If you are wondering why this is seven questions that is because I aim for five so I always try to send a few extra (expecting to have a few tossed). And that is IF I send questions – often it is the authors top five most asked questions. That way we don’t ask them for the 2,000,001 time.
I thought this was grand and Liz C answered them all. So it was up to me to toss two. I didn’t think any were tossable. But feel free to disagree and when you get to the end of the interview ask Liz what you think I should have asked *g*. She will be around most of the day to answer your questions.
Your novels often have a much darker tone to them then we see in many Historical Romances. Why is that? Is it something you set out to do?
I try to write the sort of books I like to read. I cut my teeth on gothics and murder mysteries, so light and witty just doesn’t do it for me. I respect, however, anyone who can do it well. It is a true talent, and one which I do not possess.
I will confess, however, I did read a great deal of Georgette Heyer as a child, and some would argue—perhaps correctly—that her work was the very definition light. But I always felt that in her books something very deep and very critical was at stake beneath all the banter. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but that’s how I felt.
What has been your hardest book to write? Why?
I think I would have to say No True Gentleman, in part because was as much a historical suspense novel as it was a historical romance, and the two plots were so tightly intertwined. But it was tough, too, in that I wrote it at a point in my life when I had begun to suffer these strange, debilitating migraine headaches. (This from a person who had scarcely taken so much as an aspirin in her life.) All those cyclic “female troubles” most women learn to live with—cramps, cravings, mood swings—I had been completely spared all of my life. And then, at an annoyingly early age, I apparently entered that wonderful stage of womanhood known as perimenopause. Ouch! I was in the middle of it when I wrote NTG, and because I was on deadline, I had to give up waiting for the pain to go away. I’m really proud I managed to finish book, to be honest, because my head hurt every day that I worked on it. Every day. Unrelentingly. And it still turned out to be a pretty decent read. But I think that’s all behind me now—knock wood—because I’ve been almost pain-free since November. Yay!! The triumph of woman over her estrogen! Hope that’s not TMI . . .
How much research do you put into your Historical Romances and how important is historical accuracy to you as a reader?
As a reader, historical accuracy is critical to me. Too many anachronisms or overly-modern language will pull me right out of a book. Granted, I’m not especially well versed in certain periods. The medieval era, for example. You could definitely slip one over on me there! (Somebody once said they didn’t have any corn on the cob . . . who knew?) But I love the nineteenth century, and I was fortunate when I started writing fiction to have more than a passing familiarity with the period’s history, so that lessened the research required a little bit.
That said, I certainly do make mistakes. Most authors do, I think. But I still pore over several weeks’ worth of research for each book, and I travel a lot. I try never to write about a place which I haven’t seen firsthand. I take a lot of photographs, and study maps almost obsessively. But of course, yes, I take poetic license from time to time. And sometimes I just screw up.
I by no means want you to move to contemporary romance but thought your novella was delightful. Do you have any plans to do another? How did that come about?
Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed it. It was fun to write; fun to stretch the brain in a little bit different direction. I wrote it because Simon and Schuster asked me to, and I try to oblige them. I think they just had a slot, and wanted to give me a chance to stretch a bit. At this time, there are no plans for another.
At a time when so many authors are publisher hopping, you have remained with Simon and Schuster throughout your whole career. Is that something you just fell into or is there something special you have found there?
After I finished my first book, I had that sort of startled deer-in-the-headlights feeling. I think I once likened it to a cat who had caught his tail, and that’s not inaccurate. But once I grasped the fact that I actually had finished a book—it was somewhat unplanned—I decided to dig into the research to ascertain which publishers seemed to do the best job for their authors.
I began to read a lot of romance, and to visit a lot of bookstores. I wanted to see which books were tightly edited. Which books were hitting the bestseller lists. Which books were getting the best placement. That kind of thing. And I pretty quickly targeted two houses, one of which was Simon and Schuster. They literally bought me out of the slush-pile.
I feel I owe them a great deal of loyalty. I also have a wonderful editor, and we really understand one another. We sometimes even scream and shout at one another—but like most of human behavior, but we do it because we know the other will let us get away with it. We have full and frank discussions. Healthy debate. So, yes, that’s something special.
You are pretty ‘unplugged’. No blog, no web journal, no message board and I rarely see you on them. Why?
