I'm sure you all recognize this picture of one of our favorite authors - Plonka herself, Marsha Canham. Marsha generously consented to be this month's author interviewee, and I think you'll really enjoy her responses.

Renee d'Anton is a refugee from the French revolution who needs someone to help her and her brother escape from the control of three cruel villains. Tyrone Hart is the person whom she chooses - Captain Starlight, a highwayman, a dark and seductive rogue. With a plot full of twists and double-twists, characters you care about, both suspense and humor, and a VERY sensuous romance, this book has it all - another MUST READ from Marsha Canham.

JR: When did you first decide that you wanted to be a fiction writer? What caused you to decide this? Why did you choose the romance genre? What were your feelings when you sold your first book? Did you imagine that you'd become a best selling author?

MC: I'm not sure if it was ever a conscious decision. By that, I mean I never had a burning desire to become a writer when I was growing up or going to school. I always thought it was one of those lofty professions that anyone but me could aspire to (as demonstrated by that great bit of grammatical excellence). I actually started writing purely by accident. I had quit work when my son was born, and wanted to be at home with him at least until he started school. We lived in a very close knit townhouse neighbourhood populated by a lot of mothers who stayed home - some of whom read a lot of romance novels and passed them around. One neighbour in particular used to read Harlequins by the handful - and this was 20 years ago, back when a kiss was taboo until the last page, and they were so hokey I told her her brain would go soft if she kept reading them. My buddy snapped back and told me to put my money where my mouth was and write a better book. I tried my hand at a Harlequin, of course, thinking that was the best place to start, but when I sent away for their guidelines, I thought they were a joke and ignored them (story of my life). I finished the first attempt - all of 113 pages crammed with murder, mayhem, drug lords, and a tall dark hero I thought was pretty worthy of the next Movie for TV. Of course, it had no dialogue and the characters walked on, walked off, walked on, walked off - but I pitched it in the mail and sat back to wait for my million dollar cheque and the neon marquee. A very nice woman at Harlequin called me and explained that perhaps I was not writing for the right publisher. She could not, she said, recall when a Harlequin romance had a murder in it, or when there were drugs involved in the plot line, and goodness gracious, I had the hero and heroine DOING IT in the middle of the book! Augh! On the other hand, and the reason why she phoned and did not just give me a standard rejection, was because when I had the heroine trapped in the lighthouse and the villain was chasing her, shooting at her, she could actually "see" what was happening. Those ten pages, she said, were worth the phone call, and by the way, had I ever considered historicals? "Something" about my style suggested to her that I would be more comfortable in a genre that could let me have all the murder and mayhem I wanted, the lusty hero, the DOING IT in the beginning, middle, and end ...

So that was what I did. I wrote one, considerably longer at around 600 pages, and while the dozens of rejections were coming in, I wrote another, then another. Four years later I had four of them under my belt, with a rejection file as thick as the first Harlequin I attempted. I was pretty well resigned to the fact that I obviously could not do any better, but, just to be absolutely sure, I gave myself one more shot. I wrote a book in three months, sent it to one editor and told myself that was it. If it was rejected, I would go out and get a "real" job. I must say, up to this point, my hubby never said a word. He never complained that we had a huge mortgage, he had a small salary, and I was sitting at a typewriter day after day getting nowhere fast. I owe him big time for his patience, his support, even his cooking sometimes when I sort of forgot to turn the oven on. Two weeks after I submitted China Rose to Avon of Canada, the editors (Maggie McLaren, who is no longer an editor but who has remained one of my best friends, and Malle Vallik, who moved from Avon to Harlequin, where she still works, and yes, we are still best friends and excellent drinking buddies) sent me a letter of acceptance. I was in the hospital at the time having knee surgery, so I couldn't exactly jump up and down, but the hubby brought a bottle of bubbly into the room and the two of us got high as squirrels. My parents and sister came to visit, and when I told them the news, they said that's nice and have a good night and see you tomorrow. They made it three or four rooms down the hall before they turned around and came back and said: "What? What did you just say?" I should maybe also explain here that, in the four years of "practicing," I had not told anyone I was writing. Only my girlfriend, Diane, and my hubby knew.

Avon instantly signed me to two more books, and, without going into all the gory details, the rest ... is history.

JR: Where do you get your inspiration and ideas for a story?

MC: That has to be the single most dreaded question you can ask an author, cuz in all honesty, nine out of ten of us don't know. I don't know. I see a face in my mind, I see a snippet of a scene; once we were sitting at a neighbour's bar and singing, as usual, and her daughter belted out "You take the high road and I'll take the low road" and someone else mentioned an interesting note of trivia that the author of that song was unknown, and that it was written after the Battle of Culloden. And just like that, I had an image of a soldier lying on a battlefield with a slip of paper sticking out of his pocket. That was the "inspiration" for The Pride of Lions and The Blood of Roses. If you've read them, you'll notice there was no mention of a song or a dead soldier with a slip of paper in his pocket, but it was the intention that counted.

