How
much of yourself is hidden in the characters in your books?
I
tell people nothing at all. Unfortunately that is not what they tell
me. Obviously they see similarities in terms of the absolute
niceness of my characters. The patience and serenity with which they
greet life as a whole, accept defeat and never want the impossible.
Ahem. Looking the other way here.
How
much of a story do you have in mind before you start writing?
I see
the beginning and that’s it. Obviously since it’s romance and
you have to HEA, that too. Then I just hope I can get from one to the
other.
Can
you tell us about your Historical Romance?
Well,
it’s set in Genoa, in a sort of émigré English community and it’s
about a woman needing to conceive an heir in order to guarantee her
future. All fine till husband meets with an unfortunate accident and
then her ex-lover, the one man in the world who knows all her secrets
turns up.
Will
you write another book in the series?
It’s
a stand alone, although they do have children so you never know.
How
do you cope with writer's block?
I
don’t think about it. To think is to fear.
How
do you develop and differentiate your characters?
I
like feisty characters, characters who are glaringly imperfect and
not terribly self aware because let’s face it, which of us is truly
self aware? I develop them by thinking of their lives before they got
to the point where the actual story starts because the things that
shape us as people are to be found there. I then think about what
their goals are at the point the story starts, to see what little
traits to give them they will soon shoot themselves in the foot with.
Then I think about physical appearance. Their likes, dislikes.
Do
you have specific techniques you use to develop the plot and stay on
track?
A lot
of candlelit baths and optimism.
How
(or when) do you decide that you are finished writing a story?
When
every end is tied and the conflicts external, then internal, are
resolved.
Is
there a message in your writing you want readers to grasp?
Even
when the subject matter is weighty I think the ability to laugh is a
huge thing. So I try to get these touches of humor even in the
bleakest circumstances. Also real life isn’t perfect so why should
my characters be?
What
are you working on right now?
I am
working on a story which I see as part of a series about an ex jewel
thief.
Have
you always wanted to be a writer?
Yes.
I have actually. And I’ve stuck at all kinds of jobs in the hope
that one day this dream would come true.
At
what age did you discover your love of writing?
Seven.
But it certainly wasn’t as simple as that.
What
was the first story that you wrote?
A
god-awful fairy tale. Some unoriginal claptrap about a princess in a
forest.
When
were you first published? How were you discovered?
It
depends what kind of publication we are talking of. For years I’ve
done all sorts of writing jobs, from girls’ graphic comics to non
fiction. The Unraveling of lady Fury is my first published book. I
subbed it to Etopia Press, I subbed it a lot of places actually, but
they came right back offering a contract so...
What
is the most difficult part of the whole writing process?
Probably
accepting that you may fail. That no-one might want to publish your
work and not necessarily because it’s no good either. Having a book
out is no guarantee of anything.
What
do you like to read?
I
love historical stories. But some of my favs are oldies. I also love
anyd of the forties noir books.
What
writer influences you the most?
I
would that impossible to answer when so many do. I love the sprawl of
writers like Margaret Mitchell, F.Tennyson Jesse, the incredible
detail of the times, but I also think these thirties/forties writers
like Cain and McCoy had a huge talent for keeping it tight, while F.
Scott Fitzgerald wrote the prose that is a delicacy.
If
your book was made into a TV series or Movie, which actors would you
like to see playing your characters?
Talking
Margaret Mitchell I could see Vivien Leigh playing Fury. She has the
right fire onscreen but I could also see Keira Knightley having that
refined edge Fury constantly tries to maintain. Flint, I think Josh
Holloway has the right onscreen mix of steel and grit.
Where
can people learn more about you and your books?
- http://pinterest.com/shehanne
Is
there anything else you’d like to tell us about yourself and your
books?
Apart
from giving them a chance..! Nah.
About The Author
Shehanne Moore is a
Scottish born author who writes gritty, witty, more risky than
risqué, historical romance, set wherever takes her fancy–stories
that detail the best and worst of human behaviour, as opposed to
pouts and flounces.
For years she did various
jobs while pursuing her dream of becoming a published writer, so she
was thrilled to be offered a contract by Etopia Press for The
Unraveling of Lady Fury, six days after subbing it.
Shehanne still lives in
Scotland with her husband Mr Shey. She has two daughters. When not
writing intriguing, and of course, sizzling, historical romance,
where goals and desires of sassy, unconventional heroines and
ruthless men, mean worlds do collide, she fantasizes about cleaning
the house, plays the odd musical instrument and loves what in any
other country, would not be defined, as hill-walking.
