Interview with Gail Ranstrom

My last interview for a while is with Gail Ranstrom, another Daphne-nominated author.

Gail writes historical romances for Harlequin Historicals. A lifelong love of words and reading led her to a wide range of careers–inventory clerk, advertising account coordinator, and antique business partner, to name a few. She can get lost completely in the past and loves traveling in the United Kingdom. Critiques have raved about her books as “suspenseful,” with “strong and likeable characters,” “hard to put down,” and the best of all, “keeper.” Gail had two Daphne-nominated books, THE COURTESAN’S COURTSHIP and INDISCRETIONS.

1. Romantic Times Book Reviews Magazine gave THE COURTESAN’S COURTSHIP a glowing review, calling it “a tale of murder and danger, of a man afraid to love and the woman who shows him how.” Just reading the review gives me chills. I admit I haven’t read the book. Would you describe a little of what it’s about?

 

Dianthe Lovejoy, a prim society miss, is found bending over the body of a dead courtesan and is accused of the crime. She goes into hiding before she can be arrested. She knows that the authorities believe she is guilty and will look no further than her door, so she will have to investigate the crime herself and find the true killer. Alone, with limited resources, Dianthe has no choice but to accept the shelter of her enemy, notorious rake and gambler, Lord Geoffrey Morgan. When Lord Geoffrey learns her plan, he vows to stop her. But Dianthe reminds him that he has promised not to interfere with her investigation. So there is only one thing left for Geoffrey to do. He arranges fencing and self defense lessons for her so she can protect herself. Then, because she is so naïve, and also because he wants to keep her busy and out of his business, he arranges courtesan lessons for her, too. Dianthe takes to her instruction with enthusiasm. She finds every possible opportunity to use her new skills to unsettle Lord Geoffrey, thinking it is the ideal way to repay him for his arrogance. But she soon finds that tempting the notorious lord is a dangerous game. Together, they navigate the demimonde, their own prejudices and Lord Geoffrey’s troubled past to the inevitable conclusion.

2. Your hero is a nobleman and a notorious rake and gambler. Yet he’s the one to whom the heroine must turn. How did you manage to redeem this clearly flawed and troubled man to become a true romantic hero?

 

Geoffrey Morgan, who first appeared in A WILD JUSTICE, was commitment phobic. His former neglect resulted in the death of the woman he loved. Now, he does not want deep relationships and avoids them at all costs. He isn’t just afraid of being hurt—he is afraid he will fail in all the things that make a man a good mate. He helps Dianthe, but only under protest and because he owes her cousin-in-law a debt of honor. He only means to give her shelter, but finds himself drawn more deeply into her problem and assisting her in her quest for justice. In telling himself that he is only trying to teach Dianthe to protect herself, he allows himself to grow closer to her than he ever intended. Once that barrier is breached, there is no going back for either of them.

3. You’ve written many historical romances for Harlequin Historical. What particular heroes and heroines in your books are your favorites? Which one was the most difficult to write?

 

I’m rather fond of Rob McHugh in THE RAKE’S REVENGE. He was my first really dark hero, and a struggle to write and redeem. Since then, I have enjoyed the challenge of writing alpha heroes with just the right touch of vulnerability As for a heroine, I think Isabella O’Rourke in LORD LIBERTINE (which won’t be released until October this year) is, so far, both my favorite and most difficult heroine. She is driven by guilt and a deathbed promise to find her sister’s killer, and the only course of action open to her is one she loathes. The stakes are as high as the danger, but duty drives her and nearly destroys her chance for happiness.

4. What in your opinion is the hardest part of writing historical romance stories? What is the easiest?

 

I think most historical writers would say the hardest part is the research, and I would agree. Getting everything ‘right’ is a monumental challenge, but we keep trying. Perhaps equally difficult is the challenge of writing a heroine true to her times yet sympathetic to modern readers. But women have always had their little ways of subverting the status quo. I cannot believe that there were not ways around the strictures of society if one were willing to suffer the consequences. And some of my heroines do pay the price. Easy? I suppose that would have to be the characters. They are usually quite vivid in my mind. I ‘feel’ them on an instinctive level. They are as real to me as my family, and as diverse. But perhaps that’s less about writing historicals than it is about the process of writing as a whole.