I don’t really know. All my writer-ly friends love to chastise me for it. They think I’m insane, and I’m willing to concede they might be right. In part, I think my absence is the result of having spent many years in corporate life, working very hard at things which were not always pleasant, and when I began writing—somewhat accidentally, as I said—I realized that it might be possible to just do what you enjoy, and make a little money at it.
I don’t enjoy promotion. There are a couple of sites I try to visit regularly, but I just use my first name and generally limit my posts to what I’ve been reading or doing. What I do enjoy is interacting with my readers on an individual level.
I try very hard to answer all my e-mail, especially if the reader has a specific question. I have a huge mailing list of people who have asked to be kept apprised of what’s going on with my books, and I love to run contests. Anyone can add themselves to the list at my website. I once visited the site of a really big suspense author whose work I greatly admire, and she had a statement on home page which said something to the effect that, “Ms. Smith loves to hear from her readers, but she regrets that she can no longer answer her e-mail personally.” And I thought to myself, gosh, I hope I never reach that point. That would be half the fun gone—poof! And then I realized I was more or less wishing to limit my career. That’s not good, either! But I’m not at that point yet, and quite possibly never will be.
Another thing I don’t do—and I get a lot of questions about this—is book signings, other than those rare occasions when my publisher asks me to attend an RWA function. I would like nothing more than to go out and meet readers personally, but I did a few signings, and virtually no one turned up! Now, that’s humbling. And that’s when I began to believe that readers will either read your work and like it, or they won’t. Giving them a bookmark or yakking about your life on your blog won’t make your writing any better—and trust me here—my life is exceedingly dull. I also do a great deal of volunteer work with some charities that mean the world to me, and I have a huge, tightly-knit family. Those two things really limit the time I have available.
How important are friends in the business? Do you brainstorm with other authors? Do you have CP’s? Or are you more of a lone ship in the night.
I don’t brainstorm with other authors. I can barely brainstorm with myself. I do have some very precious friends whom I have met through the business of writing. There are a few of us who hang out together—Sabrina Jeffries, Claudia Dain, Deb Marlowe, and Caren Crane—who, I tell you in all sincerity, is destined to be the Next Big Thing. And SJ just hit the NYT three weeks running! I also have to plug Claudia’s new Regency, which is beyond fab. But these gals are my friends because they are wonderful, amazing people.
We talk about the industry surprisingly little. And yeah, we yell and shout at each other, too. They make fun of me a lot. But writers can be very solitary people, and I think that need not be a detriment to their careers. Deb Marlowe is my critique partner, and we have been working together almost from the very first. (More yelling and shouting!) But I’m thrilled to say that her first book will be out in a few months with Harlequin Historicals in the UK. Deb is just a witty, erudite delight, and I know readers are going to love her work as much as I do.
What a fun interview. I love visiting here on author days and getting a glimpse into their lives.
Thanks to both Sybil and Ms. Carlyle for doing this.
And just to act like a fangirl for a moment, I truly enjoy your work and can’t wait to see what you have in store for us in the future. 😉
Honey, today I need all the fangirls I can get, so thanks. Book-release day is a little like the day you send your five-year-old off to kindergarden while praying he won’t get too badly beat up by the bigger kids. LOL.
I seriously doubt your five-year-old is going to get beat up by ANYONE. I’ve always found your books a joy (I’m a fangirl, too, you know) and can’t imagine that will change.
And we do NOT make fun of you for your curmudgeonly ways. Well, maybe some. But it’s all because we love you.
Okay, must go before I start getting sappy.
This is a wonderful interview. Carlyle’s made me re-discover the regency genre, I even adore her virgin heroines. My all-time favorite novel is The Devil You Know *sigh* – I have to read it again one time soon!
Liz: I absolutely adore Claudia Dain, so please say “hi” to her for me. I met her when we both wrote for Dorchester, and now we both write for Berkley!. Thanks for your post–I too like to see how other authors live, especially those whose work I like and respect. I have given up booksignings as well (except the large signings at RT and RWA). Most readers don’t attend them unless it’s an event (like a talk), and then maybe only a handful turn up. Much better to put the time and energy into writing the next book!
Jennifer Ashley
I’m a fangirl. As a fan of gothic romance, your books feel right at home–plus you’ve got the wickedest prose. I can’t wait to get my hands on Never Lie to A Lady, Xanthia looks like a great character.
I love your approach to the business side of writing and why not stick with what works for you.
