Today I’m thrilled to have Christy Carlyle author of Scandalous Wager with me in the Blue Rose Writing Room. Christy designed my website, so be sure to tootle over there and see what else this amazingly talented woman does!
So, do you use a pen name/pseudo name? If so, why. If not, why did you decide to write under your own name?
I do write under a pen name, more than one, actually. I decided if my writing career went entirely pear-shaped, I would spare my husband’s family any undue shame or embarrassment. As it turns out, they are proud of me, even if romance isn’t their literary cup of tea, but I am still happier and somehow feel liberated when writing under my pen names. J
I understand that completely. My real name is so boring, readers would be snoring before they cracked the book open if I used it.
Can you tell us how long you have been writing?
I have been writing stories since I can remember. I always enjoyed writing and making up stories. Ideas and characters have been floating around in my head since I was a kid.
I’ve been part of a professional writing organization for about five years, but it wasn’t until this past year that I became intensely focused on my writing and determined to publish. I’ve now released the first teaser novella in a historical romance series, and I have many more novels planned and in progress.
I’ve been privileged to see bits of your other work and am so excited that you have joined the ranks of published authors. As you know, I love your work.
What’s one thing you absolutely can’t tolerate during your writing? One thing you can’t write without?
Noise usually bothers me, especially talking. On the other hand, classical music seems to make me write faster.
I don’t really require anything to write. I’ve written in cars, in bed, in hotel rooms, doctor’s waiting rooms—pretty much everywhere. I guess the only requirement is something to write with and something to write on. J
What’s the funniest thing anyone has ever said to you about your writing? Or the unkindest? Or the oddest?
My mother-in-law asked if my next book was going to be as raunchy. J I should add that she hasn’t read my first yet, but my husband was quick to warm her that it was a bit steamy.
Since the love relationship is always what I’m after when I write, and I truly love the passion of it all, most of my stories will include some level of sensuality.
Raunchy? I’m grinning.
What is one place you absolutely want to visit before you die?
Italy. I spent so many years as a teenager dreaming of visiting Rome and Florence, and then I studied art history for a bit in college. I can’t imagine never getting to see the art and architecture of Italy for myself one day.
Me too! We should get a bunch of authors to go on a writing tour of Italy!
Why did you choose to write in this genre? Have you ever written any other genre? Do you plan on doing so in the future?
I write historical romance because I love history and always have. Even as a kid, stories set in the past seemed more interesting to me somehow than those with modern settings. As an adult, I read just about anything, but historical romance novels are still on the top of my To Be Read list all the time.
I do write in other genres. I am working on a contemporary romance series and two mystery series, one with a contemporary setting and one with a historical setting.
I read many genres, so I get story ideas that span the genres.
What historical figure do you wish you could have met?
Oh, that’s a tough one because I have a list. I would love to have met Jane Austen. She was witty and a bit snarky, and she was serious about her writing. I would love to have met Percy Shelley and his wife Mary Wollstonecraft. They were brilliant writers, and yet they were also widely read in history and philosophy. I imagine a conversation with them would have been fascinating. There are many more, but I can’t miss mentioning Edgar Allan Poe. Though he was a troubled, tortured man in many ways, he was also a brilliant writer who truly lived by his pen. If I had to pick just one, he would be it.
How do you respond to negative reviews?
At this point, I’m terribly curious about them. It’s never a nice feeling when someone doesn’t like your work. Writing is such a vulnerable art in many ways. On the other hand, as a teacher I became used to being observed and critiqued by peers and administrators. It’s part of the professional development process. I craved that kind of feedback, so it’s filtered down to my writing life. I’ve been told not to read reviews, but I really love getting feedback. It’s about knowing what to take as constructive and what not to take to heart.
Okay, now for the quickie questions: Answer in three words or less. Ready? Go!
Favorite Disney Character? Jiminy Cricket
Favorite Fruit? Pineapple
Favorite Hero? Mr. Knightley
Favorite Eye Color? Blue
Best Vacation Destination? London, of course
Food you can’t stand? lamb
What annoys you? Insincerity
Coffee, tea, or something else? Tea! Coffee!
