Guest Author: Christy English

Today we welcome the talented and lovely Christy English, stage actor and writer of historicals and historical romances. Her latest release HOW TO TAME A WILLUL WIFE is a delightful and sexy retelling of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew.

BLURB ABOUT THE BOOK

HOW TO TAME A WILLFUL WIFE:
1. Forbid her from riding astride
2. Hide her dueling sword
3. Burn all her breeches and buy her silk drawers
4. Frisk her for hidden daggers
5. Don’t get distracted while frisking her for hidden daggers…

Anthony Carrington, Earl of Ravensbrook, expects a biddable bride. A man of fiery passion tempered by the rigors of war into steely self-control, he demands obedience from his troops and his future wife. Regardless of how fetching she looks in breeches.

Promised to the Earl of Plump Pockets by her impoverished father, Caroline Montague is no simpering miss. She rides a war stallion named Hercules, fights with a blade, and can best most men with both bow and rifle. She finds Anthony autocratic, domineering, and…ridiculously gorgeous.

It’s a duel of wit and wills in this charming retelling of The Taming of the Shrew. But the question is…who’s taming whom?

 

So tell us, Christy…

How did you make the transition from player to writer?

I don’t think I ever have. I act whenever I can, because I have always loved acting and writing, but it seems that I can’t do both at once. I think my characters on the page come from the same place as the people in my books. It’s an amazing alchemy, one I don’t fully understand, watching these people take form in my mind and come into their own in my stories. To be honest, I always feel as if my books are my characters’ stories, and that they need me to be the bridge, to transcribe them so others can experience them, too.

I love the idea of you acting in a rendition of one of your own novels! Which character would you like to play?

How fun would that be! I know that she will not be popular in this novel, but I would absolutely adore playing Angelique Beauchamp, Anthony’s mistress. I think I would love to play her because she is nothing like me. She’s a real femme fatale. But they say we all have a little of our characters inside of us. I hope that’s true! LOL

Do you ever encounter plotting challenges while writing? How do you overcome them?

My problem is that I don’t want to see my characters suffer, which means I never put enough conflict in the first draft. My fabulous editors, Aubrey Poole and Leah Hultenschmidt, are very patient with me, thank God, but they always come back with a sheaf of notes that say: where’s the conflict? Then I have to make my characters suffer as I add it. In the end, it makes the book ridiculously better, but as I write, I feel as if I am torturing a puppy… and that puppy is myself.

What advice do you have for debut writers?

Don’t give up. Please, please do not give up. I know it is tempting. I know it would be easy to chuck it all and go to the beach and never come back, but on behalf of your readers, on behalf of the world, please stay in the chair. Your voice is unique. Your story can be told by no one but you. And if you don’t stay in the chair, we will never hear it. And we need you. The world needs new stories, new voices, to make it a better place.

How do you stay positive in an industry that can involve a lot of emotional ups and downs?

Whenever I hit a low point, and I think we all do from time to time, I remind myself of why I am writing in the first place. I write because I must. Because I love my characters and I want them to live on the page. Ultimately, that is the only reason to write. And it is the only thing that saves me in the dark moments, the knowledge that my love for my work is enough.

SPEED ROUND

FAVORITE SHAKESPEAREAN WORK:  Macbeth

PREFERRED VICE:  Coca-Cola

BEST PLACE ON EARTH:  Paris

MOST DELICIOUS HERO OF ALL TIME:  Mr. Darcy (The Colin Firth version…yum!)

 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

After years of acting in Shakespeare’s plays, I am excited to bring the Bard to Regency England in my next novel HOW TO TAME A WILLFUL WIFE, a re-telling of The Taming of the Shrew. Christy is also the author of THE QUEEN’S PAWN, and TO BE QUEEN.  Find her on the web on her blog HERE , on GoodReads, or Twitter @ChristyEnglish.