I’m so excited to have Laurie Alice Eakes, author of A Reluctant Courtship, visiting the Blue Rose Writing Room today!
A very warm welcome to you, Laurie.
Laurie, do you use a pen name/pseudo name? If so, why. If not, why did you decide to write under your own name?
I write under my maiden name mainly because—it’s my name. I also wanted to keep my writing persona a little separate from my real life persona, but not so much I can’t be found.
I understand that. Collette is actually my middle name.
What’s one thing you absolutely can’t tolerate during your writing? One thing you can’t write without?
Once upon a time, I needed silence while writing. Now I can pretty much write to anything. While writing, I need something nearby I can toy with while I pause to think. I try to make it a bottle of water, but sometimes it’s coffee and other times it’s something weird like a hair clip—one of those claw clips one can snap open and closed, etc. I actually don’t like sitting still.
I still need silence to write. Sigh.
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 fell in love with the Regency romance when I was fourteen and picked up my first Georgette Hoyer and then a Clare Darcy. I read so many Regency Romances that writing them rather came naturally. A Reluctant Courtship is my fourth, and I have three more under contract. It’s a fun genre with wonderful manners and foibles, wars and a changing social landscape… The possibilities are endless. I have also written many books set in the United States including The Midwives series and other books featuring women who had historically accurate careers like a doctor, a lawyer, and a journalist all in the nineteenth century. Other than historical romances? We shall see. J
You are such a prolific writer! You amaze me.
Is there any genre you won’t read? Write? Can you tell us why?
I won’t read or even consider writing erotica or horror. I think horror is just silly, and erotica is against my moral and Christian values.
Ditto for me for the same reasons.
What are you most proud of about your writing?
Getting published at all and the accolades I’ve won. Sometimes I look at my books and am simply amazed that I not only was able to write them, but that people were willing to pay me money to do it.
What a blessing! How do you respond to negative reviews?
Negative reviews are usually the product of bullies. Few have anything of merit to add to the literary world. Generally, I try to ignore them, and some have been very hurtful, especially those from fellow writers, so now I don’t read them.
Well said. What is something you are determined to do?
Learn a musical instrument. I took piano lessons as a child, but wasn’t very diligent, so now I’d like to learn how to play something, if only to accompany myself while singing.
I can understand that. I took piano as a child too, but I’ve always wanted to learn to play the harp. So, can you share with us what are you most afraid of?
Being destitute. I have been there, and it’s really scary.
I bet it was. Unless you’ve lived it, you cannot possibly understand what you went through.
Tell us something unusual, quirky, or odd about yourself.
I have been called the Crazy Cat Lady. At one time, I had twelve cats. I wish I did again. It was a lot of fun and love. I know people think cats are aloof and only want you for stuff, and I have taken in feral cats who end up lap cats.
I have three feral cats right now, but I grew up with dogs, dogs, dogs. My mother was a hoarder. We had 47 at one time.
Okay, now for the quickie questions: Answer in three words or less. Ready? Go!
Favorite Disney Character? Mary Poppins
Favorite Fruit? Raspberry
Favorite Hero? (Do you mean in a book?) Rouarke Beauchamp
Favorite Eye Color? Green
Best Vacation Destination? Seaside anywhere
Food you can’t stand? Brussels sprouts
What annoys you? Unthinking view spouting
Coffee, tea, or something else? Coffee then tea
Nightgown or Jammies? Nightgown
Prefer dogs or cats? Cats
The blurb about A Reluctant Courtship
A woman without a prospect. A man without a homeland. Can love give them a future?
But he too is under suspicion because of his American upbringing and accusations that he has helped French prisoners escape from Dartmoor Prison. If he’s to keep out of a British prison himself and secure his place in British society, Lord Ashmoor needs a wife beyond reproach–something the vexingly beautiful Honore certainly is not. Though they find themselves drawn to each other, family obligations may conspire to keep them apart forever.
For the sake of her heart, Honore determines to prove Ashmoor’s innocence–even if doing so risks her own life.
From the first sentence, award-winning author Laurie Alice Eakes thrusts you into high drama amid the rocky cliffs of Devonshire, England, and keeps you suspended there until the final page.
Enjoy an excerpt on Laurie’s website
Here’s how you can contact Laurie
My web site has a contact e-mail form, or find me on
Twitter: @LaurieAEakes
Buy links
My web site has links to a number of on-line bookstores, and your local bookstore should either have it or be able to obtain it.
Thanks again, Laurie, for joining me here today!
