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This is my lucky day. Two author interviews in one week! It’s complete playtime and fun. I hope you enjoy!
LRP: What is it about Pride and Prejudice that keeps you writing in that genre?
I love the characters. I can’t get enough of Elizabeth and Darcy.
LRP: I love them too. What do you think the appeal is for readers?
Abigail: Again, the fabulous characters are a big part. The happy ending helps, too! I think for a lot of readers, Jane Austen lets them escape present day stresses. It’s also fun to compare all the different Jane Austen-related novels to discover how different writers see them. But it comes down to one thing: Jane Austen didn’t write enough books to satisfy her fans!
LRP: Who is your favorite character in Pride and Prejudice and why? In Pemberley by the Sea?
Abigail: Elizabeth Bennet is my favorite character in Pride & Prejudice. I love her spirit, her wit, her sense of the absurd, and that quality of archness mixed with sweetness that enchants Darcy.
As for Pemberley by the Sea, that’s a three way tie. I love both Cassie and Calder, and I feel as if they’re part of my family. But here’s the surprise - the character who really fascinates me and won’t let go is Senator Joe Westing, Calder’s father. He’s such a nasty person that you’d think I’d want to bury him as quickly as possible, but he’s actually very complex. He may even be redeemable!
LRP: I thought Joe was interesting too, but redeemable? I’d like to see that pulled off! How do you define love?
Abigail: I wish I had a good answer for that! But that very question is one of the things that keeps me writing love stories, because it’s a subject you can explore forever.
LRP: The scene where Calder and Cassie get together for the first time has got to be one of the best lovemaking scenes I’ve ever read. What do you think makes a great bedroom scene?
Abigail: Thank you so much! For me, a love scene has to have a certain inevitability about it, a build up, and it has to demonstrate something important about the characters or be important to the plot. Lovemaking scenes that just go through the motions tend to lose my interest. There has to be something else going on, something deeper. For example, Calder has a particular style of lovemaking which reflects his character - pleasing his lover is incredibly important to him. I’m more interested in how a character feels than precisely what is done. As for that particular scene, I have to give a lot of credit to the setting. Anyone who has been swimming in bioluminescent waters can tell you how utterly magical it is.
LRP: If you could pick any actor and actress to play your heroine and hero in a movie, who would they be?
Abigail: Another tough question! I’ll go with Jessica Biel for Cassie. Calder would be the tougher part to play - so much happening below the surface - but I’d say Brandon Routh or Christian Bale would be good.
LRP: What’s the biggest pressure you face in the whole writing and publishing process?
Abigail: Self-induced anxiety, without a doubt. I’m my own worst critic, and I’m always afraid that what I write next won’t live up to what my readers expect. Of course, my readers would probably be happier if I’d just stop worrying about it and write more!
LRP: What is your greatest weakness in writing dialogue?
Abigail: I struggle to keep dialogue simple and natural. Since I started by writing books set in the Regency, my characters have a tendency to speak in long, convoluted sentences with no contractions and lots of semicolons. With my modern books, I have to read the dialogue out loud to make sure it sounds natural.
LRP: I hear you’re writing a sequel to Pemberley by the Sea. Could you tell me more about it?
Abigail: Morning Light starts about a year after Pemberley by the Sea ends, and tells the story of Annie Wright, a good friend of Cassie’s and an artist who owns a small gallery in Woods Hole. She was widowed after just a few years of marriage and has sworn off romance, but a man from her past makes her question her decision. In the meantime, Cassie and Calder are growing as a couple, and they face challenges from both their families. Caro and Joe Westing make return appearances, and Cassie’s brother Ryan is introduced. It culminates at a gala fund-raiser for abandoned dogs (well, you don’t think Calder would be at a fundraiser if there weren’t dogs involved, do you?) where all the main characters discover that they’ve all been acting in the dark.
If you’re interested, the first chapter is posted at my website, www.pemberleyvariations.com.
LRP: I’ll have to go check that out! What do you hope your readers will gain from your books?
Abigail: I want them to love the characters as much as I do (that’s a tall order!), but the biggest thing is that I want them to find comfort and pleasure in the story. I often hear from readers, especially of the Pemberley Variations, that they re-read my books again and again, and they’re the books they take out when life is stressful or painful. I couldn’t ask for more than that.
LRP: Could you provide a picture of your workspace? I’d love to see where you do your writing!
Abigail: That would require a whole book of pictures! My motto is “Have laptop, will travel.” I have two teenagers, one home-schooled and the other with special needs, and I write at their swim lessons, play rehearsals, doctor’s appointments, karate classes, and just about anywhere else. The place I associate most with writing Pemberley by the Sea is my son’s hospital room. He had a serious brain injury when he was 8 and was hospitalized for months. I stayed with him the whole time, and I wrote big chunks of Pemberley by the Sea there, because at 3:00 in the morning, Cassie and Calder would always be there for me, and the salt marsh was a mental respite from the depressing hospital room.
At home, I don’t have a desk per se. I write at the dining room table, on the couch, lying in bed, and just about anywhere else. The only constant is that there’s usually a cat on my lap trying to interfere with my typing.
LRP: Is there anything else you’d like to share with Love Romance Passion?
Abigail: I hope you enjoy reading my books as much as I enjoyed writing them!
LRP: Thanks for chatting with us Abigail!
If you’d liked to learn more about her other Pride and Prejudice variations check out her website listed above!
Originally posted 2008-11-05 05:05:14. Republished by Old Post Promoter
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