About The Book
Rule One: There will be no kissing.
Rule two: There will be no touching…
Widowed Lady Fury Shelton hasn’t lost
everything—yet. As long as she produces the heir to the Beaumont
dukedom, she just might be able to keep her position. And her
secrets. But when the callously irresistible Captain James “Flint”
Blackmoore sails back into her life, Lady Fury panics. She must find
a way to protect herself—and her future—from the man she’d
rather see rotting in hell than sleeping in her bed. If she must bed
him to keep her secrets, so be it. But she doesn’t have to like it.
A set of firm rules for the bedroom will ensure that nothing goes
awry. Because above all else, she must stop herself from wanting the
one thing that Flint can never give her. His heart.
Ex-privateer Flint Blackmoore has never
been good at following the rules. Now, once again embroiled in a
situation with the aptly named Lady Fury, he has no idea why he
doesn’t simply do the wise thing and walk away. He knows he’s
playing with fire, and that getting involved with her again is more
dangerous than anything on the high seas. But he can’t understand
why she’s so determined to hate him. He isn’t sure if the secret
she keeps will make things harder—or easier—for him, but as the
battle in the bedroom heats up, he knows at least one thing. Those
silly rules of hers will have to go…
Book
Excerpt
Fury sat down and dipped the quill into the ink. She detected the
faintest trace of nerves. It must be the fact Thomas lay in the
cellar. Why else would a man, so great, so stalwart, so worldly as
Captain Flint be nervous of her?
“Well,
yes,” she said, listening to the pleasing scratch of the nib
on the soft paper.
“Babies
are not always made in a night. Of course, you wouldn’t know that,
being you. It will take time.”
“All
the more reason then to just get going. After all this time,
sweetheart, you don’t know how eager I am.”
He strode across the tiled floor and the ink trailed a long dark
path across the paper as he dragged her to her feet. Had it blobbed
it might have been something to worry about. But she was very set on
this. And calm. As calm as one could be having this man in her
bedroom, knowing what was coming next out of dire necessity, her
husband in a box in the cellar and her cast off, potential lovers on
their way out the door.
“No,
James.” She held a hand up between their lips. “There will be no
kissing.”
“No
kissing? Why in hell not?”
It displaced her calm to see him grin. She would have preferred that
he was indignant. Especially as he was a man who thought he could
settle all his arguments—with women anyway—with a kiss. But she
kept her face cold, blank.
“Because.”
In some ways she was cold. Cold with rage.
“Aw,
come on Fury, didn’t you like my kissing? Hmm?” His breath, hot
and male, brushed her fingertips. He wrapped his arms around her,
splaying his hands across her back, so her hand might as well not
have been there for all the protection it was.
But she was calm. Didn’t she have to get into bed with him after
all? So, even the impulse to squirm was one she would squash. When
she thought of all he had done to her, she would give him nothing.
Not even the knowledge she found his proximity so unsettling that she
sought to pull away.
“Your
kissing was fine, in its way, I suppose. But kissing is a sign of
affection.”
“How
do you make that out?”
She knew exactly why he scratched his head. Their love-making had
been torrid. It had been sensual. It had been shaming. And it had
been absent of any affection. Certainly on his part. So, why on earth
would a kiss be a sign of anything? To him anyway. She was the damn
fool who had thought it had. Who even now was forced to concede the
pleasure it would be to take her hand across his face to assist his
understanding of her feelings. The impertinence of the damn man, the
stinging ignorance.
“It
just is.” She eased the distance between them a whisper. “So
there will be none. Not now. Not at all.”
“All
right then. Saves time. It means—”
“Rule
two.” She saw his eyes freeze as he readied himself to yank off his
shirt. She persisted anyway. Why not? In many ways she walked a
tightrope here. If she paused it might be to her detriment. “You
will be fully dressed at all times.”
“What?
How the hell am I meant to—”
“I
am sure you will manage. You managed plenty before. But I do not
desire to look at your body before, during, or after. Nor in any
shape or form wandering about this house in just your breeches. Is
that understood?”
He dropped his hands from his shirt and glared, so he must have. “You
wanted to look at it plenty before. In fact, it makes my head spin,
just how often you—”
True. But that was then. “Rule three.” Clasping her fingers
around the cool edge of the dressing table to create another inch of
distance, she continued.
“Rule
three? You mean there’s more?”
“I
will not touch you in any place, intimate or otherwise. I will lie.
You will perform.”
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