My 2nd post this week for the Den Of Iniquity blog book tour comes in the form of a Q&A session with the author herself, Anabelle Bryant.
1) Where do you draw your inspiration for the characters of Vivienne and Max?
I love writing Regency and the strict rules of the time period have always appealed to me, but at the same time the restrictions are very confining. With my Bastards of London series, I wanted to create characters who had more freedom and regularly broke society’s rules without consequence. Max and Vivienne live on the fringe of better society and the novels blur the lines of traditional Regency romance. I drew inspiration from the better qualities of the time period, but also included characters who could go out unescorted, engage their sensuality and speak their mind without becoming outcasts…because they already are.
2) What inspired you to write a novel of this era?
I’ve always been enchanted with aristocracy. Dancing at a ball or flirting with a wicked earl lives in my imagination as if I could really experience it some day. Since no one has invented a time machine yet, I satisfy my longing for the time period by writing stories and inventing characters I wish I met in real life.
3) Do you forsee a future for Vivi and Max?
The Den of Iniquity is the first book of the new series, so Vivi and Max will be interwoven slightly as the novels move forward. Of course, they have their happily-ever-after at the end of book one, but life doesn’t always proceed seamlessly and readers should know I definitely see an interesting future for them both.
4) Do you have an aim for the amount of books there will be in this series?
Bastards of London is planned as a quartet, but I’ve already had the suggestion to write a novel for Sophie (Vivi’s best friend) so there very well may be a fifth book in the series.
5) What was your favourite novel as a child?
Ann of Green Gables is the first one to come to mind. I was always reading so given a few minutes, I could produce a long list of favorites.
6) What is your favourite novel as an adult?
I tend to have different favorites through different portions of my adult life. While in high school, I loved The Catcher in the Rye. Through college, I was all about Shakespeare. Once I started reading historical romance, I was done for and nothing has substituted since. Some of my favorites are novels by Sherry Thomas, Lisa Kleypas and Loretta Chase.
7) Do you have a place you specifically like to read?
I’ll read anywhere. Reading is my go-to activity even while I’m eating, but my favorite place would be my livingroom couch where there’s plenty of natural light.
8) Did you always want to become a writer?
I’m not sure becoming an author was always my goal. I studied education and love being a teacher, but what I do know is that I have always written, whether it is poetry, fiction or in a journal. At some point, my creativity and hobby of writing down my thoughts became so important that I realized I wanted to share my ideas with others.
9) Which authors do you admire the most?
There are so many! Sherry Thomas writes with such emotion I’m often crying through half the novel. Loretta Chase creates pageturners that keep me addicted to the story until its finished. Lisa Kleypas has created the most memorable Regency characters ever. I could keep going. There are many talented authors I admire.
10) If you could have dinner with any fictional literary character who would it be?
That’s not an easy question and the answer surprises me as well. When I consider all the sexy earls, dashing dukes and sensual rogues I’ve enjoyed through the years, I have to choose Cam from Lisa Kleypas’s Mine ’till Midnight. Ironically, he’s a Romanian gypsy and not part of the aristocracy at all! But he’s my favorite book boyfriend even hundreds of stories later.
A massive thank you to Anabelle for taking the time out to answer these questions. For more about the Den Of Iniquity you can see my previous post here where you will also find the links to purchase the book.
Thanks for reading.
The Stationery Geekette x
Read, Write, Inspire 