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This
month, The Romance Reader’s Connection is pleased to present an
interview with Kristin Hardy, one of the hottest writers for
Harlequin’s Blaze line.
Welcome Ms. Hardy! Please
share with our readers something about yourself and how you became a
published writer.
I first
started trying to write books when I was about 12. It was about a boy
growing up with a race horse (think Black Beauty, only updated). I
only managed to write about ten pages, but it got me started. I went
into college as a writing major, but I quickly discovered I didn't
have the chops for serious lit-ra-ture, so I switched to engineering.
A few years later, I read about romance novels in a Sunday supplement.
I gave it a try, but I didn't really have a plot and I gave it up as a
bad job. I started novels a couple more times over the years, but I
would usually lose interest after a chapter or two and set it aside
for a while longer. Still, in the back of my mind I always assumed
that some day I'd wind up as a romance author.
At one
point, I was in a job I had completely lost patience with. I decided
that it was time to finally stop with the excuses and just write one
of the danged things. A friend persuaded me to go to Moonlight and
Magnolias, where I saw a panel on Blaze. It inspired me so much, I
came up with the plot for MY SEXIEST MISTAKE on the way home. As soon
as I hit the house, I started writing and cranked out chapter one in
an hour. I finished the
book about nine months later, and Harlequin bought it a week after
they received it.
It has been stated that the foundation of the Harlequin Blaze line lies
in women’s fantasies. Ryan’s
need for proper inspiration from your first book MY SEXIEST MISTAKE is
a good example of this. However,
the tone in the UNDER THE COVERS trilogy seems different in the sense
that it is less about fantasies and more about the characters
overcoming internal conflicts and obstacles then finding love when
they would least expect to or even think that it fits into their
lives. Was this the intended message during early planning for UNDER
THE COVERS? What inspired
you to write this trilogy?
My first
motivation to write the trilogy was not wanting to let go of
characters. I wanted Becka to be a spinout character with her own
book, basically from the time she first appeared in Ryan's book. As I
was working on Becka's story, I started thinking about a daisy-chain
series of books, rather than a conventional family trilogy. I wanted
to show how love could strike in the most unlikely places, and the
series be more line a set of interlocking gears where you ride with
one character for a while, then get whisked off with another
character, though you occasionally intersect with the first. The bed
was almost an afterthought, a way to pull them all together in some
concrete way.
I deal
with character and conflict because I'm one of those people who's
always trying to figure people out, to understand why they behave the
way they do ("Ahhh, so her deep early trauma in nursery school is
responsible for her picking the KitKat bar over the Nestle's Crunch).
I come up with a sexy premise, and then the characters barge in and
start taking over and forcing the story the way they want it to go.
One of the elements I enjoy most about your work is the strength of your
heroines. From Ryan to Becka and now with Mallory especially, it seems
that the women are more and more independent, ambitious and strong
willed in each story.
I come
from a line of strong women -- when the husband of one of my ancestors
died in the Civil War, she waited until the war was over, cooked six
months of meals and sewed clothes for her children so she could leave
them in the care of neighbors, and hitched up her wagon to go south
and retrieve his body for burial. And darned if she didn't do it, too.
I write women I can admire and identify with. Women today have to be
strong, independent, and multifaceted, so it makes sense to me that my
characters reflect that.
Additionally, I am sure many readers will relate to Mallory, whose
childhood created a lot of serious baggage and molded her view of
love, sex and commitment to a degree not often explored by many
writers of the Blaze line. Where did the idea for such a weighty and
complex character like Mallory come from?
Mallory
is kind of her own bad self. Initially, she was just going to have
enough baggage so she didn't want to immediately settle down with the
hero, but when she was formed enough in my head to start speaking for
herself, all of this other depth emerged. Last fall when I was writing
her, it seemed like half my family was having health difficulties, me
included, so I think some of the darkness came out of that.
On your website you state that you have been an avid reader from an
early age. Has there been any one author who has influenced your
writing the most?
I
definitely admire Nora Roberts and the way her books can make you feel
like you're on a roller coaster ride, completely taken over by it,
feeling all the ups and downs in the pit of your stomach. I always
read her books trying to understand why I like them, why they work,
how they get that effortless feel.
With respect to your writing,
what character or book are you most proud of, so far?
What book has been the most
difficult for you to write?
I like
Mallory the best of any of the characters I've written, and I think AS
BAD AS CAN BE is the best thing I've written. SLIPPERY WHEN WET, the
follow-on, was the biggest challenge. I wrote it in a very short
period of time, at a point when I was already burned out, so it took
me a while I find my stride with it. Ultimately, though, I think it
worked out well. I'd love to hear what everyone else thinks.
Like many readers, I am anxiously awaiting your next title. The UNDER
THE COVERS trilogy concludes with Dev's story, SLIPPERY WHEN WET. Will
the darker and more emotional tone of AS BAD AS CAN BE continue or
will this be more of a sexy romp like MY SEXIEST MISTAKE or SCORING?
Or something completely different?
It'll be
more of a romp, but the heroine has some issues. It's a good beach
read. I adored the hero in SLIPPERY WHEN WET -- sexy, strong, and a
little bit flawed. Besides, those blue-collar boys always get my mouth
watering.
What can readers expect to see from you in the future?
I just
put the finishing touches on my plan for my next trilogy, which will
involve a group of friends in L.A. As soon as I get the thumbs up from
HQ, I'll put full details on my web site.
Ms. Hardy, on behalf of all of us
at TRRC, thank you again for your time and sharing your insight on
your work. We wish you continued success!
Interview by Melissa Freeman
(Click
here for a review of AS BAD AS CAN BE)
(Click
here for a review of SCORING)
(Click
here for a review of MY SEXIEST MISTAKE)
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