Gina waves . . . at AT2 Sister Denise Eagan

I'm thrilled to interview my American Title sister, Denise Eagan, on the occasion of the release of her American Title book, Wicked Woman, which just came out last week. I got my copy, and I can't wait to read it!

Originally titled Wicked Widow in the American Title II, here's the blurb:

After the accidental death of her third husband, former English noblewoman Morgan Turner flees the Philadelphia police for the streets of Boston. There she ends up in the arms of Ward Montgomery, the captain of the ship that brought her to America. Desperate and penniless, she succumbs to the simmering attraction between them, and, concealing her deadly past, brazenly offers to become his mistress.

Unknown to Morgan, conservative, self-restrained Ward has pledged to restore honor to his proud Boston name, ruined by his lecherous father. Consumed by desire, Ward recklessly decides he can keep the affair a secret from his family and society. But as desire turns to love their secret is threatened, first by Morgan’s pregnancy—and then when the Philadelphia police discover the infamous Wicked Widow is living in Boston.


GB: The very first round of the American Title featured first lines. Did the first line we saw in the contest survive the revision process?

DE: It did, in fact the whole book is basically the same as for the AT contest. Of course I did a ton of revisions before it even went into the contest, including eliminating the first 1 ½ chapters, suggested to me by a “reader” friend. After it was chosen as a finalist, I cut another 5k words, because I told Dorchester (a little white lie!) that it was 100k words, and it was really 105k. Five thousand words in a week—if someone had asked my if I could do that, I would have said flat out “no” but it’s amazing what you can do under pressure.


GB: Are there any particular elements in this book that you feel made it especially salable?

DE: Honestly, I have no idea. It takes place in Boston 1855, which is an unusual place and time period for historicals, I think. From what I see, the Victorian era seems pretty under-represented in romance. But that doesn’t necessarily meant it’s more salable—different often means just the opposite!


GB: Are you a plotter or a pantser and do you have any particular writing rituals or routines?

DE: I am absolutely not a plotter; if I know it all before I write it, then it’s too boring for me to write. I’m not a pantser either—I have to have some idea of where I’m going or I just spin my wheels. I guess I’d call myself more of a discovery writer. What I mean by that is that I have a general idea of where I’m going with a book, and about 5 scenes, usually the plot-points, scoped out in my mind. I write those first, even though it’s writing out of order. And then I keep going, discovering as I go along who my characters are, what really motivates them (as opposed to my initial idea—it’s almost always different), and how they’re going to get out of the trouble they get into That’s my process—everyone’s is different, though. You do what works best for you.

Rituals. . . .routines. I keep trying to have them, but as soon as there’s a rule set, even by me, I want to break it. I do drink a lot of coffee and tea and cocoa. I write better if I’ve got something hot to sip on. And when the writing gets difficult, I go for chocolate or cookie dough. Don’t know why, but it helps with writer’s block.


GB: Are there authors or books that shaped your writing and how?

DE: Mary Stewart, Victoria Holt, Phyllis Whitney, Katherine Woodiwiss. All of them combine romance with danger. I tend to like a dead body in my story somewhere along the line, probably because I grew up on these writers. I like a strong external plot to fuel emotion and add spice.


GB: Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

DE: Oh man, I don’t know. I guess most important of all, get yourself a support group of other writers. This is a very, very tough profession. It’s tough when you’re unpublished, it’s tough when you’re newly published, it’s tough when you’re multi-published—every step brings new challenges. The best way to get through is to have someone to lean on, and someone to commiserate with along the way. That and never stop trying to be a better writer—don’t just read other people’s work; analyze it, learn from it. Incorporate what you’ve learned into your writing, but only as long as it works with your voice. That’s very important; don’t let anyone change your voice because your voice is the most important thing you bring to the table. That said, it doesn’t hurt to tweak it to make it stronger.

And send your stuff out. I’ve learned the hard way that while not submitting saves you from rejection, it also means it doesn’t get bought either!

GB: Great advice, Denise. Thanks for taking the time to be with us and share your wisdom. Your AT2 sisters applaud your success!

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For more information about Denise Eagan, you can visit her website www.deniseeagan.com.


Wicked Woman, a Zebra Historical Romance, was just released as part of their Debut Author series, so you can get it for the bargain price of $3.99.

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