I can’t believe you worked through the pain! I would have been laying in bed with a dramatic swish and the back of my hand resting on my forehead moaning 😉 Other pain I could see but a migraine headache? Ouch!
CindyS
Hee The Devil You Know is the first book by Carlyle I read and I did not like it. At all. In fact it wasn’t until after reading her novella and running across the reissue of A Woman of Virtue that I fell in love.
I know Liz C says they don’t have to be read in order – and they prolly works for many a person – but when I hit The Devil You Know again, I loved it.
In fact it is hard for me to come up with a Liz C book I don’t adore. Of course I still have one or two to read *g*.
Thank you all for your very kind words. Today is a great day to hear them, so I really appreciate it. But — and maybe it’s just me — but was Sabrina suggesting I can be a big ole b**ch? LOL. OK, just kidding. Now she’ll smack me.
Thanks, fangirls.
I will pass on your kind words to Claudia, who currently resides in deadline hell, to the best of my knowledge.
Thanks for the votes for old Bentley. Gotta admit to a real soft spot for him.
I’m embarassed to say I have not read your books. But the interview struck a chord with me. I’m also a fan of dark historicals which is in part explained by my personality which is anything but light and witty.
For a first time reader which of your books would you recommend for someone who likes dark and angst ridden characters?
What a wonderful interview with Liz Carlyle. I haven’t read any of her books yet but her writing looks good & I’ve now added her to my list of authors to check out. Thanks much for introducing me to her with this blog today!!!
Great interview Liz! Syb, you ask the bestest questions.
I too am a fangirl – I love the darker historicals as well – real life wasn’t all champagne and chocolates. Give me angst and emotion! I can’t wait to read Never Lie to a Lady. 🙂
To answer Sue A.’s question, you could start at the beginning, which is MY FALSE HEART. My first several books were a bit longish, though, and some people aren’t crazy about long books. Or you might just start with this one, NEVER LIE, since it will be easy to find. If you go to my website, you can read excerpts of all my books, and perhaps see if one of them catches your eye.
I would also invite others to chime in here and say what they think. Does it matter which book a reader begins with?
Great interview today, Liz, another fan girl here (for Sabrina, too, and I was glad to see a new book coming from Claudia Dain).
I like both lighter and darker, and love that edgier tone to your stories, and don’t even mind a longer one, lol. I’m thinking back to all those Heyers I read long ago, and have to agree with you that there was something more underlying that light bantering.
Great interview. Just love reading your books. I love a book that you just can’t put down and that’s the way your books are. I can’t wait to read Never Lie to a Lady. What will you be writing next?
I read A Deal With The Devil first without knowing it was a “series” or even who “Liz Carlyle” was. I think I muddled along pretty well enough, though when I did end up reading the other books, I had many “ah ha!” moments. I don’t think you’re required to read all the books in order, but since I didn’t (and still didn’t know to read them in order until I discovered Liz had a website around the time The Devil to Pay was released) reading about all these characters running around Regency England felt a bit like an inside joke of which I had yet to be in the know.
You know it is the weirdest thing because I am such a series!whore and totally read them out of order – without trouble all the time.
I think, for me, it is the nature of the book. Bentley Rutledge is such a rich character and you know so much about him if you have read the books before. I was so much more invested in him on the second read.
I liken it to Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas. I have read many a person bitch about St. Vincent and say his character turns way too quickly in DiW. But to me if you read the two books before it… you see he is changing and makes DiW not seem like a fast one min he is a dirty, bad boy rake next he is a good ol boy (which really he is NEVER a good boy but I digress).
And I felt the same thing with The Devil You Know. The first reading was very eh. When I picked up A Woman of Virtue I put it back because I figured the last thing I needed was one more book I didn’t have time for. For whatever reason I picked it back up and ended up reading two chapters and HAD to take it home.
Then as I read more, I was just DYING for Bentley story. And I KNEW you had to have written it. When I found out it was the book I so didn’t like I was crushed but kept going. Then I got to that spot… and figured what the hell and rebought the book and LOVED it. Totally recommend both of those books!
Next up is NEVER DECEIVE A DUKE which will be out in four short weeks! Another four weeks to be on pins and needles . . .
Wonderful questions to Liz, Sybil. Really. I thought they were perfect to ask Liz.
