An Interview with Eloisa James: The Duke is MINE!

by Mary Jo

We Word Wenches are delighted to have Eloisa James as a guest today.  Possessor of one of the most original voices in historical romance, Eloisa has a background that enthralls journalists and readers alike.  Since she is always being asked about it, I shall briefly summarize so we can move onto more interesting questions.  <g>

Eloisa is the daughter of Robert Bly, the distinguished poet and National Book Award winning author of Iron John, a seminal influence on the men’s movement and an international bestseller.  The family roots are Norway and Minnesota (yes, like Garrison Keillor), and Eloisa has the tall, lean, blondness to prove it. <G>  She has degrees from Harvard, Oxford, and Yale, and is a professor of Shakespeare and head of the Creative Writing program at Fordham University.

Despite the fact that both her parents were distinguished literary writers, Eloisa was a born story lover and story teller.  She loved reading romance, which progressed to writing romances, and she is one of our genre’s most eloquent advocates.  As her website says, she has two jobs, two kids, two cats, and one husband, the Italian born Alessandro, who is not only gorgeous (I’ve met him and can verify this <g>), but also a hereditary Italian knight, a cavaliere.  Is that romantic or what?

I have a suspicion that Eloisa never sleeps, so I’m glad she has taken the time to visit us.  Her new January book, The Duke is Mine, immediately leaped onto the New York Times bestsellers list, and is third in her current series of fairy tale inspired books.  It features a heroine who is just too full of life to be the perfect duchess her parents raised her to be, and two men, both of them very unusual characters. (Excerpt)

Eloisa, The Duke is Mine is loosely inspired by the Princess and the Pea, and it is variously very funny and rather tragic.  Could you tell us about the story and how you came to write it?
 
EJ:  I jumped into the story as part of my fairy-tale retellings without thinking through the pea, in particular (which proved to be very difficult to transform).  What interested me right away, though, was the question of how we judge perfection.  In The Princess and the Pea, the girl who arrives in the middle of a rainstorm is tested by her future mother-in-law (including a trial involving the infamous pea and 100 mattresses), and eventually declared a “real” princess, perfect in every way.

So I started the novel thinking about our standards for perfection.  Every character reflects that preoccupation, in one way or another.  Olivia, my heroine is no perfect heroine; she’s impudent, bawdy, and plump. Her sister Georgiana, by contrast, approaches “perfection,” in that she’s mastered all societal rules.  Olivia is torn between a duke, Quin, with an Aspergers-like inability to express emotion, and her fiancé Rupert, who is all emotion with almost no logic.  Olivia, Georgie, Quin, and Rupert are all perfect and imperfect in different ways.  
 

MJP: How does your work with Shakespearean plays and language influence your romance novels?  
 
 EJ:  Most obviously, teaching Shakespeare for years has given me a rich poetic vocabulary to fall back on, though the poetry in The Duke is Mine is more Keatsian than Shakespearean (I had to make up a poem for Rupert).  I do think that it is extremely useful to be teaching plays.  I find dialogue an on-going challenge, and teaching a genre that’s pure dialogue is always helpful.
 
 
MJP: Do you have any comments about the abundance of dukes and duchesses in your books and in your titles?
 
EJ:  At some point it became clear to my publisher that my books sell better with dukes & duchess in my titles.  That speaks for itself.  But I would also say that I grew up the daughter of a poet on a farm in rural Minnesota.  My prom party was in a gravel pit, and poets do not make a lot of money.  I am completely uninterested in writing books about money problems.  For me, “duke” often acts as shorthand for person-with-mucho-land (and thereby, money).
 
 
MJP: I’ve noticed that several of your books have small dogs with, to put it delicately, incontinence issues. <G>  Are the fictional dogs inspired by real dogs in your life?  I was also told to ask about Lucy and Milo, real dogs with real stories. <G>

EJ: Lucy is indeed our dog!  She is a rescue dog who looks exactly like the rather battered, loving dachshund in The Duke is Mine.  When I was writing The Duke is Mine, she was still having a little anxious incontinence now and then.  I’m happy to say that barring an unfortunate incident after she snatched and ate a full half pound of blue cheese, she’s had no accidents in the last year.

