I’m so pleased to welcome award-winning romance author Heather Snow to the blog. Heather writes sexy and smart Regency-set historical romances, and she’s been getting great reviews and reader love since her first book was published. She has a new book out on the shelves–let’s find out all about it!
You’re a chemist by training – how does that training help or hinder you when it comes to writing romance?
One of my favorite quotes is from Carl Jung, who said, “The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.” Given how similar the two phenomena are, I think that makes a chemist perfectly suited to write romance, don’t you?
Actually, my background did prepare me for my writing career better than one might think: There are rules to follow, and some you can break when you want to experiment. Historical romance, like science, requires careful research. Most chemical reactions require a catalyst to drive them, just like characters require motivation to drive the story forward. And finally, both chemistry and writing, if done well, involve a precise mixture of elements and careful manipulation to achieve that perfect reaction that makes you want to sigh with satisfaction…
As for how it hinders me, I must admit, sometimes my analytical mind gets in my way! While I enjoy the creative process, it’s a bit of a different animal than I am used to. Where the left side of my brain might demand I outline, plot, dissect and plan out my work, my right side has different ideas. Coaxing out the prose and the characterization that brings life to my stories is a lot more challenging than I’d expected. My left brain can also hold me up. If I notice something not working in a story, I CANNOT move forward until I figure it out—whereas some writers can write through such things and figure it out on the other end. I get stuck, and until I can get my mind around it, I stay stuck!
Your Veiled Seduction series definitely has a scientific bent to it, with three smart heroines with special talents. Was it difficult to write about women like that in a Regency Era historical setting?
Yes and no. I work really hard at making my characters complex and three-dimensional. Giving them careers in history that would have been challenging for them adds a layer to their personality, which made them more real to me, and therefore easier to write. Plus, I find them very relatable, being a woman who struggled making her way in the world (of men and otherwise). I hope other women will relate to them, too.
Where they were a bit more challenging, though, is to be women who would go against Society to do what they loved, their particular science had to be in their blood and really filter through every part of their character. Therefore I had to do a lot of research into what exactly they would have known at the time and what their attitude might have been towards it, and then boil that down and slip it in a little at a time so that they felt genuine without the reader knowing I was putting research into the book!
I did this mainly in how each character looked at the world. For example, Emma, from Sweet Deception, is a brilliant criminologist who uses maps and mathematics in an early form of geographic profiling to find a killer. Her head is constantly filled with equations and patterns, and that affects how she looks at life and love. A reviewer said this of Emma: “Emma attacks everything in life with a mathematical equation, including winning Aveline over as a partner in crime, er, criminal investigation. She even has an equation to keep Aveline interested in his land, Derbyshire, and her as a partner in marriage … for practical reasons. You’ll have to read the book to see how she calculates love and passion into the equation!”
What’s your new book about?
Well, this third book is a little different than the first two. You see, where my chemist and my criminologist heroines were both brilliant women who reveled in pushing the boundaries of society, Penelope, from Sweet Madness, starts out just your average debutante: a Society darling who is content to live the privileged life she was born until her husband’s tragic death drives her to study the maladies of the mind and leads her to a traumatized soldier who needs her help…and her love.
But she also finds that healing is a two way street, and to be able to follow our hero to the dark places she must go to reach him, she has to open up wounds of her own. It’s really a story about the healing power of love, with a little mystery and some racy bits thrown in! I’ve been told it’s the most emotional story of the three, and so far, it’s garnering fabulous reviews.
It was a fun challenge helping Penelope discover her inner brilliance. She had to realize that she was never average at all, and that everything she needed was within her all along, if she only trusted herself.
What can you tell us about Hope For The Warriors®?
I’m glad you asked. Hope For The Warriors® is a fantastic charity that helps our military and their families. The hero from Sweet Madness suffers from a severe case of battle fatigue, or as we know it today, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Gabriel is a fictional war hero but there are many real life heroes and battling PTSD today. Experts suggest that more than 30 percent of U.S. soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan experience PTSD and sadly, the families of these soldiers often share in their suffering. Researching the terrible effects of this disorder moved me deeply, and made me wish to help if I could.