I also had a recurring dream from the age of about fourteen on, every six months or so, that made absolutely no sense to me, but because I enjoyed movies about Robin Hood and Ivanhoe and medieval knights, I thought it was just a byproduct of those fantasies. It was Maggie McLaren again who suggested I write down the events of the dream, that perhaps it would make a good story. It became the prologue for Through A Dark Mist.

JR: Can you tell us what constitutes your creative process? Does it differ from book to book?

MC: Augh. Another toughie, and hard to define: creative process. Mentally, I walk around for a month or so with characters floating around in my head, a scene or two maybe, hoping for some catalyst that brings them together. Physically, I read and research a period that might be interesting and again hope that I will find some tiny little snippet of information that will set everything in motion. Sometimes it comes quickly, sometimes it can take months for an idea to take hold and feel like the "right" one. That's one of the reasons I hate deadlines and have never yet made one on time.

JR: Are you disciplined in your writing - that is, do you keep to a planned schedule?

MC: Oh good! A humorous question! Me, disciplined? Planned schedule? Again, some mornings I walk into my office and walk right out again without looking at a page. Other days I walk in at 8 in the morning and my hubby comes to turn the lights off at 3 the next morning. It depends if I'm on a good streak, or if I'm stuck. And being stuck is not the same as writer's block which, touch wood, I've never had. Being stuck usually means I've written myself into a corner and can't think of a logical way out. Boy, could I tell you stories ...

Which all has to do with being organized, which I'm not. I don't use outlines, I've never actually plotted out a book from start to finish to (gasp) actually know from the outset where it is going. I often throw out, literally, huge chunks of a manuscript and start over because I don't like where it's going, or where it's been, or I've had a better idea along the way. I trust my fingers, too. I work in longhand first, then put it on the computer and fiddle with it, but I always retype the entire manuscript for the final draft, word by word, and sometimes the fingers just work independently from the brain and voila - a nifty idea I hadn't thought of before.

JR: You seem to prefer writing historical rather than contemporary novels. Why is this?

MC: Contemporaries are damned hard and I know my limitations. I am a prose person. I like describing a forest at night, or the smell of gunpowder on a ship's deck. I wrote one contemporary when my buddy, Malle Vallik, started at Harlequin Temptation and plagued the hell out of me to do one for her. It was 250 pages of pure hell, having to cut, condense, be precise in the plotting, define the characters right away. It took me six months, about five rewrites, and I was exhausted at the end, and gained a whole new respect for authors who do it so effortlessly.

JR: How do you go about your research for a historically-based story?

MC: By reading and reading and reading. I have, over the years, built up quite an extensive personal reference library for costuming, weapons, warfare, shipbuilding, even spells and magic charms - but I still trudge to the library and check out a bazillion books, some of which might only contain a tiny detail I might or might not use. This is no safeguard against MAJOR MISTAKES, and we all make them, no matter how hard we try to avoid the most common pitfalls, like assuming a fact not checked and double checked. I have a system of coloured post-its that I use when I'm working on the initial draft. One colour might be for costumes, if they're mentioned on the page (the original sentence could read: "she had a dress on"; the finished product could be elaborated into several sentences or a paragraph detailing exactly what she was wearing, colour, style, any peculiar trim or embroidery popular at the time). It's the same thing with food, room interiors, and, my favourite - "put battle here." In that way, I compartmentalize my work into various stages. If I don't need to know the precise details of uniforms, strategies, tactics, why worry about them while I'm still trying to construct a plot? Same with descriptions of characters, clothing, food - why worry about all that and clutter my mind with details that are not necessary until the final draft? And because I mark each page with a coloured tag, I know exactly where I have to go to fill in the blanks later. On the final type through, I tie everything together, hopefully, so it doesn't look like it was done so piecemeal.

It always fascinates me, however, that a book can have a zillion details on every page, yet it's always the one glaring stupid mistake that gets the author branded as "sloppy." In POL and BOR, for instance, I knew nothing about Scotland, the land, the clothing, the customs, the food, the politics, the religious difficulties, the WAR, the English troops, the uniforms, the battle tactics, the clan warfare tactics, types of guns, powder, shot they used, the weather, the terrain - you get my drift. I had to research all that from scratch, and when all was said and done, I got nailed for using the word guillotine before it was invented. Augh. Just augh. And in Pale Moon Rider? It was Chopin's father, dammit. Arnold Chopin! He composed music for the harpsichord! Well, I'm sure he would have, anyway. *grumble*

JR: You are known for writing very sensual love scenes. Where do the ideas for these scenes come from? Is it difficult to write them?