Milo features largely in the memoir I have coming out in April, Paris in Love.  Milo used to be our Chihuahua, until a sad day one summer when Air France refused to let him get on the plane back home from Italy because he was too fat.  Literally over-weight.  So my mother-in-law happily adopted Milo and since then he’s just grown chubbier and chubbier.  And chubbier.  He’s a very funny character. 

What I’ve discovered about dogs—never having grown up with one—is that they have characters, much more so than cats.  I’m really enjoying putting them in books.  They weave into the plot beautifully, and they can echo whatever I’m thinking about.  In Lucy’s case, she is a lot like her owner, Rupert.  They both live completely in the present, full of love and bravery and energy. 

At the moment I’m finishing The Ugly Duchess, which publishes August 28 (I’m running very late!).  At any rate, my duchess has adopted a rescue dog who is very beautiful, but has been maltreated.  It’s an obvious point, but I think it works.
 
 MJP: In addition to having another of the fairy tale books scheduled for September, you have a non-fiction memoir called Paris in Love coming out in April.  The book is about how you and your family sold the house in New Jersey and packed up and moved to Paris for a year.  I assume you and your husband timed your sabbaticals so you could have such a marvelous adventure.  Wench Anne Gracie says she loved your tweets from Paris.  
 
So—tell us about Paris!  What new things did you discover and pursuits did you pursue?  How did your children take to a foreign country and language?  And do you want to live there again at some future time?
 
EJ:  My children split the difference, as they often do: my son fell in love with Paris and is now fluent in French; my daughter hated the city and refused to learn the language.  Overall, we had a wonderful year.

Looking back, the lesson I learned is how fast life spins by if we don’t record it.  I knew when we left the US that I wanted to remember the year. I was leaving post-treatment for a very early case of breast cancer, which had given me a chilling sense of mortality.  Plus, Luca was already fifteen, and I had the chilling fear that once he grew up I would forget all those funny teenage moments, the way I had forgotten most of the adorable things he did as a baby.  So I had a fit of wanting to record life rather than just live it (and forget it).  That record turned into Paris in Love.  I think it’s a quite funny look at our year: life in Paris with Anna, Luca, my husband, the plump dog I mention above, Milo.

I’d love to live in Paris again.  My hope is that the book will inspire more people to snatch up a dream and just do it—trust that it’s OK to sell the house, move into an apartment you find on the internet, live in a foreign country without speaking the language (because I don’t!).
  
MJP:  What have I missed that I should have asked you, or that you’d like to say?
 
EJ:  Well, let me put in a word for The Ugly Duchess, coming next September.  This has been a really tough book to write, but fun.  It’s my first pirate book!  If I was thinking about perfection with The Princess and the Pea, this one is about beauty.  Now I’m realizing that I’m making my books sound awfully moralistic.  I assure everyone that they are not.  I aim at funny escapist, with a thread of thoughtfulness behind it.  I should have an excerpt up on my website, www.eloisajames.com, pretty soon.
 
 MJP: Thanks so much for visiting us, Eloisa, and I wish you much success in your future careers. 

EJ: Thank you Word Wenches!  It’s always a pleasure.
 
MJP: Eloisa will be giving away two copies of her earlier fairy tale romance, When Beauty Tamed the Beast to readers who post comments between now and Tuesday midnight.  So—what would you like to ask Eloisa about her dual careers?  What are some of your favorite novels based on fairy tales?  And do you like pets in romances? <G>
 
 Mary Jo

Comments

[Pageturner]

I like a good Duke too....well, when I say a good Duke, I mean a bad one who will (natch) be transformed by love. I still have Eloisa's A Kiss at Midnight to read - I love Cinderella stories.

[email protected]

[Andrea Penrose]

Wonderful interview Eloisa and Mary Jo! Eloisa, wearing my fangirl hat for a moment (before attacking the WIP) I want to thank you for . . . well, for a lot of things! Firstly,for writing such marvelous stories and endearing characters, from duchesses to dukes to dogs. Your books make us laugh, but they are also so richly layered with “life lessons” and real foibles that make us think. But I also want thank you to for being such an eloquent advocate of the genre, and for your curiosity and courage to explore life. Your Paris notes were just beautiful—can’t want for April, and the EJ books to come. You’re an inspiration to us all!

