February 2006
Interview with Candice Hern
Please tell us a bit about yourself. Your background, family etc. Are you married? Do you have kids or pets?
I live in San Francisco. I'm not married and have no children. Or pets.
Tell us a bit about your writing. What type of books do you write and what time period are they set in?
All of my books are set in England during the early 19th century. All but one are fairly lighthearted comedies. THE BRIDE SALE in 2002 was my only "dark" book.
How many books do you have published? Are they all Regencys?
My 12th book, IN THE THRILL OF THE NIGHT, just came out this month. All of my books are set during the extended years of the English Regency, ie not necessarily within the actual years during which the Prince of Wales acted as Regent, 1811-1820. Some of my books have been set slightly earlier, in 1801-02.
My first six books were published as traditional Regencies, ie the shorter, sweeter books once published by Signet. All the books since then have been longer, sexier historicals.
You have a new book out this month called IN THE THRILL OF THE NIGHT, that is absolutely wonderful! Is this a stand alone book or is it related to any others already in print or perhaps any upcoming books?
It is the first of a trilogy. It's about a group of respectable widows who run a charitable organization, and who decide to take lovers! They call themselves the Merry Widows. I like to think of it as Sex and the City meets Jane Austen. None of them wants to marry again, they want to retain their independence as widows ... but you know how these stories go. :-) The second book, JUST ONE OF THOSE FLINGS, comes out in August.
How did you get started in your writing career? I believe you stated in an earlier interview that you didn't start writing until you were 40 years of age. What made you want to start writing and did you find it hard to turn away from your successful marketing career to become a full time author?
I was a voracious reader before I was a writer. Once I discovered Georgette Heyer and the subgenre of the Regency Romance that she started, I totally immersed myself on those books, feeling as though I'd finally found the sort of books I'd always wanted to read. Yes, this was late in life. I didn't discover the Divine Georgette until I was 40. A few years later, I decided to try my hand at writing a Regency Romance. I knew the period well through years of study, and soon discovered I had lots of stories brewing in my head. Though I had never written fiction before, nor had I ever aspired to do so, I soon found that I loved it. I have since decided that the wiring was always there to be a writer; I had simply never used it.
I wrote my first 7 books while working full time in high tech marketing. It was not hard to make the decision to quit the day job. The commute was horrendous and the job sucked the life right out of me. I just had to wait until I had enough of a financial cushion to would allow me to live comfortably for several years since I knew the royalties would be slow to build.
Have you had other jobs before becoming a full time author? Did you have a favorite or worst job?
I spent 20 years or so in high tech. I was a programmer, a systems analyst, a sales support engineer, a marketing analyst, a field marketing manager, a database marketing manager, and finally a marketing operations director. I enjoyed being in high tech during the boom years. It was exciting and fun, and very lucrative! I was a workaholic until I began writing. Writing gave me better perspective on my career, and I soon began to love the writing more than I could stand the high tech work. It was an easy decision to leave high tech and I don't miss it one bit. I now have the best job in the world.
How long did it take you to get published?
I was very fortunate. My first book sold before I'd finished writing it.
What was your first published work and when did it come out?
That first book was A PROPER COMPANION, a traditional Regency romance. It came out in January 1995.
Are your books stand alone books or are they connected? And if so, how are they connected?
Although each book stands on its own, all but three are connected to others. You can see which ones are connected here: http://www.candicehern.com/bookshelf/connected.htm
What drew you to write about Regency England? Is there some particular area that intrigues you more than others, such as clothing or language?
I came to Regency Romance already a passionate devotee of the period. I've been a history buff all my life with certain pockets of specific interest: 18th dynasty Egypt, Roman Britiain, Tudor and Elizabethan England, Revolutionary France, and the English Regency. I also collect Georgian and Regency antiques, and like any serious collector, I have studied the historical and social contexts of the pieces I collect. So I already had a solid connection to the period before I began to write about it.
The reason the period fascinates me is that it is the cusp of the Modern Age, with lots of rather significant social changes taking place, in particular the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. I am also intrigued by the dichotomy of a country at war with France, with fierce battles and heavy loss of life taking place on the Continent, while the upper classes, led by the Prince Regent, live in this glittering little bubble of Society, insulated from the horrors of war.
You have a marvelous collection of Regency era items on your website from fashion prints to scent bottles to jewelry. How did you come to collect things from this period of time? Did you start this collection before or after you started writing your wonderful book?
I have been collecting Georgian and Regency antiques for 25-30 years, well before I began writing. I am drawn to the style of 18th century England. The furniture for example, on either side of the period (17th century or mid-19th century) is too heavy and dark for my taste. For me, the 18th century is the height of perfection, in terms of style and beauty.
I have a particular interest in the fashion of the 1790-1820 period. Just as Georgian furniture is a period of light and beauty squashed between two periods of heavy and dark, the period of Regency fashion is an anomaly of narrow, vertical shapes sandwiched between periods of wide skirts and hoops. I am totally in love with Regency fashion. I absolutely love the vertical silhouette. I have collected fashion prints of the period for 20 years. An interest in the fashion magazines grew from collecting the prints, and that is an area of collecting I am still quite passionate about. And in the last 5-10 years I have become interested in Georgian jewelry, which is the thing I most actively collect at the moment.
