From Rome to the Outback - the world of Eva Scott

It is always a pleasure to welcome one of my peripatetic writing friends to take tea with me. Eva Scott is an Australian writer of contemporary, coastal and historical romances and a stable mate of my publisher Escape Publishing. 

She may have a branding problem... but I prefer to call it diversity of subject! Whatever Eva Scott book you pick up you will love!


Welcome to my tea table, Eva. What is your preference? English Breakfast or something a little more exotic!

I’m rather partial to French Earl Grey – smells heavenly and tastes delicious.
(AS: I confess I have never tried French Earl Grey... it certainly looks pretty but does it have bergamot?)

You have lived and worked “overseas” but I am intrigued… where have you lived and what took you to foreign parts?

Love took me to Britain where I lived for 6 years (not with the same man I hasten to add). Boredom took me to Papua New Guinea. I was in a job I hated so I emailed everyone I knew and asked if anyone knew of a job for me. An old friend from my London days was living in PNG and there was a job…so I went…

And how did you meet your husband?

…and met the love of my life who was stationed in Port Moresby with the Australian Defence Force. It was pretty well love at first sight although it took us several years to actually get together.  Now he’s a writer too!

I thought I had difficulty putting a “label” on what I write but you are quite diversified… contemporary, coastal and historical romance (not all in the same book!).  How do you describe yourself and of the sub genres you write in, which really holds your passion!

Loads of people say you must define your brand – and on paper I agree with them.  I saw Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat Pray Love) speak once about story ideas being like birds which come to roost with you. If you don’t manifest them they leave and find someone else who will. All the stories which come to roost with me are very different from one another. Which means my branding is a train wreck! I really must do something about that…

You seem to be working on several stories at the same time. How does your writing process work?

I have a 3 year old boy so my process goes like this – put the computer on the kitchen bench and leave it on, opened on the current MS, write in snatches whenever there is a chance. Luckily for me my little lad is independent and doesn’t need my constant attention. In fact he often tells me to go away and work on ‘combuter’.  In the early stages of developing a storyline I do lots of character work and some basic plot work. I find that despite my best intentions my characters often ignore the plotline and do their own thing.
(AS:  I didn't start writing until my children were well past that stage. I think I would have driven myself around the bend!)

I love the concept of your Roman historicals,  THE LAST GLADIATRIX and THE BARBARIAN BRIDE which revolve around the concept of female gladiators. Where did the idea for these stories come from and will there be any more in the series?

THE LAST GLADIATRIX was completely different when I first wrote it. Titus was a god disguised as a Centurion. It was awful. The rewrite is much better and some say Titus is my best hero ever. BARBARIAN BRIDE spun off of THE LAST GLADIATRIX in response to a request from my editor to know what happened to Klara, a minor character. The very last book in the series (currently being polished) is about one of the hero’s sister, Alexandra, and how she navigates the treacherous waters of Roman society when she finds herself alone and under threat.

Moving away from the world of Roman Gladiators back to the present, I know you are very excited about the re-release of your three contemporary stories, THE RELUCTANT WEDDING PLANNER, MARRIAGE MAKEOVER and T'WAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS. How did this come about? 

These three books were my first foray into writing. The Reluctant Wedding Planner originally made the finalist list for the Romance Writers of Australia's Emerald Award before being contracted by Musa Publishing. Another two books followed and this year Musa Publishing decided to give them some new covers and let them loose on the world once more. My editor has a soft spot for Marriage Makeover while T'was The Night Before Christmas got terrific reviews on the college circuit. There is something for everyone in this trilogy and I'm delighted they've been given a fresh life.

THE RELUCTANT WEDDING PLANNER

Dr Camden James is a rural vet, not a wedding planner, so he quickly feels out of his depth when, in a fit of generosity, he offers to glam up his sister's budget wedding in a secret move designed to surprise her. With only six weeks to make this the wedding of his sister's dreams he needs to move fast.

Stumbling around in the largely female world of weddings he gets a lead on the go-to girl for wedding flowers - Georgiana Mac Intyre. Georgi, reeling from a very public breakup, is not interested in men in anyway shape or form. Not even super-cute vets - even when they are clearly interested in her. 
Cam shamelessly uses his story to get her to help. It has all the elements; romance against the odds, true love, orphans (you can't have good story without an orphan or two), and a bride.

MARRIAGE MAKEOVER

Nick and Talia Carmichael were childhood sweethearts. Grief over the death of their baby daughter from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome crushed their marriage. Talia moved to a new city, with a new career and life. Now it’s time to close the door on the past and ask Nick for a divorce.
Nick has other ideas. Once his wife, always his wife. He has no intention of letting Talia off so lightly and proposes terms and conditions to his agreement. It will mean moving back into their marital home, and force her to face long buried grief. Can she do as he asks?
Being with Nick causes her to question everything she thought was true. Has she made a mistake thinking her love for Nick is dead? Can he still love her? More importantly, can he again trust after everything they’ve been through?

T’WAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

During her Christmas Eve performance, part time Burlesque dancer Miss Ginger Snap looks out into the crowd to see her first and only love, Clay Roberts. The man who broke her heart and betrayed her. The man who caused her to flee her home town to Sydney and never look back. Desperate to avoid him, she makes a mad dash for the last train back to her home town in time for Christmas.
For Clay time stands still as he recognises the dancer. He’s certain it’s Jessica King. She ran out on him at their high school graduation and he’s been searching for her ever since. After missing her train, Clay convinces Jessica to travel home with him.
Can Clay convince his one true love to give him the opportunity to atone and a second chance? Can Jess risk being hurt again by the man she loved?

