Loretta Chase

I write historical romance dosed with humor and witty banter (at least I hope it's witty) set primarily in England in the early 1800s. My heroines are strong-willed women, and my heroes have to learn to be worthy of them. Not the easiest job for these gentlemen, since I'm fond of the kind who don't catch on quickly and have to learn the hard way. The story's focus is on the courtship and love story: the journey to Happily Ever After. But I also want the history to be authentic, so that my readers feel they're time traveling to early 1800s England, although it's an idealized version of that world. Once in a while, I've taken readers to Venice or Egypt or Albania, but for the most part, we stick to England.

Worcester, Massachusetts, where I grew up, gave me a very good public school education and considerable support from teachers, librarians, and other adults. It was once a major industrial city, and its older parts always fascinated me—although I did pretend I was in the London of my favorite English authors. The city itself is home to eight colleges and universities, with others nearby, so I've had access to some excellent academic libraries in addition to the local branch I grew up with and the main public library. Worcester also has a topnotch art museum, whose collection and exhibitions have provided inspiration.

The kind who more or less takes up residence in the local library. Teachers, librarians, and members of my family introduced me to British writers like Kenneth Grahame and Lewis Carroll and Charles Dickens, as well as American writers of the 19th and early 20th century. I also read Greek and Roman mythology and, as I grew older, novels based on these myths or dealing with historical figures like Alexander the Great. My maternal grandmother was the one who awakened my interest in these kinds of historical works. She was an Albanian immigrant who spoke English with a thick accent, but she read Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch, etc., and yes, those steamy (for the time) historical novels—all in English. She was a tremendous influence.

The popular favorite is "Lord of Scoundrels." In cases where readers want to sample more than one, I usually try to find out first what kinds of stories they like, then choose whatever seems like the best fit. Readers are individuals: There's no one size fits all. But "Lord of Scoundrels" does get a lot of love, so it makes sense to suggest it. If they want to see what I've done lately, I suggest the Difficult Dukes series, whose first book is "A Duke in Shining Armor."

The list of favorites is very, very long. So many authors. So many beloved books. I wouldn't know where to begin. Let's just say that my biggest influence is Charles Dickens. I reread his books repeatedly, as I do Jane Austen's. They approach characterization in very different ways, but I remain in awe and am always learning from them. P.G. Wodehouse is another favorite : How does he do that?—what a mind! And Terry Pratchett. And a dozen or more mystery writers. So many books have given me joy and stimulated my imagination and taught me things and helped me through difficult times.

Strangely enough, it's an exercise book: Pete Egoscue's "Pain Free." Another romance author had recommended it to me many years ago, and it helped enormously, so I have given it away often enough to earn a commission. Not that I get one. Other gifts tend to be aimed toward the recipient's interests (see above re readers' individuality), but I have given "Cold Comfort Farm"—which I discovered thanks to a friend— and "Three Men in a Boat" more than once.

If this is true of any of my characters, it's not obvious to me. They come from my imagination, and that's a patchwork or conglomeration or anarchy of my own and others' experiences and books and movies and newspapers and music and everything else that gets into my mind and sticks there until it ends up on the page.

I could never choose a favorite. So very many bookstores have welcomed me and my work.

I have one room, although the research book collection has insinuated its way into most areas of the house. My office holds the books I tend to refer to repeatedly, along with binders of historical notes. There's a largish L-shaped desk with shelving in the "L" for holding notebooks and such. The main desk holds more shelves jammed with an excessive number of writing implements and other stationery items, because I can't resist office supplies. Some might describe the overall effect as an alarming state of chaos. I prefer to call it a state of glorious disarray.

The ideal would be a cushioned window seat in a cozy cottage by the sea—maybe on Cape Cod or maybe somewhere on the southwest coast of England. If the weather's cool, a fire would be crackling in the nearby fireplace.

The reality is, I read wherever I can, and the world goes away. A lounge chair at the beach, sitting at a desk, a table, in a waiting room, in bed, on a sofa—they all work. It's wonderful the way eBooks have expanded the opportunities, especially when I'm traveling.