Interview: Loretta Hill

This week, I have the lovely and incredibily talented Loretta Hill joining me on the blog. Loretta is a Random House author and her debut novel 'The Girl in Steel-Capped Boots' is a fantastic read which I loved!

I'm very happy to have her here, so lets get to the questions:

As always, can you start off by telling us a little bit about yourself and your writing?

Well, my name is Loretta Hill. I am a mother of four, educated and employed as a structural engineer but currently on maternity leave and writing books.

How did your writing journey begin?

My writing journey began when I was 8 or 9 years old. I wrote this story in an exercise book about a two orphans who are searching for their parents. Their parents turn out to be a fairy and a dragon. Don’t ask me how that works!

Haha, the wonders of a child's imagination. :

So tell us, how do you come up with such fantastic ideas and storylines? 

I don’t have one specific place or a thing that gives me ideas. I get ideas from everywhere.  Sometimes, the news, sometimes a song, sometimes a friend will say something that triggers something. I guess, I get ideas from life- my own experiences mixed with other peoples.

Now, I’m a fan of the male POV. I love writing scenes from my Hero’s perspective as I find it refreshing. Are you a fan of the male POV too?

I do love the male point of view but you will notice in “The Girl in Steel-Capped Boots” there is none. This was for two reasons. The first was that the first draft of that book was in 1^st person. So when I converted it to 3rd person everything was still in Lena’s POV. The other reason was I didn’t want readers to be in Dan’s head. I wanted him to be as mysterious as possible.  So I relied heavily on his body language to convey his attraction to Lena. That was tough given I was always in Lena’s POV and she’s not supposed to know Dan’s attracted to her.

However, “The Girl in the Hard Hat” has whole chapters of hero POV. I guess I really wanted to make up for the absence in my first book J

Thank God! Having just finished your book (at 1 am Wednesday morning to be exact), I found it so frustrating not knowing what was going on in Dan's head. All I can say is, you know you craft. :)

Now, what was the hardest lesson you had to learn during the publishing process?

I was strongly recommended not to use a particular name as my writing name.  It was a bit of blow because I had always wanted to use that name.  And when the writing dream came true, it kind of took the gloss off it a bit not being able to use my first choice of name.  But I got over that! 

Now to talk about the book. Tell us a little about your current release?

“The Girl in Steel-Capped Boots” has been on the shelves since Jan this year and is now part of Australia’s September Get Reading Campaign ( www.getreading.com.au )  It’s basically about a young girl who is thrown in the deep end and expected to sink. But she swims! Boy does she swim. And against the odds too, which happens to be 350 men on a construction site in the Pilbara. My second book, “The Girl in the Hard Hat” is due out Jan next year and basically follows the first book except there’s a new girl in town.  Her name is Wendy and she’s also up to the challenge of working in a male dominated field. Both my books have a lot of romance and Aussie comedy in them.

You can find both these books and their blurbs at the following address: http://www.lorettahill.com.au/books.html
 

They certainly do. I can't wait to read Wendy's story.

What is your favorite part of the novel? Beginning, middle, end? Some place in between?

That’s hard to pick! Generally if I don't like what I’m writing, that’s the first sign to me that I have to cut or edit it. It’s my own personal rule that I have to enjoy every part of the book or it needs fixing in the area that’s “boring me.”

Having said that I did particularly enjoy writing the last third of “The Girl in the Hard Hat” not just because I was getting close to the end but because it was the most action packed part of the book. I had three subplots coming to a head.

Now, don’t shoot me for mentioning ‘50 Shades of Grey’ but how do you feel about the idea of submissive female characters and possessive male protagonists? Does it get up your nose?

YES!  I’m not into submissive female characters at all. In fact, if I had one I’d probably use her for comic relief.  As for the male protagonists being possessive, I think that he should have a good reason to be that way and his possessiveness should not lead to aggression. That’s a big turn off for me.  I prefer my heroes protective rather than possessive.

Well said. :)

Now an interesting question about your own experience working in a male dominated environment on the Pilbara, did you learn some lessons?  

