Interview: Rachael Miles Author of Brazen in Blue @rachael_miles1 #Interview
Rachael Miles writes ‘cozily scrumptious’ historical romances set in the British Regency. Her books have been positively reviewed by Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and Booklist, which praised her ‘impeccably researched and beautifully crafted’ novels, comparing her works to those of Jo Beverly and Mary Jo Putney. Her novel, Reckless in Red, won first place in adult fiction: novels in the National Federation of Press Women’s writing contest. A native Texan, Miles is a former professor of book history and nineteenth-century literature. She lives in upstate New York with her indulgent husband, three rescued dogs, and all the squirrels, chipmunks, and deer who eat at her bird feeders.
WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:
Website: rachaelmiles.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/rachael_miles1
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rachaelmilesauthor
Welcome to The Writer's Life! Now that your book has been published, we’d love to find out
more about the process. Can we begin by having you take us at the beginning? When did you
come up with the idea to write your book?
In Chasing the Heiress, my second novel, the hero (Colin) and his lover (Lucy) need a place to hide. They take refuge on the estate of Lady Emmeline Hartley, Colin’s childhood friend. At that time, Em was merely a plot device: she provides Lucy with information she couldn’t otherwise know about Colin; she helps Lucy realize she’s in love; and she gives Lucy an opportunity to reveal an important skill. But Lady Emmeline wasn’t happy to be just a plot device, and she insisted on her own book. All I had to do was find a plot worthy of her good humor, resourcefulness, and kindness—and a hero who would tax all three. In Brazen in Blue, then, Lady Emmeline (finally) gets to take center stage, along with her great big amazing dog Queen Bess.
Who is your publisher and how did you find them or did you self-publish?
My agent, Courtney Miller-Callihan of Handspun Literary sold my Muses’ Salon series to Esi Sogah at Kensington for their Zebra imprint.
Is there anything that surprised you about getting your first book published?
Before selling my first popular book, I had a bit of experience with publishers. One of my very first professional jobs, in fact, was as a copyeditor, proofreader, and indexer for a small specialty publishing house, and, before returning to graduate school, I was a managing editor for a technical trade journal. So, I knew lots of the terminology, and I understood the basic process that a manuscript follows on its way to print (copyediting, typesetting, proofreading, etc). I’d even published a number of scholarly books before I embarked on novels. I was lucky enough that my first historical was part of a three-book deal, but I was surprised by how each book’s publication process layered on that of the others. You are drafting one book, while copyediting and proofreading another, and marketing a third. It can be disorienting…though nothing compares to the thrill of seeing your book on a shelf at a bookstore.
Do you believe a book cover plays an important role in the selling process?
Absolutely. Readers really do judge a book by its cover, and by judge I mean they make quick decisions about what sort of book it is and whether that sort of book interests them or not. Book covers create a single impression—they hit one note, if you will. My book covers—pretty girls in beautiful long dresses—sing ‘historical romance’ to readers. And that’s great! And writers (if they self-publish) and traditional publishers choose that one note very carefully. But a book cover is a first impression—the cover is too small (even for big books) to sing more than a single note. My book covers can’t for example tell you that my books are also historical mysteries, or that they are carefully researched or deeply grounded in the culture of the period (Regency England). Booklist called them “beautifully crafted” and Publishers Weekly described them as “cozily scrumptious.” Those are textures—melodies, to continue my metaphor—that a book cover can’t convey. But that’s not the cover’s purpose. And I’m very grateful to the art department at Kensington for creating such lovely images to introduce my books to readers. It’s also fascinating to me to see how covers change to respond to different cultures. When my books were translated into Italian, the covers were far more sensuous with much darker tones. And I loved them just as much as my American covers.
How hard was it to write a book like this and do you have any tips that you could pass on which
would make the journey easier for other writers?
My agent tells me (when I’m frustrated that it never gets easier) that every book is hard in its own way. And that’s so true. There’s no magic formula that will work for every book—sure, there are techniques you can use to help you frame the book or diagnose problems. But in the end each book’s plot and characters ask different questions and require different solutions. The one tip I can offer is this (stolen from procrastination researcher Robert Boice): work on your book every day in brief sessions. That daily work can take many forms—planning, invention, drafting, revision, collaboration. But a daily brief session keeps the book at the front of your mind and allows space for creativity.
