Hallo, Hallo dear hearts,
I recently discovered a new voice in Regency Romances – Cassandra Dean, of whom I have a feeling I am going to love reading! Ahead of a print or audio release within this lovely new series for the Lost Lords I decided to host an interview with Ms Dean to get better acquainted with her writing style, the series as it is evolving forward and to highlight a story which truly tucked at my readerly heart! I love how this particular story focuses on a hero who has a learning difficulty – which happens to be reflective of my own – even if we had to deal with it differently or were afflicted by it differently – it is lovely to find a hero who has dyslexia for a girl who grew up dyslexic and the condition was never even broached! Not in school and surely not in literature!
This week I have been talking about my being dyslexic as I featured another story about learning difficulties wherein I was cross-relating how whichever learning difficulty you have you can empathise with others who are facing their own struggles. Also, it is nice to find learning difficulties being focused upon in stories today as like I had said – when I was growing up (in the 80s/90s) it was all rather swept under the rug for reasons I never understood. I was thankful I had a supportive family who encouraged me to find what I was passionate about and also never gave up the hope I’d love to read. In doing so, I not only garnished a keen interest in reading but I developed my own voice as a writer.
Ever since I was a young girl of around nine years, I’ve been smitten with Regency Romances!! I still remember receiving my first ‘anthology’ of Regencies – set at Christmastime and just finding myself drawn into their world. I would continue to seek out stories set in the Regency before branching into stories set in the Victorian era as well. To this day, I still fondly reflect on my love and admiration for the Regency and try to find new voices of Historical Romance who are penning the stories I wish to be reading next! This is why I am delighted to be hosting Cassandra Dean today and spotlighting her lovely new series the Lost Lords!
I hope you will brew your favourite cuppa & settle into this convo today especially if you are a Historical Romance reader yourself and were seeking out a #newtomeauthor as much as I was myself! Let’s champion Regencies together and I look forward to hearing from you if you’ve previously read Ms Dean’s stories and/or simply love the Regency as much as I do!
The girl he finally remembers
Eleven years ago, a shipwreck robbed Lord Maxim Farlisle of his memory. Recovering himself, he journeys to his childhood home to find Waithe Hall shut and deserted. Unwilling to face what remains of his family, Maxim makes his home in the abandoned hall…only to have a determined ghost hunter invade his uneasy peace.
The boy she never forgot
Fascinated by spirits, Lady Alexandra Torrence cannot disregard the opportunity to investigate the estate she knew so well. She arrives at the shuttered hall to discover a ghost of a different kind—the boy she thought to never see again. Maxim had been the boy next door, her best friend, her soul mate…and then he’d vanished.
As the two rediscover their connection, the promise of young love burns into an overwhelming passion. But the time apart has scarred them both—will they discover a love that will draw them together or will the past tear them apart forever?
Enjoy an extract from the novel “Finding Lord Farlisle”:
It was eleven years ago. The pain had faded, but had never truly left. Alexandra had thought she’d learned to live with it. But now…now Maxim was here?
A thunderous scowl on his face, he made a noise of impatience. “I do not have the inclination for this, girl. Tell me why you have come.”
His voice crashed over her. That, too, had deepened with age, but it was him. It was him.
“It is you.” Joy filled her, so big it felt her skin couldn’t contain it. Throwing herself at him, she enveloped him in a hug.
He stiffened.
Embarrassment coursed through her. What was she thinking? Immediately, she untangled herself from him. “I beg your pardon,” she stammered. Always before they’d been exuberant in their affections. They’d always found ways to touch one another, even though that last summer, the one before he’d gone away, she’d begun to feel…more….
Clasping her hands before her, she brought herself to the present. Much had changed, now they were grown and he, apparently, had not died.
Maxim had not died.
A wave of emotion swept her, a mix of relief, joy, incredulity…. It buckled her knees and burned her eyes. He was alive. Maxim was alive.
“Finding Lord Farlisle” is the first novel of three stories within the Lost Lords series – did you initially plan to write a trilogy when you set down to write this novel or did it organically develop into a series thereafter? Or is there a hidden back-story about the Lost Lords and how it was developed?
Dean responds: Finding Lord Farlisle was initially a standalone story but I fell in love with the characters. I wanted to know what happened when Maxim was finally reunited with his family, how his elder brothers felt at the return of their younger brother, and I wanted to explore Alexandra’s family in greater detail. Thus, the Lost Lords series was born.
The interesting bit to the evolving story is how the girl (Lady Alexandra) never truly gave up hope of finding true love and yet, her heart was already tied to Lord Farlisle long before he vacated her life. How did you approach showing this difficult distance between the two characters and find a new segue of interest to re-tie them together?
Dean responds: Alexandra and Maxim were already on their way to being in love with each other when Maxim was lost at sea, though they were too young to act on it. They both grew up in the intervening years, and their separation hit both of them hard. Alexandra believing Maxim dead was the end o f her childhood, and Maxim’s loss of memory and mistreatment during the years he was away hardened him. Their bond, though, is too strong and it doesn’t take much to reignite it.
Of the three leading men in the Lost Lord series (Farlisle, Roxwaithe and Stephen) which of the characters do you think will charm the readers instantly and which one do you think readers will need to warm up to throughout their story? Similarly which of them did you find more challenging to write about than the other two?
Dean responds: I think readers will fall in love with all three Farlisle brothers. They’re very different, but they all have their lovable sides. I’m still writing the second and third book in the series, so I’m looking forward to discovering Oliver and Stephen in addition to Maxim.
The series seems to imply there will be obstacles and adversities afflicting the men in the series – can you share a bit about what is coming next in the series?