I certainly did. It was a very character building experience.

And are those lessons passed on to your heroines?

I have drawn on my own experiences to make my characters come alive.  The engineering projects in my novels are real and also I’ve tried to make the descriptions of camp life and the landscape as true to life as possible.

However,  both my heroines are definitely fictional characters with fictional problems and fantasy love lives.

But that's the fun in it, isn't it? :)

Now last but not least, do you have any advice for aspiring writers like myself?

Keep writing. Write as much as you can and never give up on the dream because the secret to getting published is simply persistence.

Thank you so much Loretta for joining me on the blog. It was a pleasure to get to know the author behind the book and I wish you all the best with your up and coming release.

Rural Panel: What Makes Rural Romance?

In August, I attended the RWA Diamonds are Forever Conference. It was one of the most exciting, nerve-racking four days I've ever experienced and one were Rural Romance was given a voice in the Diamonds in Dust Panel. It was great to share opinions and ideas, but one question really showed just how subjective Rural Romance is.

Rural Romance is a relatively young genre, but I believe it has hit the shelves with a bang. New authors are imerging and the genre is growing. And every story, is unique. Different opinions, new voices and yet they are all connected by something.

So, I just wanted to ask our authors, what is it about Rural life that inspires you to write RuRo? And what makes are Rural romance to you?

For me, it's the characters. It's old mate sitting out the front of the post office with his scruffy dog at his feet. It's battered hats, quirky senses of humour and tales that go for days. It's strong, passionate individuals who are fighting for something or against something. When I pick up a rural novel, I want to read and find the people I have met IN these novels. And I want to make a few more friends. That's what Rural Romance is for me.


Now for what everyone else has to say...

First up, we have author, Jenn J Mcleod (whose debut novel, 'House For All Seasons' is out next year). Jenn had this to say about what inspired her to write about Rural life:

'Country living to me is about the sound of silence. (With respect to Simon & Garfunkel!)
There is a crispness to the country, and I’m not referring solely to a what we see and feel. It’s the sharp silences, the stillness, what we hear--or don’t hear without the whirr of white noise that comes with city living.
That’s my kind of country.'

And how right she is. If you have never lived in the city, you might not understand this. But for me, a country girl at heart stuck in the city, this silence really is a sound. Not a lack of it.

For the Author of The Road Home, Fiona Palmer:

'Rural life for me is the close knit community full to the brim of bush characters that all have their own quirks. Yet we all live together, tolerating and supporting each other as a community wouldn't survive otherwise.'

Whilst Fleur McDonald doesn't write Rural Romance, but Rural literature, Fleur understands the impact rural life has had on the stories she writes. And on the world she lives in.

Farmers feed everyone and to me, it's the most important job in the world. That is what makes me passionate about writing Rural Lit. I simply love sharing my world with people who don't have the opportunity live it.

You all know the saying: If you ate today, thank a Farmer.

For Loretta Hill, whose fabulous novel 'The Girl in the Steel-capped Boots' has had great success in today's market, she had this to say about what makes a rural romance for her:

'Three things make a rural romance for me. Firstly, a strong, capable female lead. I think what attracts readers most to Rural romance are the feisty heroines who are often not just falling in love but also testing the limits of their own capabilities. These heroines don’t need the hero to triumph at the end of the story but he certainly makes the journey more interesting. I love the fact that rural romance heroines are often thrown out of their depth or put in situations which test them emotionally and sometimes physically to the limit. And yet they rise up and meet the challenges. The second thing, I believe makes a rural romance is of course the setting, not necessarily a farm but definitely not urban. Both books I have written for the Random House are set on the Pilbara on construction sites. I think it’s important that the setting is almost like another character in the book - that it interacts with the heroine as much as the hero does. And last but not least, I think the strong sense of community in rural romance is a big draw card in this genre. Rural romances always contain strong relationships. Not just between the hero and heroine but often between family, comrades, work mates, local townspeople or other farmers etc. They are the kind of relationships that are harder to find in big cities where people sometimes don’t even know their neighbours. I think readers really love that sense of “family” in small towns or workplace communities where everybody looks out for each other. There are many other great aspects of rural romances that I love but these are definitely the top three.'

