THE LAST HELLION--Wench Susan H Scott interviews Wench Emerita Loretta

We promised Loretta Chase hadn’t entirely left the Word Wenches, and here she is back again, exactly as we promised.  Emerging from the depths of writing and revisions, Loretta returns to talk about the reissue of  THE LAST HELLION.  This is one delicious book, filled with Loretta’s usual mix of charm, wit, and truly unforgettable characters.  And for those of you who haven’t had the good fortune to discover this book for yourselves yet, here’s a hint to tempt you: Dain, the LORD OF SCOUNDRELS himself, reappears in these pages.  ‘Nuff said. 

As a reader and longtime Loretta fan, I’m personally delighted to see THE LAST HELLION returning in a fresh package for new readers to discover.  Would you tell us a bit about the story?
 
This was one of the cases where a secondary character intrigued me.  The Duke of Ainswood makes a brief drunk and disorderly appearance in LORD OF SCOUNDRELS.  That was all he was supposed to do.  But he kept bugging me.  What was his problem?  What was he covering up or running away from?  It turned out that the Duke of Ainswood is a drunken boor because he’s paid an unbearably high price for his position.  But his brand of self-destruction takes him slumming--and puts him on a collision course with big, blonde, and dangerous Lydia Grenville, crusading journalist (and secret romance writer).  This story is special to me because it was an opportunity to deal with some aspects of Regency life that one doesn’t encounter often in historical romances.  It was a way of getting into that Dickens world I love so much while allowing both my characters to try to fight the good fight--along with fighting with each other and falling in love.

I’m terrible at summarizing my stories, so I’ll let readers look at the back cover blurb here and an excerpt here, at the Avon microsite.

Lydia Grenville is an untraditional heroine, nearly six feet tall, nearly thirty, and full of fire and conscience.  She’s also a “career woman” in a time when ladies didn’t work, let alone work as crusading journalists.  What inspired you to develop her character?

Dickens gave me the general inspiration for the setting, and the novels he and others wrote in serial form gave me the idea for her pseudonymous ROSE OF CAIRO.  But more important, Lydia is one of the many woman characters I’ve created in reaction to women in 19th C novels and to 19th C sexism and misogyny in general.  Specifically, what set me off was critics’ reaction to Lady Morgan’s two-volume ITALY.   You can read her response to some of the criticism here.

According to Paul Johnson’s THE BIRTH OF THE MODERN, “they hated Lady Morgan as a woman writer...and they were further incensed by the news that the publisher Colburn had paid her the immense sum of £2000 for the book.  Byron hailed the book as ‘fearless and excellent.’”  Everyone else went nuts.  Here’s a sampling from Johnson’s book:  “‘she spewed out of her filthy maw/A flood of poison, horrible and black.  “She was ‘an Irish she-wolf’ a ‘blustering virago,’ a ‘wholesale blunderer and reviler’; she wrote while ‘maudlin from an extra tumbler of negus in the forenoon.’”  This was typical “criticism” of the time--reviewers today are pussycats by comparison.  What fascinated me me was the how much they hated her simply because she was a successful woman writer. 

 It was a tough world, and journalism then was definitely no place for a lady.  So I got the idea of a    heroine who was both a tough cookie journalist (a HIS GIRL FRIDAY kind of dame)--and a writer of highly popular romantic tales.  And the two occupations reflect the two sides of her personality.

While Lydia is unusual, her hero, Vere Mallory, Duke of Ainswood, outwardly seems that most stereotypical character, the rakehell peer.  But it only takes a few pages for readers to see the only typical thing about him is that he’s one more in a long line of deliciously unforgettable (and irresistible) heroes.   What makes him so special?
 
Well, he’s a big, dumb jerk, for one thing.  I love writing tough, smart, cool heroes like James Cordier of YOUR SCANDALOUS WAYS or Lord Rathbourne of LORD PERFECT.  But the Regency had its cowboys, too, and creating those types of heroes (Rupert of MR IMPOSSIBLE is one of my cowboys) is a different kind of challenge, and a different kind of fun.  Sometimes I think we have an overly refined image of what men were like then.  There’s a great passage in Conan Doyle’s RODNEY STONE:  “He was a type and leader of a strange breed of men which has vanished away from England--the full-blooded, virile buck, exquisite in his dress, narrow in his thoughts, coarse in his amusements, and eccentric in his habits.”   The “coarse in his amusements” concept influenced heroes like Lord Dain and the Duke of Ainswood.

