Monday, December 10, 2007

Spotlight in Six with...Lucy Gordon


This month we're pleased to have with us Lucy Gordon, whose current release is The Millionaire Tycoon's English Rose. Lucy was even kind enough to supply us with a few pictures to go along with her answers!





On to the questions!


Where do you find new and fresh ideas?

This is a real factor in my writing life at the moment, because I’ve decided to explore new territory. I’ll still be setting some of my books in Italy (the one I’m writing now is set in and around Florence) but there are other places in the world, and not all attractive men are Italians. (Don’t tell my Italian husband I said that!)
Earlier this year I went to China and saw some wonderful sights – the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Terracotta Warriors. I’m still working out a way to use China as a setting.

Writers often use photos of celebrities as “casting”. Do you do this, and who has inspired some of your characters?

I definitely do this. Among American actors I use the younger Charlton Heston a lot. For English actors I use Nathaniel Parker (the Inspector Lynley Mysteries) and Richard Armitage (Guy of Gisborne in Robin Hood.)


Nathaniel Parker is the face of hero of the book I’ve just finished, The Italian’s Cinderella Bride, out next April. It’s set in Venice. The hero is a Venetian Count living alone in a deserted palace, trying to cope with his guilt over the death of his wife. The heroine is suffering partial amnesia, and her need of his help is the thing that draws him out of the shadows.

What are your favourite and least favourite parts of writing a novel? Is there a particular section that you struggle with?

The beginning, when there seems to be such a huge task ahead. I often liken it to a plane heading down the runway at the start of a journey. At about 15,000 words I usually achieve take-off, and start to believe that I can actually do this. Then it becomes really enjoyable.

When you are not writing, what do you do? How do you pamper yourself?

I love classical music, especially grand opera. I’ve got a collection of opera on DVD. I go for anything with Placido Domingo in it.

Imagine you’re stranded…where are you and who are you with?

I’m with my husband, who comes from Venice, and we’re floating in a gondola, onward and onward……

Finally, Lucy, please tell us what’s up and coming for you in the months ahead!

As part of exploring new territory, I’ve ventured into Presents, and my first one is coming out next May. This is a big thrill for me. Called ‘The Italian’s Passionate Revenge’ it concerns a man who lures a woman to Rome, seeking to revenge himself on her because he blames her for the death of his cousin. But things don’t go as he planned.

At this moment I’m writing a book that’s also a departure in that it covers darker territory than I usually write about. The hero looks like Charlton Heston. He’s an Italian called Drago, a harsh troubled man whose wife left him for her lover, and the two of them died together in an accident. A year later he chances to meet the other man’s fiancĂ©e, and they grow close because they understand each other as nobody else can. It’s a troubled relationship, and their love develops against all the odds.


Thanks for visiting with us Lucy! For more info on Lucy (including her incredibly romantic story of how she met her husband), visit her website at http://www.lucy-gordon.com/.

2 comments:

  1. Another fabulous cover, Lucy. And thanks the pics of great looking men. Inspirational.

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  2. Thanks for coming and commenting Liz!

    Lucy and I had a bit of a chat when she sent those pics as she wondered if I knew who Nathaniel P was. Of course I do! And my second book has a man on the cover that, when I first saw it, said, "OMG, that looks just like Nathaniel Parker!"

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