Does learning about these items help you in researching your books or does your research help you with your collection?
The collections help to inform the settings for my books. I call upon my resources for fashion more than anything else, though I try not to overload the reader with too much detail. But knowing about the period from a collector's standpoint gives me a rich context for the lives of my characters.
Approximately how long does it take you to research your books and where do you find your reference materials?
I generally research for at least a full month before writing. I like to have all the main stuff at hand and ready to go -- that is, any research required for the plot. For example, my Ladies' Fashionable Cabinet series was based on a fictional lady's magazine, so I did tons of research on how magazines were published c1800. I did all that research up front, as it in some ways drove the stories. Other minor points of research may need to be addressed during the writing, but only details, nothing significant.
Most of my reference materials are right here in my office. I have a fairly extensive library. I do use the internet more and more these days, too. Especially to check a quick fact or reference.
Is research something you enjoy doing?
Too much so. I tend to get lost in research and spend way to much time doing it.
How long does it take you to write a new book?
About 6 months.
Does does include your editing and revision time?
I edit as write, so the 6 months does include self editing. It does not include revisions requested by the editor. That's a separate project, and the amount of time required depends on the amount of revisions required as well as the production schedule. Most often, though, revisions usually take about 2 months.
What kind of writer are you? A serious writer who plans and plots your storyline and character traits, or are you a more easy going writer who just sits down and lets the thoughts flow?
I'm not a seat-of-the-pants writer. I'm an outliner. I can't write past Chapter 1 without a detailed outline. Creating that outline is part of my 6-month process.
Most writers I know tend to be either outliners or pantsers (ie seat-of-the-pants writers). I don't think you can change which type you are. It's simply part of the wiring.
Do you ever use recurring characters in your books?
Since I often do connected books, yes there are recurring characters.
If so, how do you keep up with all your character traits. Do you have a notebook or computer program you use to keep everything straight?
I have a spiral notebook for each book, and it is filled with stuff like character descriptions. I can always refer back to them if I've forgotten what color eyes someone had two books ago.
Do your characters ever take twists and turns that suprise even you?
No. That's because I outline. I may bump up against surprises during the outlining process, but during the actual writing, there are no big surprises. Everything is in the outline. That is not to say that I adhere to the outline religiously. New things always pop up during the writing, but they are seldom big things. Just little moments that come to me as a write.
Tell us about the Fog City Diva's. How did this wonderful group of ladies come about and what do you do together? Do they add a positive influence to your writing? Could you please tell us who the members of this group are?
We began as a plotting/brainstorming group. I joined them about 5 years ago. Four of them had been meeting for years before that. And three more have joined since I joined. We get together (as many of us who can ... it's seldom the entire group) every two weeks or so. We brainstorm anything from a completely new story to one specific scene. Whatever someone needs help with. We also share news and insights on the publishing industry, and often brainstorm promotion ideas. A little over a year ago, we decided to join forces for some group promotion, and the Fog City Divas were born. We have a website (www.fogcitydivas.com), a blog, and a newsletter. Since we all write different types of books, we hope we are cross-polinating our audiences. The members of the Fog City Divas are Diana Dempsey, Barbara Freethy, Carol Grace, Julie Anne Long, Barbara McMahon, Kate Moore, and me.
And yes, they are a tremendously positive influence. I often wonder what I would do without them!
Give us an example of your typical day. Do you try to keep like a specific writing schedule?
I'm a nightowl. I tend to write between 10:00pm and 3:00am. During the day I do promotional stuff and research. But I seldom write during the day ... except when I'm approaching a deadline and am, as usual, way behind!
What do you do to relax? Do you have a special comfort food or activity that you especially enjoy after a hard day?
My favorite way to relax is to read. I love to curl up with a good book.
I still love romance and read a lot of it, though not as much as I once did. Especially when I'm in the throes of writing. I don't want to inadvertently pick up another author's voice. I might read a romance quite outside the type I write, eg a romantic suspense novel like a J.D. Robb (I love Eve and Roarke!), but I will avoid Regency historicals while I write. After I turn a book in, I will devour them, however, all the ones I bought and held onto while I was writing. I also enjoy mysteries, especially historical mysteries. I love Anne Perry, for example, and Elizabeth Peters. And for contemporary mysteries I love P.D. James, Elizabeth George, and Jan Burke.
Has your writing career been insprired by any specific author or person in your life?
Not a specific writer, but a whole genre of writers -- all the wonderful writers who made the Regency historical so popular. I thank them for blazing the trail and keeping it fresh for newer writers like me.
Do you think you will ever write any other genre of books or are you satisfied with writing your wonderful historicals?
I cannot imagine I will ever write a contemporary romance. I don't think I could muster up a contemporary voice. So I suspect I will be writing historicals forever! I still love the Regency, but if I ever change settings it would probably be only to move slightly earlier, eg 1790s. I'm not much interested in the Victorian era, but earlier times intrigue me. The only other setting I have pondered is 1850s San Francisco. I love my City and its colorful history, and it might be fun to write about one day.
Candice, thanks so much for sharing your time and giving us an insight into your world of Regency romance. Please come back and see us again soon.
Thanks! It's been fun.
