GETTING TO KNOW YOU: REGAN WALKER

I know I haven’t done any interviews in a good long while, so I felt the time has come for me to start doing them with my fellow romance authors. I therefore want to thank Regan Walker for responding to my recent offer to interview authors on FaceBook. While we might love to read their books, we don’t really know anything about them. So with the song “Getting to Know You” from “The King and I” playing softly in the background I’m going to interview my first guest, Regan Walker.

Please introduce yourself.

Hi, all! Regan Walker here. I am an author of historical romance. My favorite periods in which to set my stories are the Regency, Georgian and Medieval eras. I also love seafaring romances and have several set on the high seas. I live in San Diego where the air is perfumed with blossoms and an ocean breeze invariably blows, at least if you live near the coast as I do.

Can you tell us about your latest published novel?

My latest is Echo in the Wind. It’s book two in the Donet Trilogy and a second chance at love for the dashing former pirate, Jean Donet. It begins on the coast of West Sussex where he is engaged in a bit of smuggling. You know, French brandy, tea and assorted other highly valued cargo.

What was the inspiration/description for your latest novel?

When Jean Donet first appeared on the deck of his ship in To Tame the Wind, shouting orders to his men as guns blazed all around him, he quite stole my heart. I knew then he had to have his own story. And I knew it would take an unusual woman for Jean Donet to consider loving again. I believe I found her in Lady Joanna West.

Here’s the short description:

England and France 1784

Cast out by his noble father for marrying the woman he loved, Jean Donet took to the sea, becoming a smuggler, delivering French brandy and tea to the south coast of England. When his young wife died, he nearly lost his sanity. In time, he became a pirate and then a privateer, vowing to never again risk his heart.

As Donet’s wealth grew, so grew his fame as a daring ship’s captain, the terror of the English Channel in the American War. When his father and older brother die in a carriage accident in France, Jean becomes the comte de Saintonge, a title he never wanted.

Lady Joanna West cares little for London Society, which considers her its darling. Marriage in the ton is either dull or disastrous. She wants no part of it. To help the poor in Sussex, she joins in their smuggling. Now she is the master of the beach, risking her reputation and her life. One night off the coast of Bognor, Joanna encounters the menacing captain of a smuggling ship, never realizing he is the mysterious comte de Saintonge.

Can Donet resist the English vixen who entices him as no other woman? Will Lady Joanna risk all for an uncertain chance at love in the arms of the dashing Jean Donet?

How did you decide on the title for the book?

It began with this quote: How far away the stars seem, and how far is our first kiss, and ah, how old my heart! (from the poem “Ephemera” by William Butler Yeats). Donet is 40 and thinks never to love again after losing his first wife whom he loved with a passion.

Do you have any current writing endeavors? What are they?

Ah yes. I am writing A Secret Scottish Christmas, book 4 in the Agents of the Crown series. You can spend Christmas in Scotland with Spies, Scots and Shipmasters… Set in 1819 in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, it’s the story of the Powell twins, Robbie and Nash, spies for the Crown, who celebrate a "secret" Christmas with William Stephen, the hero in The Holly & The Thistle, and his English wife, Lady Emily Stephen. Each will vie for the love of William's younger sister, Aileen, but which one will win the prize?

Do you consider yourself to be a plotter or a pantser?

I generally have the beginning in mind long before I write and my stories are led by actual historical events so there is that, too. But the rest is all magic. In other words, I’m a modified pantster.

What made you decide to become an author?

My best friend who, when I was complaining to her about the ending of a romance I’d just finished, told me I thought like a writer and I should write one of my own. I can still remember our conversation, which took place in my kitchen toward the end of 2010. I took her advice and the next year wrote Racing with the Wind, published in 2012.

Since you’re a romance author, of all the sub-genres of romance which exist, what made you choose the genre you write in.

I love the history and diving into the past. I love being swept away to another time and place but one that is historically authentic.

Do you have a schedule for your time to write, answer emails, and market/promote your book[s]?

I try, though life intervenes. The first two hours are given to answering email, social media and promotion. Then I write (and research) till early afternoon. Of course, in there are two walks and occasional telephone calls.

Do you read books outside the genre you write in? What are they?

Yes, but mostly nonfiction historical books related to my research. You can see them on the Pinterest storyboards I do for each book.

What are the items you must have around you when you write; food, drink, music, etc?

I write to music, sometimes critical to a particular scene. (You can see my playlist here: http://reganromancereview.blogspot.com/2016/06/do-you-read-or-write-to-music-by-regan.html. My writing took over my dining room long ago and the table has all I need: computer, printer, supplies, stacks of research, pens, sticky notes, good light, calendar, etc.

When you were an aspiring author you needed advice, what advice would you give to an aspiring author in those shoes today?

Well, the first thing is to learn a bit about the craft. I learned it on the fly but you can actually take a class or get a book. Then write… and finish the story just so you know you can. Get some eyes on it, not your sister or your friend but some impartial eyes, like a critique partner. Once you are happy with it, get a professional editor to look at it. I am also a reviewer and I can’t tell you how many authors submit published books to me that have been poorly edited. I have a list of the Top 10 things which, as a reader, I really dislike: http://reganromancereview.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-readers-pet-peeves-10-that-set-me-on.html

If there’s anything else you’d like to briefly tell us about your book, your writing, or yourself.

I do encourage readers to follow my on Amazon and BookBub and to sign up for my newsletter (from the home page on my website).

Just so you know, I read, review and write what I love: historically authentic historical romance. I have a blog, Historical Romance Review (http://reganromancereview.blogspot.com/) that I began before I was an author where I post reviews. I try to find the good ones for my fellow readers. I have 15 lists to help readers.

GENERAL_INFORMATION                          

Where can we find your book?

On Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07116NJ2W

Where can we find you on:

BLOG/WEBSITE: http://www.reganwalkerauthor.com/

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/regan.walker.104
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/RegansReview
Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Regan-Walker/e/B008OUWC5Y
PINTEREST: https://www.pinterest.com/reganwalker123

THANKS for giving me your time in allowing me to interview you.

Thank you for inviting me!