Sweet Madness is a story of the healing power of love, and just as important, of hope. Therefore, my husband and I have decided to donate a portion of all royalties earned from the sale of Sweet Madness to Hope For The Warriors®, an organization dedicated to “restoring a sense of self, restoring the family unit, and restoring hope for our service members and our military families.”
You can find out more about this wonderful charity here: http://www.hopeforthewarriors.org/
What’s next in your writing life?
I don’t know about my writing life, but what’s next in my life life is vacation! Sweet Enemy sold when our eldest was still in diapers, and the second was written right after the birth of our youngest—while my husband was finishing up his masters on top of his full time career! He graduated right after I finished Sweet Deception and we’d barely had time to enjoy a breather before I jumped into Sweet Madness. My family and I are looking forward to a couple of weeks on the beach together during the month of May—our first real vacation in three years. Then I’ll get started on my new series…it may or may not be Regency, but it will certainly feature the smart strong heroines readers have come to expect from me.
Thanks so much for the great interview, Heather! And, readers, Heather is graciously giving away a copy today of either her first or second book today. Since she has science-minded heroines, let’s talk about that. Were you a science lover in school, or were other subjects more to your liking? One person who comments will win either a copy of Sweet Enemy or Sweet Deception.
And you can find blurbs and excerpts on Heather’s website, as well as her latest news.
I always enjoyed Biology at school, though I think all the field trips might have had something to do with that. My first love was History. I studied both Modern and Ancient History.
Hi Mary! I loved microbiology…one of my favorite courses. Plus my professor was a hoot…he kept yelling, “If you don’t want to die, don’t eat meat that could be contaminated. And if you MUST eat it? BURN THE HELL OUT OF IT!”
I still eat mine medium rare, but I’ll never forget that class 🙂
My first love was also history, Mary, followed by English.
biology was fun..but chemistry is just math..and ugh math!!! haha
I kind of like math 🙂 But don’t worry if math is not your thing…my heroines may be scientifically natured, but it informs their character and gets them out of trouble a bit but it certainly doesn’t overwhelm the story at all!
I have always loved science and although I did poorly in Math in school I did really well in Chemistry. Of course the teacher is always a factor and the fact that chemistry is something we all can relate to. That is why I got into the medical field. Would love to win the first book so I can start the series. I always have to start in the beginning. thanks
I admit struggling a bit with Chemistry, Linda!
I think that’s why I struggled with physics…because once you leave our atmosphere things don’t make practical sense anymore. It was still fun, though!
I was not science minded in school, but dragged myself kicking and screaming through the sciences. Just enough for my nursing career.
Dee
Nursing requires enough! 🙂 Even if you don’t like science much, you would still like my characters. Science is a part of who they are, but the stories are all romance 🙂
I have always been a science and social studies girl and made straight A’s in school and apparently I passed my love of science to my daughter who is in 2nd grade and has always gotten 100’s in the subject even if her other grades drop a point or two, science has never dropped from 100
That’s awesome, Jennifer! Not enough girls in the sciences, so it’s nice that your daughter excels at it.
That’s fantastic! I was going to say exactly what Vanessa said 🙂
I was never good at math but loved biology. I did go into Chemistry and Physics which were great too. English and History was my favorite, but I guess it was because of all the great reading we did. But my love was Art~ and still is.
That’s awesome that you are both left and right brained…like me! No wonder you love my stories 😉
I enjoyed science actually. There was a definite right answer…
There is that… Science can make things make sense! Thanks for stopping by!
Hi! !! I loved science and biology in school. Fun classes. 🙂
I agree! Lots of hands on experimental fun 🙂
I loved science and almost all my classes. I was the kid who always had my nose in a text book. I enjoyed the challenge of learning.
A good trait to have, Heather!
I’m loving all of these science loving women coming out of the woodwork! Great to see you, Heather 🙂
I actually enjoyed science in school. I think it had a lot to do with having great teachers. They made it fun, and it didn’t seem boring to me at all!!
