Lady Lydia Gale did a good deed. Now it’s sitting in her front parlor and she has no idea what to do about it. When she helped that mysterious Frenchman gain parole, she didn’t think for one moment that he would show up and pursue her!
WHAT LED YOU TO WRITE A NECESSARY DECEPTION?
From the age of fourteen, when I picked up my first Georgette Heyer book, I knew I wanted to write in the Regency era of English history. It’s such a time of transition, social, spiritual and scientific enlightenment, I wanted to know more about it. So I read every Regency I could find and started to research. My first book was a Regency-set book and won the National Readers Choice Award for Best Regency in 2007. I wanted to write more. I have an agent who also loves the era, who encouraged me to write them for the Christian market. A Necessary Deception was the result, along with its two follow-up books.
STARTING OUT, WHO WERE THE AUTHORS WHO INSPIRED YOU? WHO INSPIRES YOU NOW?
As an undergrad, I was a literature major, so a number of authors influenced me—Charlotte Bronte, Charles Dickens, George Eliot all gave me the notion of how to incorporate story with setting and issues that mattered to me—the consequences of our human behavior. I added in the spiritual element those books mostly lacked.
Today, I try not to be influenced by my author peers, I actually won’t read in a time period in which I’m writing; however, I have added some slightly more recent authors who influence my work: Kenneth Roberts, the aforementioned Georgette Heyer, and the book to whom A Necessary Deception is dedicated (Patricia Veryan).
HOW DOES YOUR FAITH INFLUENCE YOUR WRITING?
My faith is integral to my work from the reason why I write to the spiritual aspects of my story. My relationship with Christ is so important in my life that I can’t imagine not including it in my work, or how the Lord affects the lives of my characters.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN YOU WANTED TO BE AN AUTHOR?
Since I can remember. Maybe the age of nine or ten. It took me awhile to get my act together and actually start to write, and the desire to be an author never left me.
WHAT DO YOU MOST HOPE THAT READERS GET FROM READING YOUR WORK?
My hope and prayer is that readers will be entertained, and through their involvement with the characters lives, will find a greater understanding of God’s forgiveness, love, and faithfulness.