I am delighted to have bestselling Author H.C.Brown on my blog today and she has kindly agreed to be grilled by yours truly about all things writing. So please join me in a very warm welcome.
Wonderful to have you here J
Q. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
H.C.
Well, instead of the usual bio, I'll
tell you a little about myself. I live close to the beach in Queensland
Australia. I'm married to a very wonderful man. I've had 23 books published and
have had many best sellers. This year I was delighted to receive a nomination
for Favorite Author in the TRS CAPA Awards for excellence in romance writing.
Two of my novels, Cyborg Doms:Fane and Love Revisited Nash & Paul also
received nominations. I write in a variety of genres but always romance with
big alpha males and happy endings.
23 books! I feel as though I ought to curtsy ;-) Great Stuff H.C.
Q. What made you write A Tryst
of Fate?
H.C. Well I'm a pantser and offered to
contribute a novella to Noble Romance Publishing's Timeless Desire collection.
I started writing A Tryst of Fate and the story grew into a full length novel. I had just finished writing Lord & Master a historical BDSM
novel set in 1775 and had the idea to have a man sent back in time, who would
be the complete opposite of what was considered 'normal'. Colt Daniels is
six-five and built like a linebacker and I had so much fun writing about his
exploits in 1775. Of course, as usual my plots end up as tender love stories.
The novella I finally wrote for the Timeless Desire Collection ended up being Time to Live.
Ah the joys of being a panster...
Q. Describe a typical day’s writing for us
H.C. I never edit and write on the same
day. Edits always take preference and once finished I usually work on blog
posts emails etc. On writing days, I write from noon until six. I try to write
2000 words a day but 10,000 a week is about usual.
Q. What inspires you?
H.C. Music, scenery, people—in that order.
Q. If you weren’t a writer what would you be?
H.C. Well, I'm an international all breeds
cat judge. I used to teach physics and chemistry but I love history. Right now writing
is my world.
Q. Do your characters ever surprise you?
H.C. Always I never know what they are
going to do next. LOL
That sounds so familiar.
Q. What could not do without when you’re
writing?
H.C. Coffee.
LOL I hear you, though I would have to add chocolate to that list.
Q. What words of wisdom do you have for the
aspiring authors out there?
H.C. Learn your craft, listen the advice of
published authors and don't listen to
people who try to put you down. Trust me, someone will always try to
rain on your parade. So trust in yourself and never give up.
Wise words indeed.
Q. Where do you see yourself in ten year’s
time?
H.C. I'd be happy to be alive. On the NY
Times Best Sellers list would be a bonus.
Q. Do you have a favorite quote?
H.C.
"If I die before I say 'I love you' it's because I didn't have the
time."
Q. Do you ever suffer from writer’s block?
H.C.
Not writer's block, my characters demand to have their story told. The stresses and commitments of life are the
only thing that prevents me from writing. I think if I ever had writer's block
it would mean my story is so boring my Muse has fallen asleep and I would
delete and start again.
Q. What other books can your readers look
forward to?
H.C. I have a fantasy romance Dragonfae in the submission
process as we speak and currently I'm polishing a contemporary M/M BDSM Hurt Me Good.
Hmm, like the sound of those.
Q. And finally can you share an excerpt with
us?
A
Tryst of Fate
Chapter One
Colt Daniels lifted his bidder's card. "Thirty
thousand."
"The bid is thirty thousand pounds. Come now,
ladies and gentlemen, this portrait of Lord Alexander Swift by Benjamin West is
dated 1775 and is in extraordinarily fine condition." The auctioneer at
Sotheby's surveyed the silent crowd with a critical gaze.
Taking a casual pose, Colt flicked his gaze to the
opposing bidder. The man in the slick Italian business suit met his gaze with a
slow smile. Colt lifted his chin and stared at the painting. From the moment he
had laid eyes on the portrait of the handsome young man in the Sotheby's
catalogue, he had wanted to buy the painting. Lord Alexander Swift's troubled
gaze held a distant loneliness, as if reaching out to Colt across the
centuries.
A strange twist of fate had brought him to London
in the form of an inheritance on his thirtieth birthday… A distant relative had
bequeathed him the townhouse once owned by Lord Swift in Berkeley Square. Over
the past year, he had restored the house to its former glory and now he
required this painting to complete the task. During the years Lord Swift had
owned the property, the painting had hung at the top of the stairs, facing the
front door. For some unexplained reason, Colt had a compelling desire to finish
the house by restoring the painting to its original position, in time for the
anniversary of Alexander's death on June fourth.
"Forty thousand." The man in the suit
lifted his bidder's card.
