About the Author<\/b>
\nJane Godman writes in a variety of genre. Many of her stories are heavily tinged with the supernatural and elements of horror, with haunted characters tormented by dark secrets.
\nThe Jago Legacy Series, her gothic romances, are love stories with a dash of horror and a creepily ever after. Her dark erotic romantic suspense books, The Cunning Prophet Series feature supernatural elements and a charismatic, obsessive villain. Jane also writes steamy historical romance for Samhain Publishing and is working on a three book series for Harlequin in their Nocturne (paranormal) line.
\nOh, and let\u2019s not forget the Young Adult horror novella she has coming out later in the year with MuseItUp Publishing!<\/p>\n
What inspires you to write romance books?<\/b>
\nAt the age of twelve, I discovered a tattered Georgette Heyer novel on my mum\u2019s bookshelf. I devoured it in a day and I was spellbound. It was \u2018These Old Shades\u2019, which is set in the mid-1700s. As much as I love Regency novels, I find myself drawn to the earlier Georgian era. I think it\u2019s because the characters have more opportunities to misbehave. It was a scandalous time (think Les Liaisons Dangereuses) and I love the fashions! Give me a hero in a cloak and a powdered wig \u2026
\nI am captivated by the way great writers of historical romance use dialogue to skilfully set the scene. I also love it when the historical setting is so real it becomes another character, transporting you effortlessly back in time.
\nI was fourteen when I wrote my first book. I lived in South Africa and my best friend and I had just discovered \u2018The Wolf and the Dove\u2019 by Kathleen E Woodiwiss. We spent every evening writing our own Norman hero\/Saxon heroine novels. I still have a copy of that book! It was hand written in felt tip pen …
\nFast forward several (well, okay, many!) years. I\u2019ve continued to write as a hobby, but real life took over. I\u2019m married and I have two grown up children and a full time career.
\nI live in England and I love travelling. My favourite places are those European cities which are steeped in history. Last year, for example, I visited the Sch\u00f6nbrunn Palace, in Vienna, and it was amazing to picture a young Marie Antoinette playing in those elegant gardens.
\nAnyway, remember the friend I used to write with in South Africa? She recently told me to just get on and get my book written. I\u2019m never one to refuse a challenge … so I did. The rest, as they say, is history (no pun intended)
\nI now write in a variety of genre. Historical romance, of course, paranormal romance, gothic, romance, contemporary romantic suspense and young adult horror! I hope there’s something in there to please all tastes.<\/p>\n
Tell us about how you write:<\/b>
\nMy writing process starts with a lot of day-dreaming! Then I tend to jot down disjointed ideas. I do plan, but my plan generally bears no resemblance to the finished book. I start to write scenes as they occur to me, with no idea where they will fit into the story (or even if they will make it into the finished book). Once I\u2019m ready, I\u2019ll sit down and make a start on writing the first few chapters. That\u2019s generally the point at which the characters come to life and start taking over the story. Minor characters suddenly start demanding more of a role, major characters do things that I hadn\u2019t planned for them. They develop their own voices.
\nWhen I\u2019m about half way through the book, I write a detailed synopsis and try to stick to it. Although, in the book I\u2019m working on now, I thought it was finished\u2014I actually had it ready to send off to my editor\u2014when I realised there was a final twist right at the end that I needed to put in! Phew, I\u2019m just so glad it came to me before I sent it!<\/p>\n
Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?<\/b>
\nMy characters take on a life of their own. I know that\u2019s a writer\u2019s clich\u00e9, but they really do, especially the villains. I begin by writing a short back story for my main characters. This will probably never appear in the book but it gives me an idea of their motivation and how they got to this point in their lives. But once I start writing, they really do take over. Uther Jago, a character in Legacy of Darkness, the first book in the Jago Legacy Series, did that. He directed many of the plot twists and turns and he certainly increased the eroticism in the story!
\nI don\u2019t tend to base my characters on real life people. At least, I don\u2019t think I do, but I suppose I do bring elements of people I know into my books, either consciously or unconsciously. At the planning stage, my head is like a scrapbook full of ideas, so I store away snippets of conversations or people\u2019s mannerisms in there to use in the next story. And if you do something memorable, foolish or bizarre in front of a writer\u2026well, you are just asking to end up in her next book, aren\u2019t you?<\/p>\n
What advice would you give other writers?<\/b>
\nWhen it comes to writing my advice would be to write the sort of books you want to read. There is no magic formula and, if you try to find one, you will only end up selling yourself and your potential readers short. Then be yourself and stay true to your story. Don\u2019t try and make your book something it\u2019s not just to get it published, or to please other people. Listen to readers, but also think about what the advice they give you is actually saying. Is it saying something about your writing or about their personal preference? You have to accept you can\u2019t please everyone.
\nOh, and stick at it. In your writing, and in life. As Winston Churchill said, \u201cNever, ever, ever give up!\u201d<\/p>\n
How did you decide how to publish your books?<\/b>
\nMy road to publication has been a rocky one. My first books were published by a publisher that went out of business. Then my gothic romances were published by Harlequin Shivers ( awonderful line with some fantastic gothic titles) but, sadly, that line closed to submissions.
\nSince then I’ve self published and also have books contracted with a number of publishers including Samhain, Harlequin and Secret Cravings.<\/p>\n
What do you think about the future of book publishing?<\/b>
\nThis is an exciting time to be an author because there are so many models out there. No-one has to feel constrained by tradition. But there are also pitfalls attached to that freedom.<\/p>\n
What genres do you write:<\/b>: historical romance, gothic romance, paranormal romance, erotic romance, romantic suspense, horror<\/p>\n
What formats are your books in<\/b>: Both eBook and Print<\/p>\n
Website(s)<\/b> Your Social Media Links<\/b> Jane Godman writes in a variety of genre. Many of her stories are heavily tinged with the supernatural and elements of horror, with haunted characters tormented by dark secrets.
\nAuthor Home Page Link<\/a>
\nLink To Author Page On Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n
\nhttps:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/6923685.Jane_Godman<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Jane-Godman-Author\/133131640171522<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/twitter.com\/JaneGodman<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/JaneGodman\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\nThe Jago Legacy Series, her gothic romances, are love stories with a dash of horror and a creepily ever after. Her dark erotic romantic suspense books, The Cunning Prophet Series feature supernatural elements and a charismatic, obsessive villain. Jane also writes steamy historical romance for Samhain Publishing and is working on a three book series for Harlequin in their Nocturne (paranormal) line.
\nOh, and let\u2019s not forget the Young Adult horror novella she has coming out later in the year with MuseItUp Publishing!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29106,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6751],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wantonreads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19138"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wantonreads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wantonreads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wantonreads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wantonreads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wantonreads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19138\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wantonreads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wantonreads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wantonreads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wantonreads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}