Interview: Christy English, author of LOVE ON A MIDSUMMER NIGHT

After writing two well-received historical novels about Eleanor of Aquitaine (THE QUEEN'S PAWN [NAL, 2010] and TO BE QUEEN [NAL, 2011]), author Christy English returns to an early love--Shakespeare's plays. An actress who has performed Shakespeare's works countless times, English is penning a series of romantic retellings of the Bard's plays set in Regency England. LOVE ON A MIDSUMMER NIGHT (Sourcebooks Casablanca), the second novel of the series, published this week and re-envisions A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. At times sweet, at others saucy, but always equally endearing and entertaining, LOVE ON A MIDSUMMER NIGHT is sure to please readers hungry for a romantic tale. Christy visits today to explain her move from historical fiction to straight romance and to share her fascination with the Regency period.

Looking at your first novel THE QUEEN'S PAWN and your latest work, LOVE ON A MIDSUMMER NIGHT, the two are as different as night and day. What made you move from writing Historical Fiction to straight romance?

Even in my historical fiction, romance has always been a river running through all of my books. True love is a compelling theme for me, one that deserves its own story. That's why I got started writing Regency romances: I'm in love with love. And being able to write happy endings doesn't hurt either. Historical fiction rarely ends well.

Your last novel, HOW TO TAME A WILLFUL WIFE, re-told Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, and LOVE ON A MIDSUMMER NIGHT seems to reflect on A Midsummer Night's Dream. What is it about Shakespeare that keeps drawing you back in?

I have loved Shakespeare since I studied Othello in the 7th grade. When I first started, his language was a locked door, and it took me years to really begin to unpack it and find the story hidden within. Once I did, it was worth it. There are so many layers to Shakespeare's storytelling. The beautiful language is only the first.

What about the Regency period in British history fascinates you the most?

The clothes. The manners. Wait...that's two things. But they reflect each other. The beautiful, buttoned-up clothes that both men and women wear in my books hide a vein of passion, one that romances novels allow me to mine. Love and passion are two of the things that make story-telling exciting. The Regency period lends itself very easily to that. Jane Austen started it all, and now we writers follow in her footsteps. 

What's next for you?

I'm continuing the Shakespeare in Love series with MUCH ADO ABOUT JACK coming out around Valentine's Day. A re-telling Much Ado About Nothing, this third romance was a lot of fun to write. The banter between Beatrice and Benedict in the play really opens the door for a lot of verbal sparring in my book. My characters fall in love in spite of themselves.

**********
You can learn more about Christy English and her books at her website.

Cover Reveal: BECOMING JOSEPHINE by Heather Webb

Friend and author Heather Webb's debut novel, BECOMING JOSEPHINE, will be published by Penguin/Plume on December 31, 2013. I was honored to be one of the beta readers for Heather's novel, an exciting read which traces the rise of Creole beauty Rose Tascher from impoverished plantation daughter to Empress of France. Today Heather reveals the novel's cover and invites readers to stop by her blog to enter a gift card giveaway.

Heather writes: BECOMING JOSEPHINE is my debut historical about Napoleon’s empress, a woman in search of eternal love and stability, and ultimately her search for self. It releases December 31, 2013 from Plume/Penguin. Stop by my blog Between the Sheets and leave a comment for a chance to win a $20 gift card to Barnes & Noble or a $20 gift card to Amazon. Pre-order my novel (present a receipt) and win a Josephine hand mirror with a velvet bag.

PRE-ORDER
Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, or Amazon

ABOUT THE BOOK
Rose Tascher sails from her Martinique plantation to Paris to trade her Creole black magic culture for love and adventure. She arrives exultant to follow her dreams of attending Court with Alexandre, her elegant aristocrat and soldier husband. But Alexandre dashes her hopes and abandons her amid the tumult of the French Revolution.

Through her savoir faire, Rose secures her footing in high society, reveling in handsome men and glitzy balls—until the heads of her friends begin to roll.

After narrowly escaping death in the blood-drenched cells of Les Carmes prison, she reinvents herself as Josephine, a socialite of status and power. Yet her youth is fading, and Josephine must choose between a precarious independence and the love of an awkward suitor. Little does she know, he would become the most powerful man of his century--Napoleon Bonaparte.
 
BECOMING JOSEPHINE is a novel of one woman’s journey to find eternal love and stability, and ultimately to find herself.

ADVANCE PRAISE
BECOMING JOSEPHINE has been featured in a Wall Street Journal piece on the popularity of historical fiction featuring the wives of famous men.

“Heather Webb’s epic novel captivates from its opening in a turbulent plantation society in the Caribbean, to the dramatic rise of one of France’s most fascinating women: Josephine Bonaparte. Perfectly balancing history and story, character and setting, detail and pathos, Becoming Josephine marks a debut as bewitching as its protagonist." –Erika Robuck, author of HEMINGWAY'S GIRL

“With vivid characters and rich historical detail, Heather Webb has portrayed in Josephine a true heroine of great heart, admirable strength, and inspiring courage whose quest is that of women everywhere: to find, and claim, oneself.”--Sherry Jones, bestselling author of THE JEWEL OF MEDINA

“Josephine's warmth and complexity comes to vibrant life in this fascinating novel rich with vivid historical detail."—Teresa Grant, author of THE PARIS AFFAIR

"Vivid and passionate, BECOMING JOSEPHINE captures the fiery spirit of the woman who stole Napoleon’s heart and enchanted an empire. –Susan Spann, author of CLAWS OF THE CAT

“Spellbinding . . . Heather Webb’s novel takes us behind the mask of the Josephine we thought we knew.” –Christy English, author of HOW TO TAME A WILLFUL WIFE and TO BE QUEEN

“Enchanting prose takes the reader on an unforgettable journey . . . Captivating young Rose springs from the lush beauty of her family's sugar plantation in Martinique to shine in the eighteenth century elegance of Parisian salon society. When France is torn by revolution, not even the blood-bathed terror of imprisonment can break her spirit.” –Marci Jefferson, author of GIRL ON THE GOLD COIN