Too It answers so many questions for me! I love Gothics so when those I had read of yours so far just really fit into those I wanted to read. I enjoy the mystery within the historicals, your voice. So I’m looking forward to reading them more. My favorite Gothic author when I started reading romance in HS was Victoria Holt. I’ve always been looking for more stories like these. I must read MY TRUE GENTLEMAN to see why that one was harder. It wasn’t til this last year that I really wondered about accuracy in historicals mostly because I read a few Historical Fiction. But I don’t look for what I learned when I read Historical Romance. I love to enoy these reads! You have some wonderful author friends that I enjoy as well. Definately going to check up the couple I don’t know. I just so much wanted to comments on this interview from you, loved it.
One more thing 🙂 (I am so having a great time here today) Liz, If you get a chance to answer, you have recommendation for some gothic romance reads while waiting for yours to come out? In between I’ve read some Amanda Quick who has mystery within her historicals that remind me of it.
I started right at the beginning with Liz’s books… I still remember reading the review of My False Heart at All About Romance and the reviewer saying something like that the book felt like drinking REAL hot chocolate, made from scratch, as opposed to the instant stuff. I thought that sounded good and ordered it, and then I was just wowed by it. Since then, I’ve read each book as soon as it came out.
Sue A, I haven’t read My False Heart or A Woman Scorned yet (although I do have both… YAY reissuing books!!!)
And have such a love for AWOV just because it is the book that made me read more Liz C *g* and the h/h are just fab. So think it is a wonderful book to start with *g*. But Never Lie to a Lady is a book in what I think is shaping up to be a can’t miss trilogy. So you can’t go wrong with starting with that one.
For Cathie — the queen of gothic was Victoria Holt, of course. Mary Stewart was divine. And Daphne Du Maurier, of course, although that’s a little different. There aren’t many people writing gothic today. Pocket has a somewhat new author, Jennifer St. Giles, who writes gothic romance and I have heard nothing but great things about her books. Haven’t read them yet — another thing on my list of things to do when I have time . . . yeah, right.
Liz, you are NOT a b***h. You’re a curmudgeon, which to me is a completely different thing. I should know, since I’ve been married to one for 23 years. I guess I need a little darkness to balance the light. *G*
As for what book to start with, actually, No True Gentlemen is one of my favorites, and I really don’t think you need the background of the previous books to follow it. I also love A Woman Scorned AND A Woman of Virtue. Well, I love them all. But I really think you wouldn’t be lost or anything if you started with NTG.
My False Heart blew me away too. I’ve read every book of Carlyle’s since her debut, just like Rosario.
I followed your works since My False Heart and can’t wait for Never lie to a lady. Your books are more of everything, more emotion, more intensity, sometime just more…
I have read all of Liz’s books except for A Woman Scorned and My False Heart…although I do own them so I really should get around to reading them! My favourite though would have to be No True Gentleman! Max is such a great character, and I used to love it when he popped up in one of the other books for whatever reasons!
Liz,
I didn’t read romance for about 20 years and then one day I was looking for something to read and ran across a copy of The Devil To Pay. I figured, what the heck, and bought it. I loved the book and proceeded to devour all of your backlist. Today I read romance voraciously and it is all due to reading your book. Thank you, thank you!
emdee – Tucson, AZ
“Curmudgeon” – that is one of my favorite words. Right up there with “specious” and “cursory” and “quite”. I like the way they sound and feel in my mouth. Doh! Hmmm… Well – you know what I mean.
Looking forward to reading this.
Emdee, I am so glad to have won over a convert from the Dark Side. I think you’re my first.
Liz, the Cursory & Specious Curmudgeon 🙂
I just did a re-read of My False Heart last week. I hadn’t picked it up since it’s release so it’s been awhile. I think I loved it more now than I did then! What a great book – and it introduced Kemble, who is such a wonderful character. It was fun reading about him after following his story through later books. I am so looking forward to this upcoming trilogy, can’t wait to read it!
Great interview, Sybil and Liz! The best one I have read in a long time.
I am a big fan of Liz books and I would recommend any of them to anyone who hasn’t read them yet. I think that you can enjoy them reading in any order, but I sugest reading “The Devil You Know” after reading the previous books where Bentley is an important secondary character, because you will apreciate and understand him better, and he is such a complex and fascinating character, one of my favorite tortured heroes ever. (This is just my personal opinion.) And I also would read “A Woman Scorned” before “A Woman of Virtue”, so not to spoil anything about AWS.
This new series looks great too! I can’t wait to read them.