Welcome to the Author Interview. This time, it features the lovely Catherine Kullmann, author of A Suggestion of Scandal.
If you’re an author who’d like to take part in the series, email me: debbie@myrandommusings.co.uk
Now over to Catherine:
1 Firstly, tell us a little bit about yourself
I was born and educated in Dublin. Following a three-year courtship conducted mostly by letter, I moved to Germany where I lived for twenty-six years before returning to Ireland. I have worked in the Irish and New Zealand public services and in the private sector.
2 Tell us a little bit about your books
My novels are set in England in the extended Regency era against a backdrop of the off-stage Napoleonic wars in a patriarchal world where women had few or no rights or opportunities and were open to abuse and exploitation by those whom society expected to protect them. They all have a strong romantic arc.
In The Murmur of Masks, Olivia struggles to survive and find love in an era of violence and uncertainty that takes us from the ballrooms of the Regency to the battlefield of Waterloo.
In Perception & Illusion, a sparkling story of cross-purposes and misunderstandings, a former mistress, a rejected suitor, and the chattering peafowl of the ton conspire to threaten Lallie’s and Hugo’s new marriage.
In my new book, A Suggestion of Scandal, governess Rosa Fancourt discovers two lovers in flagrante delicto and her life and future are suddenly at risk. Even if she escapes captivity, the mere suggestion of scandal is enough to ruin a lady in her situation. In Sir Julian Loring she finds an unexpected champion but will he stand by her to the end?
3 Where do you find your inspiration for your books?
It is very much ‘what if?’ or ‘what then?’ I like to know what happens when life gets in the way of love. A throw-away line in Perception & Illusions led to The Murmur of Masks. I wanted to know what happened next. (Although there is an overlap between the books, there are no spoilers and they can be read in any order.) With A Suggestion of Scandal, the initial impulse came from a notorious Regency divorce case that was triggered when a governess surprised her employer with her lover, her hand inside his military pantaloons. These lovers made no attempt to hide their guilt but I began to wonder what if they had tried to do so. What would have happened to the inconvenient witness?
4 What, for you, is the best thing about being a writer?
The moment when a book takes flight, when your characters take over.
5 And the worst?
When your characters have deserted you.
6 If you could have any super power, what would it be and why?
Time-travel, I think. To be able to go back to my era as a fly on the wall, or a portrait, perhaps from which I could step down into that world as I liked. But I would still want to return to the present day.
7 Do you have any tips for anyone wanting to write their first book?
Stop putting it off. If you do not trust yourself to go it alone, see if you can find a creative writing course where you feel comfortable and supported and then sit down and begin.
8 Tell us one random fact about you
I love ballroom dancing. My husband and I have taken classes intermittently for over thirty years. Recently, we have taken some Regency dancing classes as well.
9 Who is your favourite author?
This is very difficult to answer. I have been reading for over sixty years and of course my tastes and favourites have changed. I go back regularly to Jane Austen, J R R Tolkien, Gillian Bradshaw, Susanna Kearsley, Naomi Novik—there are so many authors that I reread. I love J D Robb’s futuristic Eve Dallas series, and urban/paranormal fantasy/romance from Patricia Briggs and Nalini Singh.
10 And your favourite book(s)?
Persuasion by Jane Austen, The Beacon at Alexandria by Gillian Bradshaw, A Desperate Fortune by Susanna Kearsley, A Toast to Tomorrow by Manning Coles and The Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkien.
11 What book are you reading right now?
Ocean Light by Nalini Singh
12 Where is your favourite place to write?
My study, where I am surrounded by my research library and prints and engravings from the Regency era
13 Do you prefer to write in silence or do you have a writing soundtrack?
In silence. I love music but it interferes with the voices in my head when I write.
14 What can we expect from you next?
In spring 2019, I plan to publish a novella The Duke’s Regrets about the Duke and Duchess of Gracechurch whom readers will know from The Murmur of Masks and Perception & Illusion, and later that year a new novel, The Potential for Love, will be released. It is a sequel to Perception & Illusion and tells of Arabella Malvin’s search for the right husband. I am just beginning the research for my next project but it is very early stages.
15 Anything else you’d like to share with us?
Readers who love the Regency era might like to check out my blog at My Scrap Album where they will find a wealth of interesting facts and trivia about the period.
16 Where can we find you? (Links to your Amazon page and social media)
My Amazon page, my website and my Facebook page.
Fun interview!