Thanks to author Rita Lee Chapman
author of the Anna Davies Mystery Series
www.ritaleechapman.com
for featuring me on her Author Interview Blog
This
week it is my pleasure to interview Beth Elliott.
Would you please introduce
yourself to my readers and share something about your life.
With a Welsh mother and a Lancashire father
I’m a mixture of imagination and practical common sense. Most people in my
Welsh grandmother’s town spoke Welsh and that fired me with a determination to
speak other languages. After taking a degree in French and Italian, Fate [or
Kismet, as my husband would say] meant I met and married a Turk. He was also a
linguist and had studied French and Italian. And he was a poet.
Our first jobs were in Turkey, so that
meant another language to learn. He had been a Tourist Guide as a student
holiday job, so I had some wonderful guided tours of awe-inspiring sites across
Turkey. But, like me, he liked to make up stories, so some of the events he
added in were as startling as they were imaginary. So there was a lot of
laughter on our tours, and later on, I took my revenge by inventing hair
raising tales of supposed Viking and Welsh history.
Eventually we moved to England, both
teaching languages and making up little stories for fun from events in our
daily lives.
When
did you write your first book and how did it come about?
I was an avid reader as a child and if a story ended too soon for me, I
used to write a couple more chapters to reach a good conclusion for all the
characters. The stories I prefer are always of times past, often with
adventures in foreign lands. My favourite period is the late 18th
Century and the Age of Napoleon. After reading and rereading Georgette Heyer
and knowing there could never be another Heyer novel, I started writing my own
Regency tales for consolation.
The first one, THE WILD CARD, was a finalist in the Romantic Novel Prize the year
it was published. It was only when I reread it later that I realised I’d put my
favourite aunt in the story. It was a traditional Regency tale. Kitty, the eldest
of seven children, must go to London and make a good marriage. Of course, she’s
determined to do no such thing, and indeed, she gets involved in a very nasty
plot before things work out for her and for her friend also.
When
you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you
make notes and plot the chapters beforehand?
All my stories start from a flash of
inspiration, on seeing a random picture of a person, who suddenly leaps into
action. I immediately see scenes from his or her life [with other people or
places] and then try to work out in which order those scenes go. It feels as if
I join with them on the journey. It doesn’t feel that I write the story, rather
that I try to show it in the best possible way.
Even the places depend on that initial
flash of inspiration. London, Bath and Brighton are the setting for three
stories, but my three Montailhac brothers have their family home in France,
although their adventures take them elsewhere.
Helene, my French friend since student
days, complained that all my villains are French.
‘Yes indeed,’ I said, ‘France and England
were at war in that time.’
‘Harrumph,’ she replied.
But to mollify her, I made my next villain
a rather deranged Italian.
That was in THE
RAKE’S CHALLENGE,
Would
you like to give us a short excerpt from one of your books?
This passage is from THE RAKE’S CHALLENGE, my most popular tale.
In August 1814, Society flocks to Brighton
to enjoy a summer holiday. Lord Giles Maltravers and his friend Ned Caldecott
meet outside the Castle Tavern.
'Come on, then,' Ned led the way inside,
where the orchestra had just stopped playing a country dance tune. The couples
were moving off the floor and the noise of conversation soared. Waiters began
weaving their way round the room with trays of drinks. Giles assessed the girls
as they made their way back to their chaperons. His lips tightened.
He
put a hand on Ned's sleeve. 'I think we shall find more entertainment in the
card room,' he murmured. And then, he saw her! His brows drew down as he
watched through narrowed eyes. He saw the energy in her as she took a drink
from a waiter and turned to make her way to a table in an alcove, where an
older lady sat. He saw them smile and exchange a remark as the flaxen haired
girl placed the glass on the table. She was wearing a white dress that enhanced
her tall, slender figure. Giles drew in a deep breath. So Anna Lawrence had
gone from pickle to grown up young lady in one short month.
Her
shining hair was brushed free of curls and swept up into a classical style,
bound with a silver ribbon. His practised eye noted how the dress cleverly defined
her figure. The tiny puff sleeves showed off her white arms. He was surprised
to discover his thoughts whirling, he who was so jaded by the endless
procession of debutantes. He never lost control of his emotions. But now he
couldn’t tell what he felt. Was it relief that she’d apparently found a kind
employer? Or was it simply pleasure at seeing her again?
'Well,
come on then.' Ned's voice was impatient.
Giles
turned slowly away. After all, he had warned her not to admit to knowing him.
He reached the doorway and took a final glance back. And received another
shock!
