Quizzing Glass is pleased to interview Diana Lloyd today.
Diana Lloyd, the mother of gingers, writes stories with kissing and cravats. Diana lives in Michigan, USA surrounded by the shark-free waters of the Great Lakes. Diana has loved books since the moment she first tasted one. She loved them even more when she learned how to read. Diana writes stories with heart and humor where characters fight together against injustice and create their own happily ever after. Find out more at https://www.dianalloydbooks.com/
QG: What is your favorite thing about the Regency – what do you like to write about?
I grew up with stern parents in a restrictive household, books were my refuge. What initially drew me to historical romance was the way the characters had to navigate the many rules of the era and the scrutiny of Society in order to weave their way to their happily ever after. I found their struggles and ultimate victories inspiring.
QG: What is your all-time favorite movie or series set in the Regency era?
I love the Jane Austen adaptations of Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. Matthew MacFadyen is my Mr. Darcy and Hugh Grant and Emma Thompson are forever Edward and Elinor. The only Persuasion movie that counts stars Ciaran Hinds, and Anya Taylor-Joy made a credible Emma.
QG: What advice would you give to writers just starting out?
The common advice “Write what you know” is absolute garbage. Write what you want to know. Write what interests you. It’s okay to push yourself. Research is a writer’s best companion. If you, like me, have no relationship with commas—learn the rules or hire an editor. A good editor is worth their weight in gold. Never let family/besties be your beta readers. They are too close to you to be truly objective. They either LOVE everything or are hyper-critical (soul-crushing) to show how seriously they are doing their job. Don’t do it. The best beta readers are other writers.
QG: Tell us about your current project or latest release.
My latest release, Last Lord Standing, is book three in my What Happens in the Ballroom series. In this book, I experimented with the notion of the hero also being the villain. The hero, Kerrigen Northam, agrees to do the wrong thing for all the right reasons. Of course, it all comes back to bite him in the butt once his heart is on the line. My next project is a standalone Regency that I’m calling Lord of Last Resort. This book has been fun to plot and will feature Benedictine Atwater, my most feisty heroine yet. Bene may be down, but she has the cunning and determination to fight for her happily ever after.
QG: What comes first, plot or characters?
For me, it’s the characters. Sometimes a name pops into my head. Sometimes it is a particular character trait. Once I have that stuck in my head I start to think about situations. Whether it’s the meet-cute or the dark moment, that’s where I start building the plot elements until I have a beginning, a middle, and an end.
QG: What is your favorite beverage when reading? What is it the rest of the time?
Unlike most writers, I don’t drink coffee. I’ve tried it but, no, hot bean water is not for me. I drink either water or a Frozen Coke from the local gas station. I got hooked on Frozen Coke when I was going through chemotherapy and my mouth was full of painful sores. Frozen Coke was the only thing that soothed the ache and didn’t taste like metal. I’m hooked now.
QG: What music do you play when writing?
I’ve created a writing playlist I call Whoaman which is a curious mix of sad/wistful songs, baroque music, and female power anthems. I balance that with another playlist I’ve named Angry Girl Singing. Lots of Alanis Morrisette, Beyonce, Rhianna, Pink, and Taylor Swift in there. Each book I write has one particular song that resonates with the mood/theme of the plot. For Last Lord Standing, it was Poison & Wine by The Civil Wars. To me, the line, “I don’t love you, but I always will” summed up Libby and Kerr’s relationship. For the first book in the series, How to Train Your Baron, the song was The Blower’s Daughter by Damian Rice. For book two, About an Earl, I was inspired by Aimee Mann’s Save Me.