the comments they give are based on (without spoilers of course)
I wish I could be that writer who doesn’t look at reviews and ratings, but I’m not… I like to know people enjoy what I write. And we all love a nice rating, but particularly if it’s not a great rating, I am the person who likes to know why. It’s all about perspectives again, and knowing how someone else has read something is really useful for broadening my own mind.
Thank you, Lotte R James and Rachel’s Random Resources.
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About the author
Lotte James trained as an actor and theatre director, but spent most of her life working day jobs crunching numbers whilst dreaming up stories of love and adventure. She’s thrilled to finally be writing those stories, and when she’s not scribbling on tiny pieces of paper, she can usually be found wandering the countryside for inspiration, or nestling with coffee and a book.
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Author Link
Twitter – @lottejamesbooks
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Book Link
B for Bookreview 