Another inspiration for this story and his character was Pierce Egan’s LIFE IN LONDON.  I could easily picture Ainswood in the situations Cruikshank illustrates.

As sorry as we were here at the Wenches to see you shift to “Wench Emerita” status, we do know that it means there’s another new book on its way.  Would you please tempt us with a hint about what’s next, and when we can expect it?

As the green Barbie signals, I’m still somewhat deranged, having just completed revisions faster than the speed of light, so I’m not sure how coherent I can be about the new book.

Let’s see.  DON’T TEMPT ME has brought me back to a London setting and, for the first time in a very long time, it’s the high society London we all know and love--with no road trips.  In other words, I’ve gone back to my Regency roots on this one--and it’s been quite a challenge, returning to that hallowed ground and finding ways to make it fresh. 

When Zoe Lexham returns to England after twelve years in the exotic east, she knows everything a young lady shouldn’t and nothing she ought to know.  She’s a walking scandal, with no hope of a future...unless someone can civilize her.  Enter Lucien de Grey, the Duke of Marchmont.  Sarcastic, cynical, and easily bored, he’s known for loving women and leaving them--with parting gifts of expensive jewelry to dry their tears.  He’s got everything--money, rank, and popularity.  He’s welcome everywhere.  Make Zoe respectable?  Nothing could be simpler...he thinks.

I’ll let the readers decide what they think.

I’ve been invited to return at some point to talk more about DON’T TEMPT ME--and maybe some other things.  Once you’re a Wench, see, you’re a Wench all the way, from your first cigarette--oops, that’s WEST SIDE STORY.  Anyway, I’m not a Wench all the way, but I shall return from time to time.

Meanwhile, I’ve got a fresh new edition of THE LAST HELLION waiting for one lucky commenter. 

Comments

[Helen]

Loretta I have read Your Scandalous Ways and Lord Of Scoundrals and loved both of them so much that I got the rest of your books except The Last Hellion on the TBR pile so I will be ordering this.
I love your writing style and devoured the books.
I do love to hear about where the ideas come from.
Thank You for an insight into your work.
Have Fun
Helen

[Louis]

Ms Lydia sounds like a fun lady to read about.
Looking forward to reading about her.

[willaful]

I love your big dumb jerks!

[Claudia]

Ms. Chase,

I've loved your writing ever since I picked up Lord Perfect on a whim. Since then, I've read everything you've published with Avon (the older regencies being difficult to track down) and I have a soft spot for your "cowboy" heroes--in fact, I just finished my umpteenth reread of Mr. Impossible!

I bought Hellion as an e-book, but I prefer physical copies, and it feels like I've been waiting for this one forever; I'll be keeping an impatient eye out for it.

[cyclops8]

I love the Carsington brothers series. Will we be seeing Olivia and Peregrine in a future story?

[Sherrie Holmes]

From Sherrie:
SQUEEEEE!!! Okay, now that I've got that out of my system, welcome back, Loretta! It's so good to visit with you again.

"big, blonde, and dangerous ..."

I love it! This is a descriptor that would normally be applied to the hero, not the heroine!

I've only recently read THE LAST HELLION, and I was sure nothing could top my favorites, MR. IMPOSSIBLE and LORD OF SCOUNDRELS. But by cracky, it's right up there with my favorites. Which, come to think of it, *all* your books are my favorites.

Like the hordes of your other faithful readers, I am panting with excitement for your next book. And being an "insider," I know how much effort you put into your books, how much blood beads your brow, how much gnashing of teeth and pacing of floors it takes to produce another incomparable Loretta Chase book.

I can't wait.

[Linda Banche]

I love non-traditional heroines. I love women who tackle the harsh world and, by their own efforts, make it their own. Nowadays there are too many soft heroines in historicals. Please keep writing these tough cookies--I have to find them somewhere.

[May B]

The Last Hellion was the first LC I ever read and I became your fan since.

