Anne here, interviewing our very own Wench, Patricia Rice about her writing life and newest book, THE WICKED WYCKERLY.
Most regular readers of this blog know Pat, but did you know that:
— she's a New York Times and USA Today bestseller
— she's written forty-seven books
— she's won numerous awards, dozens of RT Critics' Choice Awards including a Lifetime Achievement Award and I don't know how many RITA nominations.
— and she’s not killed any editors in the process. That she knows of.
Anne : Pat, you've asked this of others, but I don't think I've ever heard you answer it yourself. How did you start writing? Were you making up stories in kindergarten, or did you come to the trade later? Were there any particular writers who inspired you?
(Pause for Pat to to recover from the cheek of being fed her own question so early in the piece)
Pat: LOL! Turn about is fair play. Besides, it’s a fun question. I think I was probably editing stories in kindergarten—I remember marking up my picture books with red crayon. (yeah, yeah, everyone’s a critic) I didn’t start seriously putting my own stories down on paper until about fourth grade, when I could get my hands on spiral notebooks. The next year, my father brought home a used IBM Selectric, and I was off and running—although teen tragedy and Nancy Drew mysteries were my genre then.
Anne : So, pretty much started in the cradle, then. Your latest project is a new regency series entitled Rebellious Sons. The first book, THE WICKED WYCKERLY, comes out on July 6th. Pat, I'm so intrigued by the idea of featuring rebellious sons. What was the inspiration for this series?
Pat: Rebellion? I was tired of rich, aristocratic heroes who already have everything money can buy. I wanted guys who had to struggle for their dreams. Admittedly, it’s just a fun way to torture them, but making them work hard for their happiness intrigued me and offered opportunity for lots of heroic conflict.
Anne: I was lucky enough to read THE WICKED WYCKERLY in manuscript form, and I have to say I loved it. I smiled all the way through, chuckling from time to time, and I put it down at the end with a big happy sigh. I was hooked from the beginning, where the hero, Fitz, is in such a pickle. To quote you, "Poor chap, his irresponsible bachelor’s life has just come to a crashing, nearly fatal, end with the inheritance of a bankrupt earldom and the arrival of a six-year-old dispenser of flaming dragon dung." Fitz is not your average romance hero, is he?
(Pause for Pat to respond, waxing lyrical about the gorgeousness and brilliance of Fitz ... or to fling the feeble question back in Anne's teeth.)
Pat: I think I like Anne’s response better than my own. <G> Fitz is brilliant, actually, a math genius with no education other than memorizing a book of insects he stole as a rebellious child. And the whole point of this series is to create a non-average hero! But he’s a hero, nonetheless. I mean, even in the very first pages, the poor guy has taken on the overwhelming task of tending a six-year-old with a vocabulary of curses better than his. I ask you, what kind of man would do that? And learn to do it quite well. My kind of hero!
Anne : And he’s kind, though he tried to hide it, and he’s a gambler, quite a good one. The heroine, Abigail Merriweather, is a great foil for both Fitz and his wild child.
(Pause for Pat to respond to what is not even a question...)
Pat: I think I’m going to hand this interview back to you just to see where you can go with it… Okay, I’ll play: Abby is blunt, honest, shy, and just about everything Fitz is not. Which means she also knows how to handle six-year-old termagants and is immune to Fitz’s practiced charm. She provides the grounding they need to stop flailing about and consider their not inconsiderable personal assets. How could Fitz not fall in love with a miracle worker, even if she chases him with a hoe and refuses his offer of marriage?
Anne : Yes, it’s delicious fun watching them throw sparks off each other. If THE WICKED WYCKERLY was made into a movie, who would you have play Fitz, and who Abigail?
(Pause for Pat to delete stinking rotten hard-to-answer question)
Pat: Delete. <G> I believe I told Sue Grimshaw that a short Katherine Hepburn might have the right attitude for Abby, but I can’t even remember what name I gave her for Fitz. The part of my brain reserved for names is infinitesimal. Check her Borders True Romance blog on July 7 to see if it’s there. (How was that for a neat promotional turn about?)
Anne : Sneaky, but smart (heh heh.) I really enjoyed the cast of quirky minor characters in the story, from the creaky, shopworn but immensely dignified butler who nothing could shock, to the illiterate blackmailer. Who was your favorite?
(finally a question!)
Pat: The butler, hands down. That old man had put up with a succession of incompetent, illiterate earls, running the household with creative license for decades. Despite the opportunity to rob the place blind, he kept on working—maybe helping himself a little a long the way, but only what he’d earned!
Anne: The very first Patricia Rice book I read was Denim and Lace -- a western romance and a fabulous book. Do you think you'll ever go back to writing westerns? I confess I miss them.
Pat: I confess, a lot of us miss them. But the book market tends to follow television trends, in my experience. Right now, we’re still suffering from vampiritis (is that an infection of vampires?). I’m not sure we’ll ever get back to the innocent times of sexy saloon ladies and handsome gamblers, unless they’re in outer space. Hmmm….(idea balloon floating)
Anne: Steampunk westerns anyone? Pat, you’re a prolific writer who's written in a range of subgenres and weathered all kinds of changes in publishing. Any advice for new writers?
Pat: Just the one I always use—perseverance is the only way to publication. You can’t sell what isn’t written. If I’d quit every time my book was turned down…oh wait, I would still be a CPA and would only have seen that first rejection. Instead, I can now paper one wall with rejection letters and an entire room with book covers. And work in my jammies, if I’m so inclined.
Anne: And many more books to come, I hope. Can you tell us a little about the next book in the Rebellious Sons series?
Pat: THE DEVILISH MONTAGUE will be about Blake, whose superstitious family believes he’s cursed to die before he’s thirty and who seems to be doing his best to prove it.
Anne: Sounds lovely. All the best of luck with the launch of THE WICKED WYCKERLY. Anyone who can't wait to read it, there's a gorgeous teaser here.Pat: Anne, thanks for prodding me into talking about Fitz and Abby! I just received my author copies of THE WICKED WYCKERLY, so I’ll give one away to whichever comment entertains us most. While we’re amusing ourselves, could we talk about what makes a man heroic? Does it have to be his ability to take care of his family with wealth?
Anne again: And I'll add, is there anyone else out there who misses western romances?