There is one name you will see frequently on my best lists and her heroines are on my Favorite Heroes & Heroines list... Amanda Hughes, author
of historical romance with a different approach.
I invited Amanda to be on my blog today to
talk about her different style for her stories set in America's past. She tells me that all her life, she has been a
"Walter Mitty", spending more time in heroic daydreams than the real
world. As a child, she would light tapers, decorate the basement with her
mother's pewter and act out elaborate adventures with imaginary playmates. To
this day, the characters in her novels are shadows whispering their stories to her.
As an adult, she found an outlet writing adventures about audacious women in
the 18th and 19th century, and much of her writing today is a grown-up
documentation of her childhood fantasies.
The Interview:
Thank you, Regan for having me on your blog
today. It is a wonderful resource for historical romance junkies everywhere! I
have been following your writing career as well. Congratulations on your
success and all of the awards.
What kind of books do
you write, Amanda?
I write novels about gutsy, risk-taking women
called, “The Bold Women Series.” They crossover between historical romance and
historical fiction. I think you called me an “outlier” once, Regan, and that’s
true. For a long time I could not decide which genre was the most appropriate
fit for my books since they do not fit the standard format of either genre. I
have since given up.
What is it about your
content that make your novels crossover books?
I try to balance history equally with the
romance. My books always describe historical settings in detail; the clothing,
the food, the furnishings, the landscape and the times. The character,
background and upbringing of my “bold women” is always established in the first
half of the book and not until the second half of the book do I introduce the love
story. My novels are an adventure about the main character’s life. Love is just
one component.
Why did you choose to
write this way?
It was never a conscious choice. I never studied
a genre and wrote to fit within those boundaries. The books were inside me and
I wrote them. I have always felt my stories are accurate reflections of life.
We all have many experiences in this world and love is just one of them.
So your content is
different. Are your characters unusual as well?
Yes, they are quite different from mainstream
historical romance novels. My characters are always involved in some way with
the gritty and sometimes seamy side of life. I always portray people that live
on the fringes of society. Many authors write historical romances that are a
form of escapism heavily laden with beauty and charm, and many readers prefer
this style. But I think they are missing so many opportunities to meet varied
and edgy characters. After all, these are the people really that shaped our history,
particularly in this country. Again this reflects my outlier attitude!
In what time and place
are you books set?
All of my books are set in America in the 18th
or 19th century. Although several start out in another country,
frequently Ireland, my main characters always end up here in America.
Why do you choose
America’s past for settings?
Without question I choose America because of our
rich and varied heritage. Nowhere on earth is there a culture as diverse as
ours. This melting pot in which we live provides a writer with endless
opportunities to tell stories, from the Salem witch trials to the Oklahoma land
rush, to riding the rails during the Great Depression. The subjects are endless
and I wish I had time to write about it all of them.
What do your readers tell
you they like best about your books?
The one comment I receive time and again is that
my books are page-turners. Some of my readers blame me for not getting their
errands or housework done. I’m happy to oblige.
What are you working on
now?
My sixth historical romance is about a bold
woman in 19th Century San Francisco. To support her young siblings,
this Chinese American woman runs an opium den catering to the very rich in
Chinatown. Amid the squalor and danger of a city bursting at the seams, she
partners with a man who has many secrets and who may endanger her life.
Thanks, Amanda, for helping the readers understand the difference between your wonderful stories and others. For my followers, Amanda has a question to ask you:
Since this is Favorite Heroes and Heroines Month, I would like to
know if readers prefer seeing a heroine saved by the hero, or if they prefer
the heroine saving herself.
One lucky commenter will win my latest ebook set in the time of
America's Civil War, Vagabond Wind.
America's Civil War, Vagabond Wind.
Keep up with Amanda:
