1.) What do you wish you’d known before you started writing?
I’m actually glad I didn’t realise how hard the aftermath would be. When they find out I write books everyone tells me: “Ooh, I don’t know how you can come up with all these stories!” Well, for me the writing is the fun, easy part. I could write all day every day and never run out of ideas. The marketing is the time-consuming task I could do without.
So… I guess I wish I had been told I was right to stick at it, that it would pay off in the end, as it might have spared me a whole lot of anguish.
2.) Is there one subject you’d never write about as an author? What is it?
I’ve never wonder about that… Good question. Horror would definitely not be possible, I would scare myself and keep looking over my shoulder. Anything traumatic really. I could not do it because it would mess with my life.
Other than that I would not have fun writing things I don’t enjoy reading, I imagine.
3.) Are you a plotter or a pantser?
Pantser all the way!!! And not just in my writing. In my cooking, my crocheting, my calligraphy and everything, I like to improvise and see where it goes. Otherwise, where is the fun?
4.) If you could be the original author for any book, which book would it be? Why?
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller is a strong contender. How the writer managed to create such a vivid world with apparently simple sentences and the same words we all use is quite baffling. Not to mention that it is heartbreakingly beautiful.
Otherwise the childhood trilogy of French author Marcel Pagnol. I must have read them dozens of times and it still makes me laugh/cry/swoon/smile/wish I’d been there. It’s the perfect description of what a happy child should do during his holiday.
5.) What are you working on at the moment?
So many things! I have just finished two novellas, and plotted a trilogy set in the beginning of the 14th century where two of the heroes and one of the heroines are Scots. And I’m always tidying up old manuscripts that can be put to use.
6.) Do you work on one book at a time? More?
I think you will have understood from my previous answer that I am always juggling with at least three or four projects, including at least one on paper and pen. Once I have the outline of the book and about half the contents, I transfer it onto the computer, fleshing it out as I go. Then it’s (only!) a matter of rereading it a dozen times to see where scenes and info are missing and smooth everything out.
7.) Do you have a favourite character in your latest release?
As a writer of Romance, I don’t tend to have many characters aside from the main couple, whom I love dearly obviously. I also like writing the villain even if I don’t like him personally. Sir Gilbert was a great villain to write because he is so pompous and deluded. But other than that I really like Hettie. Maybe I should write her story as a short sequel. Now, there’s a thought! Thanks for giving me the idea…
BLURB:
The woman Philip finds in his bed one night is not the one he thought would be there for a playful romp, a night’s entertainment. That’s all he wants to provide to the women who try to snare him as a husband. Yet he is more honorable than his stepbrother, the person this woman awaits.
A penniless widow, Rose has accepted a humiliating marriage offer in the hope of being reunited with her son, taken from her by his grandfather. But the fiery lover who comes to her in the dark and finds her in his bed is not the future husband she was expecting…
How can she overcome this setback in her plans and still keep her dignity and reputation?
Shadows in the Mist – Kindle edition by Marconato, Virginie. Romance Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.
Bio:
I think I became a writer the day I decided to write a (very bad, shamefully close to the real story) version of White Fang when aged nine or ten! As for the Middle Ages I fell in love with it at school during a history lesson, then Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood put its final seal on it all. A girl of twelve then, I never recovered!
LINKS:
Website: virginiemarconato.com
Twiiter: @MarconatoVirgi1
Instagram: @virginie_marconato