[Loretta Chase]

Helen, Sometimes I discover in hindsight where ideas come from. This one, though, was very clear. I hope you like THE LAST HELLION--oh, and BTW, it's worth reading at least the beginning of Lady Morgan's response--she's got a sense of humor, for sure.__Louis I think she is fun--and she's got quite a bit in common with somebody I won't name so as not to spoil it for you.___ "I love your big dumb jerks!" willaful, me, too!__Claudia, Mr. Impossible was huge work because of the setting but Rupert made it so much fun for me. TLH is out in stores now--but maybe you'll win a copy--signed, even.___ cyclops8, a lot of people have asked me about Peregrine & Olivia, and you know what? As I finished DON'T TEMPT ME, I was thinking it was time to find out what was happening with those two.___ Sherrie, a SQUEEEEE is exactly what a girl needs after staying up all night with revisions. ___ "I love non-traditional heroines. I love women who tackle the harsh world and, by their own efforts, make it their own. Nowadays there are too many soft heroines in historicals. Please keep writing these tough cookies--I have to find them somewhere." Linda Banche, you have put my goal so much better than I ever could and you have made my day. Thank you!

[arianna]

It's been so long since I last read TLH and reading your interview makes me want to pick up my crumbling copy and reread Lydia and Vere's story *g*

Can't wait until DON'T TEMPT ME comes out either!

[Julie Poorman]

Loretta - I remember a few months ago someone was saying they didn't like the Last Hellion because they found the fact that Lydia entered a "man's world" unbelieveable. (It was some twit on Amazon.) Anyway, I remember thinking that I understood her motivation completely! She lives her life her way since she "knows" that she is never likely to marry (and who would want to given the examples she had) but she goes about creating her own 'family'. I LOVED this book and I adore your boorish bad boys! Ainswood is the kind of guy you could smack on the back of the head when he says something stupid and he won't turn 'icy with disdain'. I loved him first, but am a little in love with Lord Rupert too! Smart women don't necessarily need a smart man - they need one who loves and supports and covers their back when they are out adventuring!
cheers,
Julie

[Susan/DC]

I haven't yet read "The Last Hellion" and am very happy it's been reissued. I love pretty much all Chase heroes, but feel I must defend the big dumb ones precisely because they aren't so dumb -- they are very smart about valuing their non-traditional heroines. I love Ms. Chase's non-traditional heroines too. There may not have been many women strong enough to build a life outside society's strictures, but we're foolish if we think that strong women first magically appeared somewhere in the late 19th C. There have always been unconventional women who figured out how to work the system to their own benefit. And if occasionally one of them needed a "big dumb" hero to help her, so much the better for Romance.

[Gretchen F]

Although it is a fabulous book, "Last Hellion"is one of the ones I seldom re-read because I cry so hard at the beginning!!! Love it anyway. Loretta, one of the things I have found appealing about several of your heroes (Dain and Rupert, especially) is that you tell us they have deep voices. I don't know what you think of, but I am sort of hearing Richard Burton or Alan Rickman when I read them. I think a deep voice is very sexy- But I love all your characters, male and female, leading players and minor roles- they are so fully themselves, if that makes sense. I'm looking forward to your new book- we miss you at wordwenches- phone home now and then!

[francois]

Sometimes I think I love The Last Hellion the best of all your books...and then I read another one and it turns out they're all excellent! I'm looking forward to your return to the landscape of the traditional Regency - if not the traditional characters...

[Lindsay]

Good to see you back, Loretta! I'm very excited for the reissue of The Last Hellion, since it's a LC I haven't read yet. I can't wait for Don't Tempt Me - is it still scheduled for June 2009? Zoe sounds like a fun character!

I love stories where the hero or heroine returns home after time abroad. It's so interesting to see how learning about other cultures has changed them, and how society treats them because they're different.

[cheryl c.]

Loretta, Lord of Scoundrels is one of my all-time favorite romances. I have never read The Last Hellion, and I am intrigued that it is the story of one of the secondary characters in LOS. I think I would enjoy revisiting Dain and learning more about Vere. Lydia also sounds like a wonderful character. I like that she is a non-traditional heroine. Congrats on the re-release. I am glad to hear, also, that there is a new book on the way!

[margaret]

Welcome back, Loretta! Looking forward to your next book, sounds delightful.
I've not read Lady Morgan's Italy book, but at least one novel (The Wild Irish Girl) and her book on France. She received some hard knocks from the critics, didn't she?

