Author Spotlight/ Interview: Samantha Holt
This year I found something I have been seeking for a long time. A wonderful writer who writes Romance books set in the medival time period. As a big fan of the time period, it is a lost era to me amongst all the Y.A fiction out there and the imense flood of erotica. So it was fantastic to find an author who delved into the more sensual and passionate side of love and lust. With lots to love I cannot wait to read more of Samantha Holts work. I can garentee you will love it to. For now I would like to welcome Samantha to Bitten by Booklust and for you readers I have a treat.
Interview with Samantha Holt
1. Have
you ever considered expanding on any of the partners featured in The One Knight
Collection?
I must confess I haven’t. I
know you mentioned you would have liked to see more from them but in my mind
their stories are very much closed. I would never say never, but at the moment
I have too many stories that I want to explore. It would be fun writing a
second collection perhaps but I don’t have any plans to currently. I will say
that Highland Knight inspired me to think about writing a Highland romance - it
was so much fun and slightly more liberating than English medieval stories - so
that is something that I will be looking to do next year.
2. What
are your top three writing must have’s?
Coffee (it’s such a cliché but
it’s true), a notepad by your bed and an awesome soundtrack.
3. Do you
have a particular band, song, soundtrack or music you listen to when writing?
Most people are surprised to
learn that rock and heavy metal are a big influence on my writing - it doesn’t
really go hand in hand with romance - but I find it much more powerful than
traditional love stories. Shinedown are a band that I always come back to as
they have very powerful lyrics, in particular ‘If You Only Knew’. It’s very
much a love song and I adore it, though on my play list currently is Breaking
Benjamin which are another alternative rock band.
4. Why do
you write medieval romance? What sparked your interest in it?
I’ve always loved romance so it
was a given that I’d write romance but I didn’t get into medieval romances
until a few years ago. I love history and wanted to be an archaeologist when I
was growing up so it seemed a natural thing for me to do. I love to read
Regency and Victorian romances, but I have always adored romantic suspense and
those eras don’t tend to lend themselves to that genre. Writing medieval
romances means I can combine a love of history with a love of suspense. The
medieval period was so fraught with dangers and I love that it adds that extra
edge. Relationships are so much more powerful when you know that it could all
end with one swipe of a sword!
5. Are
there any books [non-fiction or fiction] that have inspired your writing and or
that you would recommend to people who are interested in the time period?
‘The Time Travellers Guide to
Medieval England’ by Ian Mortimer is a fun and thoroughly informative look at
medieval life in the 1300’s. I don’t necessarily use if for reference as I
often write in earlier periods, and it’s a little tongue in cheek in places,
but it gives you a great feel for life back then without being boring.
6. Is
there any advice that you would give people already writing or considering
embarking in the journey of writing whether that be for pleasure, business or a
mixture of both?
Write what you enjoy and that
will come across. Listen to other’s advice but don’t get consumed by it - if it
feels wrong, then don’t do it. The ‘rules’ of writing are there for a reason
but it doesn’t hurt to throw them out of the window every now and then,
otherwise we’d all sound exactly the same. And if you want to make a career out
of writing, don’t become obsessed with marketing. I’ve seen many, many authors
devote hour upon hour to all the various things that you can do and still come
up with no sales. Have a website or blog with a newsletter at the bare minimum
and a Facebook page if you fancy keeping in touch with readers but seriously,
concentrate on writing. The more work you have out there, the more likely it is
you’ll get found.
7. If you
could travel to anywhere fictional or real where would you go and why?
I’d like to go to Kuala Lumpur
in Malaysia. I went there as a child and have some amazing memories. I’ve been
told it’s changed a lot but I’d still love to go back.
8. What
are a few of your favorite authors?
Elizabeth Gaskell, Jane Austen,
Sue Grafton, Terry Pratchett and many, many Harlequin authors - too many to
name, but I have certain books that I’ve adored since my teens and I dig them
out every now and then and just devour them.
9. You
write such sensual and romantic scenes, even when they are heated and
passionate- what is the one thing that you find incredibly romantic?
I love the whole build-up
really - the longing looks, the hammering hearts, the thickening of breath…but
I think it’s the thoughts behind those actions that really make them romantic.
The most romantic thing for me is when a strong man falls completely,
irrevocably in love. I love my heroes to be totally consumed by my heroines.
10. Do you
have any plans to write in any other genre?
I don’t think I could do
anything other than romance! I am a big crime and sci-fi/fantasy fan but I
don’t think I have the imagination for it. I can’t just pull things out of thin
air. That’s the handy thing about historical romance - you can always get your
inspiration from solid facts. I do have plans to write a contemporary romance
in the future with some fantasy themes but that is about as far as I’m going to
expand.
11. Which
one of your books would you recommend a reader begin with?
Because my writing has
naturally progressed through my career I am probably most proud of my latest,
The Angel’s Assassin. I’ve been very lucky that my books have all been well
received but I will admit that I’ve learnt a lot about writing since The Crimson
Castle which was my debut novel. That was very much written for myself so
looking back I can see a lot of flaws in it. However, people still seem to love
it and I still enjoy the relationship I created between Evelyn and Gabriel. It
was probably one of my most powerful relationships. All my books are different
from one another so it’s so hard to say but if you enjoy feisty dialogue and
flawed characters that grown together then Crimson is probably the best place
to start. The Angel’s Assassin is a darker story and is driven more by the
emotion and reactions of the characters rather than dialogue but it’s certainly
the one that people seem to enjoy the most.
About Samantha
Samantha
Holt
Bestselling
Medieval Romance Author
Samantha Holt resides in Warwickshire,
England, with her twin girls, having followed her soldier husband around the UK
for nearly 10 years. Growing up in Hampshire, she was inspired by the authors
Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskell, both of whom lived and wrote only miles from
her home town.
Samantha loves the romance genre and has
been devouring romantic literature for as long as she can remember. History is
another passion of hers and she loves to combine her love for history and
romance into exciting and passionate tales.
Her titles include the bestselling novel,
The Crimson Castle, A Summer Siege and The Angel’s Assassin as well as a
collection of shorts.
Links
