Sara Bennett’s My Fair Scot releases today, and she was kind enough to answer some questions for us.
You can get your copy of this steamy start to a new series HERE!
Did you always know you wanted to be an author?
I have always wanted to write stories and from a very young age I did! Many of those early efforts are best forgotten, believe me. I can remember my elder brother being in stitches when he read one of them (and not in a good way). As I wrote more and practised (practise is the trick) I got better and better. By the time I was eighteen I had some short stories published in a national magazine in Australia and also won some local writing prizes.
When it comes to my career, I have reinvented myself many times, writing in different genres and under different pen names. When one door closed I would open another one. I’ve written for Avon, Harlequin as well as most of the big traditional publishers. I also self publish. These days I write for Dragonblade and Hachette, and also publish my Indie books when I have time.
What is the most inspiring place you have visited and has it shown up in one of your books?
Definitely Scotland. I love writing about Scotland and have visited there a couple of times. I hope to go again next year. I also have family connections in Scotland, so it’s fun to work some of those places and family stories into my books.
What are your favorite kind of characters to write? Do you have a specific trope that you’re drawn too?
My favorite trope is Second Chance Romance. I love those stories. The sense that a relationship a couple thought was over still has a spark, and when circumstance brings them together again, it flares up into a raging fire. They discover their love isn’t over after all but they still have work through all the past problems and the angst. I love some angst.
Where is your favorite place to write? Does it change depending on where you are in the process?
I have a writing room with a door that I can close. Sometimes I struggle with distractions so it is good to go somewhere quiet. If I manage to get myself into the writing ‘zone’ I can write anywhere, but I prefer my room.
Which comes first for you: the plot or the characters?
When I start a book, the characters always come first. They drive the story and sometimes make it very uncomfortable for me when they take over. I usually have a vague idea of how the story is going to go, and I can dash off the first three or so chapters. After that I need to stop and have a think. Sometimes I go back to the beginning again, and rewrite. The more I rewrite the more ideas I get. Often scenes will come to me fully formed, but usually I really don’t know what is going to happen next. Apart from the HEA.
Do you know where the story is going before you begin, or does it come to you as you write? Do scenes come to you fully formed or are you as surprised as the reader?
I think of myself as a slow writer and as time has gone on I have slowed down even more. After some periods of burn out and illness I know not to push myself too hard. I write and then rewrite, and have some thinking time, and that is how I get to know the characters and refine my story. I usually have to get down the basics such as character names, ages, setting, before I can actually start to let myself fly. As the book progresses and if everything is going well, that’s when I start to lie awake at night, the characters and the story running through my head like a movie. Makes it very hard to sleep!
From all your books, who is your favorite hero and why?
I’m not sure I have a favorite hero. They are all special to me. However I do like Callum MacKenzie the hero in my latest book, My Fair Scot. He has just the right combination of sensitivity and arrogance, he loves animals, and he is a good man. I have written bad men and morally questionable men but I do struggle with that. They usually end up cracking jokes.
What do you like to read when you’re not reading in your genre?
When I’m writing historical romance I don’t like to read in that genre. Instead I read contemporary romance, or mysteries. I love a good crime novel.