[Loretta Chase]

May, the book really is special to me, so it's wonderful to hear that it started you on my books.__arianna, look at it this way: It's something to read between now and July!___ Julie, thank you for understanding this book. All the history I've read tells me that women did a lot of things we think they weren't allowed to. In fact, there was a great show at the NYPL some years ago, BEFORE VICTORIA, that gave some fine examples as well as a clear sense of what these women were up against.___ Susan/DC, you expressed my feelings so well that I'll add nothing--except to say I'm copying your remarks to savor later. ___ Gretchen, I think that was one of the toughest prologues I've ever written. My suggestion, if you'd like to re-read: skip the prologue--you know what's in it--and go straight to Lydia. She cheered me up the instant she came to life on the page--in case you couldn't tell. *g* As to voices, yes, Alan Rickman is definitely one of the voices in my head. wow....

[Maureen]

The Last Hellion was the first book I read by Loretta. I took it out of the library and loved it so much I immediately started looking for her other books which, of course, most were not available. Now that they have been reissued I have been able to read them all and I am really looking forward to the next story.

[RevMelinda]

Loretta, it is wonderful to have you back at WW, and even better to have you talk about The Last Hellion! Before I read it last week it was the final missing volume in my Loretta Chase library, and it takes pride of place now on my Keeper shelf with all of your others! The only thing better would be a signed copy. . . so I'm hoping!

[Loretta Chase]

francois, I'm glad all the books have a place in your heart. I figured that it was time to "do" Regency world, and see what happened, after all these years of elsewhere.___ Lindsay, it's nice to be back. I hope TLH will be an enjoyable discovery for you. DON'T TEMPT ME will be out in July 2009--and Zoe was definitely fun for me.___ cheryl c., TLH felt like a logical progression from LOS, and offered an opporunity to view Dain's rough & tumble world from another angle, this time with someone else at center stage.
___Margaret, thank you. What was your impression of the two books you read? I wanted desperately to read Lady Morgan's Italy when I was working on YOUR SCANDALOUS WAYS--mainly because Byron was so complimentary (and he wasn't all that crazy about intellectual women)--but ILL doesn't give one enough time, and it still isn't up at Google Books. Her prose style will probably leave something to be desired--but one of these days, I have to read something of hers, just on account of how brutal the critics were to her.

[Loretta Chase]

Maureen, I hope you feel the same about the new book. I really did have fun with many of the holy shrines of the Regency: Almack's, the fashionable hour at Hyde Park, court, etc. With the next book, though, I'm thinking Exotic Locale again.___RevMelinda, thank you. You now have the complete set, I think, of the connected stories that started with The Lion's Daughter.

[Fedora]

Oh boy! I have to say that Rupert (Mr. Impossible) is one of my favorite heroes, so I do like that "cowboy" type! I'm so glad they're reissuing some of your earlier books so that more of your fans can read them! Yay!

[Janga]

Loretta, I love The Last Hellion. Some of my favorite books make me laugh, some make me cry, but the best ones do both. TLH falls in the last group. Robin's death is heart-wrenching, but there are also some LOL moments, starting with the meet scene. And it's a bonus that Bertie is such a great character. TLH is on my keeper shelves along with all my other Loretta Chase books, but it's an old copy and not signed. :)

I look forward to Don't Tempt Me, and I'm excited beyond words that you're thinking about Olivia and Peregrine's story.

[Maggie Robinson]

Oh, the torture of waiting for Zoe. The premise sounds fabulous. I think Mr. Impossible is my favorite book of yours, but then it's impossible to really decide! So glad you're revising and writing away. Keep it up, LOL.

[Loretta Chase]

Fedora, Mr. Impossible was such a fun book for me to write that I'm feeling an irresistible pull to the Carsingtons...and maybe Egypt. And yes, I'm really glad that Avon's given my newer readers the chance to get to know Dain and Ainswood. I always think of them as a pair, and am glad they are both now back in print--with updated covers!___
Janga, my favorite books make me laugh and cry, too. Bertie, I thought, was perfect for this story, because there was so much sadness in the past--and he's absolutely comic relief. As to Zoe & Marchmont: well into the book, I stuck in a mention of Lord Hargate...and that pretty much told me I was returning to the Carsington world next. ___ Maggie, I just did an interview that's to appear in the Dec RWAustralia newsletter. It's interesting to see so many comments referring to Mr. Impossible because one of the longest interview questions was about that book. It seems to have struck some strong chords with readers--hero + heroine + setting--and that makes me very happy.

