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An Interview with Regency Author Alina K. Field

September 2, 2017 by Jann Ryan in category Jann says . . . tagged as Regency History, Regency romance

Award-winning author Alina K. Field earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and German literature, but she found her true interest in reading and writing romance. Though her roots are in the Midwest, after six very, very, very cold years in Chicago, she moved to Southern California and hasn’t looked back. She shares a midcentury home with her husband and a blue-eyed cat who conned his way in for dinner one day and decided the food was too good to leave. For more information about Alina and her novels please visit her website – http://alinakfield.com/

Jann: Today I’m talking with the delightful Regency Romance Author, Alina K. Field. Welcome Alina to A Slice of Orange.

What are you working on now? Can you tell us about your next project?

Mary: I’m working on promo for The Viscount’s Seduction, book two in my Sons of the Spy Lord series, which is available on pre-order and releases September 12, 2017. Meanwhile, I’m getting Book 3, The Rogue’s Last Scandal, ready for an editing deadline a few very short weeks away. These are Regency-set romances, high on adventure, and I’m having a lot of fun with them. Which doesn’t mean I’m not biting my fingernails a lot trying to get everything right!

Jann: How do you stay motivated? What drives you to keep writing?

Mary: Writing is fun! Yes, getting the words on the page can be agonizing, the promo requirements annoying, the rejection demoralizing, but there are downsides to any business. And I do see this as a business, with a goal to entertain readers who like the same sort of story I like.

When I left my last career, I knew I wanted to do something with what I always felt was my true calling—writing. What a blessing to land in this business during the middle of an industry revolution and the blossoming of indie publishing. Long-term, my goal is to keep writing the best stories I can, and to build up a body of work—income-producing intellectual property I can leave to my heirs.

Jann: What’s the funniest (or sweetest or best or nicest) thing a fan ever said to you?

Mary: Regarding The Bastard’s Iberian Bride, book one in this series, my next-door neighbor told me she loved it and it even made her cry.

And, an Amazon reviewer said this about that same book: “Now this is what I like in a romance book! There’s mystery, anticipation, surprises, a little humor, a little sex, an evil villain, no cheating, no cliffhanger, and a happily ever after.”

That’s what I like in a story also!

Jann: What’s the best writing advice you ever received?

Mary: “Do it your way.” Of course, you must learn craft, but how you go about that can be as unique as you are. How many words you write and when are all up to you, as is how you get input, and from whom. The genre or subgenre you write, the themes, tone, and level of sexual content you choose—they’re all up to you.

Readers are unique and have different tastes. (Oh boy, is that true–ask any author looking over contest judging results!) If you have the basics of craft down, somewhere in this world full of many billions of literate people, there are readers who will enjoy your stories.

When my muse starts to choke, I remind her she’s free to write whatever she wants. The only absolute rule is to do my best to tell a story that resonates with my readers.

Jann: What’s your favorite movie?

Mary: I gravitate toward action/adventure films. I love the Bourne movies and The Accountant. Those are pure escapism. Among the more thoughtful contemporary movies, favorites are Michael Clayton, A Good Year, and The Good Shepherd.

I’m a huge history nerd and I loved Master and Commander, but my very favorite historical (so far) is Zulu, a 1964 movie starring a very young Michael Caine as Gonville Bromhead (gotta love that name), as well as Stanley Baker, who also produced the film. Nigel Green is amazing as the Colour Sergeant. I’m going to go look for my DVD and watch it again this weekend!

Jann: Do you have a website, blog, twitter where fans might read more about you and your books?

Mary: Yes! And I blog at least once a week about topics that interest me, like historical research, projects I’m working on, or my friends’ new books. This year I’m participating in a fun weekly blog hop with authors from Marketing For Romance Authors, including fellow historical romance author and OCCRWA member, Linda McLaughlin.

I also have a Facebook page, and inspiration boards on Pinterest for each of my books.

Here are my links:

http://alinakfield.com/

https://www.facebook.com/alinakfield

https://twitter.com/AlinaKField

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7173518.Alina_K_Field

https://www.pinterest.com/alinakf/

https://www.instagram.com/alinak.field/

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/alina-k-field

Newsletter signup: http://eepurl.com/4nU5T

Thank you Alina K. Field for taking time to be with us today to answer our questions. If you have comments or questions for Alina, please use the comment form below. Also, Alina’s books are available here on A Slice of Orange.

Jann Ryan

Jann Ryan grew up with the smell of orange blossoms in Orange County in sunny Southern California, where she has lived her entire life and dreamed up stories since she was a young girl. Never an avid reader, she was in her thirties when she picked up her first romance quite by accident. She fell in love with happily ever after and has been reading romances ever since.

Wanting to put pen to paper, Jann joined of Romance Writers of America®. Currently, she is working on a romantic suspense series set in Stellar Bay, a fictitious town along the California central coast to fulfill her publishing dream.

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Quarter Days: A Midsummer Beginning

June 28, 2017 by Alina K. Field in category Quarter Days by Alina K. Field tagged as Midsummer Day, Quarter Days, Regency History

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Wikipedia

Though I’ve blogged before about chapter events on an as-needed basis, I’m excited to join the talented writers of A Slice of Orange on a more regular schedule! I’ll be posting on June 28th, September 28th, December 28th, and March 28th. Which roughly corresponds with

Quarter Days

I write Regency romance, and I had a book already out before the term “Quarter Days” came across my radar. Of course, I knew about Midsummer, from Shakespeare.

Lord, what fools these mortals be!

And I vaguely knew that Michaelmas had something to do with St. Michael, and Lady Day probably related to the Virgin Mary. And everyone knows Christmas. But I didn’t realize these four holidays formally divide up the quarters of the year.

Marking Time

In Persuasion, Jane Austen marks the passage of time with a mention of Michaelmas. Years ago when I read Persuasion, that reference didn’t click with me at all. But look more closely, and there’s a lot a novelist can do to build character–a lot Jane did–with that allusion.

Here’s a list of the English Quarter Days:

March 25th, Lady Day (Feast of the Annunciation)
June 24th, Midsummer Day (St. John’s Day)
September 29th, Michaelmas (Feast of St. Michael)
December 25th, Christmas (The Nativity of Jesus)

Notice that these dates also roughly correspond to the summer and winter solstices and the vernal and autumnal equinoxes. Those astronomical events were important to the old religions and their spiritual beings like the fairies, as Shakespeare shows us in A Midsummer Night’s Dream:

Over hill, over dale,
Thorough bush, thorough brier,
Over park, over pale,
Thorough flood, thorough fire,
I do wander everywhere,
Swifter than the moon’s sphere;
And I serve the fairy queen,
To dew her orbs upon the green.
The cowslips tall her pensioners be:
In their gold coats spots you see;
Those be rubies, fairy favours,
In those freckles live their savours:
I must go seek some dewdrops here
And hang a pearl in every cowslip’s ear.
Farewell, thou lob of spirits; I’ll be gone:
Our queen and all our elves come here anon.

Clearing the Premises without Consulting your Landlord, Rowlandson www.famsf.org.

Marking Contracts

But there’s more! Quarter Days typically marked the beginning and end of contractual periods.

I love this print by the irreverent Thomas Rowlandson, “Clearing the Premises without Consulting your Landlord”. Rents were paid on Quarter Days, and it appears that are still some leases set up that way in England.

The historical housewife might hire a new servant on a Quarter Day. She’d also pay her servants on the Quarter Day–imagine, waiting three months for your salary?