How did you get started writing?
About four and a half years ago I decided I wanted to write something. I’d been published in professional journals, so I thought I’d write a book about my husband’s journey to buying our sailboat, a lifelong dream. Well, it turns out that I can’t write about myself and the project quickly fizzled. Then I read an interview that Stephanie Laurens did where she said, “Everyone tells you to write what you know. Write what you read.” A few days later an image of a furious Regency lady started playing in my head. I wrote it down, and told my husband I was going to write a Regency romance. A month later I had a finished book and had to figure out what to do with it.
What genre(s) do you write in and why?
I write Regency romances. I love everything about the era, the fashions, the manners, and the culture. I also find it’s a good fit for my voice.
Tell us about your current series.
The Marriage Game is about a group of male friends who, for one reason or another, have put off getting married and how they each meet the woman who is perfect for them, but not necessarily the woman they thought they’d be happy with.
What is your next project and when will it be released?
I have a couple of projects I’m working on simultaneously. The Worthingtons is my next traditionally published series. It starts with a couple who, between them, have guardianship of their eleven brothers and sisters. Then add two Great Danes. During the Regency it was extremely difficult to be awarded guardianship. Even mother’s didn’t have guardianship unless given it to them by their husbands. So, naturally, Lady Grace Carpenter has no intension of marrying and taking the risk of losing guardianship of her seven brothers and sisters. Mat, Earl of Worthington must convince her that she can trust him not only with her heart, but with her family as well.
Do you or have you belonged to a writing organization?
I do belong to a writing organization, Romance Writers of America. Through them, I discovered The Beau Monde, the Regency chapter. Research would be so much more difficult without the knowledge of incorporated in that fabulous group of ladies and gentlemen.
When did you start writing toward publication?
From the beginning. I was a businesswoman, and, even though I love writing, being published validated what I was doing.
Do you have any rejection stories to share?
Oh yes! When I finished my first book, The Seduction of Lady Phoebe, I really had no idea about writing craft or any writing chapters around who could help me. I did find out about the Brenda Novak auction and bid on an agent evaluation. Needless to say, the agent didn’t sign me, but she did tell me she thought I’d be published. That was my first rejection, but when I discovered RWA, that rejection enabled me to join PRO, and find my first critique group. After a great deal of re-writing, I started submitting again, but not to one, two, or five agents. I used the shot-gun approach and submitted to 20. I received a few requests for partials, but it wasn’t until I started submitting my second book that I received requests for fulls and a couple of offers. I think the thing to keep in mind was that I subbed to 40 agents. Which means that, even though I ended up with a wonderful agent, I was rejected 38 times.
Having achieved your goal to be a published author, what is the most rewarding thing?
Having people read my books and love them. Each time a reader tells me she sat up all night and read my book, or that they love the series, it’s like I’m hearing it for the first time.
Will you share some encouraging words for authors still struggling for that first contract?
Write you book, then worry about craft. So many writers get caught up in all the rules that they never finish the book. That is the single most important thing you can do. I know authors who were Golden Heart nominees and still hadn’t finished the book! Once you learn the rules, take them with a grain of salt and go with your gut. That said, there are somethings you won’t be able to get away with, but it’s your story and your voice. Keep track of your queries, I used QueryTracker, and send out your queries to every agent who represents your genre. When I submitted to my agent, it was a Hail Mary pass. She is huge in the business. Imagine my surprise when the next day I had an email saying send me your book. It also important to remember that just like you don’t like every book, neither will every agent you sub to like every book. You need someone who loves your book as much as you do.
What’s next for you?
While I’m working my traditionally published series, I have also begun a self-published novella series based on the children of a very difficult duke. The duke first appears in Miss Featherton’s Christmas Prince, and the books are about how all fourteen of them get out from under him and find love and their own lives.
Excerpt from Miss Featherton’s Christmas Prince
Damon Hawksworth lounged against a convenient pillar in Lady Cowper’s crowded ballroom. A glass of wine dangled from his fingers. Directly across from him, another brittle smile appeared on Miss Margaret Featherton’s normally happy countenance. Her latest suitor, the Earl of Tarlington, was nowhere to be seen and had not been for the past two days or so. Rumor had it that he had gone to the Continent. The only question Damon had was whether she had given the man his congé or if it had been the other way around. He rather thought something had occurred to cause her to break it off with Tarlington. His godmother would know. If anyone knew the inner workings of the ton, it was Almeria Bellamny.
Ever since Rupert, Earl of Stanstead’s wedding, when Damon’s she had introduced him to Miss Featherton, he had developed a fascination for the lady. Her intelligence was sharp, and several times he had seen her hold back a witty retort. Her beauty was not at all in the usual mode. Her mouth was too wide for the current fashion, yet it complimented her high cheekbones and finely arched black brows. Her thick, dark chestnut hair almost begged him to run his fingers through her tresses as they tumbled down. Yet for some reason, the feature he was most fond of was her completely straight nose with a rounded tip. More importantly, she was poised beyond her years. He doubted she had ever been a missish young lady. Even when they had argued over an interpretation of poetry, she had always appeared in complete control and secure in her knowledge.
Now, her polite smile belied the look of despair in her blue eyes. It was as if she was slightly adrift and was only going through the motions until she could retire to the country. Well, with Tarlington gone, Damon wasn’t fool enough to wait until some other gentleman snatched her up. He would gladly rescue her and help her on the path he wished for them. Dancing was a start. She would have held the best sets for Tarlington, and now they would be Damon’s.
Blurb for Miss Featherton’s Christmas Prince
Ella Quinn’s wealthy, titled bachelors think they’re immune to romantic notions. Yet no matter how they try to evade it, love somehow finds a way…
In the two seasons since her triumphant debut, Meg Featherton’s heart has been tested to its limits. Her first suitor: a criminal. The second, a cur. For her third act, Meg vows to leave love completely out of the marriage equation. She has set her sights on a newly made viscount whom she could take or leave. However, now she must avoid his handsome, roguish, irresistible best friend like the plague. It’s no easy feat, as they are all attending the same house party…
Damon, Marquis of Hawksworth, cannot imagine why Miss Featherton seems so damn disinterested—or why he cares so terribly much. Certainly Meg is a fine wifely prospect for a man in his position, but more than that, he finds he longs for her as he has never done for another woman. She may be determined to protect her heart, but Damon is equally set on winning her over, one delicious kiss at a time…
Buy Links
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Author Bio
Bestselling author Ella Quinn’s studies and other jobs have always been on the serious side. Reading historical romances, especially Regencies, were her escape. Eventually her love of historical novels led her to start writing them. She has just finished her first series, The Marriage Game, and her new series will start in April 2016.
She is married to her wonderful husband of over thirty years. They have a son and granddaughter, one cat and a dog. After living in the South Pacific, Central America, North Africa, England and Europe, she and her husband decided to make their dreams come true and are now living on a sailboat cruising the Caribbean and North America.
She loves having readers connect with her.
Website: www.ellaquinnauthor.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/EllaQuinnAuthor
Twitter www.twitter.com/ellaquinnauthor