Genre: Other

Interview: Diane Gaston, author of 'Born to Scandal' Tags 11:41PM EST November 13. 2012 - Diane Gaston grew up with a head full of romantic stories and yet never imagined being a writer until she read a really bad best seller -- and decided she could do better. Now Gaston is a successful author of Regency romance with numerous awards to her name, including the 2006 RITA award for best Regency romance. We tracked her down to chat with her about Born to Scandal , her latest release, and to find out just what happens in a woman's life when she decides to pursue the things that make her happy. Pamela: Welcome back to HEA, Diane! You had a career as a mental health worker before you were published in romance. Do you think that foundation and your understanding of the complexity of human emotion and interaction have helped you in your writing? Diane: Hi, Pamela! It is delightful to be at Happy Ever After again. Thank you so much for having me. I know without a shadow of a doubt that my career as a mental health worker has helped me understand the complexity of human emotion. I was privileged to learn this from my clients. Another thing they taught me was the resilience and strength of the human spirit, even in face of enormous hardship and pain. My clients taught me what drives human behavior, what people need and what they fear. My child and family clients gave me a good sense of how a person's early life experiences and family relationships affect later behavior and emotions. Pamela: Although your master's work was in psychology and social work, your undergraduate degree was in English literature. Among the authors you enjoyed were Jane Austen and later Georgette Heyer. When did you realize that you wanted to leave mental health work and write romance? Diane: First I must confess that I never even heard of Georgette Heyer (or Regency romance) before I started writing. It still amazes me that I never read Heyer when I was young. I would have loved her books! When I was an English major in college, I never, ever thought I would be a writer. The only writing course I took was basic composition. I was an English major because I loved reading and I hadn't yet discovered psychology. In college I read Thomas Hardy and D.H. Lawrence. And Austen. When I was a mental health therapist, also raising children, also studying for a master's in social work, I didn't have time to read for pleasure. By the time I earned my MSW and my social work license, my children were old enough to be a bit independent. I suddenly had time on my hands. I started reading again, and I read a runaway best seller that I thought was dreadful. Any romance I'd ever read was light years better than that book. I thought, if this author's book can make the best-seller list, maybe I can write a book. It also helped that a friend of mine had gone back to college to get a degree in creative writing. She kinda normalized the idea of writing for me. I never considered writing anything but romance, though. It was what I loved to read. I'd always had romantic stories running around in my head, so I just dared to write them down. Pamela: I think it's incredible that the day you retired was also the day you got "The Call." It seems like destiny. Can you tell us about that experience? I can't imagine how that must have felt. Diane: It wasn't quite that serendipitous, but almost. I made the decision to retire and that next week I got The Call. The truly amazing event was how I made the decision to retire. I happened to be instant messaging at the same time as an Australian friend who is very spiritual. We never IM'd before, nor have we since. She convinced me to follow my dream, to retire even though I'd not sold yet. She convinced me that God wanted me (and all of us) to be happy. In my mind I made the decision right then and there. I worked another six months after that day. Two weeks after I retired, I took my first trip to England, a Regency tour designed for writers, and while there went to the Mills and Boon offices in Richmond to meet with my editors. Pamela: As an author, you've written about the gritty underside of the Regency period, taking risks by depicting characters normally shunned by respectable society -- prostitutes, for example -- with depth and compassion. What led you to write those kinds of stories? Diane: The dark, gritty side of the Regency really captures my imagination. There is something that captivates me about the contrast between the wealth and beauty and privilege of the aristocracy and the darker side of war, gambling, prostitution, poverty. I think there is more emotion and potential conflict in the darker sides of the Regency, as there always is in places of suffering. I also love to give characters who ordinarily wouldn't have a happy ever after their happy ever after. Pamela: How do you research those parts of Regency history and culture? Typically speaking, history favors recording the lives and actions of the powerful, not the marginalized. Is historical research something you enjoy? Diane: I am surprised how much I love the research! I've amassed a whole library of research books and I have become rather skilled at researching online. Information about the darker side of the Regency is harder to find, but there has been a great deal written about the Regency and a lot of primary sources still available, both in print and online. One of my favorite sources is the Annual Register , thanks to my friend, Kathryn Caskie who found two shabby sets of the books for the years 1810 to 1820 and sold one of them to me. The Annual Register has a chronology of news events throughout the year. Murders. Crimes. Storms. Shipwrecks. It is a gold mine. Google Books now has some of the Annual Registers online, by the way. Pamela: What a terrific source for a writer! What are the essential qualities a man must possess to be a hero in one of your books? How about a heroine? Diane: My Regency heroes must, above all things, be honorable. They do the right thing, no matter what, although what he believes is the right thing may not be what society tells him. They are strong and protective -- and I also like to make them tortured in some way. My Regency heroines must be strong, independent women, which goes a bit against the norm for women in that time in history. I want them to act on their own behalf, not just passively accept whatever men decide for them. Pamela: Tell us about Born to Scandal, your Nov. 20 release. Diane: Born to Scandal is my homage to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre . Like Jane Eyre , it is a governess story complete with secrets and betrayals. The Marquess of Brentmore -- half Irish peasant, half English aristocrat -- grew up under a cloud of scandal. Even money and a title aren't enough to stay the wagging tongues of the Ton. But he's vowed that his children will never experience the same stigma. After the death of their infamous mother, they need a reputable governess. Anna Hill is too passionate, too alluring, but she fills Brentmore Hall with light and laughter again -- and its master with feelings he's forgotten. But even if he dared risk the gossip of a lord marrying a governess, Anna's birth is even more scandalous than his own. Pamela: Sounds captivating! What topics did you find yourself researching for this book? Diane: I researched the role of governesses, Regency-era toys, kitchen gardens, Irish tenant farms, Irish legends, Ingatestone Hall, the model for Brentmore Hall, Gunter's Tea Shop, and a variety of other small things. Pamela: Regency-era toys! I love it. Those kinds of details are precious in a story and bring such life to the pages. What can your devoted fans look forward to getting from you next year? Diane: Next for me is a two-book series: The Masquerade Club ... identities concealed; desires revealed. The first book, A Reputation for Notoriety , will be released June 2013. Someone is trying to sabotage the gaming hell the illegitimate Rhys Marrick runs for his biological father in return for his father's public acceptance. Is it Celia Gale, the secretive woman with a need for revenge whom Rhys hired to induce gentlemen to gamble and who is quickly winning his jaded heart? Little does he know how entwined their lives already are and how much more entwined by passion they will become. Pamela Clare is an award-winning journalist and nationally best-selling author of both historical romance and contemporary romantic suspense. She loves coffee, the Colorado mountains, and her two grown sons. Her website is PamelaClare.com .