Author in the Spotlight – Lee Rowan

Today I’m interviewing author Lee Rowan on the blog. Lee has been published for 3 years and has 5 books to her credit as well as numerous short stories that have been included in anthologies. She has had and continues to have a distinguished career, winning an EPPIE for her historical novel Ransom.

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Lee what you would like to tell the fans and other readers about Lee, the writer?

I don’t write fast enough.

Ransom which is loved by fans won an EPPIE in 2007. What was it like when you heard your name called and knew that YOUR book was judged best in your category?

I was practicing my “graceful loser” face, and for a second it didn’t really register. Then the Linden Bay table shrieked in unison and I realized I’d heard right. It’s hard to describe how I felt because it was kind of an altered state –thrilled but almost numb because I didn’t quite believe it. The best part of winning was being able to thank people, especially my wife, for making sure the bills get paid and believing in me.

Your books are extremely popular. Can you tell us which one is your best seller? Which do you love the most?

I think Ransom is still the best seller, partly because it’s been out for nearly 3 years now. I suppose I’d say that the Articles of War (Ransom) series is my favorite because each book has been fun in a different way, but I’m very fond of Gent’s Gent because I love the Sherlock Holmes era… one of my earliest historical fandoms, I started reading those when I was about twelve.

What drew you to write mostly historical books rather than contemporary romances? Do you find historical books more challenging to write in terms of getting the period, dress and speech right?

Well, it’s probably because the more time I spend in the 21st century, the less I like it. Which is silly, because as a woman, especially a glbt woman, if I had to live in the restricted world of Jane Austen’s ladies I’d probably run amok sooner rather than later. But I like the slower pace of life in earlier eras, the fact that people had to pay attention to the seasons, that they thought about what they meant to say before they started writing. I like the idea of living in a time when someone who gave his word to a friend knew that he was expected to keep it. (I’m not talking about politicians, of course; some things never change.) There’s not enough sense of personal honor these days. “Winning is the only thing” seems to have replaced the idea of being a gracious winner, a graceful loser, and an honorable competitor.

As for getting things right… in some ways, if you’re willing to do the research, it’s actually easier to write historicals because everyone who lived at the time is long dead. I don’t think anyone gets everything perfectly right, no matter how hard they try. My biggest near-blooper was in my one contemporary, Walking Wounded–I was going to have a big crash-bang finale along the shore in Portsmouth, in the dead of night, but Charlie Cochrane, bless her, did a Brit-pick edit and pointed out that the places I had walked in 2002 were now a block of ‘posh flats’… I’m sure my books have errors, but I hope they’re not insurmountable.

Two of your characters that I wish you would bring back are Lord Robert Scoville and his right hand man Jack Darling in Gentleman’s Gentleman, one of the stories in Speak Its Name, Trilogy No. III. I remember you promised to write another story starring these two Victorian gentlemen but alas, nothing has been released as yet.

That’s because I haven’t had a chance to write them yet, I’m sorry. Those gents are alive and well in my imagination, and there’s a very short piece on the backburner, where Robert gives Jack a surprise for his birthday or Christmas. I do mean to get back to them in a more serious way after the next Ransom book.

You are one of 4 authors who signed recently with Running Press, a subsidiary of Perseus, a NY publishing house which is doing a huge promotion across both sides of the Atlantic of M/M historical romances starting in April. I believe your book is called Tangled Web and will be released later in the year, after Erastes’ Transgressions and Alex Beecroft’s False Colors. Tangled Web is set in peacetime–1816, just after the wars are over, which is different from the previous 2 books. The main characters are Brendan Townsend, the youngest son of a Viscount, and his eldest brother’s former commanding officer, Major Philip Carlisle. What else can you tell us about the story?

Tangled Web is about a young man finding his path and an older man realizing his life did not end when he lost his wife and child. Brendan is the far end of the Kinsey scale–he’s a good friend to his younger sister, but is simply not attracted to women in a sexual way. He falls into a convenient arrangement with his college roommate, Tony (who seduces the inexperienced Brendan with very little effort) but after they’ve graduated Tony gets himself into a dangerous mess and turns to Brendan, expecting him to fix it–but Brendan not only can’t do what Tony asks, he can’t really explain the situation to his family. His older brother, never guessing what a hot potato Brendan is juggling, sends him to Carlisle, and the poor boy is love-at-first-sight thunderstruck.

Carlisle suffered a tragic loss years earlier, blames himself, and has resolved never to marry again. He doesn’t realize that his willingness to help Brendan stems from anything more than generic goodwill. At first he doesn’t realize Brendan is gay, either, but when he does he begins to become aware of a side of his nature that he thought he had abandoned in adolescence.

This book is a deliberate attempt to do something new in a couple of directions. When I went to the Toronto Queer Literary Festival last year, I asked the guys who stopped at the Macaronis table what sort of stories they’d like to see. Several asked if I had written anything that wasn’t about military men, and many of them, older gentlemen, asked if I could suggest any books with characters over 40. I enjoy Georgette Heyer’s work and have a fair number of books on the Regency period, so I decided to try my hand at civilians (Major C is out of the service at this point) and make one of them an older man. That’s been interesting, too–contrasting Brendan’s youthful elation and despair with Carlisle’s steadier, more experienced view of life.

