Maggi Andersen answers "5 Little Questions"

Maggi Andersen, author of the Regency romance, The Reluctant Marquess, answers "5 Little Questions" for the Embrace blog.
 

 1. How did you come up with the title, 'The Reluctant Marquess'? I have to thank Jane for coming up with my Title. I had chosen one neither of us was mad about. I wanted Marquess in the title and Jane thought of The Reluctant Marquess, which perfectly describes Lord Robert!
   

2. What do you think will happen to romance in the future? It will get the respect it deserves. There's some great romance writers  who should get equal billing with crime and other genres. Romance is getting hotter and I don't see that changing. Interesting sub genres like steampunk are popping up. Books will probably be shorter in length too, to suit e-books, with editors cutting words to make the pace faster. Which is fine as long as it doesn't obliterate the writer's voice and make us all sound the same. 
   

3. So what's next after 'The Reluctant Marquess'? I love writing Regencies, and plan to write some darker in tone, and more Victorian mysteries.
   

4. Any tips for newbie authors out there? Read widely and particularly in the genre in which you plan to write. And don't give up. I believe perseverance is the key to being published. It has been said it takes ten years to make a writer. It took years of hard work, submitting and getting rejections before I was offered a contract, but I don't regret those years. I learned a lot along the way.
   

5. Could I be a plotter rather than a panster? The answer to this is clearly no. If I try to plot in advance, my throat dries up and my creativity flies out the window. I have purchased expensive software which sits there making me feel guilty every time I look at it. Writing to me is like reading a book, I'm not sure where the story will take me and that's the pleasure of it. But with romance I always have a pretty fair idea of how it will end.
   

You can buy a copy of Maggi's delectable romance, 'The Reluctant Marquess', on Amazon Kindle here in the UK and here on the US site, where it is currently No. 58 in the Top 100 Kindle Regencies!

A beautiful Georgian romance gets its cover ...

The Reluctant Marquess by Maggi Andersen

“Strong Attraction … Fear of Intimacy”
Embrace Books is delighted to announce the acquisition of a thrilling Georgian romance novella by accomplished Australian novelist, Maggi Andersen.

This historical romance, The Reluctant Marquess, will join the brand-new Embrace Regency list.

Maggi and her lawyer husband are empty nesters, living in the countryside outside Sydney with the cat that rules them, and the demanding wildlife they feed. An entertaining offshoot of this lifestyle: animals often feature in her books!

Maggi began writing adventure stories when she was about eight years old. Three children, a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Arts in Creative Writing degree later, her novels are still filled with adventure and suspense, but are now also passionate romances. Georgette Heyer – among others – brought inspiration to her seductive Regencies and she also writes contemporary romantic suspense, young adult novels and darker, Victorian mysteries.

Maggi Andersen’s first historical romance was a Regency novella, Stirring Passions, and she has since written several more, which received great reviews. She chose to set her novella for Embrace in the 18th Century because it allowed more freedom for her independently-minded heroine, Charity Barlow, than the stricter Regency era. Plus, Maggi loves the fashions, architecture and decorative interiors of this period.

The Reluctant Marquess
A country-bred girl, Charity Barlow never expected to become a Marchioness. Nonetheless, she is determined to make her marriage of convenience into the ton work. Yet despite the strong attraction between them, and Charity’s bold attempts at intimacy, the rakish Lord Robert does not believe a husband should be in love with his wife. Can she ever make him love her?

You can find out more about Maggi Anderson in the following places:

Maggi’s website: www.maggiandersenauthor.com
Maggi’s blog: http://www.maggiandersen.blogspot.com