Interview: Lydia Dare (1)

As many of you know, I am fast become a big fan of Lydia Dare's debut trilogy about the Westfield Brothers, Simon, Benjamin and William. Historical fiction with a paranormal twist. Right up my ally!

I recently got the opportunity to do an interview with Lydia Dare during the promotion and blog tour for her latest book, Tall, Dark and Wolfish. This is my first interview and I'm really excited to share it with my readers. Enjoy the interview and I hope to do a lot more in the future.

It is my pleasure to welcome author, Lydia Dare to Debbie's Book Bag!

Deb: It's certainly an honor to have you here, Lydia can you tell us a little about yourself?

Lydia/Jodie: Well I think the most interesting bit is that there are two of us who make up Lydia Dare. I'm the historical half of the group

Lydia/Tammy: I'm the paranormal. I've been married 17 years and have two boys, 15 and 6. I am a hopeless romantic who believes in the happy-ever-after and that tender-sweet-sense-of- belonging. I devour books like most people devour candy. Not that I don't do that, too.

Deb: I can certainly understand that. For me books go right along with other needs, food, water, etc. LOL!

Deb: Tell us a little bit about your debut trilogy about the Westfield Brothers.

Lydia/Jodie: There are three Westfield brothers - Simon, the Duke of Blackmoor, hero of A Certain Wolfish Charm. Benjamin, the youngest, trouble-prone brother, in Tall, Dark and Wolfish. And finally William, the silver-tongued middle brother in The Wolf Next Door. Though they are brothers, the three Westfield men have vastly different personalities and temperaments, and the same can be said about the women they fall for.
Deb: What was your inspiration for these books? Have you always been interested in wolves?

Lydia/Tammy: I have been interested in the fantastical for quite some time. My favorite genre to read was historical. So, combining the two seemed magical, and that was before the witches came into the story-line. The alpha rake is already a bit wolfish, so giving him fangs and fur at "that time of the month" seemed like a good fit.

Deb: What type of research did you do for your books?

Lydia/Jodie: That is the beauty of their being two of us with different backgrounds. I pretty much live in Regency England and have researched it for years and Tammy...

Lydia/Tammy: And Tammy... doesn't. Luckily, Jodie can spout Regency rules like a fountain.

Deb: What is your normal writing day like? Do you have to have things to be in place to write comfortably?

Lydia/Jodie: I usually have my laptop up and on next to me 24/7. You never know when inspiration will strike (or when your partner will send you pages). My house is sort of controlled chaos. If I waited for everything to be in it's place, Tammy and I would still be working on book one.

Lydia/Tammy: Things have a place? If so, I want that in writing so I can show my husband and boys. My writing time has to be controlled. It has to be quiet, I have to have a good grasp of what came before, and I can't stop and start or I get lost. So, carving out chunks of time is what I have to do.

Deb: What was it like when you got the word that your first novel would be published?
Lydia/Jodie: It was a dream come true. We both believed in these stories and characters as did our families, friends, and critique partners; but there's something magical knowing you'll get to share the books with the world.

Lydia/Tammy: Me: You serious? Jodie: Yeah, Deb Werksman just called. She liked our books. Me: Seriously? I nearly fell out of my chair.

Deb: Do you have any advice for new writers?

Lydia/Jodie: If you’re writing romance and you haven’t joined Romance Writers of America, do so now. I don’t think I’d be where I am today without that organization. (And I would never have met Tammy.)

Lydia/Tammy: I agree with Jodie. Join. Then ask questions. There are writers at every stage of their career within RWA. Take advantage of it, because there’s no greater resource. I can’t count all the time I’ve sat down beside my chapter-mates and said “Can I ask you a question?” They have never said no.

Deb: When you are not writing, what kind of books do you like to read? Do you have a favorite author?

Lydia/Jodie: I don’t remember the last time I read a book because I wanted too. Most of what I read these days is research books. But if I’m able to read a little Regency Romance – I love to read Sabrina Jeffries, Deb Marlowe, Claudia Dain and Liz Carlyle.

Lydia/Tammy: I still get to read a bit. But I have to take off to do it, from both my day job and my writing. I love, love, love humor. Add a writer-built world to it and it’s a perfect choice for me.

Deb: What are you working on right now?

Lydia/Jodie: Right now we’re working on a vampyre trilogy for Sourcebooks due out next Spring. The hero of our current work in progress is a Medieval Knight vampyre, living in the Regency. It’s really fun to get into this head.

Deb: Tell us one thing people may not know about you?

Lydia/Jodie: No one ever believes that I’m an introvert.

Lydia/Tammy: I despise sports. I do not like them. I dread them when the season starts on TV. But I am the quintessential sports mom. I will sit on the bleachers all day long if my boys are playing. I will cheer and shout and make a general nuisance of myself as I become an embarrassment to my children. But when they’re older and have kids of their own, they’ll get their turn and I hope they do the same thing.

It has been a real privilege to have both Jodie and Tammy who make up Lydia Dare with us today! I absolutely love their writing and look forward to new things from them in the future.