A big thank you to the first round judges and the contest coordinators!  Now back to my writing . . .

©2012 Sarah Tormey Blog. All Rights Reserved.

First, please tell us a little about your recent release Prelude to a Scandal.

Prelude to a Scandal is going to poke a few people in the heart as well as in the butt….LOL. People will either love it or hate it because of the subject matter. Every book, I feel, is a mirror that reflects a person’s own thoughts and emotions and draws on those thoughts and emotions. Depending on the person, the subject matter might freak them out. Which is what I love to do. *wink* The premise is about getting as personal with a character as possible, even if those personal things are considered taboo.

Having read your interview in the Romantic Times (cover story!), I understand your hero struggles with a sex addition. What led you to write about a hero with a sex addiction?

After reading a ton of historical memoirs (such as Casanova and My Secret Life), I knew these men had “issues” with sex. In my mind, these issues are the untold stories during a time when addiction wasn’t understood. Even today, very few people understand what sexual addiction really is and what it entails. Mind you, I write romance, so I had to sugar coat it for the reader, but I can assure you, I made sure that the sugar coating was very, VERY thin…

I understand you had a long road to publication. What motivated you to keep writing and submitting?

It took me 11 years, over 200 rejections and over 40 manuscripts before I was published. What kept me writing and motivated? I would say quite a few things. My stubbornness, the support of my family, friends and writing chapter mates and above all, the belief that I had a story to tell even when the world kept telling me I didn’t…

What advice do you have for aspiring authors?

Every writing journey is going to be different. One person will publish after only a year of submitting. For others it will take 17 years, or in my case, 11 years. What a lot of unpublished authors don’t realize is this: you will always be learning the art of the craft and the more time you have to understand and learn the craft, the more prepared you’ll be when you get THE CALL. Although I moaned and complained all 11 of those years about not being published, looking back…I thank GOD I wasn’t published earlier. It took me 11 years to truly understand myself as a writer and what the business expects from me as a writer. So my advice is this. Use the time before your publication to understand what it is you want from the writing business and what it is you want from yourself as a writer before you get that contract.

Do you keep to a schedule when you are on deadline?  Please tell us about an average day in your life as a writer.

I write 7 days a week when I’m under deadline and depending on my deadline, as many as 8-12 hours a day during those 7 days a week. My writing process is freaky. I become a different person and my poor family has to live with it. The truth is, I can’t have anyone in the house when I write. Even if someone were to lock himself or herself in the closet and hold their breath, I still wouldn’t be able to write. It’s hard to explain but I feel like their energy is leaking into my ability to think. I have a hard time transporting myself into a different era when the modern world is breathing on my neck. Once I’m able to get everyone out of the house, I sit at my desk surrounded by piles and piles of research books and write. As I write, I verbalize my words aloud in a British accent. It’s the actress in me. It makes the characters and the setting feel real when I read it aloud as I’m writing.

Prelude to a Scandal is the first book in a trilogy.  What can we expect from the second and third installments?

All three books are linked, not by characters, but by an object. People will quickly figure out what that object is and by the third book will understand why that particular object….
So the second book, Once Upon a Scandal, is a very twisted version of second chance love and Cinderella combined. Only our Cinderella is actually the hero. I wanted to create a hero that believes in all the things that women usually are jabbed at for believing. He’s the greatest romantic ever to have been born. Of course, it blinds him and puts him into a situation that causes him to become a servant of a different sort…

The third book, The Perfect Scandal, is about an aristocratic gentleman who thinks he’s a freak (and I’ll leave you to find out why…). This story is Anastasia-like in feel and delves into my favorite history: A history that hasn’t been touched by any American historical romance writers—meaning, the history of Poland in 1829. Although I love all three books, The Perfect Scandal is by far my favorite because I’m Polish and I always wanted to write a Polish heroine that showcased Polish history. I am thrilled that I was finally able to do it and that HQN let me do it, despite it falling outside “historical romance” norm.

Thanks for stopping by Delilah!

If you would like to win a signed copy of Prelude to Scandal, please leave a comment.  One lucky winner will be drawn at random on Tuesday, January 4th.  And in you live in New York City, stop by Lady Jane’s Salon on Monday January 3rd to hear Delilah read from Prelude to a Scandal.  Madame X from 7pm-9pm.

