Let's get personal. What should we know about Diane the woman, the mother, the wife?

I've been married for ages! I have a daughter and a son, both grown and out on their own. So my husband and I are rattling around the house with only three cats for company.

I retired in 2003 after a long career as a mental health social worker (psychotherapist). Through an amazing synchronicity of events, I made my decision to retire and a week later I received *The Call*. And within a month of retiring, I was contracted for five books. I've been writing full time ever since.

And now to the business, hardships and pleasures of what it means to be a writer. Please tell us the amazing story of how you sold your first book. And why to an English publisher?

With pleasure!

I had always been serious about seeking publication, even with the first book I wrote. That book was a contemporary romantic suspense. Then I switched to category, and finally decided that I should write what I love to read, Regency Historicals. I also decided that I needed a manuscript that would immediately grab an editor's attention. So I conceived THE MYSTERIOUS MISS M, and gave her a love scene in the first chapter. My attempt at gaining attention was successful, but I received rejection after rejection from agents and editors because of my risky heroine--even after the manuscript made the finals of the prestigious 2001 RWA Golden Heart contest. I really marketed that manuscript hard for two years, while I went on to write and finish a linked book. Warner expressed an interest in seeing a re-write of MISS M, so I began the book that was to become my first Warner release THE IMPROPER WIFE. Instead of a rewrite, I wrote a totally different book, because I just could not give up on THE MYSTERIOUS MISS M. On a whim, I entered MISS M in the 2003 Golden Heart. THE MYSTERIOUS MISS M (then named UNMASKED) made the finals again! But because I had marketed it everywhere I could think of, I really had nothing I could do with it. So I contented myself with trying to sell the current manuscript, THE IMPROPER WIFE.

But one afternoon in May 2003, I came home from work to a voice mail message from Kate Paice, editor at Mills & Boon. Mills & Boon? I had never thought of submitting to them. I just never thought of it. I called back the next morning at 5 am, (accounting for the time difference). Kate had judged THE MYSTERIOUS MISS M in the Golden Heart and wanted to buy it. We agreed to talk on the following Monday, when I would make my decision (as if I would refuse the deal. Not likely!).

My husband and I had planned a trip to visit relatives and as a special treat for our wedding anniversary we spent that Sunday night at The Inn at Monticello, a Bed and Breakfast in Charlottesville, Virginia (see my travel article in The Wet Noodle Posse). We woke at 5 am to make my phone call to England, but there was no phone in the room and our cell phones did not work, so we threw on some clothes and drove to a convenience store. Outside at a pay phone, while trucks rumbled past, I accepted the offer for my first book.

For Mills & Boon I'm writing under my maiden name, Diane Gaston, which makes me very happy. It feels like my parents, who passed away years ago, are a part of this exciting time of my life. For Warner Forever, I'm writing under my name Diane Perkins.

And your second? And your third? Any more we should know about?

Well, I'll talk about those first five books that were contracted all at once. One minute I was unpublished and still trying to figure it out, and the next, five books.

THE IMPROPER WIFE by Diane Perkins (November 2004, Warner Forever) is my second published book. This book began its life as a rewrite of THE MYSTERIOUS MISS M but became its own story of a war veteran who returns from Waterloo to discover that the woman whose child he delivered two years before is now masquerading as his wife. (In January 2005 THE IMPROPER WIFE was nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice award for Best First Historical.). THE MARRIAGE BARGAIN (October 2005, Warner Forever) is the next Warner Forever book. In this story, the heroine saves her estranged husband from being buried alive. All she wants in return is a baby.

After I turned in THE MYSTERIOUS MISS M by Diane Gaston, I wrote Miss M's sister's story. The sister's story is called THE WAGERING WIDOW, released February 2005. In THE WAGERING WIDOW Emily Duprey, reeling from discovering her most promising suitor was the live-in lover of her long lost sister, has a second chance to escape her despicable parents, but she fears she has married a gamester like her father. Her only escape is to go to the gaming tables herself as the masked widow. The next Mills & Boon, A REPUTABLE RAKE, features a *bad boy* from THE WAGERING WIDOW, who decides to become reputable. The only problem is, he's gotten himself embroiled in his neighbor's courtesan school.

That makes five!

Did Kate Paice ever tell you what about your story appealed to her? Why she obviously had no problems with your risky heroine? And have you heard from Harlequin Historicals, if they will publish it in the US after all?

Kate did comment that she liked that my Regency was "gritty." She said when she read the first chapter of what was then my contest entry, she thought, "This couldn't possibly be the heroine......She is the heroine!"

I'm very glad that THE MYTERIOUS MISS M found an editor willing to take on a romance with a risky heroine. What was it about Maddy that you just couldn't let her go, that you refused to give up on her story? You say that you find her situation a sympathetic one. How so?

