Interview Dalia Trevino

by

S. M. Stelmack

1) Your new novel, Love's Challenge is set in Georgian England, and I noticed that all of your previous works have also been historical romances. Have you always been interested in history, or was it something you 'discovered' at some point?

I have been captivated by history since a fairly young age. It is fascinating to me how people lived before us. Their every day life, celebrations, and troubles are in many ways unlike what we face today. And yet there are infinite similarities. It is the differences in how we live now, in the 21^st century, and the people who lived so many years ago, deal with every aspect of life that intrigues me.

2) How much research did you have to do in the process of writing Love's Challenge?

Research, for me, is an ongoing enjoyable task that can lead to endless discoveries. Gathering information for Love’s Challenge was done over the course of my writing career and even before I decided to write. It takes some time to garner the knowledge of the every day life as well as major events in and around the year you choose to place your characters, and even then there is so much more that can be learned.

3) What made you choose Georgian England as the setting for your novel?

Love’ Challenge started out as a Regency romance. It was only when I put my hero in the Napoleonic/Peninsular War that I moved it back a few years to the Georgian Era. The conflict between France and England served as both a means for the joining of the hero and heroine as well as a wrench in their romance.

4) The role of women in society was so much different in the 18th century than it is today. What is it about your heroine, Lady Burrard, that modern readers can relate to?

Women today are independent and unafraid to speak out. In the aristocratic society of 19th century England that was not the case. The heroine of Love’s Challenge, Lady Diana Burrard, knows her place, but still manages to show the strengths of her character by not standing idly by and letting events maneuver her. Contemporary readers will recognize her spirit, determination, and strength of will.

5) The hero in your story, Lord Aubrey, is a man of unwavering conviction and loyalty. Is it this that earns him Lady Burrard’s love, or do you see that as stemming from some more subtle aspect of his character?

Lord Aubrey’s loyalty and conviction do set him apart from many men of his and Diana’s sphere of contemporaries. Though there are many soldiers who are dedicated to King and country there are enough that are not to help Anthony’s trustworthiness begin to make Diana fall in love with him. His kindness beneath a rougher exterior, his ability to admit when he is wrong, and the fact that he can care for her when he so obviously believes her guilty also contribute to her eventual falling in love in with him.

6) Of the minor characters in your book, are they any that stand out at being your favorites?

Jean Jordan, though a lesser character in Love’s Challenge and one of the villain’s, has become one of my favorites. His attempts to gain favor with Napoleon and enrich his coffers never worked for him as he was unfortunate enough to have to deal directly with Diana.

7) What do you think are the key differences between romance in our age, and the way it was during the time period in your novel?

Marriage’s in the time of Love’s Challenge were, for the most part, arranged and/or the result of a scandal. Today there are not many situations that could be construed as compromising and certainly none that would almost automatically lead to marriage. For many people who lived and loved in the Georgian/Regency era, romance had to come after marriage. Today it is the rare case that marriage will come before romance.

8) Regency romances make up such a significant portion of the literary market. What do you think it is that draws readers so strongly to your class of fiction?

I believe Regency romances have the draw that they do because romance readers want to escape from the everyday life. They want to travel back to a time where men were gentlemen and treated women like ladies. They want to get way from a dreary work day and live vicariously a different life that was assured to have a happy ending.

9) Which writers have inspired you the most?

Catharine Coulter, Johanna Lindsey, Victoria Henley, Jane Austen, and Fanny Burney have all inspired to me write. They each have a way of drawing the reader into intricate stories of romance where the Hero always gets the Heroine.

10) No doubt you've learned a great deal in the course of writing your novel. What would be your advice for someone interested in getting started writing historical romance?

I would advise anyone thinking of writing to write first what you love to read. If you don’t like the subject matter and are just writing to fit a certain market, your book will lack the fire that will make the reader keep turning that page.