Shana Galen Interview & Giveaway!
I’m back with Shana Galen today to talk about her awesome new release, THE ROGUE PIRATE’S BRIDE, which I reviewed last week. Today, she tells us a little more about the creation of her characters and her own writing. Plus, she’s generously giving away TWO copies of this fantastic novel! Lots of ways to enter below!
THE ROGUE PIRATE’S BRIDE
The Marquis de Valère escaped certain death in the French Revolution and is now an infamous privateer. Out to avenge the death of his mentor, Bastien discovers himself astonishingly out of his depth when confronted with a beautiful, daring young woman who is out for his blood…
Forgiveness is unthinkable, but it may be her only hope…
British Admiral’s daughter Raeven Russell believes Bastien responsible for her fiancé’s death. But once the fiery beauty crosses swords with Bastien, she’s not so sure she really wants him to change his wicked ways…
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Shana, I absolutely adored Raeven! She’s such a fresh and strong heroine. Can you tell us a little about how you went about developing her character?
Hi Joan! Thank you so much for hosting me and for the lovely review of The Rogue Pirate’s Bride.
Raeven was such a fun character to write. I’ve written many Regency misses, but most of my heroines aren’t afraid to take a few risks. With Raeven, I just went a little farther. I’d already written Sophia in Lord and Lady Spy, and she is pretty tough. Raeven is younger than Sophia and less worldly but just as tough and completely fearless. Since The Rogue Pirate’s Bride is a series, I knew Bastien was a pirate, and once I knew Raeven was the daughter of a British admiral, I just tried to imagine what it would be like for a girl to grow up on a ship surrounded by sailors. I thought Raeven would be tough, fearless, and a little spoiled. She’d definitely be used to getting her way. But she would have never lasted if she was afraid of work or lazy, so she’s a hard worker, a quick-study, and great with a sword, a pistol, or a cannon.
The dynamics between Raeven and Bastian are electric and so fun! They are both such headstrong individuals. Did they try to take the reins and run the story or did they behave for you while you were writing?
I wish I could remember! I wrote this book when my daughter was a newborn, and I was living on about 3 hours of sleep. I think they must have taken the reins quite a bit because I could hardly form a coherent thought during much of that period. I do remember struggling more with Raeven than Bastien. She seemed to know what she wanted and what direction to take the story even before it made sense to me. These lines of dialogue would just pop up on the page, and I’d have to go back and figure out how it all made sense.
THE ROGUE PIRATE’S BRIDE is the third in your Sons of the Revolution series, but quite a different take from the first two. Can you tell us a little about how that came about?
The series was inspired by Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities. In The Making of a Duchess, Julien is a bit like Charles Darnay. He’s a French émigré living in London but retaining ties to France. Armand from The Making of a Gentleman is like Dr. Manette in that Armand has spent years in prison. The only other major male character in the Dickens novel is Sydney Carton, and while I adore Sydney, a hero who pines after a married woman and then sacrifices his life to save her husband is not really going to work in a romance novel. And I’d always wanted to write a book with a pirate hero. So I made Bastien a pirate, but I did have him make sacrifices for Raeven. And he has a much happier ending than Sydney.
I know that sometimes readers expect one thing from the end of a series and are surprised when they don’t get it. I like to surprise readers—hopefully, in a good way. I don’t want them to get what they’re expecting. That’s boring. I like to change it up and keep every book fresh.
What is your writing routine?
I have a toddler, so I write when she is sleeping or at preschool. She goes to preschool two days a week, so when she’s not at preschool, I get up early and write, write when she naps, and write after she goes to bed at night. I write 4 pages/5 days a week. My pages are about 325 words per page, so that puts me at 20 pages and 6500 words a week. I can write the first draft of a book in about 3 months that way, and I find that 4 pages a day is very doable.
What is your biggest writing quirk?
This is very bad, but I find that I can’t write new pages if I don’t have something to snack on or drink while I work. Fortunately, I keep a lot of cut fruit and veggies in the house, but I always want chocolate. If the pages aren’t going well, I easily get my 5 servings of fruit and vegetables.
Can you give us a peek into any new projects?
Sure! I’m working on a new series we’re calling the Jewels of the Ton. It’s about three glamorous Regency courtesans who get mixed up with some dangerous diamonds and some equally dangerous men. The first book is due out in September, and it’s titled When You Give a Duke a Diamond. I’m finishing up the second book, and the third book will actually be released after the next Lord and Lady Spy book, which is tentatively titled True Spies. That’s my next project.
Where can we find you online?
Everywhere! Mostly I’m on Facebook and Twitter or blogging with the Jaunty Quills, but I have excerpts, news, and lots of other fun stuff on my website.
Where can we purchase this fantastic series?
It’s available from all major book retailers—Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Walmart, etc., and it’s in paperback and ebook form.
Shana is generously giving away TWO copies of THE ROGUE PIRATE’S BRIDE! Lots of ways to enter!
About Shana: I’m the author of numerous adventurous, romantic Regency historicals, including the Rita-nominated Blackthorne’s Bride. My books have been sold in Brazil, Russia, and the Netherlands and featured in the Rhapsody and Doubleday Book Clubs. I taught English at the middle and high school level off and on for eleven years. Most of those years were spent working in Houston’s inner city.
Now I write full time. I’m happily married to an incredibly supportive man I like to call Ultimate Sportsfan, and I have a beautiful daughter and a very spoiled cat.
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