About Prelude to a Scandal

Having been raised in the jungles of South Africa, assisting her father in the study of mammal copulation, Lady Justine Fedora Palmer sweeps back into London to embark upon her coming out. She quickly discovers animals are far more civilized than the men surrounding her.   When her father’s observations are made public, proving buggery is natural to the animal kingdom, all of London is in a huffing outrage, including His Royal Majesty. Her father is imprisoned and slapped with outrageous penalty fees they simply cannot pay. Lady Justine becomes more than willing to trade her good name and her place in London’s gossip hungry society to secure her father’s release. There is only one person she knows she can trust: her father’s patron, the Duke of Bradford. A dashing libertine, yes, but one she passionately adores for his unwavering kindness, wit, humor, and a willingness to support her father’s studies even as everyone else had laughed her father off. To her astonishment, the Duke of Bradford is not the same man. His newly marred face hides a scandal that is about to test them both…

Coming Soon from Delilah Marvelle

©2012 Sarah Tormey Blog. All Rights Reserved.

©2012 Sarah Tormey Blog. All Rights Reserved.

When did I start writing contemporaries? After I started reading them!  Fellow RWA NYC author Hope Tarr introduced me to the Harlequin Blaze line. I read one and then another and another. Soon I was reading titles from all the Harlequin lines.  And then one day, an idea for a romance between an Army Ranger and a horse instructor popped into my head. I started writing. On a whim, I submitted the initial chapters and low and behold the judges loved it!

More soon on the Show Me the Spark! Contest. But for now, I’m celebrating! Now back to the baby, who just discovered his toes.

©2012 Sarah Tormey Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Sometime between midnight feedings and dirty diapers, I decided to take a chance and enter Flirting with Scandal in the Heartland Romance Author’s 2010 Show Me The Spark! Contest. I felt my first few chapters had that special something but would the judges? A month slipped by, and then on Saturday morning when my little one woke me up at 3am, I checked my email and learned that I was a finalist! I’m thrilled to say the least and have my fingers crossed for the final round.

He’s waking up from his first morning nap. Time to set aside my writing hat for my mommy hat!

©2012 Sarah Tormey Blog. All Rights Reserved.

I told myself that I would start writing when the baby naps. So far, this is easier said than done. My son is perfectly happy to sleep in his crib at night, but during the day is another matter. He insists on being held. He loves to curl up in my arms for an hour or two throughout the day, which is really quite precious.  But I simply cannot write and hold him.  Thus, the past few weeks my days have been focused on getting my child to nap in his crib or his swing. (I am making progress in the mornings, but afternoons are another matter.)

These long afternoon naps might not lead to great writing, but they are perfect for reading.  In the past few weeks, I have read A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James, Infamous by Suzanne Brockmann, A Touch of Scandal by Jennifer Haymore and Dark Deceptions by Dee Davis. All are recommended reading even if you don’t have a sleeping baby in your arms.

I have also spent numerous napping hours perusing various research books.  Currently I’m making my way through In the Family Way: Childbearing in the British Aristocracy, 1760-1860—fascinating reading that will likely lead to blog posts. But first, before I devote my precious writing hours to blogging, I must turn my attentions to my work-in-progress. Naptime is writing time.  At least that is what I keep telling myself.

If there are any other writers with babies out there with advice on finding time to write, please share!

©2012 Sarah Tormey Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Now you may be wondering why I selected A Groom of One’s Own for my first giveaway. This book holds a very special place in my heart. I began reading an advanced copy of  A Groom of One’s Own while on hospital bedrest. Hours after I turned the first page, my son decided that it was time for his debut. I asked him to wait until I reached the end, but he refused. Instead I had to wait until we were home from the hospital to finish the final chapters. I will always remember A Groom of One’s Own as the book that distracted me from those pesky labor pains!

I am not the only fan of the Writing Girls series. Romantic Times offered glowing praise:  “With its quick pace and wonderful sense of humor, Rodale’s new entry in the Writing Girl series is a smash.”