Strong Heroines are my favourite. I love sarcasm and they all wear it well.

For Penguin Author Cathryn Hein (author of Heart of the Valley):

Besides a well-developed rural setting, I like my rural romances to feature characters who are passionate about the land and country life. They don’t necessarily have to be from the land, but it’s important that they feel a deep connection, so much so that the land becomes intrinsic to their happiness. Take them away and they’ll survive well enough – they are, after all, resourceful sorts - but their world won’t turn quite right. Return them to the place they love most and, despite suffering hardships and traumas (because where is the fun without those to test our hero’s or heroine’s mettle), the characters find home and a place that fills their hearts.

It also doesn’t hurt to have a broad-shouldered hero who looks damn sexy in a pair of moleskins!

We do love our broad-shouldered men haha.

Next in line we have Jennifer Scoullar, whose novel Brumby's Run was released in July. This is what Jennifer had to say:

A rural romance, like any other, requires a passionate love story. But it also requires much more. For me, a good rural romance is anchored in an equally passionate love story with the land. Rich, natural settings set these books apart. Australian readers find independent, tough-minded women coexisting with the land more appealing than the self-absorbed shopaholics who dominate chick-lit. The characters in rural stories are strong women who are not desperate for a new man.
Australia’s native flora and fauna are my main influences, together with wild landscapes. These are powerful settings. In cities, many people live lives so far removed from nature, that they rarely even touch the earth. But at what cost? The cost to our declining environment? The cost to our hearts? I think the world is hungry to re-engage with nature, to ground itself. Rural lit taps into this vein. The wildly successful movie Avatar did the same thing. Losing touch with wildness is losing touch with ourselves.

As a city dweller, I understand exactly what you're saying. As a country girl at heart, the best part of my day is walking to feed my horse who lives just down the road from me. It's 7am, the air is cool and the gums tree look magnificent against the sunrise. Some, don't understand the contentment I feel during that ten minute walk. Others, understand completely.

Breathless Publishing author, Ann B Harrison has just release her novel 'Taming the Outback' and today she will be sharing what influenced her to write a Rural Romance:

Apart from growing up a country girl quite simply the struggle my characters go through and how they come out the other end.

I like to pit them against their greatest fears and see how they cope. Life on the land is hard enough as it is but adding the emotional aspect can only makes the story better. It drags me in as a writer and I hope it does the same for my readers.

With my first book Taming the Outback I took a widow with an unruly teenager and a little lost girl and threw her the challenge of taking on two stations at a profit or risk losing it to the guy next door. That was enough of an incentive for Libby to pull out all the stops and show us what she was made of.

 

Well said Ann. :)

And last but not least, we have Jennie Jones. Jennie is unpublished, but has recently finalled in the Rebecca!

I didn’t set out with the intent of focussing on Rural Romance, but as I write, my characters are finding themselves in small town country environments where they fall in love, so my stories are turning out to be rural and romantic. The country image is of space, freedom and fresh air; a chance to start again perhaps. My characters might be building something, finding something, saving something or running from something. Of course, their dreams don’t come easily because living in the country is hard. There are a whole new set of rules. My little towns are fictional, but the areas I set them in are mapped on Google, and although I want readers to feel that they recognise the settings I also love to add a bucket of make-believe to the atmosphere and quirkiness of my towns and my characters.

 

A Rural novel isn't the same without its quirky characters!

So there you have it. What makes a rural romance. And what it is about Rural life that inspires these great tales.

I'd like to thank all the women who participated in this post. It was really interesting and I'd love to have you all back at the blog soon.

If you're a Rural Romance lover and would like to find out more about these wonderful authors, just click on their names and you will find their websites. The Rural Romance Writers and Reader's group on facebook is also a great place to get to know these authors, and discover many more.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed this post.
Whitney