Laura Kinsale is my favourite author. Ever. Now, I can hear you saying, “Hang on a second, Cassie, why would you make such a bold statement?” Well, Laura writes rich, intricate historical romances that explore complex and flawed characters who battle to find love and redemption. After a hiatus of several years, she is back in 2004 with a new novel and a new outlook on writing. Laura has graciously agreed to an interview, and the following is what she had to say

- Cassie Wilson

Do you find any particular time period fascinating? Have you written/do you plan to write about it?

One of the things I enjoy most about being a writer in my genre is the research. I am constantly buying all kinds of strange books on all sorts of historical topics from university presses and sidewalk sales and on my travels. I also have a small collection of rare books from the 18th and 19th centuries. I enjoy just browsing through them and finding the kind of little facts that lead me to visualize how people really lived their lives in a given time period. Like, say, a letter from a girl who is arranging a clandestine meeting in her own library with the man her father won’t allow her marry. (She finally talked him into it later!) A great many time periods interest me—some of them are not very popular with readers. Roman Britain, ancient Crete, Williamsburg before the American Revolution, medieval Bohemia, Renaissance Italy, the Spanish southwest—those are some of the periods I find interesting.

SHADOWHEART is set in an imaginary city-state in northern Italy, on “the day before the Renaissance,” as I call it—just when those new humanist ideas and concepts were beginning to take hold. But frankly I want to say to my publisher, in that hiss like Mr. Fawlty, “Don’t mention the Renaissance!” because I think that some readers might avoid that setting, whereas they would be comfortable with a “medieval.” And it is a medieval, technically, but very close to what would be termed the Renaissance period.

I’m considering a book set around Hadrian’s Wall. But who knows? I do what seems to come to me!

How long does it take you to write your books from conception of idea to final draft?

I used to do a book a year. However, after 11 books, I really burned out, and did not write much for 5 years between MY SWEET FOLLY and SHADOWHEART. Now that writing is fun and interesting again, I’m trying not to push myself too hard. I’m hoping to do a book every 18 months or so, but I’m not setting myself a formal schedule.

Talk about the importance of both character and plot. Which is more critical, if there is one, in your books? Which do you find it easiest to write?

There are two broad categories of fiction writers, those who write plot-driven books and those who write character-driven books. I am a character-driven writer, without question. Characterization has always come naturally to me. I feel as if I am still learning how to plot. I do think I’ve gotten better at it over time, and I actually think the plot in SHADOWHEART hangs together pretty well. (Look, Mom, I did it myself!)

As to which is more critical—having both a great plot and great characters would be the ideal of course. I think readers also tend to break into the same broad categories, some prefer plot-driven books and some prefer character-driven. So that really depends on the reader.

Do your characters do what you ask of them or do they tell you where to take the story?

If I beat my characters with a stick, they wouldn’t do what I asked them. I have to nudge and plead and suggest. I’ve said elsewhere that writing a book is more like riding a horse than driving a car—you don’t just get in, turn the key, and steer it where you want it to go. You have to develop a relationship with it, and a lot of “feel,” and then maybe it will do something interesting and more or less what you hoped it would. And you pray a lot.

Do you like your reputation as a writer of ‘tortured’ heroes? How do you torture them?

I probably torture them because they won’t do what I want. So I figure, if they are going to do what they please, I’ll make them sorry for it. As to how—that depends on the hero. I generally lay in bed at night and think about what would make the guy miserable and aching and angry and lonely, and then I do it to him.

I personally love For My Lady’s Heart. Why did you choose to write in Olde English?

Theoretically, it’s Middle English, the language of Chaucer’s time, but a pretty watered-down version. I love words—the sounds of them and the meanings and their history. I’d never read the 14th century poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, but came across a reference to it in some research I was doing. It sounded so interesting that I looked up Tolkien’s translation of it, and just fell in love with the rhythm and music of our “moder tongue.” So, I put it in the book because I enjoyed it so much, and it was a great challenge for me. I like to have a specific writing challenge in each of my books, to keep myself interested.
A special Collectors Edition of FOR MY LADY’S HEART will be issued in March 2004, a month before SHADOWHEART, with a glossary of the Middle English and some commentary on the grammar. I was amused and pleased to find out that a number of readers went around speaking “Middle English” to their friends and family after reading FOR MY LADY’S HEART.

Is there any character that stands out for you, ie a favourite?

I’m pretty partial to Allegreto from SHADOWHEART at the moment. His darkness and inner longings and fears were fascinating. I also really liked Folie in MY SWEET FOLLY because she was amusing and down-to-earth. Leda and Samuel (from THE SHADOW AND THE STAR) are a favorite pair, because I felt they belonged together, and Leda is based on the older women in my own family.

Are you a very organized writer - i.e., do you work from a very detailed outline or do you fly by the seat of your pants, or something in between?

Organized? Heck no. I used to write a 7-8 page synopsis that got more and more vague toward the end, sent it off to the publisher and promptly forgot about it. Then I’d thrash around for months and months and sometimes even years trying to make everything make sense. Oddly enough, now and then I’ve come across a synopsis after I finish a book, and they do bear a vague resemblance to one another. Now I don’t even really write a synopsis, although I’d probably be better off if I did.

How do you feel you’ve grown as an author?

I think I do plot a little better now. Possibly my style has changed a little, become somewhat leaner. In some ways I think I’ve gone backwards in terms of confidence. It’s still an act of courage to put a book out there.

How do you combat your writing weaknesses? What are some of the problems you encounter when writing? eg research, motivations (both yours and your characters!), stubborn muse.

Research isn’t a problem, as I said. I enjoy it. I have a love/hate relationship

Laura's book, Flowers From The Storm, has been re-issued and is available now from all good bookstores. Her first new novel in five years, Shadowheart, a sequel to For My Lady's Heart, will be available in April 2004.