I believed that readers would perceive in Maddy what I saw: that she was a victim, who was trying to cope the best she could with what life dealt her. I thought they would see that what happened to her could have happened to any young girl--and still happens today. I thought readers would love her and would want to see her earn the life she deserved, not the life she'd been cast into.

I thought the first chapter would show that she'd retained her ideals, her patriotism, her interest in life, and show that she still, though in a horrible life, had hopes and dreams and fantasies. I thought that made her very sympathetic.

I was a little surprised to find out how young Maddy was when first seduced and then brought to London. How young she still was when she and Devlin first made love. It fits the story, but didn't it leave you sad and even a little queasy?

Well her age was part of the horror of what happened to her, but it was what made her very vulnerable to being abused. I'd have to re-read and do the math, but I think she was still 15 when Farley abused her, 17 when she and Devlin first made love and 19 when he rescued her. At 19 she would have been the age of Regency girls making their come-out, so her life contrasted with the ladies Devlin met at Almack's.

I'd like to believe that had Devlin Steele not rescued her, Maddy would still have found the strength and resources to escape Farley. How unlikely would that have been during that time? What could have been her options?

I'd like to think that having the baby gave her a reason to fight for a better life. She'd already begun asserting herself, refusing Farley, and fighting back when the patrons mistreated her, but what I wanted to show was that she would have had no options had Devlin not saved her. She was a society miss with no skills--except regarding horses. What sort of work could she have done? What shopkeeper would hire her without references? What household would employ her (she didn't even know how to use a broom) and allow her to keep her baby with her? She had no options and thus was forced to cope with the life in the gaming hell.

You write for two publishing houses, under two different names within the same genre. Does it make sense? How will the books differ? And how will you inform readers of one author, that there are also books written under your other name?

I'm not sure using two different names was the best idea. I did that on the advice of an agent, but I confess, I have not yet figured out the advantages, except that I love using my maiden name, Gaston, in honor of my parents, now deceased, and I love using my married name, Perkins, the name I share with my husband and children.

Writing for two publishing houses is a treat, though. The books differ slightly in length. The Mills & Boon books are 75,000 to 90,000 words and the Warner books are 90,000 to 100,000 words. My Mills & Boon books offer stories about the more gritty aspects of Regency life. The Warner Books focus more on the emotional and romantic relationship between the hero and heroine. It is a challenge to create these subtly different Regency Historicals.

How do I inform readers of my dual identity? By mentioning it whenever I open my mouth! I have two websites, www.dianegaston.com and www.dianeperkins.us and both easily point to the other and provide information on all the books. On any promotional material I generate, bookmarks and things like that, I mention the fact that I am two authors in one. Soon I hope it will be like Jayne Ann Krentz/Amanda Quick (boy, would it be nice to be that well known!), and everyone will know my dual identity.

When did you first decide to write a book? And why did you start with contemporary suspense and category romances? What and when was the defining moment to decide on writing Regency Historicals?

Although I was an English major in college, I literally never thought about writing until 1994, when my children were old enough not to need me every minute. I also had recently finished my second masters degree, a master's in social work, and had passed the State licensing exam. So suddenly I had time on my hands and I started reading again. I rediscovered my love of romance novels. Then I read a best-selling novel (not a romance) and I really did not like it. I figured if that novel could be a best-seller, maybe, just maybe, I could write down one of those stories that swam around in my head. I signed up for a creative writing class at the local community college. There I met one of my dear writing friends and constant critique partner, Julie Halperson, and we went from there to joining RWA and Washington Romance Writers and learning together.

I started with Contemporary Suspense because I figured that it would be hard enough to learn to write a book, I didn't need to add to the burden with a lot of research requirements. So I set the book in a world I already knew, a community mental health center. The heroine, predictably, was a mental health social worker, but the hero was a real dishy police detective. Someday I'd like to resurrect that story. I still love it. I went on to category romance because the opportunity to be published seemed best there. I wrote two books aimed for Temptation or Desire, again stories I still love, but I just couldn't hit the category elements of the lines correctly. I greatly admire my friends who do.

So by the 1999 RWA conference I decided to try writing what I love best to read--Regency Historicals. I attended every publisher spotlight at that conference and realized they all published the Regency time period. I figured I was increasing my chances rather than limiting them. I knew, though, that I needed to have a first chapter that would get noticed. That's when I thought up THE MYSTERIOUS MISS M.

Are you part of a critique group?

I have the good fortune to be a member of two critique groups. In one group two of the ladies have been with me since the very beginning. These are the ladies listed in my dedication to THE MYSTERIOUS MISS M. We meet every other week. All these ladies are great critiquers.

