Meara Platt’s A Knight on Duchess Square releases tomorrow, and she was kind enough to answer some questions for us.
You can get your copy of this delightful start to a new series HERE!
Did you always know you wanted to be an author?
Actually, no. I was forty-something when I first decided to try my hand at writing. I had read several really bad historical romances all in a row and complained about it to my husband. So he suggested I try writing one of my own. I ignored the advice, saying maybe if I got a sign from God – which I did. A few weeks later I was at a conference at the Marriott Hotel in NYC at the same time an RWA conference was going on. I rode down the elevator with a woman wearing a dress identical to mine – it was Nora Roberts. She led me to a table full of handouts about Romance Writers of America. Yep, that was my sign.
What is the first story you remember writing?
Oh, that was a completely awful medieval romance that is collecting dust under my sofa.
How did you get from there to where you are today?
I joined RWA after that fateful encounter with Nora Roberts, took tons of their workshops, joined my local romance writers group, attended every meeting and still do even though I am now a USA Today bestseller with over 70 books published.
What is the most inspiring place you’ve visited and has it shown up in one of your books?
Well, I fell in love with England’s Lake District on a trip to England. So tranquil, so beautiful, so I decided to use it as the backdrop for my Dark Gardens Regency romantasy series – Friar’s Crag became the red mountain that served as a portal to the Dragon Lords realm. The bluebell garden at a local vicarage served as the portal to the Fae realm. The lakes and charming villages became the battleground where Fae and Dragon Lords were about to clash, and the only one who could save all worlds was a shy and innocent vicar’s daughter.
How much research do you do into the time period and places you write about?
It is so easy to fall into that rabbit hole. I constantly read about the Regency period and all that went on around it. The foods, the fashions, the medicines, the types of carriages, etc. It is something I read and learn at every opportunity, and build on that knowledge over the years.
Do you have any experience dressing in character or participating in living history situations or are you more a fan of
libraries and online resources?
I have dressed up at historical romance conferences and enjoy Renaissance fairs, but mostly it is libraries and online resources, and travel if I can to England.
What drew you to the era you write in?
I was first drawn to the Regency era because of Jane Austen’s novel Pride & Prejudice. But I was always an avid historical romance reader because my mother enjoyed them. My sister and I just began reading them, too. Since I loved the books written in that era, I chose to write what I love. I also think I have a natural voice for Regency because my books tend to have lightness and humor in them.
Is there something about the time period you think most people don’t know about?
Well, I think most readers today enjoy contemporary or fantasy stories best and don’t think too much about the Regency era beyond watching the Bridgerton series on cable tv. Europe was very much in turmoil during that period of the Napoleonic Wars, and England was rising in power and about to spread its might around the world. People today think that Society was very polite and innocent, but in fact there were extramarital affairs among the higher ranks (and low ranks ,too) going on all over the place.
What do you think would be the most difficult part about living in that period?
Most difficult likely the health & medicine issues – you wouldn’t want to go under the knife at that time or develop an infection. Poverty also. What roles could women serve that would provide a good income for them if they were on their own? Few options were open to them.
What are your favorite kind of characters to write?
I like to write alpha males and match them with sweet heroines. The heroes have to be intelligent (so you can forgive their arrogance) and have a sense of humor. I like to write them a little grumpy, experienced, quick with a wisecrack. My heroines are usually kind and compassionate, sunshine, innocent about men but not prudish, and can think independently.
Do you have a specific trope that you’re drawn too?
Tropes are always fun and I enjoy writing lots of them – maybe a favorite is the beauty and the beast trope. Closely related is the wounded hero trope – love that one, too. Falling for best friend’s brother/sister. My heroes usually fall in love first and fall hard for the heroine.
Where is your favorite place to write?
Since our children are grown up and have moved out of the house, I use my daughter’s room as my writing place. It has a great little alcove where I’ve set up my computer and printer, and there’s also a window that overlooks the neighborhood so I can see what’s going on around me without actually having to walk outside and talk to anybody!
Does it change depending on where you are in the process?
No, I’m always in that alcove.
Which comes first for you: the plot or the characters?
Ah, it is always the characters first. Once I match them up, then the plot will follow naturally.
Do you know where the story is going before you begin, or does it come to you as you write?
In very general terms I know where the story is going, but I am not a plotter. My characters will talk to me as I write and they’ll tell me what they would do in a given situation.
Do scenes come to you fully formed or are you as surprised as the reader?
I generally know what scene needs to be written – and I write in order, I don’t skip around to an end scene then write a middle scene, then hop back to a beginning, etc. But what sometimes surprises me is the wisecracks that a character will suddenly blurt and be really funny. I am not a funny person by nature, but there’s something embedded in my brain that allows my characters to spill some of the funniest stuff. On occasion the scene will go off in a direction I hadn’t expected, but usually I am in charge of where the scene needs to go.
Does your writing process include any kind of ritual? Story specific playlists, tea, or candles, for example?
No, I just need quiet, and then I start writing. No music. No drinks to spill on my computer. No notebooks or funny pens.
Do you write better in the morning or evening? How do you handle the distractions of working from home, especially if you’re sharing the space with others?
I write in the mornings and might do editing or social media in the evening. I find my writing brain is best in the mornings, and I am tucked up in that alcove happily typing away. Time allocation is tough because I still work a day job (trying to cut back and eventually retire). So, earliest morning hours are for writing. Late morning into afternoon hours are for day job. Our kids are grown so that is a major time savings.
When it’s difficult to physically travel, how do you find ways to escape?
Writing my books are my escape. I love to write and I don’t feel as though I am missing out on anything because my characters are doing things I probably wouldn’t do myself since I can be a couch potato or hobbit (we don’t like adventures).
From all your books, who is your favorite hero and why?
That’s a very tough question because I will not release a book unless I love my hero, and I have over 70 books now. Perhaps I have a soft spot for those I tormented most – Ian Markham the duke from The Duke I’m Going To Marry and Cormac Stockwell, the marquess in The Moonstone Marquess. Both were deeply wounded men who needed a strong but compassionate heroine to love.
What do you like to read when you’re not reading in your genre? Did you have a favorite book or series when you were growing up?
I mostly read historical romances but I also loved dragon fantasy and Agatha Christie mysteries. Those influences can be seen in my stories. Off hand, I can’t think of a particular series because back then most books were individual stories – maybe Johanna Lindsey’s Mallory family and later Julia Quinn’s Bridgertons. But the dragon books were whatever I could get my hands on to read. Well, Agatha Christie had her Poirot and Miss Marple, and I loved them.