MC: Hahahaha. I didn't know I was "known" for that. If they are sensual, it's because I put my little booty in the hero's arms and try to imagine what I would like him to do to me. Difficult? Only in keeping them short and sweet. Augh. Give me Kevin Sorbo for real, for just one night, and you'd see a love scene, all right - 400 pages worth.

JR: You are a very humorous person "in real life," but there is not much humor in your books. Would you consider writing a humorous story? Why or why not?

MC: Humour is a release, and if I'm humorous in "real life" it's because I spend long, isolated hours locked away in a room with only me and my imagination. Sometimes that imagination takes me onto a battlefield where fine, noble characters have to die, and I release that tension through humour elsewhere. Releasing it and writing are two very different things, and I have come to believe that writing humour is one of the hardest things to do. Not everyone finds the same things funny, and not everyone shares my sometimes warped sense of humour. What I might find funny, someone else might think is snide or sarcastic or downright crude. It's a no-win situation, so I generally try to stay away from deliberate humour in my writing. Every now and then, it just happens, of course. I thought Sparrow was a pretty funny guy in the medieval trilogy, and had a lot of fun writing him. And I still regret having to do away with him in the Last Arrow, but hah! I've always wanted to play with a ghost story, and who better to solve the mystery of Princess Eleanor's son than a pesky ghost?

JR: Almost everyone with whom I've discussed your books, The Pride of Lions and The Blood of Roses, has expressed the view that you left the main characters "dangling." Would you consider writing a sequel (perhaps a short story in an anthology?) about Alex, Catherine, and Harriet?

MC: Hmmm. Now this is where we differ. I thought I ended BOR the best way possible, giving the reader a chance to use her imagination as to how Alex and Catherine would survive and carry on. I gave them a son (in utero) with a profoundly magical name, I left them with the guidance of Aluinn, the indestructible pride of the Highlanders, the strength of the Cameron clan to build on. Okay, I'll concede the point that I left Harriet sort of dangling, but I've left dozens of secondary characters dangling (one of them in another book simply vanished - disappeared - and no one noticed) and none have had any impact, which must mean that readers thought about the story and the characters in POL and BOR and they did leave an impact. (Good or bad, Rose!)

JR: Do you have a favorite among the books you've written? Are there any characters who are "closer to your heart" than others?

MC: All my characters are favourites at the time I'm writing them, or I wouldn't be doing my very best to bring them alive in the reader's mind. If I had to choose an absolute favourite, meaning if they were all lined up in a row and I got to take one of my heroes into the next room with me for a couple of undisturbed hours - augh - Alex, or Simon Dante, or Morgan Wade, or Tyrone - and then there is Stuart Roarke. Damn, that man needs a book of his own. And Aluinn was no slouch, either - although very much like Stuart if I think about it. And how could I leave out Christian McBride? Or my Black Wolf? Yeah, real easy question there.

JR: The attitudes of many people toward the romance genre are quite condescending. What would you say, as an author (and, I assume, a reader) of romance novels, to those who belittle the genre?

MC: Get a life and leave mine alone? Being the shy, quiet, unopinionated person that I am, that's a question that would take up twice as much space as I've used already (*G*), so I've given you the abbreviated answer.

JR: What kinds of books do you read for pleasure? Who are some of your favorite authors?

MC: Well, I don't read romance. Not because I don't enjoy it, but because I tend to read them with a wretchedly critical eye and it takes away a lot of the pleasure. Either that, or they're so good I kick myself for not thinking of that particular plot first - another no win situation. For pleasure, I read thrillers, mystery mostly. Wilbur Smith is my icon. If you haven't read Birds of Prey, or RiverGod, or The Seventh Scroll, you're missing some great books. Recently, I've been turned on to Michael Connelly and read all seven or eight of his books in a one month span, pretty damned good for me. Grisham fell out of favour for a while with The Chamber and another wretched one, but he's coming slowly back. Ludlum is off my list, but his earlier books were great. Same with Tom Clancy, who has become way too technical, and Clive Cussler, who has turned into a prime example of an author grown too big in the head to squeeze through a door. He's off my list for good, but again, his earlier ones were excellent. Hmmmm...Is there a trend here? My only current automatic buy is Connelly, and I've just ordered Angel's Flight in hope it gets here before I leave on vacation.

JR: You've created a great site about Toronto for those going to the RT Convention in September. Do you have any helpful hints about the convention, especially for "first timers?"

MC: Come prepared for a lot of fun and a little sleep. I don't think I've ever had more than two hours at a stretch on a pillow at an RT convention; there are parties that go on all night if you know where to look. And first timers - just go on up and introduce yourselves. Authors are not untouchable, unapproachable, or intimidating. Find the nearest bar lounge in the hotel and the fun will most likely gather around you.

