Author Interview-Colleen Ladd
What inspired you to
become a writer?
There have always been stories playing in my head. Then, as now, there are rarely any moments of
“down-time” from daily life which do not see characters running hither and
thither in my brain. The leap from
thinking about them to writing them down came when I was a teenager and a book
I loved ended in a way I didn’t. I
recently came across that book, with my hand-written “continuation” tucked
neatly in the back of it, and oh my was I a melodramatic child… The leap from writing my stories down to
showing them to people was as simple as finding people interested in reading
them, and from there it snowballed, as such things do.
Who are your favorite
romance characters (besides your own?)
Naturally, as is true of most who work in the Regency
period, Jane Austen’s characters loom large, especially Darcy and Elizabeth
from Pride and Prejudice. But I also loved
(and still love) the brooding heroes of the Brontes and their ilk – in
particular the dark and surly Mr. Rochester, who was so perfect a foil for Jane
Eyre’s determination. Hmm… melodrama might play a larger role in my
romantic imagination than I suspected.
Tell me what inspired
this story.
In Regency times, if a peer was convicted of murder, his
blood was considered tainted, and his title, lands, and everything he owned was
forfeit to the crown. He and everyone
related to him suffered the price for his crime – which puts an entirely new
spin on the trope of an innocent man unjustly convicted. I started asking myself how far a man who
loved his lands and saw them as something he held in trust for his family would
go to avoid that kind of loss. The only
escape I could imagine was to flee before trial and somehow get himself
declared dead. But then what would
happen when he inevitably wanted to come home?
It was a plus that this gave me an excuse to write a ghost story mystery
without a ghost. And with that set-up,
it was clear what kind of heroine was needed – someone the match of the hero,
who would do whatever it took to keep her home, even in the face of a “ghost”
determined to drive her out. Portia took
everything I threw at her in stride, and I think I fell as much in love with
her as the hero did.
What is one of your
favorite romantic locales?
Oh, the dark and brooding house in the country, of
course.
Is there anything
else you’d like to share with our readers?
The Lady’s Ghost and the next book in the series, The Duke’s
Despair, are just the beginning of a web of Regency-set romances, all connected
through the lives of the characters.
Secondary characters become heroes and heroines, the main characters in
one book become supporting characters (and sometimes obstacles) in other books,
and readers stand a chance of discovering why Lord X was holding up the wall at
his own ball, or Lady Y flirted so egregiously with the hero only to dump him
the next morning.
For more about me and my books, visit me at: www.colleenladd.com
After her husband's death, Portia Ashburne finds herself
banished to Ashburne Hall, left to fend for herself in the crumbling old manor.
Ten years ago, when Giles, the previous Lord Ashburne, was accused of murdering his fiancee, he fled on a ship that was lost at sea. Locals claim his spirit haunts Ashburne Hall.
Portia doesn't believe in ghosts. She suspects the Hall's hostile caretakers of playing tricks on her. When she sets out to prove it, she puts herself on a crash course with both Giles and the real killer. Will The Lady's Ghost be able to save her?
Ten years ago, when Giles, the previous Lord Ashburne, was accused of murdering his fiancee, he fled on a ship that was lost at sea. Locals claim his spirit haunts Ashburne Hall.
Portia doesn't believe in ghosts. She suspects the Hall's hostile caretakers of playing tricks on her. When she sets out to prove it, she puts herself on a crash course with both Giles and the real killer. Will The Lady's Ghost be able to save her?
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