Historical Fiction Author Hazel Statham Visits Boomer Chick!

We have a very special guest today at Boomer Chick! Hazel Statham, author of the Georgian romance, DOMINIC! Hazel is on a virtual book tour hosted by Pump Up Your Book Promotion which makes her posting here doubly nice.

Hazel lives in Staffordshire, England. She started writing at fifteen and has written on and off ever since. She has always been fascinated by history and writes mainly in the Regency and Georgian eras, although she has been known to occasionally stray into Mediaeval times.

When she was a child, she often told herself stories and this just progressed to committing them to paper to entertain family and friends. However, there have been gaps in her writing years where marriage and employment intervened, but now that she no long works, she is able to return to her first love and devote her time to writing. She had her first two novels published in 2005.

She has been married to her husband Terry since 1969 and they have a grown daughter and beautiful grandson. Apart from reading and writing historical novels, her other ruling passion is animals and until recently, she was treasurer for an organisation that raised money for animal charities.

She currently shares her home with a lovely yellow Labrador named Lucy, who is her constant companion. Lucy is a real sweetie, but it’s not always easy working at the computer with a large Labrador trying to get on your knee!

You can visit her website at http://www.hazel-statham.co.uk/!

Welcome to Boomer Chick, Hazel! Can you tell us a little about yourself and your book, DOMINIC?

I live in the UK and have always been fascinated by history. I started writing many, many moons ago at the age of fifteen and have written on and off ever since. I write mainly in the Georgian and Regency eras and 'Dominic' is no exception as it is a Georgian Romance.

Dominic Blake, Earl of Vale, is a young man of privilega and breeding whose world is turned upside-down by Jack, a beautiful young girl in boys' clothing whom he finds sheltering on his doorstep after fleeing an attack by her brother. In turn, she becomes his pupil and his love and this is the story of their unconventional and delightful courtship.

As a fellow boomer chick, I’m curious, did you start later in life to write books or have you been writing all your life?

At fifteen, I had this compulsion to write and over the years nothing has changed. It is still a compulsion and even if my work was never published, I would write.

What do you feel has been the most challenging obstacle since you’ve been writing?

My own self-confidence. I wrote for pleasure with no thought of publication and it wasn't until the lecturer who headed the writing group at the local college badgered me into submitting that I finally agreed. You can imagine my delight when I was accepted.

I understand you live in the U.K. Why did you choose a U.S. publisher?

I do all my writing on the computer and it was to the internet that I turned when looking for a publisher. I wanted someone who would accept electronic submissions and sadly, there appeared to be none in the UK so I turned my attention to the USA. We visit the US quite often and it feels like a second home so it seemed the natural thing to do.

I’ve heard great things about Wings ePress. How have they been to work with?

They're a great company. Very professional and treat their authors well. My editor, Lorraine Stephens is a lovely lady.

What about an agent? Have you ever gone down that route?

I had an agent a few years ago but I heard many adverse comments about the agency and withdrew my work.

I’m always interested in why people choose a certain genre to write. Why did you choose Georgian romance?

I write about what I know and love. I have always had an empathy with the Regency and Georgian eras and it is to these I turn when I create my work. 'Dominic' is the prequal to 'My Dearest Friend', which will be available from Wings in January. However, both books stand alone and you don't need to read one to understand the other.

What about other books? Do you have other books in the process of being published?

I have 'My Dearest Friend' due out in January, 2008 and 'His Shadowed Heart' June, 2008. Both will be available from Wings ePress.

Thank you for coming, Hazel! Would you like to tell my readers where they can purchase your book, Dominic?

Yes, you can purchase it at http://www.wings-press.com/. 'Dominic' is available as both an ebook and paperback.

Thank you for coming, Hazel! If you would like a chance to win a copy of DOMINIC, leave a comment below. All winners will be announced at http://www.virtualbooktoursforauthors.blogspot.com/ on Sept. 30. Good luck!