To learn more about Maya Rodale’s work and the research that inspired her Writing Girl series visit her website at www.mayarodale.com.  Below is a brief description of the book.

A Groom of One’s Own
June 29, 2010
Avon •• ISBN-10: 0061922986 •• ISBN-13: 978-0061922985

Miss Harlow’s Marriage In High Life
London, 1823

A handsome duke. His beautiful soon-to-be duchess. A whirlwind courtship. It is this author’s privilege to report on the event all of London is talking about: the upcoming wedding of the Duke of Hamilton and Brandon to the only daughter of the Duke of Richmond. Every details of the “Wedding of the Year” will be reported in these pages as a London Weekly exclusive.

But I, Miss Sophie Harlow, must confess to a secret infatuation with this “double duke” that can only lead to trouble. It is impossible that this notoriously upstanding gentleman would ever jilt his bride for a scandalous female newspaper writer. And yet…the arrival of a foreign prince, the discovery of a shocking secret, and one passionate kiss could change everything. Will this perfect duke risk the scandal of the year to marry the woman his heart desires?

There are only just three more weeks until the wedding…

©2012 Sarah Tormey Blog. All Rights Reserved.

What inspired the revisions?  Detailed critiques and lots of feedback from agents and editors. I printed out all of their comments and read through them. And poof! The “aha” moment came. I realized that I could not only fix Flirting with Scandal, but take it to the next level.

In a burst of creativity that some suggest was inspired by leaving behind the not-so-fun first trimester of my pregnancy and entering the wonderful second trimester, I revised and rewrote.  I  pushed myself to examine each scene and each character. And then, just as the third trimester began and my unborn son started kicking and punching morning, noon and night (he already seems like such an active child that I am not sure I will be able to keep up with him once he is born), I reached the point where I could finally say, this is ready.

I hope you will take a moment to read my revised excerpt of Flirting with Scandal. I would love to know your thoughts.  And I promise, I will be back soon with another industry guest blogger. For now I am off to enjoy the nice weather here in NYC and dig into my TBR pile!

©2012 Sarah Tormey Blog. All Rights Reserved.

First, I am proud to say that I recently completed many months of revisions on my second historical romance, Courting Scandal, and an excerpt is now featured on my site! To read the first chapter, click here.

Now, I’m sure many of you are scrolling down, reviewing my previous post written in late October, and asking yourselves, I thought she finished revising Courting Scandal a month ago? Well, I did. And then it took me about a month to write the synopsis and query letter. How did all of this take me over a month to complete? Here is where my second reason to celebrate comes into play.

My husband and I are expecting our first child!  

Unfortunately, this wonderful news interfered with my writing schedule for the past few months. I spent weeks cursing whoever thought up the label “morning” sickness.  Each day, I watched the sun set still feeling just as rotten as I had when I crawled out of bed. After about a month, I began to accept that I was simply suffering as the sun rose in each and every time zone around the globe. (And everyone kept telling me this was a good sign.) Needless to say, this did not lead to great bursts of creativity. Some days I managed a few pages only to find my heroine had abandoned her quest to win the hero’s love in favor of the couch.  

With those first few months behind me, I have now returned my focus and energy to sending out queries and working on my next project. Of course, I am still hopeful that the agents and editors who currently have Flirting with Scandal under consideration will fall in love with the story. But if not, I am thrilled that I have so much to look forward to in the coming months- requests for Courting Scandal and finding out whether our first child will be a boy or girl!

©2012 Sarah Tormey Blog. All Rights Reserved.

In brief, I would describe this story as a Regency era battle of the sexes between London’s unofficial queen of schemes, Lady Amelia Spencer, and the reserved Duke of Thornhill.  The story unfolds in two parts: Part I, In which an Exchange of Favors leads to a House Party that ends in an Engagement and a Gunshot; and  Part II, In which a Scandal results in a Wedding that leads to a Misunderstanding and a room full of Courtesans.  

What is next on my to do list? Write a detailed synopsis and a query letter. After that, I will likely complete one last round of revisions based on the feedback from my early readers (thank you!) before I begin reaching out to agents and publishers!  

What is your process once you have completed a first (or second or third) draft of a manuscript?  

©2012 Sarah Tormey Blog. All Rights Reserved.