It really does come down to teachers, doesn’t it? When they are passionate, it’s easy for us to be passionate about it too!
I loved biology in school but hated chemistry so a career in science was not in my future. So art won out. I’m a far more creative person.
The series sounds great and congrats on the new release Heather.
I was the same, Lori. Good at biology but terrible at the other sciences and math. Not surprising I went on to become an English Lit major.
Thanks, Lori 🙂 As you can see, my art eventually won out, too! I just like to throw a little science in my art from time to time!
I didn’t enjoy science as much as I enjoyed mathematics.
Oooh, then you might really love Emma from Sweet Deception 🙂
I was never a fan of science in high school! I much preferred English and Social Studies.
I, too, loved English and literature…I tended to naturally do better in those classes. Science was more of a challenge for me, but I always did love a great challenge. In the end, I’m really glad I pursued both!
I wish that I were more science-oriented! However, I loved the lab experiments and wished that I could have gotten REALLY creative without the worry of possibly blowing something up! LOL
Always fun to blow up the experiments, Felicia!
Ha! So true! Liliana (my chemist heroine from Sweet Enemy) does get to blow something up, so I guess I vicariously did, too, given I wrote it 🙂
I wasn’t a science girl in school I was a math girl. I’m an accountant now so I continued on with my love of numbers. 🙂
Hi Robin! I’ve often said Emma has been my favorite heroine to write so far…I loved how she looked at the world through a mathematical mind…I laughed so hard writing a few of the things she tried to quantify 🙂
While I loved science.. the math defeated me.. But I still love to read about science in the news,in books, etc.
It’s so interesting, isn’t it? I love to hear about new discoveries, even though I no longer work in the field
I have always been into science. I started off studying biology then in grad school went into Food Science, I worked for a while doing pharmaceutical research. Then went back and studied Computer Science. Science has always been a part of my life.
I am SO digging all of you science-loving women! We should totally hang out! 🙂
I loved history in school 🙂
Another fabulous subject 🙂
I loved science at school, but unfortunatelly i sucked at it. Biology, i still do okay. But chemistry, physics, math? I sucked at these
You don’t have to be good at it to love it 🙂 I love all kinds of things I stink at!
I was so NOT a science lover in school. I got my degree in Computer Science in Business.
I love this series and the strong females. I have 3 daughters so that’s a special thing to me. Daughter #1 is at college going into Pharmacy (lots of Chemistry). Daughter #2 will be starting in the fall in Biomedical Engineering. Where these girls get their love for science, I don’t know. Daughter #3 is only 16 and doesn’t have a clue yet! But hopefully something strong and important!
Thanks for the chance to win!
Oh, Sue! You have bluestocking daughters!!! I love it 🙂 One of the things readers seem to really like about my stories, aside from the unique heroines, is that my heroines are strong and independent. No damsels in distress here…they can save themselves and their hero if they need to (though, of course, they have their soft side…as we all do!)
So fun to read more about Heather. I’ve just recently discovered her and the cool thing is that I’ve won books from both her and Vanessa Kelly. I’d love to win one more, but if I don’t, I will be buying them for sure!
Hi Missy 🙂 Lovely to see you again! Isn’t Vanessa awesome?
I was not science minded in school, i always confused with to remember chemistry names. When Study began, half way my mind began blank. LOL.
Oh yes…while I do love chemistry, nomenclature bites 🙂
Congratulations on your new release. I enjoyed biology in school, but I also liked my math classes.
Another math lover! I’m thinking Emma is winning herself some new fans today 🙂
Congrats on the new release, Heather. I did not excel in science, but loved history.
I love history too…being a historical romance author who gets to write science-savvy heroines, I get the best of both worlds!
I wasn’t as much into science as I was into music and drama. I was a band geek and proud of it 🙂
I loved band…but I never learned to read music fast enough. So I played percussion just so I could stay around the gorgeous music! Beats I could read 🙂
I loved biology. I had this great teacher and got A’s until we got a new one that wasn’t a very good teacher and my grades went down.