[Ora]

My favorite fairy tales growing up were Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast. I love the retelling of those stories. I have just recently started reading your fairy tale books. You create such wonderful and memeorable characters. Lucy is defintely endearing. I have had pets who were deformed and ugly which made me want to love and protect them more.
Have you ever thought about role reversals when retelling fairy tales? I haven't read any and thought that would be something interesting and different to read.

[Janga]

Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairy tale, but as much as I loved When Beauty Tamed the Beast, The Duke Is Mine is my favorite of Eloisa's fairy tale romances. It's my favorite for many reasons, but that Keatsian poem and Olivia and Quin's conversation about it is certainly one.

I am eagerly awaiting Paris in Love. I read EJ's Paris tweets with delight, feeling as if she were giving me the sights, sounds, and tastes of the city. I'm expecting PIL to be a feast for the senses, including the sense of humor. I particularly love the Anna stories.

Please don't enter me in the competition for the books. I have two copies on a keeper shelf now, one much underlined and one pristine and signed. :)

[Cate S]

I liked the 6 Swans growing up.. But I truly enjoy your books as there are always several layers to them.. I am sorry that your daughter didn't like Paris.. but happy that your son did.... You might start saving up for that college year abroad that I see in his future.

[Kim M.]

Obviously EJ is an extremely intelligent woman (who is also very gracious to harried women who meet her at book signings), do you ever encounter critics who dismiss your more serious writings because you are also a successful romance author? I love reading her books because they combine all the best parts of a story - characters you can relate to, laugh with, and get lost in their stories with. Not to mention the happy endings. I can't wait to read Paris in Love. Life can be all too precious and fleeting and it's inspiring to read the story of an adventurous (and still practical and hysterical) soul.

[Crystal]

Thanks for a great interview! I love to read fairy tales- all versions. I absolutely loved The Duke is Mine and I can't wait until I can read Paris in Love!

[Diane]

Paris in Love interests me greatly. What a wonderful experience. Memorable.

[Diane Sallans]

I've traveled a bit, but other than beach vacations only spent a few days in each location. I've always thought it would be great to stay someplace new for at least a couple months to really get into it. Your year in Paris sounds magical (plus your visits to Italy). Nothing like a health scare to make you do something you really want. Best wishes for your continued good health and enjoyment of life.

[Quilt Lady]

Great interview! I really enjoy your books, can't wait to get The Duke is Mine or any of your books when I get one I stop what I am reading and read your. I do enjoy reading books with pets in them Kristen Higgins writes some really good pet stories. Also my favorite fairy tale is Cinderella. I love the rags to riches stories.

[Susan/DC]

Some of my favorite fairy tales involve transformations: Beauty and the Beast, The Ugly Duckling, and others, often where the hero or heroine has to develop inner beauty in order to earn physical beauty.

I've loved Eloisa James stories for their humor, their intelligence, and the interactions of all the characters, not just the hero and heroine. The comment about dialogue being difficult for her is interesting because she writes such sparkling dialogue for her characters. Her siblings and friends sound like people I know, other than the fact that they are consistently funnier and smarter than most of us in Real Life could hope to be.

[annie]

Your year in Paris sounds enthralling and special. Life is to be savoured in travel. Love the dogs photos which always are adorable. Sweethearts. Fairytales make us believe. having that rags to riches or that prince rescue us is always a favorite.

[Beebs]

Hi ladies, great interview

My favourite fairytale is Beauty and the Beast, love books with that theme and adore the disney movie.

I absolutely love dogs,as pets, in books, movies...

[Laura Jordan]

I just picked up the Duke is Mine. I can't wait to curl up with it during this dreary winter weather. How do you story board your ideas? Do you use a scrapbook and notebook for jotting down quick ideas? I have just started delving into romamnce writing and I find that I have about four different story ideas floating around my head at any given time. What advice do you have for deciding which story idea to work on first? Do you have several simmering on the back burners at once? Thank you, you are one of my inspirations for finally deciding to achieve one of my own personal dreams. -Laura J.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Fairy tales make such lovely inspirations for romance, don't though! And no question that Beauty and the Beast tops a lot of lists--it's my favorite, too.

