I’m delighted to welcome Natalie Kleinman to the blog.
Natalie Kleinman - Author |
Hello Natalie – I’ve been looking forward to hosting you on Arabella’s Blog and Chit-Chat and I’m eager to learn about some of your writing secrets. But before we discover more about your Regency novel, The Reluctant Bride, here are a few questions that will hopefully give your readers and followers an insight into some of the things that matter to you.
Arabella: Authors can release
books, making them available to readers in various ways…via an agent, or
working directly with a traditional publisher, or they can even go the
self-publishing route. Which method of publishing do you prefer, and why?
Natalie: Hello, Arabella, and thank you for hosting me
today. What an important question and one to which I’m afraid I can’t give a
definitive answer. Ideally I would choose to work with an agent (I don’t have
one at the moment). I believe strongly that the right agent can negotiate the
best deal with far more success than the author herself/himself. And of course
there are avenues an agent can pursue which are closed to writers. That said, I
have the most wonderful relationship with my publishers, https://SapereBooks.com
and cannot praise them highly enough. While the industry is changing and
self-publishing is I believe on the increase, it isn’t a route I want to
follow. For a start I lack the skills but, as importantly, it is
time-consuming. Hours spent when I could be doing what I love most, writing.
Also, I have a not-so-secret desire to see my novels in bookshops and
supermarkets. So I guess the answer is definitive after all. It’s traditional
publishing for me.
Arabella: Who or what inspired you to write your latest Regency release, The Reluctant Bride
Natalie: Oh, that’s an easy one. I was introduced to
Georgette Heyer Regency world by my mother, a not-uncommon occurrence I
believe, at about the age of eleven. There are few authors whose work I re-read
but, along with many other of her devotees, her books have fallen to pieces in
my hands, only to be replaced, so often do I go back to them. They are to me
like a comfort blanket in times of stress and a joy in times of relaxation. Her
dialogue is exceptional and her humour unsurpassed. How many writers can make
their followers laugh out loud. If I can give my readers a tiny percentage of
that I will be a happy woman.
Arabella: A slice of Chocolate
Cake, a piece of Fruit, or Burger and Fries?
Natalie: Raspberry meringue roulade with lashings of
double cream poured over the top. No wonder I struggle to lose weight. I’d like
to be a piece of fruit person but I’m afraid it just isn’t the same – unless
it’s raspberries and cream!
Arabella: How do you research your Regency novels and characters?
Natalie: I have a shelf dedicated purely to reference
books. I’ve walked the capital courtesy of Louise Allen’s wonderful Walks Through Regency London. I’ve
visited Bath for its beautiful architecture (and to enjoy a jolly good
holiday). I have an annotated version of Persuasion,
my favourite Jane Austen novel. Various other tomes on house styles,
country houses and estates, furniture and furnishings and, of course, fashion. Jennifer
Kloester’s invaluable Georgette Heyer’s
Regency World and, without doubt my primary source, Heyer’s own catalogue.
Reading this back I’m amazed I actually ever get any writing done.
Persuasion |
Arabella: Which historical locations, cities or buildings have given inspiration when writing your Regency novel(s)?
Natalie: My goodness, where do I begin. Living in
London as I do I’ve been fortunate to grow up in a city where there are
countless examples of beautiful Regency (and other) architecture. But our
country is so riddled with beautiful cities, villages and buildings that a
lifetime would never be enough to see them all. If I have to pick one example I
would choose the Royal Crescent in Bath. Give me a moment here if you will as
this has conjured up a vision of Rupert
Penry-Jones and his outstanding portrayal of Captain Wentworth. Be still my beating heart.
Royal Crescent - Bath |
Arabella: When writing a book or chapter, which do you concentrate on first: plot, character, or setting?
Natalie: Character every time. My books are always
character led. I’m often surprised when a subplot presents itself to me as I am
by nature a pantser. Over time I’ve tried to discipline myself to plan, even if
somewhat loosely and I probably now fall between two stools. I always have the
main plotline when I begin but it’s a vague thing and while I know the beginning
and the end I rarely have a clear line of sight as to how I’m going to get from
one to the other. Settings seem just to fall into place, perhaps because I have
been so steeped in this genre for such a long time but it’s definitely the
characters who float my boat.
Arabella: What about your future
plans? Any books or series in the making?
Natalie: My current contract with Sapere is for four
books, none of which is connected other than by genre. Following release of The Reluctant Bride on 6th April,
I
believe at least two more will be published this year, though I don’t have
dates as yet. Waiting in the wings I have three more books already written, two
of which are in the same series (if two books can constitute a series). I must
confess I would like to write a series but, as I’ve indicated above, my books
tend to take me forward rather than the other way around. We shall see.
Thank you for your fabulous questions and for having me join you on the blog today
Natalie xx
It was lovely to have you as a guest on Arabella’s Blog and Chit-Chat, Natalie. And thank you for giving me the chance to research…Raspberry Meringue Roulade. Delicious! Wishing all the best for your latest release – The Reluctant Bride
Arabella
About Natalie Kleinman
Natalie Kleinman - Author |
A late
starter, Natalie has embraced her career with an enthusiasm which she suspects
emanates from a desire to make up for lost time. With four published novels and
over forty short stories appearing in magazines internationally, she has never
lost her ambition to succeed, always ready to attend workshops and conferences
as a way of improving her skills. Natalie has now signed a four book contract
for her Regency romance novels with Sapere Books, the first of which was
published on 6th April 2021.
She lives with her husband on the London/Kent border and considers herself
lucky to have the best of both worlds, with the delights of the capital close
at hand and the peace of the countryside a mere stone’s throw away.
Social Media Links:
Website: https://nataliekleinman.com/
Facebook
Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/NatalieKleinmanAuthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NatKleinman
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nataliekleinman6279
Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/3sx3D1W
Book
Blurb –
The Reluctant Bride
Forced by her impecunious father into matrimony
with Ernest, Earl of Cranleigh,
twenty-year-old Charlotte
Willoughby is widowed six weeks after the wedding.
As she comes to the end of her period of mourning, Charlotte is ready to go out into the world again.
With her fortune under the protection of Ernest’s cousin, Sebastian, Duke of Gresham, Charlotte begins to enjoy her independence.
She is joined by her aunt, Esther Meredith, who has stood as mother to her since childhood, and her sister, Harriet Willoughby, and both soon have suitors of their own.
Charlotte finds herself drawn to Gresham, but he seems cold and indifferent towards her.
And when the charismatic Viscount Roxburgh starts to pay her attention, she realises she may not be able to remain unattached for long…
Are Charlotte’s suitors only after her inheritance? Could Roxburgh – or Gresham – be a match for her?
BUY LINKS:
AMZ. UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08V1V4NNZ/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
AMZ. US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08V1V4NNZ/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
Thank you so much for hosting me on your blog, Arabella. What author doesn't like to chat about the things she likes most! My only problem is that the raspberry roulade is making my mouth water :-)
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