No ”objections’ here: the Chesterfield couch, in royal purple – just perfect for discussing silks.
I’m really excited to have my guest on the purple couch of fame, the lovely Cassandra Dean author of five historical romances covering ancient Rome, early Victorian and Wild West America.
Welcome Cassandra!
I was intrigued by your latest series The Silks – the first title Silk and Scandal which has just been released by Decadent Publishing.
Let’s take a look at the synopsis:
Eight years ago…
Thomas Cartwright and Lady Nicola Fitzgibbons were friends.
Over the wall separating their homes, Thomas and Nicola talked of all things – his studies to become a barrister, her frustrations with a lady’s limitations.
All things end.
When her diplomat father gains a post in Hong Kong, Nicola must follow. Bored and alone, she falls into scandal. Mired in his studies of the law and aware of the need for circumspection, Thomas feels forced to sever their ties.
But now Lady Nicola is back…and she won’t let him ignore her.
While many historical romances of that period focus on the aristocracy, you’ve decided to put your attention in another growing area of societal influence – the law.
The series is set in early Victorian England and feature people who work in or in someway affiliated with the law.
The first in series features a barrister/member of parliament and a scandalous lady, the second (which I’m almost finished writing!) features a solicitor and his childhood nemesis, and the third a duke and a lady who is employed in a law chambers writing correspondence (man, if only I could think of what that job is called!)
I think that might be an article clerk, but I’m happy to be corrected by any lawyers in the audience! – Elizabeth
Even today the most popular TV dramas have either a law or a policier focus and there are lot of romantic possibilities – who could ever forget LA Law?
What was the appeal for you? And what are your favourite law series?
I based all this on Silk, that series with Maxine Peake and Rupert Penry-Jones? It is rather awesome.
I’ve noticed that just about all of your titles are novellas, is there a reason why you chose that particular type? Would you consider writing a full length novel?
Ah, good question! I’ve written one book of approx 90,000 words (or full-length), two books of approx 50,000 words (about the size of a category romance) and two books of about 15,000 words (about 40 pages). The reason for the predominance of shorter length stories is because my publisher prefers them! I’m mostly e-book published and it seems in this day and age, readers prefer on their e-readers something quick, delightful and easy to read.
In regards to my own writing, the first book, ENSLAVED, was originally a short story of about 16,000 words. Once it was contracted to Decadent Publishing, my editor suggested adding a lot of backstory as actual scenes, rather than the brief mention as it appeared originally. So I went away and did so… and ended up adding 30,000 words!
My second book, TEACH ME, was always going to be a long one. Written way before I’d even picked up a pen on ENSLAVED, I was young and naïve when I first wrote TEACH ME (ah, those halcyon days!). I thought I would write an ebook, and it should be super sexy and the size of a single title romance. I think the length actually worked against it when I was shopping it around to e-publishers, but luckily the peeps at Decadent loved it and TEACH ME is now available!
ROUGH DIAMOND, the third of my books, is approximately 45,000 words and I structured it this way because of the limit Decadent imposes on submissions. They prefer books between 5,000 and 60,000 words, so I aimed for category length and that’s what I ended up with!
Silk, the British TV serieis that was one of the inspirations for Cassandra Dean’s The Silks series of early Victorian romances.
FOOL’S GOLD was always going to be a short story, a quick read telling the tale of secondary characters in ROUGH DIAMOND.
Finally, SILK & SCANDAL launches the brand new Decadent TEASE line, where the books are defined as being between 5,000 and 18,000 words.
I’m currently writing the third in the Silk Series, SILK & SCARS, and I love it so much I keep trying to make it into a full-length novel! However, it’s intended for Decadent TEASE so I’ve had to reign myself in a bit to make sure it doesn’t breech the 18,000 word limit.
What was the first historical romance you ever read? How did that influence your writing choice?
Oh man, I don’t know if I remember the first historical romance I read! It was A G E S ago! Um, I guess in the beginning I read Barbara Cartland and Jude Deveraux. I know, Barbara Cartland. Heh. I think the influence such books had was to cement my love of English history, especially the Regency and Victorian periods. I always thought I’d write Regency romances…Yeah, I’ve yet to do so!
Lastly, plotter or pantser?
A bit of both! I like to plot out a general idea of where each scene is going, but if in the midst of writing the scene something pops up, I’m more than happy to follow it!
Thanks so much for having me, I’ve had a blast!
Cassandra
xx
If after reading Cassandra’s Silk and Scandal, you’re intrigued by Regency and early Victoria law, check out the series Garrow’s Law.
Get to know Cassandra Dean:
Web site: Cassandradean.com
Facebook: Cassandra Dean Author
Publisher: Decadant Tease