Your historical stories seem to have a common thread of triumph against almost insurmountable odds. What is it about this theme that made you want to capture it in books? Along with this thread of beating the odds you add the complication of men who love other men in a historical period where they are reviled. Do you think that your readers are drawn to your stories because they, too, hope to beat the odds of today’s complex issues of prejudice in whatever form it may take?

I hope so! I honestly believe that the saddest thing anyone can do is give up their dreams without even trying–because I know from experience that what looks hopeless might not be. I’m a cynic about a lot of things, but I also believe in heroes, and I think people need stories that give them characters who are flawed but trying to live up to what’s best in themselves, not settle for what’s easiest. I don’t define “hero” as someone with super-powers, but someone who is willing to do the right thing even when it’s easier, safer, or more profitable to sell out. Whatever they may do for a living, my heroes have a core of personal integrity. I think my readers must be okay with that, or they wouldn’t keep reading.

Two of your best known protagonists are David Archer and William Marshall who starred in Ransom, Winds of Change and now in your most recent release, Eye of the Storm. What is it about these two characters that fascinate you so much?

Parts of Ransom have a lot of personal meaning for me, and I think those two characters have the most obvious bits of my own personality–Davy’s smart-ass attitude, Will’s protectiveness of those he loves. Is it corny to say I think they deserve a happy-ever-after where they don’t have to be shot at all the time? I’m not sure a happy ending is just two people finding each other; as I get older, I think it’s being able to stay together, work out the problems, and remember what they love about each other.

You must have done an incredible amount of research for your historical books. How did you recreate a specific historical period in your books with such accuracy, recounting the details about the ship and the lives of the men during that time so that they seem so real?

Two words: Patrick O’Brian. I learned more from that gentleman’s fiction (and a couple of reference books on the series) than from any other single source. I’m also incredibly lucky to know a writer who volunteers on a tall ship and kept me from making a horrible blooper in Eye of the Storm (thanks, Marie!) But a lot of the research isn’t really work, in the sense of a task I’d rather not do. I’ve always been fascinated with sailing ships, and earlier times–if I had my life to live over I might study history, because it’s true–people do keep making the same mistakes over and over.

Most of your books are M/M but you have also written a few M/F. Some of the M/M writers I talk to say they have a great deal of difficulty switching from M/M to M/F and they invariably stick with one or the other because they can’t seem to get the love scenes right. Did you have any problems with the switch? If so, how did you resolve your issues?

When my gay friend A read an early draft of Ransom, he asked how I knew what sex felt like for a man. That kind of surprised me, because I was just writing what good sex felt like, with a few physical details altered. I think people make a big issue about human differences and sometimes forget that our bodies all have basically the same set of sensory and receptor nerves. I write human beings, focusing on the emotional and sensual aspects rather than getting very anatomically specific.

Sometime last week I read an interview with actor Jamie Bamber. The question was about his looks, and he replied, “Maleness is about doing things–providing, hunting and gathering, feeding your family, making things happen–rather than gazing at yourself.” If he’s right, I guess I’m writing from my inner male POV, even about female characters; Zoe and Cynthia are not fainting damsels. They live within their social limits, but, like my heroes, they stand up and act when they must.

The only issue I’d say I have about m/f love scenes is that so many of the words for women’s personal bits are either clinical, excessively agricultural (her ‘moist secret garden’) or have a sleazy tone because they’re so often used as pejoratives. I write mostly about male characters because the traditional “male” role is what I enjoy writing about. My characters are human/individual/gender, and their occupation and other details come after that. The only variety of character I’d have trouble writing is the sort of woman whose main interest in life is collecting expensive, uncomfortable shoes. I cannot relate to that at all!

In addition to writing novels, you have also written novellas and short stories for inclusion in anthologies. Is it more difficult to write short stories? If so, why?

Not usually, though if Sail Away should go out of print I would probably rewrite Captain’s Courtship as a full-length novel or a trilogy of novellas; Cynthia’s younger brother has a story of his own, and Cynthia’s voyage back to England and assimilating into wartime England is another story in itself. Some stories are just intrinsically brief. Castaway and Gift Exchange are only interludes in the Articles of War story arc. It has been a stretch doing a full-length book for Running Press after the 50-60K books for Linden Bay

M/M romance seems to be carving a niche for itself within the erotic book industry. How did you become a historical M/M writer and do you find it easier to write historicals than contemporaries?

It wasn’t deliberate; I just wanted to write an Age of Sail story and realized that it was essentially a romance. Sheer luck on the timing. I do find historicals easier because I like to play with English and I think educated people spoke more elegantly in earlier times. I also think historical fic wears better in the long run. If you read a contemporary book written 10+ years ago, some details are incredibly dated. (I’m thinking of Robert Parker’s excellent Spenser detective stories. The earlier ones are still great mysteries, but when the 1st-person narrator describes his own natty dress or his lady’s fashionable attire, the humor distracts from the whodunit.) If a story is set in 1801, a gentleman of fashion will wear breeches and stockings, and there’s no need to worry about how it will read in 2009 or 2029. Instead of being outdated, it’s antique.

