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Madeline HunterOur guest author, Madeline Hunter, answers her top five most asked questions… 

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QQQWill you ever write more medieval romances?
It is hard for me to answer this question when I am involved in writing a book. I am totally involved in that world then and even thinking about another world is impossible. However, I will most likely return to the middle ages at some point in the future. It may not be a conventional romance, but possibly something more mainstream.

QQQDoes your personal life influence your characters and stories?

Yes and no. No in that none of my characters are based on people I know, or me. Yes because I am in every character to some extent, even the villains. And yes because while I do not base events on my private life, my experiences influence how I view certain things and even some choices. Often this is subconscious and I only realize it after the book is finished. For example, in By Design, I had a teenaged boy as a character. I think some medical issues with my own son at the time influenced me there.

QQQWhat is the inspiration for your stories?

There isn’t really a set pattern. I have had books that began with one image. I have had others that began with the first scene. In these latter cases, a first scene or chapter comes to me, fully developed and formed,. It almost pops onto the computer screen. Then I have to come up with a story to fit that scene. Finally, many of my books begin with a character. The character is very vivid to me as a presence, and the story evolves from that personality.

QQQHow long did it take you to get an agent? To sell you first book?

The agent was found pretty quickly, so I just assumed the rest would follow quickly. It didn’t. I had six manuscripts written before I had my first sale.

QQQ Is all the research that you do really time-consuming? How do you research?

It is very time-consuming when I move to a new time period, then a bit less so for each book in that time period, then a bit less so for each book in a series. Research is cumulative, so early research is still available for later books. I have given workshops on research and it is hard to answer the “how?” in a brief posting. However, my quick advice is never to rely too completely on the web, to find a good library with interlibrary loan, and to read the footnotes in historical books because the exceptions and really interesting tidbits can often be found in them.

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Now it is your turn! Have any questions for Madeline Hunter?

Yeah… she sort of answered the medieval one… sort of 😉

Have any others? Go for it, she will be around today to try and answer them.