Lisa Haselton's Reviews and Interviews: Interview with history and romance novelist Pamela Gibson

I’m happy to welcome novelist Pamela Gibson here today. She and I are chatting about her new Regency historical, Scandal’s Bride.

During her virtual book tour, Pamela will be giving away a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit her other tour stops and enter there, too!

Bio:

Author of eight books on California history and twelve romance novels, Pamela Gibson is a former City Manager who lives in the Nevada desert. Having spent the last three years messing about in boats, a hobby that included a five-thousand-mile trip in a 32-foot Nordic Tug, she now spends most of her time indoors happily reading, writing, cooking and keeping up with the antics of her gran-cats, gran-dog, and gran-fish. Sadly, the gran-lizard went to his final reward. If you want to learn more about her activities go to https://www.pamelagibsonwrites.com and sign up for her blog and quarterly newsletter.

Welcome, Pamela. Please share a little bit about your current release.
Scandal’s Bride is the sequel to Scandal’s Child and follows the story of characters introduced in the first book. Lady Gwendolyn Pettigrew needs a husband and it won’t be the old rake her father has chosen. John Montague needs a wife with a dowry, but is sure no one will want to marry a penniless second son. When it’s suggested by the characters in the first book that they could solve each other’s problem, they agree to a marriage of convenience with certain stipulations. It seems perfect, until they discover there’s a catch. Gwen treasures the independence she’s been promised, but she also wants to be a mother. John, who spent months researching mental illness and looking for a suitable place to care for his deranged mother, does not want to bring children into the world. He believes madness may be inherited and after the horrors he’s witnessed, he refuses to take a chance. As the characters become friends and gain each other’s trust, their mutual attraction also grows. This becomes a major conflict in the book as their sexual tension is set among secrets and lies while battling an outside force that wants them to abandon their home in Yorkshire and return to London.

What inspired you to write this book?
This is my second Regency novel. The first was Scandal’s Child, intended to be a standalone. But while writing the epilogue an idea began to take form about a book for Lady Gwendolyn, a friend of the heroine in the first book. I also wanted to bring back the younger brother of the hero in the first book. I had planted a few seeds that could sprout into an intriguing plot. Scandal’s Bride was the result.

Excerpt from Scandal’s Bride:
He removed his waistcoat, laying it over the topcoat, and sat down opposite Gwen. “Gwen . . .”

“John.”

They both laughed, and it was a good feeling. He drained his wine glass. “Drink up. I want to talk to you before we retire.”

Her eyes widened, and her breath seemed to catch. Was she feeling faint? He certainly was. Why had he left this so long? Most people consummated their marriage the first night.

She picked up her glass and took a hefty swallow. Her cheeks were as pink as her dress, and she looked as good as an iced sweet in a bakery window, something he’d like to swirl his tongue around and gently taste.

Get on with it.

He took a deep breath, scooted his chair closer to hers until their knees touched, and took one of her hands in his. Her fingers were long and well-shaped. He wondered what they would feel like on his . . .

“Gwen . . .”

“John.”

They laughed again, and their merriment gave him an opening. He placed his hand behind her head, leaned in, and took her bottom lip in his mouth, nibbling as he watched her face. She was as wide-eyed as he was, not even trying to move away. Then her lashes fluttered, and her eyes closed as she moved closer, inviting him to deepen the kiss. She moaned as his lips closed over hers, and he was totally undone.

What exciting story are you working on next?
The third book in the Scandal series is barely underway, but I’m already excited to be working on it. It’s about a man who returns from the Napoleonic Wars, depressed and defeated, and the woman who helps him want to live again. It’s called Scandal’s Promise and will probably not be available until next year. I’m also working on my first contemporary mystery, part of my Love in Wine Country novella series and I hope to release the second book in my Mission Belles series called Return of the Fox. This series takes place in California’s romantic rancho period, just prior to the Gold Rush.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

When I was in the fourth grade, my class visited a theme park based on the American West. I was so impressed I wrote a long poem in iambic pentameter chronicling that visit. I was eight or nine years old. During high school and college, I worked as a newspaper reporter. I guess that’s when I really felt that I was a writer, although reporting is very different from writing fiction. Because of my journalism background and my major in history, after graduation I was contracted to write several history books on local topics. It wasn’t until years later, when I was close to retirement, that I began studying the craft of fiction and sold my first novel although I had dabbled in fiction before then.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I am now retired and my days are filled caring for a disabled spouse. My writing time is from five to eight o’clock in the morning, grabbing an hour here and there during the day. When I worked outside the home full time, I wrote during holidays and vacations. I once took a week off, holed up in a friend’s cabin, and wrote twelve hours a day to meet a deadline. I can’t do that anymore, but I’ve written entire chapters while sitting at a bedside or in waiting rooms in doctor’s offices. Writers find time in bits and pieces, even when it isn’t convenient.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

When I’m working through a plot problem, I pace. Then I stand in front of the refrigerator or cookie jar and I graze on whatever is there. Then I pace some more. Then I sit down and see what appears on the screen of my laptop. I’m not sure how moving my jaws and my feet relate to stimulating my brain, but it seems to work.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be a cowgirl. I rode around on a broomstick (maybe my subconscious wanted to be a witch and I didn’t know it). The broom was my horse. One Christmas my parents gave me a cowgirl outfit with hat, skirt, and vest. I was six. It must have made an impression because I remember it in great detail. I’d ride around the back yard on my broom, hiding near the garage, looking for outlaws. I don’t recall having a shiny six-shooter, but at some point I acquired a tin star. I probably made it myself out of aluminum foil.

After the fourth grade I definitely wanted to be a writer, although detective was right up there when I discovered Nancy Drew. Nurse came next with the Sue Barton nurse book series.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

I first started reading Regencies when quite pregnant with my first child. I was told they were great ways to escape. They were and I still highly recommend books written in this period. My favorite Regency author is Mary Balogh who wrings emotion from every character. It is my greatest hope to be able to do the same. I want my readers to feel what the characters are feeling, live what the characters are living. It is a gift. I hope someday to have it.

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