It really is amazing how a great teacher can affect a student’s passion and enthusiasm for a subject (and hence, their grades!) Biology is fascinating.
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Science was ok, I didn’t mind certain subjects but I was way better with Math.
I was lucky enough to be good at both…understanding math really helped with chem and physics!
Oh I am a science lover my major at University is Chemistry. I would love to be chosen as the winnner
Yay! A fellow chem major! Perhaps you’ll love Liliana as much as I do 🙂
Science was always my favorite subject in school!It’s still my favorite subject lol, when the kids bring home science homework or projects I’m right there wanting to know what they need to do, they love bringing home science projects!
I can’t wait for science projects 🙂 I’m a little terrified of school math homework…not because I don’t remember math, but because I’ve heard they teach it completely differently these days. Oh well…it should keep my brain active!
I was never a science (or math) kind of girl. I always loved English and History, guess that’s why I like historical romance so much. 😀 I enjoyed Sweet Enemy and thought the heroine was fantastic, so reading about science minded girls is fun, even though their science stuff is above my head.
Awwww, thanks Barbara! I’m so glad you said that, because I’d hate to scare off readers because they think the books are too “sciency”. They’re really not…it’s just a fun aspect of the characters, and makes up who they are and influences what they do. The stories are romances, through and through
I was a science lover in school and am a nurse by training. My father was a math/science teacher so I guess I got some of that from him.
I loved SWEET MADNESS and if I don’t win here I’m going to get the first two books in your series, Heather.
Hi Marcy! I’m SO glad you loved SWEET MADNESS! I do hope you love the other two just as much 🙂
Hi ladies! *waving*
Wonderful post, thank you for stopping by Heather.
I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy reading your books, they are great!!
Please do not enter me in your awesome giveaway.
I already have your books….yay me!! Who ever wins will be one lucky person! 🙂
Oh, Dalila, how kind of you to say! I’m thrilled you’ve loved me stories…it means a lot to hear that!
Oh, goodness. It isn’t that I didn’t *like* science. Science was very nice, very interesting. We had a good time together. We just, well, we didn’t end up being right for each other.
Now math, on the other hand… Math ended up being my soul mate.
😉
Another who will LOVE Emma, then 🙂 Math is pretty awesome! (cute post, btw)
When I was in school, many, many years ago, I liked biology and did pretty good in it. Chemistry however was a whole different story. I’ve never been good at memorizing things and the periodic table, at least I think that’s what it’s called, was just beyond me. I love cooking, which in a way is like chemistry, but I generally prefer to follow a recipe than try to do things on my own. I was informed, back in ’94, that more than likely I suffered PTSD after being abruptly widowed. That illness affects not only the military, mainly, but their friends and relatives, as well as many others who suffer from a traumatic, or violent, incident.
Oh, Molly…I’m sorry for your loss. It is interesting that you mention that because that is an aspect of the story that I haven’t talked a lot about. Penelope, my heroine, is also abruptly widowed and does suffer from PTSD as well…it takes Gabriel to help her see that as she’s working so hard to help him. It’s one of the reasons they are perfect for each other.
I was not very good with science in school. I loved English and Math. Thanks for the interesting post. lisagk (at) yahoo
I went to a pretty small high school, so chemistry and biology were the only sciences offered. Terrified me to have to take college physics without ever having had it, but luckily MATH helped me through! We had a wonderful math teacher in high school…really gifted woman! Still adore her
Hello Heather! Science fascinated me in school…Physics most of all. Math was my second love, until my third year in college when it became theory rather than practical. I guess I should’ve been a bookkeeper! I truly admire that a share of your profits in Sweet Madness will go to Hope for the Warriors. I feel so badly for the warriors coming home with missing limbs (or missing minds)…when all they did was serve their country…what astonishing sacrifice! They deserve the best care and highest honors when they come home.
I totally agree, Janice. I’m so glad organizations like Hope For The Warriors (R) exist and are doing such great work. We can never do enough for those who serve our country (ies)