Liz Jasper interviews Regency Romance author Dorothy McFalls

Hi Fuzzy readers,

(Yes, I’ll come up with a better salutation ASAP), happy Friday! If your weather’s anywhere near as rotten as it is in California right now (and by rotten I mean it is raining here, so the rest of you should have your ears perking right about now) you’ll want to spend a good chunk of the weekend curled up with a good book. Like Lady Iona’s Rebellion by Dorothy McFalls, who I'm delighted to have with us today. Dorothy is giving away a magnet to one of the people who leave a comment, so leave one and check back tomorrow to see if you've won!

1) Dorothy, Can you tell us a bit about your latest book, Lady Iona's
Rebellion?

Lady Iona's Rebellion is a Regency-set romance set in Bath, England. It was published by Cerridwen Press in June 2007 and is currently available in ebook format. Hopefully, a print version will be released near the end of this year.

Lady Iona was a secondary characters from a previous book that simply wouldn't leave me alone until her story was told. At first, I thought she was a quiet, innocent heroines, the kind that often graces the pages of Regency romances. However, once I got into the meat of the manuscript, Iona kidnapped my plot and proved she wasn't content to sit on the sidelines and let the men in her life make the decisions for her. Indeed, she turned Out to be a sensual young lady with a sharp mind and she wasn't afraid to Use it! My poor hero, Lord Nathan Wynter, didn't know what kind of trouble He was getting himself into when he decided to set his cap for Lady Iona with the hopes of making her his wife.

The story begins when Lady Iona's father pressures her into accepting a husband of his choosing. Desperate to avoid a marriage she doesn't want, Lady Iona seeks out the notorious rake, Lord Nathan Wynter, for his help in learning how to standup for herself.

However, while Iona is seeking adventure, Lord Nathan is doing his honest best to reform his ways in order to repair his reputation and his disastrous relationship with his family. Winning the very proper Lady Iona for a wife would go a long way to achieving that end. Yet, the more he tries to protect Lady Iona from running head-long into disgrace, the more he grows to admire her daring spirit and unpredictable antics. Instead of returning her to the obedient world to which she was raised, he encourages her blossoming passions. Such a move is surely going to lead them both to ruin. But for love he is willing to risk everything.

Lady Iona's Rebellion was a fantastic book to write. It's one of those books, with a wonderfully twisty plot, that kept this writer on her toes. I kept writing myself into corners and had the darndest time writing myself out of them! And I've been tickled with the glowing reviews it's received so far, including a rating of a Perfect 10! from Romance Reviews Today. Not only that, Coffee Time Romance declared that the book "sizzles."

2) What’s the best writing advice you ever received?

Multipublished author, Carolyn Davidson, who writes Western romances For Harlequin shared with me a piece of advice a novelist had given her when she was just starting out. She told me, "Only one short sentence. It was offered to me as a guarantee, and I believed it because it made sense to me. It still does. 'If you want to be a writer, you have to write. Not just when the mood hits you, but on a regular basis.'"

I have learned over the years how true that is! Write and the rest will come. You didn't sell that last manuscript? Keep writing. It will come.

3) How did you get started as a writer?

From my earliest memories, I have wanted to be a fiction writer. But because of unsupportive English teachers in secondary school, I didn't have much confidence in my writing ability by the time I entered college. And I had other passions, too. As a result, my background is wildlife biology and environmental urban planning. Still, I wrote for my own enjoyment. Simply enjoying the stories forming in my head, never sharing them with anyone else. It wasn't until I was facing my 31th birthday that I decided it was time I followed my dream. I immediately set to work on a manuscript with my sights set on publication. Five finished manuscripts later, my dream was finally realized when I sold my debut Regency romance to Signet. And the rest, as they say, is history.

4) What’s the view from your desk as you write?

Words. Words. And more words.

Oh, that's not the answer you were expecting? You should have. I'm a writer. I stare at words most of the day. And, more often than not, I delete them.

Gracious, you mean when I look up from my work-in-progress? I see. Hmm...let me take a second to look around me. Well, to the left of my desk is the Atlantic Ocean and to the right is the salt marsh. I'm extremely lucky to live on a barrier island in South Carolina. It's not much more than a narrow spit of sand, but I love it here.

And yet, I take the natural scenery around me for granted. What I usually ever see for hours on end (that is, when I'm not staring at the words on my page) is the white wall behind the computer screen. Or sometimes, on those exceptional days, the top of my desk as I beat my head against it. Writing doesn't always come easy for me. I often feel as if I'm fighting to pull out each and every word from my wandering brain. I've taken to setting a timer and writing as fast as I can without thought to story or words lately,just to get something down on the page for me to revise. I usually set the timer for 15 minutes and try to write without stop until the buzzer bizzes.Then, slightly nervous about what I've done yet excited since I've actually accomplished something, I take a break and take my puppy out with me into the garden.

5) It’s Friday, thank goodness. What’s your perfect weekend?

I'm afraid I'm perfectly boring most of the time, especially on the
weekend.My perfect weekend is spent lounging in bed with my husband while reading or watching old movies on TV. And because we don't want to move from the warm nest of our bed's covers, we call out for delivery. Our favorite is to order from the local deli, The Dolphin Deli, for mouth-watering Panini sandwiches. Now that's the life!

Thank you, Liz for this interview. It was fun to do!

Thanks for being here at the Pink Fuzzy Slipper Writers, Dorothy! : ) For those of you who want to read this wonderful book, here are some links:

Dorothy's Website: http://www.dorothymcfalls.com/
Dorothy's Myspace Page: www.myspace.com/dorothymcfalls.
Lady Iona's Rebellion Cerridwen Press Page:
http://www.cerridwenpress.com/productpage.asp?ISBN=9781419909368