I had the great good fortune to live on Guernsey for a number of years and became rather enchanted by it. The island is very picturesque and its history goes back to the neolithic age. I had already visited all of the locations which I subsequently used in the book and thought Guernsey, small in size but big in heart would make a wonder-filled setting for a historical romance. I should mention that La Rocquette, Lord Chetton’s estate on Guernsey is based on Sausmarez Manor.

Full disclaimer, I am not a historian, nor do I pretend in any way to be one. I suppose I approach the work of attempting to create a regency romance by reading extensively. I love books written during the period, go down the looking glass on line when I find a useful website, search for research about that time frame and am a member of certain historical groups such as The Guernsey Society. I strive for authenticity in areas such as dress, manners, language, customs, conduct, and major historical events. Although my characters are fictional, they often come into contact with actual historical characters. For example, Isobel’s fictional husband fought under *General Archibald Campbell who was a historical figure in the real Anglo-Burmese War. (* Four years after The Guernsey Diplomat takes place, in 1831, General Campbell was awarded the baronetcy, this is why I don’t refer to him as General Sir Archibald Campbell in my book, should anyone wonder.)

Under the umbrella of Regency Romance, I have always been interested in the romance side of life. It is impossible to write about that without delving into the place of women, men, children, and family generally in the society of that time.

I choose to focus primarily on the upper classes, but again I would say it is impossible to write about the nobility without some reference to the people who made their day-to-day lifestyle possible, to wit, working-class people.

I try to orient themes around contemporary issues of the day, which means almost by default, that small ‘c’ conservative outlooks prevail, as they would have at the time. This is not to say that certain individuals didn’t have more modern, if not radical ideas for the time. It means that I believe they were, in 1827, minority beliefs, and quite unorthodox and would have been repellent to many if not most members of the ton.

Growing up I was fascinated by Jane Austin and the Brontës, from my degree in English Literature I found Henry James, George Elliot, Thomas Hardy, and the Romantic poets to name a few. Years later I turned to more contemporary romance authors, such as the Queen of Regency, the wonderful Georgette Heyer.

Besides living in Guernsey, I have lived and traveled extensively in other places in Europe which has allowed me to extend my interest in antiques and art history and exposed me to the architecture, historical sites, languages, and food in many settings. All of these pleasing and potent threads help me patch together the particulars of place, period, and people in the stories I write.

I also believe, quite unapologetically in fact, in the potential influence for good, of romantic love in a person’s life.