Friday 9 April 2021

Welcome to Regency Author - Natalie Kleinman

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!


Raspberry Meringue Roulade

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

www.arabellasheen.co.uk


 


 

 


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


1 comment:

  1. 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 :-)

    ReplyDelete

Forbidden Stowaway - Arabella Sheen - EXCERPT 2

   Chapter One - Excerpt 2 Olivia was taken to the back of the tavern, where the landlady pulled aside a dark velvet curtain to reveal a ro...