Colt sighed. With his fortune to back him and the
prestige of being the owner of some of the most famous galleries around the
world, he rarely had people bid against him for very long. They should know
better. If Colt Daniels wanted a painting, Colt Daniels would go to any price
to secure a purchase. He cleared his throat. "Seventy thousand
pounds." He shot the opposing bidder a cold stare.
After the usual pause, the hammer came down and
Colt moved to the clerk to settle the account. "Have it shipped to 42 Berkeley
Square, Mayfair." He turned and strolled back to the painting to gaze at
Alexander.
Warmth pooled around Colt's heart. He reached out
to touch the man's pale cheeks, tracing a finger over the long blond curls,
tied back in a queue. The young man appeared to be about eighteen in the
portrait, slight of build with delicate features, yet Colt's research revealed
West had completed the portrait on Swift's twenty-fifth birthday, the day he
had inherited great wealth and lands from his father. Colt rubbed his chin. One
would think His Lordship should be overjoyed on such an occasion, and yet
Alexander's blue gaze followed him with heart-wrenching sadness.
"West has captured the essence of his subject,
don't you think?"
Colt turned to see Business Suit gazing at
him with a friendly smile. "Essence?"
"My name is Jake Williams. You may have heard
of me?" replied Business Suit in a cultured Boston accent.
"Can't say that I have, sorry."
"Ah—so you don't know about the letters."
Jake Williams inclined his head toward the portrait. "The love letters
between Alexander and the Honorable David Fitzhugh. In a time when the crime of
sodomy held the death penalty, to write love letters to a man… my God, can you
imagine the implications?"
Colt straightened his shoulders. "You have
these letters?"
"I most certainly do! Copies of the original
documents are in my book, The Gay Lords." Jake took a card from his
jacket and gave it to Colt. "I know you're restoring Alexander's house;
perhaps we could meet over lunch and I'll give you the details I didn't
put into print."
In truth, Colt craved information about Alexander.
Living in the young lord's house and seeing each room as if through Alexander's
eyes, Swift had become his obsession. With a laugh, he met Jake's hazel eyes.
"I'm free now."
"Great, how about having lunch at The
Square? It's a great restaurant." Jake smiled. "We can walk from
here."
"Sure." Colt followed him out of the
foyer into the busy street and they turned in the direction of Bruton Street.
"So how did you come by the letters?"
"I bought them, along with a few other sundry
items, at an auction—in Boston, of all places!" Jake fell into step beside
Colt. "At first I thought they were written by a woman until I researched
the names. Most of them begin with 'my love' or 'my dearest', so until I took
note of the addressee… well, what a bombshell."
"How did the letters end up in the
States?"
"I believe, due to the anti-sodomite movement
at the time, Fitzhugh took flight to America." Jake sighed. "Of
course, there is no proof he fled England under suspicion of sodomy. Nothing I
researched points to him having a gay lover during his life. I do know
he joined the colonists in the War of Independence and died in Boston in
1790." He stopped outside a bookstore. "Look, I'll grab a copy of my
book. You must see the portrait of David Fitzhugh."
Colt stared into the shop window, his gaze not
focusing on any item. His mind reeled. Even in this enlightened world,
homophobia caused misery and distrust. He reflected on his own youth. Sure, he
had taken his share of beatings from the local thugs, but now at six-five and
built like a linebacker, no one crossed him. On the contrary, the beatings and
the snide remarks, had made him more resolute to succeed in everything he did.
He respected love in all forms. Gay, straight—who the fuck cared as long as
that wonderful connection happened between two consenting adults? He almost
felt sorry for people who could not see love if it hit them smack in the face.
So many refused to recognize or understand that the sweet love between two men,
or women for that matter, held the same deep emotion as straight love. Anger
welled from deep inside fueled by the oppression he knew Alexander would have
endured during his life. Those twisted sons-of-bitches would not have
understood how cruel they were to deny the freedom to express love without
prejudice.
In
Alexander's time, for a gentleman to touch a man's arm or cast a suggestive
look could lead to prosecution for sodomy, a hanging offense. God knows, in
those days they used the sodomy accusation to destroy many people's lives.
"You gotta see this." Jake thrust a book
into Colt's hand. "Kinda spooky, don't you think?"
Colt gazed down at the glossy illustration. A
trickle of ice slid down his spine. The portrait of the Honorable David
Fitzhugh depicted a tall, muscular man with dark flowing hair—and the royal
blue eyes that stared back at him were his own.
Buy
Link : https://spsilverpublishing.com/product_book_info/coming-soon-c-2/a-tryst-of-fate-ebook-p-744
Watch the
book trailer for a Tryst of Fate
here:
You can find H.C. on the web here, so do stop by and check her out.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/hcbrownauthor
Thank you for having me today, Doris J
It was my pleasure H.C. Come back soon.
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