When I started to write the manuscript that became THE VEIL OF NIGHT, I was pretty ticked off at the whole publishing industry. I had already written two complete manuscripts (one of which had gotten thisclose with multiple publishers before finally getting rejected) plus two-thirds of one of those completely unmarketable “books of the heart” that I had a blast doing but I knew would never find a home. I was, quite frankly, sick and tired of getting rejected. I wanted to have a book that editors would fight for.

THE VEIL OF NIGHT actually had its roots in a sarcastic comment I made to a friend one day about how I was sure that I could get a book published if I wrote one of those cheesy sex bargain plots in which some nitwit heroine sacrifices her virginity to save daddy. Not very auspicious, to say the least! I was being completely facetious, of course, but for some reason, the idea took root in my head.

I chose the Yorkshire moors as the setting for the story

Images that inspired Rook Keep and Raeburn Court

Here’s a sample of my evolving internal monologue that turned what was essentially the ultimate clich頩nto the book that I loved writing:

What if I made the heroine a world-weary, slightly selfish spinster instead of a credulous, self-sacrificing ingenue? What if I started with the stereotypical Gothic hero who lurks in darkness and gave him a motivation that no hero has ever had for his eccentric behavior? Oh, and Gothic. I love Gothics. So what if I made the story really, really atmospheric and rich? But then I would also have to do something different with it, take it in a new direction. Hmmm? And what if, for once, I had no exterior villains forcing the action along but made the hero and heroine the sum total of the story? Could I really write people who are so compelling as themselves that I needed no other conflict?

Image that inspired the heroine of THE VEIL OF NIGHT

More than anything, THE VEIL OF NIGHT taught me how to find myself as a writer. I was big and bold, I took chances, I stretched myself so that the book became something new and compelling. I was writing my heart into it, and it showed.

All of a sudden, the story was a blast to write! And it was interesting! And it was live! And I did get the publishing contract I wanted! Not only did my publishing house love it, but they wanted more.

So as THE VEIL OF NIGHT is released this month, I will be putting the finishing touches on my second novel, MUSIC OF THE NIGHT, which takes the Gothic theme, throws in a little Phantom of the Opera, and moves the setting to the quicksilver canals and dark streets of Venice. The third book, as yet untitled, will probably combine a Romanian castle with the decadence of the last days of the Ottoman Empire.

Now, let’s talk!