ABOUT EVA

Eva lives on the Sunshine Coast, in Queensland Australia in the town which brought the world the Bee Gees. When she’s not writing romance you can find her out on the water kayaking, fishing or swimming. When on dry land it’s all about the shoes and the coffee (and old Bee Gees records).

You can find Eva on her Website, Facebook and Twitter

Her books are available directly from MUSA PUBLISHING or Amazon (see direct Links below)

Writers LIfe: Who are you and what do you write?

Ms Stuart glumly contemplates her writing

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, I had coffee with my agent. It was New York and I was having coffee with MY agent in New York. You have to understand for an aspiring author from “downunder” this was pretty exciting. This particular agent had taken on my first book, which eventually came out as BY THE SWORD (no thanks to him… we did in fact part company not so very long after that coffee in a New York Deli). He had ALMOST sold it to Bantam, the editor liked it and wanted to buy it but the marketing department had said “No… we can’t sell it.” and that was that.

The ghist of what my agent was telling me was that, apart from being set in the English Civil War (”unsaleable period of history”), it could not be neatly labelled as either “historical fiction” or “romantic fiction”. “Make up your mind what you are writing,” he told me. “Publishers need to be able to file books in the right part of the bookstore, and you are straddling the fence.”

I didn’t listen, I didn’t learn from what he was saying, I just went right on writing the stories I liked to read - good solid historical fiction with romance. BY THE SWORD eventually found a publisher, as did THE KING’S MAN. Then came a long hiatus which ended with the publication of GATHER THE BONES. That agent would be throwing his hands in the air. What was I thinking? Here was a story set in 1923 (historical), we had a hero/heroine and a HEA (romance) but there were ghosts (paranormal?) and a murder mystery (suspense?). How many fences could I straddle at one go? Of course, because I don't listen, I promptly followed this up with SECRETS IN TIME… It’s time travel with witchcraft…

I have to say there is a genuine craft to writing a good cross genre story - the parts must blend seamlessly. You can't just bolt bits on and hope it hangs together or you end up with a "Frankenbook", as I did when I attempted to change a regency romance with a mystery to a regency mystery with a romance. You are fooling no one - particularly your readers. I have written about my journey with the "Frankenbook" in a previous post: Black Moment of the Writer's Soul.

The “Submission Island” segment of the recent Romance Writers of Australia was an eye opener. A panel of editors passed judgments on different pieces of work submitted by brave authors. They then had to say why they would have passed on the book or asked for more. I have written about this at greater length HERE. What that session did for me was to bring home the lesson that the long ago agent (and a number of loyal friends) have been drumming into my head for the past *ahem* years. MAKE UP YOUR MIND WHAT GENRE YOU ARE ADDRESSING. I knew that…I really did know that…but…but… I like to read the sort of books I write.

Needless to say I returned from Perth feeling a little glum until I picked up the August edition of the Romance Writers Report (the journal of Romance Writers America) and the magazine fell open at this article ‘A DASH OF THIS, A PINCH OF THAT: Serving up a slice of history, mystery and romance” by Anna Lee Huber. What? Isn't that what I write?

Anna Lee Huber, I love you… you are my soul sister.

Anna Lee writes: “…Like a well-brewed cup of coffee, rich dark rum and expertly whipped cream are each delicious, so are historicals, romance and mysteries. But combine all of the elements, and, as Laura Willig said ‘You have the literary equivalent of tiramisu: coffee, alcohol and cream all layered together’…”. I haven’t read any of Laura Willig’s works (or Anna Lee but I have added her to my TBR pile).

It is an excellent article and I am cutting it out and keeping it next to my computer because Anna Lee Huber, has given me permission to write “cross genre novels”. I finally have a “label” I can live with. 

People...READERS… my name is Alison Stuart and I write “cross genre historical novels”. 

As one dear friend who bailed me up in a corner once said. “Ask yourself… if a reader picks up an Alison Stuart do they know what they are getting?” YES! Dear friend, they are getting a cross genre story… There is romance for those who like romance, history for those who like a meaty plot and those extra little elements for people who like ghosts or mysteries or time travel, or medicals… That is who I am, that is what I write. I have changed all my descriptions to read “author of cross genre historical fiction” because I have a label and I am not afraid to use it!

There is of course a downside to this revelation and that is how to sell books, which is a universal problem. As Nina Bruhns said at the Perth conference (paraphrasing). “In today’s publishing world, you can certainly publish that sixteenth century Japanese gay spy story — just don’t expect to pay the bills”. Anna Lee doesn’t have an easy answer for me… (curse you, Anna Lee!). It all comes down to word of mouth. So (pathetic plea follows…) if you have read my books and liked them, tell one other person - that’s all it takes. Or write an Amazon or Goodreads review and if you are a fellow author, remember Julia Quinn’s words of advice from the RWA Conference: “No author ever harmed their career by helping another author.”

Dear readers,if you are looking for historicals with a bit of a difference - that is cross genre historicals, the fine tiramisu of the writing world, try an Alison Stuart. You can find out about them by clicking HERE.

PS. GATHER THE BONES has been nominated for four major awards this year... in several different categories from paranormal through to mainstream. Another downside of cross-genrism!