[Anne Gracie]

Loretta, it's so nice to see you back Wenching. I have and love The Last Hellion, but am excited to hear of possibilities of more Carsingtons. I adore your big dumb heroes -- and agree that they're not really dumb. And I do like to read books that venture into exotic locales, so yay on all the possibilities.
Looking forward to reading your interview in the RWAustralia mag.

[peggy Q]

sounds wonderful Icant wait to read it.I enjoy reading your books

[Janice]

Well, I am majorly bummed. I thought The Last Hellion's street date was today, and that of Edith's new book as well, so I visited my local palace (Marina del Rey CA), gift card in hand ... and they didn't have it and didn't know anything about it. I know B&N is not known for loving romance books, even though you have to step over women reading them in the aisles (I had to step over a mum and her teen daughter reading an Ellora's Cave together while leaning comfortably back against the W-Zs and series books -- such a touching sight), so I shouldn't be so disappointed -- but I was looking forward to holing up tonight and rereading it. No amount of chocolate, umbrellas, cards, notepaper, gidgets and such tschotskies can compensate. Pfui.

Do publishers have any clout as to when books will actually be put out on the shelves, or is it limited to busting the chops of stores who put them out too soon?

[Loretta Chase]

Anne, thank you. And thank you again for taking over my spot. Despite the desperately short notice, you slid in so smoothly that it seems you've been here all along.___ peggy Q, I hope you like it!___Janice, I am so sorry you didn't find the book at your B&N. If they ordered it, they probably would have put it on the shelves 10/28. Though Avon lists it as a November book, the On Sale date is usually at the end of the previous month. My experience locally is that my books are on the shelves on the On Sale date. How long they remain there depends on the individual store, how many copies they ordered, and whether they re-order when they run out. Policy varies hugely from store to store, even within a chain. When they run out of a title, most stores don't automatically reorder, unless the author is one of the megasellers--or, as is the case with one of my local Waldenbooks, the manager is deeply supportive and loyal. Most of them will order copies for customers, though--at no additional charge. The publisher really can't do much about this. IOW, chop busting must be done by customers *g*. So, you want to hear my strange story? Recently I did a booksigning at a Borders that had 0 copies of The Last Hellion--yes, 0 copies of the latest re-release, the one I was there specifically to sign. They had 0 copies too of YOUR SCANDALOUS WAYS, my newest book--but dozens of copies of Not Quite a Lady, my 2007 book!

[Loretta Chase]

And to all celebrating this week: HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

[Minna]

One more book I must add to my TBB list...

[Maya M.]

How marvelous to hear of an upcoming book! 'Your Scandolous Ways' was one of my most treasured book purchases of 2008, so I await Zoe with mucho anticipation.

Dain is all very well and good, but my heart beats for Rupert so to hear that another character shares his archtype makes me more likely to search out his story...

[Janice]

After reading your reply, Loretta, I was curious, so I went by that particular B&N again, to see if they had either The Last Hellion or Edith's A Bride for His Convenience. Not on the shelves, not on the racks, not on the table. I collared a clerk and asked him to look them up. His computer showed Last Hellion as 1998 mass market, none in stock, and as a trade paperback print on demand and available only via the B&N website.

As for Edith's book, his computer showed they had one (1) copy - but he couldn't find it. He asked if I wanted him to special order them, but I said no, amazon is only a click away.

So how can you ladies sell your books if they're not in the stores when they're supposed to be?

Ifyou want every single Stephanie Laurens Cynster tome ever published, though, B&N is there for you (my clerk was a guy and he thinks all romances are pretty much the same).

[Loretta Chase]

Maya M., thank you for the additional Rupert enthusiasm. I have a big crush on him myself. I hope you enjoy the rather different big dumb jerk that is the Duke of Ainswood. *g*___Janice, I went to the B&N website and saw a major problem: they do not have any of the current information about the re-release. This happens sometimes, and I've alerted those at Avon who deal with the various bookseller websites. It's a technical glitch, and I'm sorry to say the phenomenon is not uncommon--and when it comes to reissues, it gets worse. According to the website, I should be able to find copies of TLH at a number of my local B&Ns. Whether they're actually on the shelves, I can't say at the moment. All I can say at the moment is THANK YOU for persisting with this--I wouldn't have discovered the problem otherwise. My previous experience indicates that Avon gets this stuff fixed fairly quickly.