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The
Romance Reader’s Connection is pleased to bring you February’s
Author of the Month, Joan Wolf. Ms.
Wolf is a prolific writer whose settings have spanned from Pre-history
sagas to contemporary times. Mixed
in are medieval mysteries, Arthurian legends and spectacular
Regencies. Ms. Wolf has
been capturing readers’ hearts from her first Regency, Counterfeit
Marriage, published in 1980 to her newest contemporary
release, High
Meadow.
Thea
Candee: I’ve just finished reading your newest release, High Meadow, in
which the heroine, Kate Foley, has an obsession with horses that goes
back to when she was a little girl.
The hero, Daniel Montero, is a Yankee pitcher who just learns
that he is the father of her son.
Did you relish the chance to tell a story with two of your
favorite loves; horses and Yankees?
Joan
Wolf: Of course, I always manage to get horses into my books somehow,
but it was great fun to get my second love, the Yankees, into this
one. I spend a great deal
of my summer rooting my boys on, and it was great to be able to use
some of the otherwise useless knowledge that I pick up.
(Did you recognize Daniel’s almost-perfect game as Mike
Mussina’s? My agent
did).
TC:
That’s so funny! I’m
not a fan of baseball, so I don’t know much about the subject.
But I know about your love of horses, and I couldn’t help but
wonder if Kate was a personification of you in any way.
Did it make her character easier to write because she shared
your personal interests?
JW:
Kate is not like me at all, except in her love of horses and her
rather intense motherliness. She’s
also a much better rider than I am. Most of my heroes and heroines are.
TC:
Your first contemporary, Silverbridge, blended a
contemporary setting along with ghosts—which managed to bring
touches of your mainstay genre, regencies, to the story.
Why did you decide to embark upon a contemporary romance?
JW: I
thought it was time to try something new.
As you can see from my record, I write a certain kind a book
for a while and then I need to make a change.
It’s good for my creative juices, I think.
It keeps me from getting stale.
TC:
When writing your first pre-history romance, Daughter
of the Red Deer, did you know that you wanted to create a
saga? Or did public or
publisher demand urge you into writing the next, and final two?
JW: I
signed a contract to write two pre-history novels and then my
publisher wanted a third. The
three books, Daughter
of the Red Deer, The Horsemasters and The
Reindeer Hunters all dealt with the theme of conflict and
compromise between patriarchal and matriarchal societies.
TC:
What makes you decide to write a pre-historic, Cro-Magnon romance?
Did you find it daunting to write about a time period that is
basically unknown—or did you find it easier because you might have
had more creative leeway?
JW: It
was my publisher’s idea that I write a pre-historic novel.
They had just published a very successful pre-history novel
and, in the way of all publishers, were looking to repeat their
success. At first I said
no – I couldn’t imagine how I could write about a time that had no
society and no history. But
they offered me quite a nice monetary incentive, so I decided to try.
It turned out to be very interesting.
The Cro-Magnon were a most extraordinary people.
I ended up enjoying doing the books very much, although they
were difficult to write because a hunter-gatherer society is such a
simple social setting.
TC:
I readily admit that I fell in love with Hugh and Cristen from your
medieval mysteries, No
Dark Place and The
Poisoned Serpent, and I was very sorry to hear that you would
be unable to pen any more stories about these two wonderful characters
and their intriguing mysteries. Now
that you’ve moved into the contemporary market, would you consider a
move into the romantic suspense genre where you would be able to bring
more suspense and mystery to your stories, as was the case with your
two medieval mysteries?
JW: My
next book, That
Summer, which is due out in the fall, will be more of a
mystery novel. It also
will be a novel about horse racing (I have to get those horses in
somehow!)
TC:
I’ve only had the chance to read your first Arthurian legend,
Road To Avalon, and I’m
still looking for your other two Dark Ages, Britain romances.
It seems that you are touching upon areas in history that
aren’t normally written about in the romance genre—where Britain
is being formed along with Dane invasion.
Is it just that you have a love of history and you want to
share that with your readers in an acceptable and mainstream format,
such as a romance novel?
JW: I
adore history. If I had
my way, I would be writing historical novels, period.
I wrote the historical mysteries as a sneaky way of writing
historical novels. I’ve
always had a yen to do a book about the Norman Conquest.
Alas, historical novels do not sell.
Publishers do not buy them.
I know the three Dark Ages books that I wrote, The Road to Avalon, Born of the Sun and The Edge of Light are my best work. I still get mail about those books; I still hear from people
desperately trying to find the books; but they’re all out of print.
I have the rights to them and I hope one day they may be
published again.
TC:
Now we finally get to your regencies.
Among my favorites are The Deception and The
Gamble. Do you
plan on still writing regencies?
JW: At
the moment I’m into contemporaries, but I always seem to go back to
regencies, so I won’t say no.
TC:
What made you decide to write a regency as your first book?
Were you an avid reader of the genre?
JW: I
loved Georgette Heyer and because I read her so avidly, I knew the
period. I didn’t plan
to write a ‘regency’ per se, I just chose the period because I
knew it.
TC:
Would you tell readers what a typical day in your life is like?
JW:
Typically, I ride my horse, I take my dog to the park, I have lunch
with my husband (who is retired), I write my book for two hours (yes,
only two hours a day. I
don’t know how writers can sit at a computer for longer), I run
errands , do the laundry, read the newspaper, cook the dinner for my
husband and my son, watch the Yankees – or UConn basketball, or the
Knicks, whoever is on – take the dog out for a last pee and go to
bed. Not very exciting,
I’m afraid, but I like it.
TC:
I think it sounds nice and homey!
<G> What
kind of advice would you give to an aspiring writer?
How long did it take you to get published?
JW: I
would tell an aspiring writer to get an agent.
I sent my first book (The Counterfeit Marriage)
around to various publishers for one year, getting it back sometimes
months later, until someone told me to get an agent.
I sent it to an agent, who told me, “I can sell this.”
She then proceeded to sell it to one of the publishers who had
turned it down previously. So
I am big on agents.
TC:
What can readers look forward to seeing from you in the
immediate future? Is
there a website where readers can get more information about you and
your books?
JW: That
Summer, due out in the fall, is the last book on my present
contract. I think I will
probably do a few more contemporaries after that, perhaps something
more in the line of women’s fiction.
I do have a website; www.joanwolf.com
Thank
you Joan, for taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer some
questions for us here at The Romance Reader’s Connection.
I look forward to reading your future releases.
Have a happy and safe New Year!
Thea
Candee
(Click
here for a review of HIGH MEADOW)
(Click
here for a review of ROYAL BRIDE)
(Click
here for a review of THE POISONED SERPENT)
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