Dean responds: Next is Rescuing Lord Roxwaithe, featuring the eldest Farlisle brother, Oliver, Earl of Roxwaithe. Oliver is desperately fighting his attraction to the much younger Lady Lydia Torrence, Alexandra from Finding Lord Farlisle’s sister. Believing himself too old for her, Oliver pushes Lydia away but she decides he needs rescuing from himself…
What do you love most about writing the Regency? The setting, the era or the curiously addictive personality of the Regency – from the clothes to the mannerisms to the way of life? Or is it a combination?
Dean responds: Finding Lord Farlisle is actually the first Regency I’ve written! I’ve always wanted to write one, especially as I read a lot of regency romances prior to being published, but for one reason or another I never have. I’m super excited to finally be writing my regency series.
I really enjoy the Regency period in romance novels for the rules. Like any other world-building, there are a set of established conventions on which regency readers agree and it’s so much fun adhering to them, and then breaking them in such a way as to be believable to the reader. I enjoy writing unconventional women who buck the system, who have interests that seem outside the Regency sphere even as they are so wholly of that era.
These are the kind of characters I love finding – the ones who are individually changing the ruling mindset of their generations and/or the ones who re-define what a woman can do.
What do you enjoy the most about writing Regency series? Is it the extension of time spent within the world you’ve created or of exploring the curious new avenues of action new or supporting characters can bring into the forefront of the overall serial arc?
Dean responds: Writing a series is fun and annoying at the same time. It’s fun to revisit characters and continue their stories as secondary characters, but establishing something in the first books means you have to stick to it in the second and the third – there’s a lot of to-ing and fro-ing to make sure everything lines up!
What motivated you to make Lady Alexandra a ghost hunter and how did this add to the backdrop of the estate she was investigating? What do you love about ghost stories and the allure of what is not always explained?
Dean responds: I wanted to have a sort-of-but-not-really Gothic feel to the book, and making Waithe Manor rumoured to be haunted meant I could set up Maxim as being the ‘ghost’. Alexandra needed a reason to be there, so I gave her an interest in the paranormal and the spiritual. It might even become a bit of a through-line, with other characters sharing her interest. We shall see!
Ooh I would love seeing that – how the paranormal aspects of the first novel continue to carry-on inside the series itself! I think that would be a champion idea!
What is one unsuspecting attribute of Lord Farlisle that you liked bringing into his personality?
Dean responds: Maxim suffers from dyslexia, which is an important plot point in the story. He’s been made to feel stupid and slow his whole life, and he can’t believe Alexandra would love someone such as him. Of course, we know now dyslexia is a learning disability and has nothing to do with a person’s intelligence, however Maxim lived in very different times. His dyslexia has coloured his whole life, and Alexandra has to fight his internalized castigation before they can truly be together.
It isn’t just in his era where people were criticised for this – as even whilst I was growing up and still even now as a writer who is dyslexic, I find a lot of stark differences in impressions from fellow dyslexics who didn’t grew up with either the same level of support and encouragement I had or they were consumed with the angst of dealing with teachers or schools who dismissed their learning difficulties. I think it just depends on your personal situation and not limited to era as I am one of the more happy hearted dyslexics I’ve come across who sees it as a gift and not a curse. I can definitely see how he was of this impression and why believing in Alexandra’s interest in him would have been a difficult resolution for him.
Of all the supporting characters within the Lost Lords series which do you feel made you smile the most whilst writing their scenes or developing their characters?
Dean responds: I can really only speak about Finding Lord Farlisle, as that is the only complete novel at this stage. Finding Lord Farlisle pretty much features only Alexandra and Maxim, and I have to say I love both of them. Their banter made me smile something fierce, and I loved writing their interactions.
When you’re not writing or researching your stories what uplifts your soul the most?
Dean responds: I really love cooking and baking. At the moment, I’m developing my Hot Cross Bun recipe in time for Easter. I’ve been working on this recipe for years and I’m proud to say I may have finally cracked it!
Ooh dear my – you’ve stumbled across something I am equally passionate over myself – baking! lol I dearly love to see what I can sort out and make for the first time – even if I get an #epicfail like this week’s attempt at fried okra (not quite baking but there was batter involved!) where I increased the heat on the oil too severely and had a pop of an issue with that afterwards – I just love the discovery and experiences. I will admit, if Mum hadn’t suggested ‘baking’ the mixture after this fiasco I might not have seen the humour in it! Turnt out that if you use cornmeal batter for fried okra and something goes dearly wrong – you really can *bake it!* and it turns out rather keen!
Equally, I hope your experimentation with hot cross buns is a raving success this Easter!
Similar to blog tours where I feature book reviews, as I choose to highlight an author via a Guest Post, Q&A, Interview, etc., I do not receive compensation for featuring supplemental content on my blog. I provide the questions for interviews and topics for the guest posts; wherein I receive the responses back from publicists and authors directly. I am naturally curious about the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of stories and the writers who pen them; I have a heap of joy bringing this content to my readers.
This author interview is courtesy of: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours
{SOURCES: Book cover for “Finding Lord Farlisle”, book synopsis, author biography for Cassandra Dean, the tour host badge and HFVBTs badge were all provided by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours and used with permission. Post dividers badge by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets were embedded due to codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Conversations with the Bookish and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2019.
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#OnTheBlog | Lovely #interview feat. #Regency #HistRom "Finding Lord Farlisle" which begins the new Lord Lords series by @authorCassDean!
🌹Read an extract
🌹Find out what ghosts & dyslexia have to do w/ the story
🌹Set at a Gothic house💞📖https://t.co/QQj1wVAvW2 | @HFVBT pic.twitter.com/IaNVOMJ9n2
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) March 16, 2019
Thank you for hosting me and Finding Lord Farlisle