Nightgown or Jammies? nightgown
Prefer dogs or cats? cats
A bit about Christy
The blurb about Scandalous Wager
Elizabeth Ainsworth has decided she will never marry. Years spent on the shelf have taught her plain looks and a distinct lack of ladylike talents won’t win a proposal from any of the eligible young constables or inspectors her Detective Chief Inspector father invites to their home. Most of them are too busy staring at her younger, prettier sister anyway. And Lizzy is content to be a spinster, especially if it means she can continue with her charity work in Whitechapel. But she has one lingering regret. She wants to experience passion at least once in her life and, most of all, she wants to experience it with Ian Reed.
Detective Inspector Ian Reed has aspirations to ascend the ranks of the Metropolitan Police, and he hopes proving himself to his superior, Detective Chief Inspector Ainsworth, will help him get there. A series of brutal murders plaguing Whitechapel have him working long hours, so when Ainsworth’s daughter shows up on his doorstep and offers herself to him, he fears he might be dreaming. Fascinated with Lizzy from the moment he meets her, Ian is determined to spend more than one night in her arms, despite what it might cost both of them.
Enjoy an excerpt from Scandalous Wager
She rapped on the door of his lodging. She half expected a landlady to open and turn her away. Most landlords did not allow their single gentlemen to have women callers. But there was no landlady.
The door creaked open and Ian Reed stood before her, just a hairsbreadth away, smelling of soap and clean linen, his black hair slightly damp and his skin smooth and freshly shaven.
She didn’t get a word out before she heard her name on his lips and felt his warm breath against her face.
“Miss Ainsworth.”
His tone belied shock and disbelief at her presence on his doorstep so late at night. No proper woman would be at his door at this hour. He ushered her in, closed the door behind them, and slid the lock in place.
“Is your father unwell?”
It was natural he would think her visit related to her father. It was the only connection between them. Except for her inability to keep Ian Reed from her thoughts.
“My father is well, Inspector Reed. Thank you.”
His rooms were small—just two rooms separated by a doorframe without a door. A suit lay on his bed, a brush discarded beside it. She had interrupted his household chores. Sparsely furnished, the room’s only true adornment was his collection of books, some in a neat row on a shelf, others stacked on a wooden chair, and two lying on a small table near his bed. His love of books and literature, his intelligence and voracious curiosity, had become clear during his visits to Lizzy’s home. She also loved to read, and it pleased her to see that books were all the decoration his rooms required.
But the room’s simplicity only highlighted the scandalous nature of her visit. Here was a man doing his nightly duties, snug in his cozy rooms surrounded by works of literature and tomes of knowledge, and she was going to ask him to spend his time on sin.
“Please sit, Miss Ainsworth.”
Lizzy lowered herself into the straight-backed chair he indicated.
“Would you like a cup of tea? I was just going to have one myself.”
He tidied as he made his way across the tiny room, hanging his suit on a hook near the bed and placing the brush in a drawer.
“Yes, thank you, Inspector Reed. I would—”
Her thoughts scattered as she watched him pour steaming water from a kettle into a chipped white teapot. He reached for two cups from a high shelf. As his shirt pulled tight, she savored the outline of his muscular body beneath the cloth. Even in his overcoat or the suits he wore on visits to her home, it was easy to suspect he possessed a fine physique, but she had never before been afforded such splendid evidence.
“Ian.” She hadn’t meant to speak his name aloud. It came out in a throaty whisper as she tested it on her lips, savoring it on her tongue.
His black head snapped around and he shot a look straight at her mouth. Shifting her gaze to his eyes, she fancied she could hear his heartbeat but then realized it was her own, thundering in her ears.
“Would you call me Lizzy?”
He smiled that smile, disarming and lovely, boyish and yet seductive. No man should be allowed such a smile.
Here’s how you can contact Christy
@writerchristy on Twitter
Thanks again, Christy, for joining me here today!
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