JR: What are you most looking forward to about the convention?

MC: Juggling the convention and my son's wedding, which is on the same weekend. If you see a frazzled babe walking around with toothpicks holding up her eyelids, that will be me.

JR: Many of us at RBL feel we "know" you quite well - from your wonderful website and your posts on bulletin boards. We'd love to know how it felt to celebrate your first Christmas with your new grandchild.

MC: It was absolutely wonderful. Due to medical problems, I could only have one child, so it was like having a second chance. Austin looks so much like his father, it's a little scary. He cuddles the same and smells the same, and when he laughs ... augh. He's going to be one spoiled little munchkin and I don't care!

JR: AND - will you give us some hints about your next book?

MC: Well, I'm on page 250, it's due April 1st (not a chance), and we're in the process of fighting over the title at the moment. I'm leaning toward If Tomorrow Never Comes, which I think is very romantic and *my* kind of title, but the Powers That Be at Dell are hemming and hawing and want something Rosemary Roger-esque that brings to mind bare bosomed heroines and heroes with flared nostrils. *Snort* How can you pick a title anyway until the book is done, I ask? But I just finished writing a coach chase (think Bullet but with a horse and carriage), and a couple of mmmmm interesting love scenes, not to mention a plot involving Napoleon Bonaparte and a spy with amnesia.

After this, I have GOT to get back to murder and mayhem. Maybe get out my swords again, or the bow and arrow. The Powers That Be want another book on Scotland, but I dunno. I'll have to see what grabs me by the throat and insists on taking centre stage.

Well, thank you for asking me to be part of your fun group. I enjoy popping over to RBL, even *evil grin here* if it's just to peek at the wallpaper.

On behalf of all of us at RBL, I would like to thank you for taking the time to do this for us, Marsha. And we hope that you know you have a VERY appreciative group of readers at RBL Romantica.
~Judy~



Ketchup
March 2003

Judy: Marsha, we first interviewed you in March 1999 when PALE MOON RIDER was such a hit with the RBLs. Can you bring us up to date on your releases and any other happenings that have occurred since then?

Marsha: Wow, all the way back to PALE MOON RIDER. LOL. Doesn't feel as if it has been that long. The book after PMR was SWEPT AWAY, another (ggrrrrrr) Regency-based long historical that took place in the months following Napoleon's escape from Elba. It was not one of my fave books to write, since I was basically put in a wrist lock and told that the publisher wanted another Regency book out of me.

After that, I went back to doing what I like to do best ... bloodshed and violence. No, just kidding. But MIDNIGHT HONOR, the third installement in my Scotland series, was decidedly darker and more intense. It was a book I had wanted to write for about ten years, but was tentative about going back and immersing myself in all the emotions roused when I was writing THE PRIDE OF LIONS and THE BLOOD OF ROSES. But the story was always there, in the back of my mind, and to cleanse myself of all things Regency, I sat down and wrote it.

Coming in March is THE IRON ROSE, another of my absolute favorite time periods and subjects - a pirate adventure revisiting some of the characters from ACROSS A MOONLIT SEA. This time around the heroine is Juliet Dante, daughter of Beau Spence and Simon Dante. As captain of her own ship she rescues the hero of the story, a land loving English duke who first appears on deck wearing lavender velvet and satin breeches. It is a complete reversal of roles, and I hope it works (*keeping fingers crossed*). I had a lot of fun writing about a hero who gets seasick and sunburned, whose prowess with a sword is put to shame by a dry-witted, tough-as-nails heroine.

Judy: What do you have "in the works" for us to look forward to in the future?

Marsha: Coming out next is THE DRAGON TREE (a title I am still fighting for, by the way - the publisher thinks it sounds too much like a fantasy and probably wants something profound like "Lord of Lust" *snort*). It's a medieval, not related in any way, shape, or form ... as of this writing ... to the Black Wolf books. I just thought it was time to don my armor, fill my quiver with arrows, and wreak a little more havoc in the forests of Merry England. I enjoyed the role reversal so much in THE IRON ROSE that I'm trying it again in some respects. The hero is a disgraced and defrocked Knight Templar who has no experience with women until he crosses paths with the heroine, who is definitely not virginal. If I survive Deadline Hell and get the manuscript in on time, it should hit the shelves next March or April.

Thanks for a chance to play "ketchup." I have severely cut back on my online time, but I want everyone at RBL to know I miss them, love their sense of humor, and think about their zany bb's quite a lot. Hello to everyone who remembers me (*waving frantically*), and thank you for thinking about me from time to time. *g*

Visit Marsha's Website


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