AN INTERVIEW WITH LINORE ROSE BURKARD

One of my favorite authors, Linore Rose Burkard, is back again with the third installment in her Regency series, The Country House Courtship.

Welcome back, Linore. We’re pleased to be chatting with you again.

In light of your degree (Bachelor of Arts in English literature), did you have a “day job” when you began writing, and do you still?

When I worked as an Executive Secretary I did write, but it wasn’t part of my job description. One part of my job was to transcribe letters that my boss dictated into a recorder; what I found myself doing was to improve her letters as I worked. She loved it, and so did I. In fact, that was the only part of the job I loved. (Should’ve had a clue right there that I wanted to write, huh?) But I haven’t had a writing “job” aside from volunteer positions, like editing a church newsletter, writing a column for homeschooling moms, and that sort of thing. And books contracted, of course.

An article you posted on your Web site tells of a secret wife of George IV, the future Regent. Is this the same prince referred to in many regency romances who is affectionately called “Prinny?”

Yes it is. The prince was a big socializer and had his own crowd. “Prinny” was never used in his presence, and although it was probably mostly used affectionately, it was certainly also mildly derisive.

The article implies that the woman, Maria, had at first tried to avoid the attentions of the prince. Do you have any ideas on how he finally got her to change her mind and marry him?

There’s no secret as to how the prince got his way. He doggedly, unashamedly chased her, hounded her, if you will, even after she fled to the Continent. He wrote her stacks of long, ardent letters swearing his undying love; he staged a fake suicide claiming he’d rather die than live without her. He really was in love, but he used every tactic imaginable to wear down the virtuous Maria. As a devout Catholic she was not only forbidden by the King to marry royalty, she was a widow and simply could not legally marry the heir to the throne. Her very real faith, however, kept her from becoming the prince’s mistress—sort of. The prince finally arranged a wedding, which he swore to her was legal in every sense, and would be binding for life--but of course it wasn’t.  They did have a wonderful period of quiet domestic life together—Maria was nothing but a good influence on him—but when he eventually tired of her, he looked elsewhere; and we all know that he married his cousin, Princess Caroline of Brunswick, in the only ceremony the King would acknowledge as binding. The marriage was an “unmitigated disaster.”
 
To my mind, he was a bigamist, and Maria considered herself his wife to her dying day. When the prince, then King George IV, died, he wore a miniature of Maria around his neck. (You can see I enjoy this subject, so I urge readers to get the free downloads from my website and read more about it.)
http://www.LinoreBurkard.com/resources.html Scroll down the page to the articles.

Switching directions, here, I’ve watched the clever video trailers of your books posted on your Web site. I love the authentic touch with the British narrator. Did the publisher have these done, or did you handle them yourself?
 
Harvest House Publishers had them done, and yes, I think they did a great job.  (I love Harvest House!)

Linore, please tell us about The Country House Courtship.

The Country House Courtship is the continuing story of the life of Ariana and Phillip Mornay, but more importantly, it is the love story of Beatrice Forsythe. She starts out thinking she wants—and must have—certain things in a husband, but by the end of the book she’s more than content with having a man she loves and admires. (Not that he’s a slouch, by the way. Just different in many ways than what she thought her “ideal” husband would be.) Aren’t we all like that sometimes in life? Not necessarily just about whom we marry, either. 

I gotta say (and I hope I’m not spoiling any surprises for your readers, here), having the hero of this book turn out to be the guy who tried to woo Ariana out from under the nose of Mr. Mornay, her betrothed, is a brilliant and interesting twist. What prompted you to come up with the concept?

Well, even though the man in question was guilty of ‘loving too much what wasn’t his to love’, I never stopped caring about him as a character. He had too strong of a good side to let it go to waste. It was really a natural outcome for him to be drawn to Beatrice, given the circumstances he found himself in; and for her to find him too attractive to ignore, given the ways he had matured and grown wiser. 

Weren’t you afraid that readers might not be able to connect with this character, Mr. O’Brien? That they might hold it against him for what he attempted with Ariana?

No. I really wasn’t. It isn’t as though he attempted to rape her or anything like that. Stealing a kiss is forgivable, especially when the guy does such a turn-around and is evidently truly sorry for his past behavior. And as for hoping to fill Phillip’s shoes at the wedding—it was more an act of desperation than any kind of assault. I was mildly concerned that some readers wouldn’t be convinced, I suppose, of his change. (A reader from a book club in Georgia called him a “weasel,” and said she hated him! So I had her sort of reaction in mind when I drew out the changes in him. Her type of reader became my litmus test, but I’ve only heard good things, so I guess O’Brien won her over. )
  
What can we expect from you next?

Right now I’m finishing up a time-travel romance, which alternates between Regency England and contemporary America. It’s got a lot of really fun scenes.  

Linore, will you remind readers where they can find you on the internet?

With pleasure. http://www.LinoreBurkard.com
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Thank you, so much, Linore, for spending this time with us. It’s always a pleasure.

Deborah, I really enjoyed your questions, and thanks for having me back with you!

To win a signed copy of The Country House Courtship, enter the drawing by using the Contact page of this site, and type “Drawing” in the comments box. The deadline to enter is May 24th.

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