What is your greatest achievement as a writer?

Making a difference. When I hear from a reader whose worldview expanded, like the reviewer whose first m/m book was Ransom and was indignant that the characters could be executed for loving each other by a country they were willing to die for… That’s what makes me feel that I’ve accomplished something significant. Given ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ and the gays and lesbians murdered even today by their “brothers” in uniform, I think those of us writing m/m have a unique opportunity to bring more awareness of the stupidity of discrimination.

The other great gift is the chance to give gblt readers characters they can identify with. E-books are fantastic for that; there are still gay and lesbian kids in small towns who literally do not have anyone they can come out to. I can only imagine what my own adolescence would have been like if I’d even been aware that there were other girls who just didn’t find most boys all that interesting. Being able to widen someone’s horizons or create hope… that’s the greatest achievement I could hope for.

Oh, and there’s the “I Do!” project, but that’s Alex Beecroft’s creation and a group effort, though I’m proud to have been a part of it.

On a personal note, how are you finding living in Canada, (in Ontario specifically) having spent most of your life in the US? Have you recovered as yet from the culture shock? *g* Other than the dollar which has been in a steep decline recently, what do you think are the main differences between living in the 2 countries?

I love Ontario, though I do wish our yard had at least one big old tree. We had only 2 days to house-hunt, and with a dog and 4 cats, renting in Ontario is the same as in Ohio–difficult! But it was worth the upheaval to have equal civil rights and legal recognition of our marriage. Kudos to Canada! I miss many of my friends, and my status as a licensed massage therapist. The worst culture shock was the metric system in all its aspects. A July forecast of 23 degrees–! Or remembering that 50kph is only 35 MILES per hour… The weather is fun for scaring Stateside friends (going down to 15 below tonight, brr…)

The main difference is that Canada seems to have a lot more common sense. National health care may not be a perfect solution, but giving people flu shots saves millions of $ in wasted work time and general misery. I’ve seen more real public service announcements here in a year than in the 20 years previous in Ohio–reminders not to waste electricity in the summer, to go easy on the yard chemicals to protect wildlife– and more sensible official programs, like including recycling as part of trash pickup and the new ‘green bins’ for uncompostable organic waste. I’m just not used to the government doing sensible things! The only thing I’m not crazy about is the high cost of new books; I’ve sometimes had books shipped to my mother-in-law and brought them back under my duty-free allowance. Of course e-books help there, too. Oh, and there’s Canada Post. Even Canada is bound to make a few mistakes and I think privatizing the postal system was a gold-star blunder.

HAVING FUN WITH LEE

I like to throw in a few fun questions which I hope the authors will answer:

Shoot!

So if you weren’t an author what do you think would be another career option for Lee Rowan? Maybe you would like to go back to the past and do a stint in one of your ships, in disguise of course since women were not allowed on board ship?

Flagpole sitter! No, I would not want to serve on one of His Majesty’s ships. (Have you ever read the Articles of War?) Bathing in cold salt water, astonishingly awful food (salt pork, salt beef, salt horse biscuits you could use as projectile weapons, no birth control or antibiotics or proper dentistry… NO NO NO! The people of the time didn’t know any different, so they could just get on with their lives, but I would miss my indoor plumbing and toothpaste. I love the romance of history, but I would NEVER want to live there!

Imagine yourself as one of the high born ladies of the period – What do you think you would spend your leisure time doing, after you were presented to society?

Making a rope ladder to climb out the window and escape. I’d sell my jewels and go live in the middle of nowhere… Innesfree, here I come.

Is there a question about yourself that you have never been asked but have been dying to answer?

Oh, yes. The answer is “What are you offering?” (The question is, “Will you sell us the movie rights to your book?”)

Do you think there’s any truth to the rumour that men used to stuff their breeches to appear well endowed?

It’s only a rumour? Hell, yes, I’m sure they did. I don’t think there’s a time when men haven’t augmented their assets. And to be fair, I’m sure women have done the same; the straight-front corsets practically put a lady’s assets on a tray for inspection by a grateful public. If you look at farthingales, bustles, and codpieces from various eras, I think some of the proto-fashionistas carried the notion a little too far.

Tell us one fun thing about Lee?

NEW DOG!! And she is BEAUTIFUL, housebroken, and usually respects the cats. I’m getting back to walking every day because she pesters me if I don’t. (She’ll be with us at Mediawestcon in May, dog willing.)

Thank you Lee.

Thank you! Great questions!

I really appreciate Lee taking the time out of her very busy schedule to answer my questions about her writing. She was very charming and didn’t get mad at the number of questions I sent over.

On another note, I would like to personally thank Aunt Lynn for doing such an outstanding job on all the reviews of Lynn’s books. I think she deserves a raise. *g*

Lee Rowan Contact Information

website: www.lee-rowan.net
email: lee.rowan@yahoo.com
http://lee-rowan.livejournal.com
http://historicromance.wordpress.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/speakitsname