Given the number of fairy tales there are, Eloisa can make this series last indefinitely!

[Anne Gracie]

Welcome to WordWenches, Eloisa. Your Paris tweets gave me seriously itchy feet, as did this interview, so I'm really looking forward to the Paris book coming out. Also looking forward heaps to your trip to Australia as the keynote speaker for the aussie romance conference. Can't wait.

On the subject of fairy tales, didn't Kay Hooper do a series of romance books based on fairy tales?

[Eloisa James]

Hi everyone! Thank you for all these kind words about Paris in Love. I am so thrilled to say that I just found out today that it's getting a starred review from Publishers Weekly-- hurrah!

[Eloisa James]

Ora, role reversal in a fairy tale is a complicated thing... you end up thinking so much about what a fairy tale is trying to say, at the base. I certainly have had a "princess" save a prince, so to speak.

[Eloisa James]

Laura J,
I don't storyboard ideas -- I just plunge in. I do not recommend this! The Duke is Mine had to go back to beginnings after 175 pages. The book I'm writing now had serious edits too (think weeks of rethinking). But--that's the way my brain works. I think through my fingers, which means writing mistakes are replaced by the good stuff.

[Glittergirl]

I'm always a sucker for Cinderella stories. My favorite movie is Pretty Woman. I've just discovered your books and they look fantastic. You have captured the romance in your stories and have devoted fans. I'm starting to collect your books so I'd love to add this to it. Thanks for the interview and giveaway. glittergirl54 at ymail dot com

[LouisaCornell]

How funny that your son embraced his Parisian experience and his sister did not. I think Paris evokes a very strong response in people - either they love it or hate it. I look forward to reading Paris in Love.

I have enjoyed your fairy tale series a great deal. The combination of fairy tales and Regency England seem such a wonderful pairing.

I do love Beauty and the Beast and The Ugly Duckling romance themes. The possibilities are endless.

What sort of acceptance of the romance genre did you sense in Paris?

I sang opera in Germany, Austria and Eastern Europe for a couple of years - with Salzburg as my home base, so to speak. I noticed a real cultural embracing of opera, live music, theatre and yes, romance novels. This was in the early 80's and I often saw older couples in evening dress sitting next to couples with goth hair, piercings and clothing at the opera. Young children attended as well. And women thought nothing of reading romance novels in open air cafes and parks. Was there a simliar atmosphere in Paris?

[LilMissMolly]

I think all working moms tend to have dual careers. :)
Love books based on classics. Beauty and the Beast is my favorite, closely followed by the Little Mermaid.

[bn100]

How do you find time for everything?

Some of my favorite novels based on fairy tales involve Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.

I don't mind if pets are included in the books.

[Aretha Zhen]

Hi Eloisa last year I just finish read your essex sister books and the books are marvelous. I love pet in romances, till now I still remember jimminy cricket from Pinocchio and the mouses in Cinderella. I think they are the funny and perfect component in Disney cartoon fairy-tales. My question is how do you manage such a busyt schedule for two job? I think that is very cool and How do you get inspirations for all of your books and what is your most favourite disney movie fairytale? Thank you. Wish you all the best.

[Milly Lie]

Hi, Ms Eloisa...

I like to read your Duchess Series. I collected them but with translate version.

Hope I can read more of your books in future...

blessing80000[at]gmail[dot]com

[Shannon McEwan]

Milo looks exactly like Hildegard - an (equally) overweight chihuahua that my mother had for many years. It's a good thing Hilde never had to fly Air France!

[Sue P.]

Just love your writing, Eloisa. I can barely handle one job, don't know how you manage two! Does Anna still dislike France? I thought that she had been there for school awhile back. Looking forward to you future books. Very hard waiting.

[kamagra]

If you like your romance intelligent, funny, tender and sexy, I'd highly recommend The Duke Is Mine!