'Damnation!
It would have to be him!' he muttered.
'What
now?' Ned followed the direction of Giles's gaze. 'Well, by Jove! Is that
Charles hanging round that yaller-headed female?'
'Need
you ask!' growled Giles, frowning at the sight of his younger brother hovering
close to Anna and her companion. Lord Charles Maltravers, resplendent in his Hussar
uniform, made a striking figure. It was clear that Anna was impressed. Full of
a most unbrotherly feeling, Giles strode over to the alcove, followed by a
puzzled Ned.
[c Beth Elliott]
Who is your favourite
character and why?
Arnaut, the
second brother in the de Montailhac family, simply walked – or rather rode - into his older brother’s story,
SCANDALOUS LADY. Until Arnaut appeared on his magnificent horse, I didn’t know anything about him.
Characters do arrive from nowhere sometimes.
He arrived and with his handsome face, exquisite
manners and a devastatingly warm smile, he captured my heart, so much so that
he got his own story – THE RAKE AND HIS HONOUR - and *sigh* he also
appears in his younger brother’s story. I was powerless to resist. I do know
that he appeals to readers, with his energy and charm.
Which of your books gave
you the most pleasure to write?
As I’m writing it, each story is enjoyable as it feels
I’m sharing in the events and adventures. Of course, each time, I hope to be
improving the writing to add more depth to the characters, more twists to the
tale, and developing the words used to enhance everything.
What is the best marketing
tip you have received?
Sadly, all recent advice seems to point to the need to
self publish. Anyway, authors do all the publicity themselves nowadays.
How would you describe
yourself?
My imagination works overtime but then I try to be
practical and keep on top of household affairs. I’m quite happy with my own
company, and if I have a good book,
nothing gets done until I’ve finished it and maybe read it a second
time.
Once we returned to England I taught 11-18 year olds. I
loved classroom teaching and seeing the youngsters make good progress and enjoy
their lessons. I was patient with the students, but sometimes the Welsh fire
shoots out when something stupid irks me.
One of my pleasures is travelling to another country to speak
the language, explore and discover the way of life there, but I always go
independently. I’m not one for group activities.
What
do you do when you are not writing or reading?
I do flamboyant metallic embroidery with as
much shine and sparkle as possible. I love travelling to small, traditional
countries in the Balkans and around the Mediterranean. I used to ride and
fence, but now my main activity is walking. Due to my Welsh side, listening to
choral music is a great pleasure. I regularly visit my Turkish family, enjoying
the different pace of life and always with such a warm welcome.
If
you could holiday anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?
If the long journey could be cut out, I’d
love to see parts of Australia and New Zealand. Otherwise any country with lots
of lakes and mountains and forests. I like open green spaces with tall peaks
and mountain tarns. I love the Pyrenees, and really wish I could go again to
Albania and see the more remote regions there.
If
you have owned pets, do you have a funny story you would like to share with us?
We had a
golden Labrador called Skipper. The local dogs were free to roam. Skipper had retriever instincts and often returned home with a shoe
that someone had left outside their back door. One week we had seventeen
different shoes, boots and slippers along the garden wall. Fortunately,
everyone knew where to come and look for their missing item.
What
is the biggest factor for you when selecting a book to read?
I’m usually attracted by an intriguing
title and then a good cover. Then I read the blurb to finally decide yes or no.
If the book is by an author I really like,
I’ll buy it in spite of a bad cover – the cliche sort with a man half out of
his shirt or a girl with a dress that has two inches of material above the
waist.
Do
you have your own website?
My website is www.regencytales.co.uk. It offers some
background to my stories.
It’s also the portal into my Blog of the
same name, which has a wider range of topics and more photos.
Are
you working on a new book at the moment?
Yes, and oh dear! it’s hard work. Why do I
always start with an impossible mess? But I can see some clear pictures of
events taking place in there, so things will improve. And I have a super-sinister
villain.
THE
DIPLOMAT’S DILEMMA
In May 1809 Sebastian, my diplomat hero, on
his way home with secret documents from Constantinople, calls in at Lisbon. The
French army is about to invade, so the British Consul insists Sebastian must
take his daughter and her friend to safety in England. This is a problem as he
already has two young Turkish envoys to supervise.
Once in London, complications multiply. All
four young people still depend on Sebastian. His betrothed has jilted him and
someone is trying to steal the top secret documents.
Help comes from a smooth gentleman, but is
he as reliable as everyone says? Things turn sinister. That’s as far as it goes
for now.
