|
Let’s start at the start ... how did your first book and your first sale
come about?
I love to read, and my earliest memory as a child was a delight with stories,
cutting my teeth on Enid Blyton, Anne of Green Gables, and my first
introduction to romance was the reading of E.M. Hull’s The Sheik, very
tame by today’s standards, but riveting to a young teenager! Lucy Walker’s The
Distant Hills was the catalyst which made me decide to write, and my first
attempt at a novel was typed on a portable typewriter at the kitchen table.
I’d married an Italian immigrant, we lived and worked on a tobacco farm
where the population comprised mainly people from Italy, Greece, Yugoslavia and
Albania. Their customs and views fascinated me, and I personally witnessed
several arranged marriages, marriages by proxy, and marriages of convenience.
That was my starting point, the story I wanted to tell, focusing on a marriage
of convenience set on a tobacco farm. The hero was wealthy (my personal hero was
not), and lived in a very nice home (we lived in barracks), but the background
was authentic in that I cooked for several workers, did their washing, strung
tobacco by hand etc.
I had no idea of length, manuscript format ... I just wrote the story. Our
three children were young, and it took me a year. The first attempt was deemed
too short, not enough detail. I threw it in the bottom of the wardrobe where it
languished for six months before I rewrote it. This time it was too long with
too much extraneous detail, but I was told if I could bear to rework it, I
should send it direct to London. Which I did in May 1974, and received a
cablegram in September from Alan Boon to say he was going to publish it. The
publishing date was June 1975. To date I’ve written 43 full length books and 2
novellas.
What do you enjoy about writing for Mills & Boon Sexy? What is it
about your writing/stories/voice that suits the line?
I like reading a highly sensual story with a strong emotional content, so
that is what I write. A former editor once relayed my forte was the forced
marriage/foreign hero scenario.
You have been with Mills & Boon for 29 years. What changes have you
seen in recent years?
I feel there’s been a shift to a more tightly written book. The heroine is
career-oriented, gutsy, she’s not subservient and she says what she thinks.
Whereas the hero is rarely the arrogant over-the-top character of the type
written in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s. He can be powerful, and for the Presents
line, he should be moderately wealthy, whether it’s old money or self-made. In
the 21st century the hero is more in tune with the heroine’s feelings.
Do you have favorite hook or story element you love to use? Is there a
special element of your books that readers comment on?
Mostly the feedback I get focuses on the marriage of convenience/forced
marriage scenario, the way the hero and heroine are flung together due to
circumstance. I adore the tycoon hero! Glamorous settings are popular, and the
readers comment on the social scenes I incorporate in my work.
Tell us about how you write. Are you a plotter, a planner or do you wing
it? How do you sell to your editor - do you need to write proposals?
I begin with an idea … a theme. Then I fix on location, setting, heroine
and hero’s details, and decide how and where the first chapter will begin. It’s
like meeting these two people for the first time … I need to figuratively
stand back a while. Believe that first chapter gets rewritten between ten and
thirty times before I’m happy with it. Then I write in scenes. Much the same
as a movie is filmed, one scene at a time, not necessarily in sequence. I don’t
write a synopsis or a proposal. I write my editor with an idea, a theme, and ask
what she thinks of it. When I have the first chapter I’ll email that to her,
again to see what she thinks of it. I value her thoughts, her opinions, and view
our relationship as a team dedicated to produce a good book the readers will
enjoy.
And is there an average writing day, or one you would like to be your
average writing day?
Ah, there’s the ideal writing day … and the reality! On an ideal day, I’d
edit and rewrite the previous day’s work in the morning, then write a minimum
5 pages in the afternoon. The reality is some days the words flow like gold,
others when every word is like pulling teeth … painful! I aim for 20 good
edited and rewritten pages a week.
Set the scene where you write...do you prefer organization or clutter? A
dark corner or a garden view? Music or silence?
I prefer organization, although I can put up with clutter for a while until
it gets to a point where I can’t stand it a moment longer and I have to tidy
up. I have a reasonably sized office to work in, with a desktop computer.
However, I can see the benefits of having a laptop and being able to work
wherever the whim takes me. Silence, definitely. I find it difficult to focus if
there’s background noise … television, music, radio.
What is your favourite thing about being a romance writer? Least
favourite?
Favourite … would have to be readers positive feedback on my work.
Least favourite … nothing comes to mind!
Many authors are also avid readers. Is this the case with you? If so, who
are some of your favorites? Have any influenced your writing?
Lucy Walker, Linda Howard, Nora Roberts.
Reading aside, how else do you like to relax? What re-charges your
creativity?
I love going to the movies, viewing favourite television shows, spending time
with good friends, sipping a latte in a café and people-watching.
Do you have any upcoming releases? Are you working on anything right now?
The Pregnancy Proposal is due for release in April ‘03
In the Spaniard’s Bed is due for release in September ‘03
Returning Home for Christmas novella for the Christmas season (TBA)
At this specific time I’m playing catch-up after sending in the novella,
and plan beginning new work next week.
Is there anything other than M&B that you would like to write someday?
I really enjoy writing short contemporary romance. And while I read across
the genre, as well as mainstream, crime, at the moment I have no desire to
branch out and write something different.
Any final advice or words of wisdom to would-be romance authors?
Believe in your dream, your work, and never give up.
Helen will be conducting a tutorial on “Creating Sensual Sexual Tension”
at PASSION IN PARADISE, the 12th national conference of Romance Writers of
Australia in August 2003. Click here for further details
|
Helen Bianchin
is a firm reader favourite, as evidenced by 2 #1 hits on the
US Waldenbooks Series Bestsellers List in 2002.