Lord Of Scandal
Nicola Cornick

orginally featured June 2007

1. Welcome Nicola to The Society as one our newest member to join can you please tell us about yourself and how you started writing Historical Romance?

Hello! It’s lovely to be here!

My passions are history, writing and animals. Oh, and my husband and family of course! We live in an old cottage in the country in Oxfordshire, UK, and share it with a wonderful Labrador called Monty and two gorgeous cats, Bob and Petra.

I started writing historical romance about twenty years ago. As a teenager I read every romance book I could get my hands on in the library and then I wanted to write some of my own. Historical romance seemed a natural choice for me because I had always been fascinated by history and myths and storytelling. I studied history in London, which was where I met my husband, and later at Oxford where I was awarded an MA for my dissertation on heroes. What a great topic that was to study! Mills and Boon published my first historical romance ten years ago and eventually I decided to give up my day job and write full time and it’s been wonderful.

2. Your novel Lord of Scandal is on sale now. Can you please tell us about the novel?

Lord of Scandal is what I call a celebrity Regency, set against a fascinating historical backdrop of fame and fortune. I was able to draw on my MA research for it, which was great. The hero, Ben Hawksmoor, has created a world of fame and financial success for himself but it is very precarious and his greatest fear is that it will all come crashing down. So he tries to compromise an heiress into marriage but the plan goes awry.

3. Tell us about Ben Hawksmoor, what makes him such a dashing hero?

I think Ben is interesting because he is a deep, dark character who is motivated by such powerful fears and desires. He has created the perfect rakish persona for himself but underneath he is a very different man and it’s that contrast that makes him so attractive.

4. Your heroine seems determined to keep her unhappy family together, what conflict does she face when she realizes her attraction to Ben?

Catherine is totally dedicated to trying to hold her family together and that brings her into direct conflict with Ben because he is trying to bring them down. Just as he is motivated, at least to start with, by cynicism and the desire for money, so Catherine is motivated by love for her family. They are total opposites.

5. When it comes to writing novels what comes first the plotline, characters, or setting of the novel?

It’s almost always the characters that come first with my writing and then the plots usually spring from their qualities and desires.

6. What is your favourite scene in this novel that stayed with you long after writing it?

I like the scene at the curricle race where Ben steals a kiss from Catherine for luck. I think it’s sexy and romantic and the background of the race is very vivid and atmospheric.

7. What is your favorite thing about being an author?

Chatting to readers about history and writing and books is my favourite thing. It inspires and encourages me.

8. Who are some of your favorite authors and novels that may or may not have inspired your writing?

My first inspiration came from authors like Mary Stewart and Rosemary Sutcliff whose books I still read over and over again. Alice Chetwynd Ley was my favourite Regency author when I was in my teens and she was the writer whose books first got me interested in the Regency genre. Then when I discovered US authors such as Lisa Kleypas and Julia Quinn I was in seventh heaven!

9. Do you have any rituals that you do when writing? Like listening to a certain CD, or a nice cup of tea to get you in the mood to write?

I have a song for each book that encapsulates for me the theme of the story or something about the characters. I play it all the time when I’m writing. And my other ritual is tea-drinking. I’m addicted to it!

10. What is coming next and are you able to share a little bit with us?

My next story is a Regency novella, The Pirate’s Kiss, which is coming out from Harlequin Historicals in December 2007. Ever since I wrote my Bluestocking Brides Trilogy I have had letters from readers asking for Daniel de Lancey’s story. So here it is!