I've also been in another critique group for about five years with three other active writers. Two are published authors, Darlene Gardner, who writes for Harlequin and for Dorchester, and Karen Anders, who writes Blaze. Our other member is Lisa Dyson, still aspiring. All of these ladies have helped me reach my goal of being published.

I have another group online that is more of a writer's support group than a critique group, but when I need it, these ladies are always ready to help! This group is called All of Us and some of the members are from Australia and some from the US. We've all evolved in this group. Two members now write screenplays and one is a poet. Melissa James, an Australian author, who writes for Silhouette Intimate Moments is a member of All of Us and through this group has become a very dear friend. Melissa is someone I can always count on for a critique or for plotstorming help.

But I should also mention the Beau Monde, the Regency chapter of Romance Writers of America (RWA). This is an amazing group united by a love of the Regency romance. Several members write traditional Regencies, but some write Regency Historicals like I do. There are some very knowledgeable experts in The Beau Monde. Whenever I have a research question I can't answer myself from my rather large library of books, I can always count on someone from Beau Monde to know the answer

Through the Beau Monde, I also got a mentor. Amanda McCabe, who writes traditional Regencies and Historicals. Amanda doesn't critique for me, though she would if I asked her, but she one part of my important support network. She, Julie Halperson (of my critique group) and I took a Regency Tour of England together along with other authors and Regency writers. Amanda and I have become good friends.

So you are lucky to be a member of two very good critique groups. How did you find them? Did you ever come across ones that just didn't work for you? What should a writer watch out for?

My first critique group formed out of that creative writing class Julie and I took in 1994. Though she and I stuck together in a critique group, the other students who'd joined with us at the beginning dropped out. Another friend of mine, Helen, joined and then later Virginia. These are the ladies to whom MISS M is dedicated. Helen and Julie have been with me from the beginning. We discovered Romance Writers of America together and Washington Romance Writers. Julie and I have been particularly active in WRW. From WRW I learned that I needed to know so much more about writing romance and getting it published than I could learn from my friends who started with me, so I joined other critique groups though WRW. I met my current critique partners, Darlene Gardner (Temptation, Superromance, and Dorchester) and Karen Anders (Blaze)., at WRW's yearly Retreat. We hit it off and have continued together since about 1999. Our fourth member, Lisa Dyson, WRW's president for two years, joined us a bit later.

I belonged to two other critique groups through WRW before joining with Darlene and Karen. They both were useful at the time. One fizzled out when members left and the other did not have anyone writing category at the time, so I left that group to join with Darlene and Karen. I cannot say I had any bad experiences in any of the groups, but I know I've been very lucky.

Tell us about the Regency Tour of England. On your website are some lovely pictures where you are all dressed up in Regency fashion. And what about your planned trip next summer?

This tour was arranged by Patty Suchy of Novel Explorations, Inc. http://novelexplorations.com/ who is a member of WRW and who designed this particular tour after being begged by the Beau Monde chapter of RWA. It focused on Regency sites in London, Bath and Brighton. We danced in costume in the Assembly rooms in Bath with the reenactment group, the Jane Austen dancers--where Jane herself danced! That was all arranged by Patty. My dress (I'm in navy blue) was made for me by my friend Helen, who loves making costumes. It was a magical night and a highlight of the trip.

In 2005 the tour will follow the Great Road North, staying at various coaching inns along the way, making our way to Gretna Green just like my hero and heroine in THE WAGERING WIDOW, and winding up in Edinburgh. Check out Patty's website for her interesting tours!

You sold your first release because of the RWA Golden Heart contest and have won several other contests with your writings. So should an unpublished author join RWA. What else can be gained from it? And when should/can an author enter contests?

I strongly believe any aspiring romance writer should belong to RWA and whatever local chapter or special interest chapter (like Beau Monde- the Regency chapter) available to them. The organization not only has given me the equivalent of a Ph.D. education in romance writing, it also has taught all about the industry. All the important industry contacts I've made have been through RWA or one of its chapters. What's more, RWA advocates for authors and that improves the opportunities for all of us. Through the national and local chapter conferences, the RWR report and chapter newsletters, the various email loops, and the critique groups I've joined through the chapter, I have learned all I know about writing. I have made contacts and, more importantly, met wonderful friends from all around the world. There is nothing like RWA for support and encouragement.

The contests are just one of the tools that RWA and its chapters offer to assist aspiring writers. For me they have been very important. For a brand new writer, the chapter contests give feedback and advice. As a writer advances, the contests provide a means to get your work to the attention of interested editors, and when you have become a finalist, it is a writing credit you can use in query letters. The National Golden Heart contest is like the Academy Awards of romance writing. Becoming a finalist brings you attention like no other contest. And sometimes, if you are very lucky like me, it leads directly to a first sale.