What other books are you working on and when will they be published?
My next book—Wicked in White—is also part of the Muses’ Salon series, and it will be
published by Kensington next fall. Imogen, the heroine, is a wealthy widow who has reluctantly returned to London to settle her brother’s estate, but in his effects she discovers he’d been collecting evidence of treason. And when the Muses’ Salon—a group of women who use their talents to help others—ask her to help prove that the wrong man’s been arrested, she has to call on the one man who rejected her years before to make the case. After that, I’m working on a mystery set on an old New England estate that houses a research library—think Winterthur or (on the east coast) the Huntington. I love academic novels when the researchers turn murderous, and the sleuth is a newly tenured faculty member who discovers evidence of a murder in the margins of an old book.
What’s one fact about your book that would surprise people?
I don’t think that any of my readers would be surprised to hear that I’m a nerd. And I take great pleasure in making the books have moments that connect to the real life of the nineteenth century. I fill the background with actual details: the dresses are those described in the fashion magazines of the times, the medical procedures are taken from contemporary practices. But what might surprise people is how far that context goes, so here’s a specific example. In Brazen in Blue, when Lady Emmeline, an estate owner, reads the Farmer’s Magazine, the articles are those that actually appeared in 1819. So, yes, I read the 1819 Farmer’s Magazine. You can too: it’s available at HathiTrust.org.
Finally, what message are you trying to get across with your book?
First, I want readers to enjoy my books. In Brazen in Blue, I want them to fall in love with Lady Emmeline, traveling with her as she journeys from runaway bride to (as Publishers Weekly so aptly put it) “fully self-actualized, independent woman working hand in hand with a partner.” And I want to have drawn that world—with all my nerdy details—so fully that the reader is a bit disappointed when they have to leave that world and the characters at the end of the book.
Thank you again for this interview! Do you have any final words?
Brazen in Blue is available for pre-order now, and it will be released August 25th. You can read any of my books or novellas as stand-alone works. And I hope you give the world of the Muses’ Salon a try.
Lady Emmeline Hartley has overcome every obstacle life has thrown her way. A spinster, disappointed in love, Em is on the brink of a marriage of convenience, when the man who rejected her heart reappears in need of her help. It gives Em a chance to escape, put to use one of her most unusual talents–and perhaps convince him once and for all to risk his heart…
Adam Montclair–one of the most successful agents at the Home Office–rubs elbows with the highest levels of society. Even so, he wasn’t to the manor born. No matter how much he desires Em, as a match he is completely unsuitable. While it pains him to be near her, it’s a punishment he richly deserves. Now on a mission to uncover a plot against the government, Adam knows Em’s uncanny ability to recall voices will be essential. Yet as the two thwart the dangers in their path, it may become impossible to deny that Em is essential to happiness itself…
Book five in Miles’s The Muses’ Salon series (after Reckless in Red) delivers heady Regency romance featuring a refreshing heroine and a tantalizing mystery. Lady Emmeline Hartley permanently injured her legs at age six in the same accident that killed her mother and sisters. Her father abandoned her to be raised by servants, and Em has spent the intervening years caring for his estate with her faithful dog, Queen Bess, at her side. Now Em is on the brink of a marriage of convenience to longtime family friend Lord Colin Somerville—but she gets cold feet and flees on her wedding day, reluctantly accepting the aid of Adam Locksley, an agent of the Home Office and Em’s former lover, to get away. Though Em is angry at Adam over a perceived betrayal, Adam is determined to keep her safe. But in a delightful twist, the Home Office requests Em’s help to catch a burgeoning threat to England, and Adam and Em are quickly embroiled in a multitude of schemes. Em’s self-discovery is a delight to behold as she matures from impish child, to solemn bride-to-be, to fully self-actualized, independent woman working hand in hand with a partner. Series fans and new readers alike will be charmed.
— Publishers Weekly
ORDER YOUR COPY
Amazon → https://amzn.to/2XewVpd
Barnes & Noble → https://bit.ly/3jHOiIs
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