5. How do you keep track of your story–note cards, lists, outline, etc?

 

I’m a pantser, so I use a spiral notebook! Bless Mead and the Five Star 2 subject notebook. I use it all—every last page. In the first half, I make notes on characters, scene ideas, my list of 25 Things That Could Happen, and research on specific items pertaining to that particular story. In the middle pocket, I keep pictures I’ve torn out of magazines, etc. of photos that look like my characters, maps, and any tidbits I’ve found that pertain to the time or subject matter. In the second half, I keep a chapter by chapter log of the story as I write it. Sometimes I fill it in as I go along, and sometimes I may actually plot a chapter or two in advance – generally one page per chapter with just a couple of lines for each scene on what I want to accomplish in that scene. I use the rest of that section to keep notes of loose ends to tie up, and occasionally several paragraphs or tiny sections of handwritten scenes that contain elements that I need the characters to say, do or think. Then, because my stories tend to take place in a fairly short time frame, I use a calendar page to keep track of the events and the references to when something took place. Was it Tuesday or Wednesday when she went to the milliner and overheard that gossip? I just check the calendar and don’t have to wade back through the manuscript to verify.

6. I love the idea of the calendar page. I’ll have to incorporate that in my plotting repertoire.

You’re ready to begin a new project. What’s the first thing you do? Character bios? Plot and plan? Or just jump in and let the muse take you?

I generally have the kernel of an idea for the next story before I finish the previous book, either with an existing character or situation. One or the other usually becomes quite interesting to me before I have finished the current story. I may not know the character well, but something in their behavior or something they have said leads me in a direction I’d like to explore. Then I ‘see’ them in a single scene that inspires me. Sometimes that scene is at the beginning, sometimes in the middle, but occasionally (rarely), it is the last scene or dénouement. I have a rough idea of what has to happen to lead the characters to that scene, and then I jump in. For instance, in INDISCRETIONS, my other book that is nominated for the Daphne, a secondary character from THE COURTESAN’S COURTSHIP became quite vivid to me, and I realized he wasn’t at all what he seemed—a respectable member of society. I wanted to explore that, and how such a man could lead a double life and what the cost to his soul must be. Thus, another book was born. The process hasn’t failed me yet, and I’ve learned not to question my muse.

7. How did you get into writing? Why historical romances, not contemporary or paranormal, for instance?

 

I grew up reading and adoring historical romance. Laurie McBain, Roberta Gellis, Kathleen Woodiwiss and Johanna Lindsey were my favorites. They couldn’t write fast enough so I just had to read everything again and again. My favorite contemporaries were written by Agatha Christie, so I suppose it was natural that when I started writing, I blended mystery/suspense with romance. The historical period was more intriguing to me, more romantic. We often think of their lives being so much less complicate and simpler than ours, but the opposite is true. Social mores were more rigid and the consequences of straying to the side or crossing the line were dire, and that provides instant tension and conflict.

 

8. What are your new projects? What can readers look forward to from Gail Ranstrom?

 

LORD LIBERTINE will be released in October this year. It is a very dark story with elements borrowed from the Hellfire Club of previous years. I am currently writing a story about a character from that book—working title, DEVLIN’S GAME, but who knows what it will be by the time I’m finished. All my stories are loosely connected, featuring characters from previous stories, delving into my favorite themes—the thin line between justice and revenge, the individual pursuit of justice, and even the ambiguity between treason and patriotism. There are so few ‘absolutes’ in those two subjects and that makes them interesting to me.

9. What advice can you offer to writers who are working toward publication?

 

Persevere! You won’t get published if you give up. Surround yourself with those who share your journey—other writers, critique groups, RWA chapters and workshops wherever you can find them. They will be your core group in the years to come, and the only ones who will truly understand what it’s like to sit at a computer and bleed onto a page. They will support you through rejections, bad reviews and writer’s block and they will help you celebrate each book as it’s completed, every good review and every validation of your talent.

10. And lastly, the blog fairy is granting you three wishes. If you could have anything or do anything you wanted, what would they be?

World peace, the end of hunger, justice for all? Travel, good friends and good wine? An endless supply of chocolate, money and men? Or Bestseller-dom, fame and fortune? So hard to choose…. I’d settle for any of them.

Thanks, Susan. This was fun.

I enjoyed this too, Gail. And although we didn’t win Daphnes this year, it was a great honor to be nominated.

Be well!