See my Romantic Times BOOKclub article (November 2004), Navigating the Contest Waters, on using Romance Writing Contests as a tool to get published.

Your first three published books are set during the Regency era. What fascinates you about that time? And what can you bring to the genre that is new and original?

I love the Regency era! I am not a historian, but the more I learn about this fascinating time the more I love it. It was a dramatic time and place in history, with the war with Napoleon. It was also a time of social change from the decadent Georgian period to the repressive Victorian era. There was economic change as well. The fabulous wealth of the upper classes was about to be surpassed by the Industrial Revolution. Any time period in flux is interesting because new rules of behaviour have not yet been solidified. It is also a beautiful time period with lovely fashions for both the women and men. I could go on and on! For more detail, go to my article on the Warner Books website, Why the Regency?

It is difficult to say what I might bring to the genre that is new and original. I really just imagine characters and then I write stories about them. If I take an analytical look at my work and the kind of stories that interest me, I would say I like to write about heroes and heroines who do not quite fit in to their place in society. With my mental health background, I like to explore the emotional make-up of my characters, that is, answering the question why they do what they do. I love complex personalities, so I like to write about heroes and heroines who have flaws, but I also love honorable characters, particularly my heroes.

Who are your favorite Regency and Romance authors, and who would you like to recommend?

This question is always so hard to answer! I am bound to leave someone out! I also have to confess that I am the world's worst read romance author. I don't read nearly as many books as I'd like to read and can't even try to keep up with the work of all my friends. I also have found that I cannot read Regencies like I used to. Writing in the time period seems to interfere with reading it, so if I tried to give you a list, I might leave out a wonderful author I have not yet read.

But I'll try to answer. I love Mary Balogh's work and I love some earlier Regencies, the ones everyone lists: Mary Jo Putney's The Rake and the Reformer (I like the original better than the revised version The Rake); Laura Kinsale's Flowers from the Storm.

I recommend my fellow Regency Warner Forever authors, Kathryn Caskie (Rules of Engagement, Lady in Waiting) and Julie Ann Long (The Runaway Duke) - they each have a unique take on the Regency era. My friend Amanda McCabe writes consistently charming books and is venturing out of the Regency era. And Kristina Cook is doing well with her debut, Unlaced, also a Regency Historical. Another friend who was a fellow 2003 GH finalist, Sandy Blair (A Man in a Kilt; Rogue in a Kilt) writes terrific, witty Scottish Historicals with paranormal twists. My friend Darlene Gardner has a wonderful comic voice that comes through even in her more emotional books. Her two Christmas books, Cole for Christmas and Winter Heat are sigh-worthy. And Karen Anders writes sensuality like you would not believe! Try any of her Blazes for a sizzling read that manages to also have a great story attached. Melissa James writes emotional intensity like no one else. Her Nighthawk series for Silhouette Intimate Moments combine emotion, danger, adventure, and terrific romance. Another author I would urge readers to try is Mary Blayney, who writes traditional Regencies for Zebra. Her stories have a quiet, elegant quality and I just love them.

I am sure I am missing others whose work I love!

Your books are very well researched. What facts/details did you find that surprised you?

I love to try to be true to the time period, while still creating characters who appeal to modern readers. What is most surprising and intriguing to me is the role of women in the Regency era, how truly limiting it was. I've lived a fairly typical middle class lifestyle and have had lots of educational and professional opportunities. My Regency counterpart was limited to marriage, spinsterhood, or the life of the "fashionably impure." Marriage, therefore, was the best deal for her. Even Jane Austen lived the life of a spinster, and only published in secret during her lifetime. Those women who managed to break out of life's boundaries in the era almost certainly were ostracized from mainstream society. I like to try to keep my heroines true to the time period, with a Regency lady's mindset and yet to force them into situations that threaten to take away their chance at what they would think was a good life. Marriage, that is.

You've started collecting Regency fashion prints. How much of an inspiration are they and have you ever written about a character with them in mind?

I always go to my Regency fashion prints when I'm trying to envision what my heroines would wear. My personal collection is limited, but I've gathered examples from almost every year from various Regency websites, so I can have my ladies remain en courant.

Your current release is released just in time for Valentine's Day. What has been your most romantic Valentine's Day and how important is chocolate?

My husband once sent me a dozen roses, but also flowers for my daughter as well. I thought that was so sweet! A man who loves his children is way romantic to me! (We both hate the *demand* to be romantic on a certain day, so don't tend to do the traditional Valentine's celebrations)

Chocolate has somehow become less important than Skittles! How did that happen?

Thanks so much for taking the time and the wonderful answers. ARomanceReview wishes you the best for your writing career.

Thank you! I'm honored to be featured on your wonderful site!
Diane