Interview with Brenda Harlen

Full disclosure - I've been friends with Brenda Harlen for a long time. Our friendship predates her writing success. She is one of my critique partners and a brilliant motivator.  The woman's production and ability to focus is incredible. Whenever I flounder I picture her hunched over her laptop and get back to the process. We may root for opposing hockey teams but our friendship is definitely a good thing.

Whether you've been a fan of hers for years, or are just new to the wit and romance that Brenda writes, I hope you enjoy the following interview to promote her latest offering in the Engaging Garretts series.

You've written thirty books for Harlequin.  There have been a lot of changes over the years.  What's had the most impact on your career?
I’m not even sure I can answer that question. The publishing industry has changed so much in the past ten years with more and bigger changes coming, including the recent acquisition of Harlequin by HarperCollins Publishers. However, I’ve been fortunate in that, despite all of the changes, I’ve been able to work with the same fabulous editor (Susan Litman) for each one of those thirty books, the first five under the “Silhouette Intimate Moments” imprint before I started writing for Special Edition.

How does writing continuity series like the Montana Mavericks affect writing your own series? 
Sometimes participating in a continuity can pull me out of the flow of another story, because the deadlines for writing a continuity are much more inflexible. Also, there is regular communication between the authors and editors, particularly in the beginning when we’re trying to polish our story ideas and development of characters. On the other hand, it’s sometimes a nice break to focus on something completely different and outside the parameters of my own fictional world. Either way, I absolutely love participating in continuity series and “meeting” and working with other authors. This year, Montana Mavericks is celebrating “20 Years in the Saddle” and I’m thrilled to be part of it. (My book—THE MAVERICK’S THANKSGIVING BABY—is 5^th in the series, coming in November.)

There was a really good interview with you at The Reading Frenzy recently about the witty dialogue you write.  It's something you do well.  Does it come naturally to you or is dialogue something you struggle with?
 It’s always flattering to hear that something about my writing resonates with a reader/reviewer, and I guess I’m lucky that dialogue does come fairly naturally to me—the rest of the writing, not always so much J

What's your typical writing day like?  Do you have routines that need to be met in order to produce words?
I’m not sure any writing day is typical . . . however, my usual routine is morning coffee, checking email, Facebook, Twitter, more coffee, then settling down to write. Working from home can be distracting (and often non-writer friends and family don’t think of writing as work), but I’ve learned to treat it as a job and assign myself daily deadlines to ensure that I stay on track toward my real deadlines.

You've created these wonderful little towns like Pinehurt, NY and Charisma, NC where the characters have formed real communities that interact and overlap.  It's wonderful to see previous characters living out their happily ever afters.  What prompted the move to NC? 
The answer to this question is a little embarrassing, because the truth is that it was a lack of planning that prompted the move. When I wrote ONCE AND AGAIN, my very first Special Edition, I made up the fictional town of Pinehurst, New York. The next few books had some connected characters, so I stayed in Pinehurst. But by the time I wrote the first three “Those Engaging Garretts!” books, I found that I had to go back through all of the previous books set in Pinehurst to remember the location of the hardware store or the name of the street that a character lived on. For my own sanity, I needed to move on—and this time, I started with a town map.

In A WIFE FOR ONE YEAR, Daniel marries his best friend in order to access his trust fund to buy into a stock car racing team.  Your Facebook followers know you're a big hockey fan, is the same true for motorsports?  What kind of research did you do to prepare for Daniel's career as a car owner?
 When I was a kid, my family used to go to Merrittville Speedway every Saturday night to watch my cousin race his stock car, but I was never a fan of professional racing. However, when I decided to set the new Garrett stories in North Carolina, I knew that stock car racing could not be ignored, so I decided to do some research. I started with books and websites, but a friend of mine (thank you, Keziah!) suggested that I should do primary research and, when we were in North Carolina recently, we visited the front office and shop of an actual NASCAR team. It was an amazing and informative experience—and a ton of fun. (Thank you, Becky, for the tour and the answers to so many questions!)  

Is that a world we'll see again?
 For sure! Now that my editors have approve an extension of the series, I can assure you that Josh Slater (Daniel Garrett’s partner in Garrett/Slater Racing) will have his own story with the stock car racing world as an integral part of the background.

Wife for One Year is available now at the bookseller of your choice. Or you can post a comment to win your own autographed copy

Reading

I've been so tired the last couple of days that after work all I did was read. I didn't write, I didn't cook. I did a spot of cleaning, a load of laundry and binged on Doctor Who. I made the transition from Ten (goodbye David Tennant) to Eleven (hello Matt Smith). I also caught up on Brenda Harlen's back list. We're critique partners and working four books ahead of the one that just came out this month. I forget what happens, yet she sucks me right back in to the stories and in love with the characters. That's good writing.

E

Full day

We woke up to a lot of snow on the ground, smothering the trees and hiding the sky.  It was enervating to get out there and shovel while the dogs played like puppies.

I went to fill up the gas tank when the power went out in half the town. There I stood with the nozzle jammed in the car's filler neck while people exited shops up and down the street. Snow continued to fall from the sky and for one brief moment I thought I was stuck. $5 does little to fill the gas tank these days.  I drove down the road and managed to fill up there.

Then I headed down the highway to spend time with my writing partner.  We talked writing, life, writing, politics, writing, publishing, writing, food and followed it all up with more writing talk.  Over Greek salad we discussed our current projects and the directions we're taking them.  Cheesecake with a hint of lemon was given our undivided attention.

The drive home was uneventful while I pondered my family roots.  My people weren't famous(on my dad's side anyway). They were the ones who kept things working and did the heavy lifting - line workers, farm workers, gardeners, bookkeepers and nurses. They may be harder to find in history books or on museum walls but they are the people who helped the ones whose lives are celebrated. That's something to be proud of, I think.  The support team is a vital component of any success.

Good day

I was so tired driving to Grimsby this morning that I wasn't enjoying myself. Then the car in front of mine drove through an enormous pile of leaves. They swirled up and over my car to shower mine in gold and orange, maybe even a few burnt sienna.  It was glorious and made me giggle.

I was meeting my good friend Brenda Harlen for tea and writing chat.  I was much later than we'd planned and didn't see her when I entered the cafe. I texted to ask if she'd given up on me. She texted back that she was still there, was I coming?  I started to text that I was there also but looked behind me first. There she was, sitting at the table that sat behind my chair.  She'd been at the counter when I came in so we hadn't seen each other.

We had a great visit, caught up on life, conferences and brainstormed our current projects.  Having someone to bounce ideas off, to work through plots and character arcs is valuable beyond measure. Being able to work out motivation and staging with someone who understands their importance can save hours of bumbling around on our own.  It's one of the many reasons we set another meeting in two weeks.

The drive back to Queenston was equally gorgeous and I was more alert, full of how to continue the horror story.  My convalescing friend and I had a healthy dinner, spinach salad with lemon/garlic dressing. It was so good.

She's craving a milkshake, so we're distracting ourselves with Beowulf and Grendel. The scenery is exquisite, the script excellent and full of fantastic dialogue.  Oh, and Gerard Butler.  :sigh: