Dreamspinner Press
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Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have J.L. Langley here today talking about writing, characters, and one of our favorites stories, My Fair Captain. Welcome, J.L.
~ Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Interview with J.L. Langley ~
- How much of yourself goes into a character?
It actually depends on the character, but I’d say there is always something of me in my characters. I find the ones that are most different from me are the toughest to write. In my upcoming story, Diplomatic Relations, Blaise gave me absolute fits because he is so different from me. I had a hard time trying to put myself into his mindset and think like him. Fortunately, I do have a very good friend and critique partner that identified with Blaise very easily and helped see things the way he did.
- Does research play a role into choosing which genre you write? Do you enjoy research or prefer making up your worlds and cultures?
No research doesn’t play a part in my genre choice at all. I always start with characters, I’m very character driven, but I do love research. Like most authors, I find myself losing hours and hours in research because I love to learn new things.
- Has your choice of childhood or teenage reading genres carried into your own choices for writing?
Not at all. As a child, I read Judy Blume. Sadly, I didn’t read as a teen. I know that sounds so bad, but it’s true. I think English Lit really soured me on reading. I do NOT like literature as a general rule. Especially the things we read in High School. I can sum high school literature up in one word: depressing. I learned really early on in jr. high school that Cliff’s Notes were my friend! I’m not sure I actually read any books after I discovered Cliff’s Notes. Sadly, college literature was even worse. I wanted to throw the book at the professor for making me read, The Lottery. Trust me, he got an earful! And I’d still like to have a few words with whomever wrote the screenplay for Seven.
- Do you like HFN or HEA? And why?
HEA all the way! As you can probably tell from my answer above. I read for two reasons: to learn (as in how to do something or what happened in the past. I don’t want a moral lesson) or for entertainment. Nothing makes me madder than wasting my time and getting a bad ending. I’m like that with movies too. If I want real life, I’ll watch the news. When I read, I want to be entertained. I want to feel wonderful and refreshed when I’m done.
- Who do you think is your major influence as a writer? Now and growing up?
If I had to pick I’d have to say Julia Quinn. I absolutely love everything she writes. She has a wonderful sense of humor and her books are always romantic. She’s a very character driven writer. Growing up? Judy Blume? She had a pretty good sense of humor as well and I do tend to include humor in my writing.
- How do you feel about the ebook format and where do you see it going?
As a reader, I didn’t like ebooks to begin with. I wanted a paperback, or preferably a hardback. I wanted that keepsake. Now I won’t read a book if I can’t get it in ebook. Which oddly enough it’s kind of ironic because I love libraries and being surrounded by actual, physical books. There is just something about the smell of them. I definitely see a day where ebooks are the only books. More and more we gravitate to the electronic. Since I’ve been published I’ve seen a huge shift. When I first started my print books always sold more than my ebooks, but now? I kind of surprised publishers still do print, they just don’t sell much anymore.
- Do you have a favorite among your own stories? And why?
My Regelence Rake is my favorite. As to why? I’m not really sure. Oddly enough though those are not my favorite characters.
- If you write contemporary romance, is there such a thing as making a main character too “real”? Do you think you can bring too many faults into a character that eventually it becomes too flawed to become a love interest?
I don’t think so. The more flawed the better. You can redeem just about any character. After reading Larissa Ione’s, Rough Rider, I’m certain of that. Talk about incredible conflict and incredible character development. Larissa is amazing and that story especially is awe inspiring. <bows at Larissa’s feet> She definitely redeemed the unredeemable.
- What’s the wildest scene you’ve imagined and did it make it into a story?
Hmmm… this isn’t exactly the same thing, BUT… the scene in the Broken H where Shane hears Jamie and Gray in the kitchen and one of them, Gray, I think, says, “suck the head!” And Jamie yells, “eewww… No I don’t like the taste. Stop pushing my head!” It actually happened in RL. My youngest BIL and I were in the kitchen at a New Year’s Eve party and he was fixing a beer for my husband. I happened to come in as he put the lime in the Corona then added the salt. It started foaming and the rest his history. We noticed the room got very quiet and we looked up and everyone was standing at the door staring at us. Needless to say, the beer got all over the floor and everyone died laughing. It then dawned on my BIL and I how the whole exchange had sounded He looked over at me and sighed and said, “This is going in a book, isn’t it?”
- Ever drunk written a chapter and then read it the next day and still been happy with it? Trust me there’s a whole world of us drunk writers dying to know.
Nope. I don’t drink. But I have gotten up in the middle of the night and written ideas down when I was still asleep. Needless to say, they have never made it into books, but they are always entertaining to read the next morning. Lets see there was one about a vampire turtle who shot spider webs… seriously! I read it the next morning and was like O_O Really? I couldn’t stop laughing.
My Fair Captain Blurb
When Intergalactic Navy Captain Nathaniel Hawkins goes undercover to investigate the theft of an IN weapons stash, the mission raises painful memories from his past. Using a title he fled nearly two decades earlier, Nate once again becomes the Earl of Deverell, heir to the Duke of Hawthorne, in order to navigate the ins and outs of a Regency world. But planet Regelence—where young lords are supposed to remain pure until marriage—has a few surprises for Nate, not least of which is his attraction to Prince Aiden.
A talented artist, Prince Aiden Townsend isn’t interested in politics and the machinations of society gentlemen, and he adamantly rejects the idea of marriage and a consort. Aiden wants the freedom to pursue his art and determine his own future. But the arrival of the dashing and mysterious Deverell awakens feelings of passion and longing the young prince can’t deny.
As Nate uncovers a conspiracy reaching far beyond the stolen weapons, his future is irrevocably altered by the temptations of a life he never thought he could have. Drawn into the web of intrigue, Aiden is in danger of losing his life… and his heart.
About the Author
J.L. Langley said her first words at six months of age. By the time she was a year old, she was talking in complete sentences and, as most of her family and friends will tell you, she hasn’t shut up since. After becoming an accomplished motormouth, J.L. set out to master other avenues of self-expression, including art, and dance.
She attended the University of Texas, where she majored in art, and worked as a dance instructor on the side. Her love of artistic expression in dance landed her a career in which she taught and performed for over twenty-five years. After marriage to her junior high school sweetheart and the birth of their children, J.L. decided to try her hand at writing. To date, she has several successful novels and a handful of novellas to her credit.
She lives in Texas, where she was born and raised, with her real life hero, their rowdy two boys, two even rowdier German Shepherds and ten goldfish, one of which is named Jaws. When she’s not writing, she can usually be found with her nose in a book, appreciating the communication skills of other writers.
Social media links:
Website: http://www.jllangley.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorjllangley
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jl_langley
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