Protected by The Beast
Undone by the man
Racing cross-country pursued by danger, widow Lady Ellena Swein isn’t pleased to be taken back to her father’s castle. But with his knight Sir Braedan Leofric, also known as The Beast, as her captor, she has little choice! Ellena is surprised by his honourable and protective nature, even if she shouldn’t trust him. And when all seems to conspire against them, Braedan’s secret could either extinguish the spark between them or make it burn brighter.
Q&A
– When and where do you prefer to write?
I would love to be able to write every day from about 10am until 2pm in my study but it’s not to be. I have a full-time job and two young children and so I write in my lunch break, with a pad of paper on my lap or in bed at the end of the day with my laptop or while I’m in the car waiting to pick up members of my family. It’s a case of wherever I can, whenever I can.
– Do you have a certain ritual?
I’m not sure whether this counts but at the start of every writing session I read what I‘ve done the time before, even if it’s just a sentence or a chapter. It helps get me back into the story.
– Is there a drink of some food that keeps you company while you write?
Well, I’ve promised my kids that I’ve given up Pepsi Max because it’s so bad for me but I do occasionally sneak it into the house and drink it while I’m writing. Otherwise I’m fairly boring. Because I’m so pressed for time I tend to write as fast as I can without taking a break.
– What is your favourite book?
This is a very difficult question! I have so many favourites that it’s difficult to pick one. If I had to pick one on pain of death I would choose Mary Stewart’s Nine Coaches Waiting. It has the perfect blend of adventure, mystery and romance and the hero was the first fictional character I ever fell in love with when I was twelve years old.
– Do you consider writing a different genre in the future?
At the moment I’m really enjoying writing historical romance. I love researching it and imagining what it must have been like to live in a castle. I have written five cosy crime novels that have been published by My Weekly Pocket Novels. I have also started writing a romantic comedy and I’d love to finish that someday.
– Do you sometimes base your characters on people you know?
I don’t think I do. I may take a physical aspect and use that. For example, the heroine in the novel I’m writing at the moment has the same colour hair as my daughter, a sort-of golden brown. A mother that appeared in my novels had the same dressing gown as my own mum. Apart from that sort of thing I tend to make everything up.
– Do you take a notebook everywhere in order to write down ideas that pop up?
Instead of a notebook I take a few pages of whatever manuscript I’m working on with me wherever I go. That way, if, for example, my husband makes an unexpected stop at a DIY shop I can work on developing whatever scene I have in my bag.
– Which genre do you not like at all?
I love reading and if I don’t have a book I’ll happily read the back of a cereal box. There is no genre I won’t consider reading although I do read a lot more romance than I do military history!
– If you had the chance to co-write a book. Whom would it be with?
This is another very hard question! I’ve got a lot of writer friends with whom it would be an absolute joy to co-write a book. If I was picking someone I don’t know then I would probably go for Jo Watson, who writes the funniest romantic comedies I’ve ever read and from who I’d love to learn.
– If you should travel to a foreign country to do research, which one would you chose and why?
This one is easy! I really enjoy walking around ancient buildings and imagining what it would have been like to live and work there. I’ve been to Pompeii, which was a fascinating place to immerse yourself in Roman culture and a fantastic place for an author to visit to get the imagination flowing. I’d like to go back there and see it again. I’d also like to visit Rome, where I’ve never been but I imagine I would love as much as Pompeii.
Thank you, Ella Matthews and Rachel’s Random Resources
About the author
Ella Matthews lives and works in beautiful South Wales. When not thinking about handsome heroes she can be found walking along the coast with her husband and their two children (probably still thinking about heroes but at least pretending to be interested in everyone else).
Author Links
Twitter @ellamattauthor
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ellamattauthor/
Book Link
B for Bookreview 