Darcie Wilde is the award-winning author of the Rosalind Thorne Mysteries, a Regency-set historical mystery series inspired by the novels of Jane Austen.The new book in the series is A Lady Compromised.
My Q&A with the author:
How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?Visit Darcie Wilde's website.
Like the cover, I think the title sets the tone for the entire book. It’s the first thing the reader sees, and it needs to tell them what they’re getting themselves into when they pick up the book. Classic mystery? Suspense? Romance? The title is the first clue.
What's in a name?
A name is like a title. It creates a first impression. It’s an indicator of gender, but also class, nationality and heritage. My main character is Rosalind Thorne because I wanted to give her a classic Englishwoman’s name with a hint of the upper crust, but also a hint of whimsy.
How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?
Really surprised. My teenage self read science fiction and fantasy pretty exclusively, and when she started working on becoming a writer (I got bit by the bug at thirteen), that was all she wanted to write.
Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?
Neither. It’s the middle that takes the most work. Not only because it’s the longest section, but it’s the most complicated, and does most of the work of the story. It’s where the development and the suspense all happens and it has to be constructedcarefully, or the whole book falls apart. I spend more time angsting over and rewriting the mid-section than anything else
Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?
My lead characters tend to be women, so there’s that connection. I suspect that, as with a lot of authors, there’s an element of — call it hopeful thinking in my leads. I like smart, competent characters, and in general they are smarter and more competent than I feel most days. But writing about best selves helps me uncover what I think a human’s best self should, and can, be.
What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?
Movies, definitely. I am a huge fan both vintage and modern film. The same with theater. Because I write historicals, the history of the period is hugely inspirational. As we all know, reality is always more complicated, and a lot stranger than fiction. I tend to mine the news of the present day as well. It may not be exactly inspirational, but it is a source of a lot of ideas.
My Book, The Movie: And Dangerous to Know.
The Page 69 Test: And Dangerous to Know.
The Page 69 Test: A Lady Compromised.
--Marshal Zeringue