The Secret Diaries Confessions
of Julia Quinn
Originally appeared at Romantic
Inks on December 2, 2006.
In no particular order...
 I
will do almost anything to avoid writing, even if I actually
do enjoy it once I get started. At my Starbucks, where I’m
supposed to be able to work diligently because I have no
internet access (at least no free access, and I’m too
cheap to pay for it), I end up chatting with the other regulars---Larry
the graphics guy, Jennifer who just divorced her best friend,
Howard (I don’t know what he does), the older dude
whose name I forget, but I know all about his politics (far
left) and the fact that he has no internet access at home
because it’s cheaper to have TMobile and logon at Starbucks.
There’s also SAT-prep woman, who leads all her classes
over lattes (my vocabulary is faboo after so many years of
eavesdropping) and SAT-prep man, who I think might be married
to SAT-prep woman, although I’m not certain. And the
other test-prep guy, who appears to be independent of the
other two (who clearly work together), but who is infinitely
more mellow, plus the college senior who also works at J.
Crew (and alerts me of sales.) Oh! And don’t forget
the two sisters who own a cookie-decorating business. Can
you tell I’m a people watcher? I’m just crushed
that cute soccer guy has moved on...
 Speaking
of writing, there are certain words I egregiously overuse.
I’m not going to say what they are, because none of
you will ever be able to read one of my books the same way
again.
 I
have a weakness for boss/secretary romances, usually found
in the Harlequin Presents line.
 I
also have a weakness for Haagen-Dazs Dulce de Leche ice cream.
And strawberry. And... well, pretty much any flavor as long
as it doesn’t contain bananas. By the way, Haagen-Dazs
light ice cream is amazing. It’s still bad for you,
but it’s not as bad for you, so you don’t have
to feel quite as guilty. The S’mores flavor is particularly
good.
I
hate bananas.
No,
I mean I really hate bananas. The smell gives me the heebee-jeebees.
I
love the phrase heebee-jeebees but rarely find the opportunity
to use it.
I’m
also not fond of olives, which was somewhat problematic when
I was working as a travel writer in Greece. Not that I spoke
a word of Greek when I got the job. I got by with a lot of
smiling, hand gestures and following words and phrases: Oil,
vinegar, and “boyfriend in America.”
I
really did have a boyfriend in America, and I married him.
Said
husband figures into every single one of my book dedications.
Said
husband HAS NOT READ MOST OF MY BOOKS.
 Said
husband, when confronted with this while he was reading the
manuscript of his father’s novel, said, “But
you don’t need my help.”
Said
husband sometimes says exactly the right thing to get him
out of trouble.
Said
husband approves of the title of my next book: The
Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever (not that
he’ll ever read it.)
That’s
okay. I haven’t had to clean out the cat box in seven
years.
I
hate cleaning the cat box, but oddly enough, not as much
as I hate bananas...
JQ
Originally
appearing on “Dishing
with the Divas,” June 12, 2006, an interview
by Candice Hern.
Tell
us a little about your upcoming book, On
the Way to the Wedding.
Think
Comedy of Errors. Gregory is in love with Hermione, who is
in love with her father's secretary. Lucy thinks he's a better
match, so she offers to help him win Hermione's heart, but
then she falls in love with Gregory herself. Which is a bit
sticky, as she's engaged to Lord Haselby. And then enter
Lucy's brother Richard... Well, you get the picture.
How
did it feel when you had written THE END on your last Bridgerton
manuscript? Was it sad to be finished with them? Or liberating?
Both.
Mostly, I heaved a huge sigh of relief, but then again, I
do this at the end of every book. It's nice, though, to work
with a clean slate. But as I've been developing my current
project, it's been a little strange--I can't remember the
last time I had to come up with so many new characters.
You
now have available for download Second Epilogs for 2 of your
Bridgerton books, and it sounds like you'll be doing one
for all 8 books. Did this idea come about as a way of not
quite letting go of the Bridgertons yet?
No,
not really. It was more reader-driven. I get so many queries
about the characters and what happened to them after "the
end." And I thought, "Well, why not?" What
surprised me was how much fun they were to write. I found
the process very energizing. I got to work with a different
format (short story) and with a very different sort of story
arc. Suddenly it wasn't about getting two people together.
Instead, I got to show people who were already fully committed.
The 2nd Epilogues don't really stand alone, but they're not
meant to. They ought to be thought of as companions to the
existing novels. Some people have asked why I didn't just
put these in with the novels, but I don't think they belong
there. They're extras. You don't need them for the story,
but they're a lot of fun.
Now
that the 8th and final Bridgerton book is about to released,
I'm sure everyone wants to know what's next? Another series?
Standalone books? And will you continue to write historicals?
Or is there a contemporary romance in your future?
Right
now I'm working on a two-book set, the first of which is
called The Two Dukes of Wyndham.
I also have an already-written stand alone about a girl in
love with her best friend's brother. I'm not sure which will
be out first, though.
No plans to write contemporary anytime
soon. I think if I did something contemporary, it wouldn't
be romance, to tell the truth. And I don't have time right
now for anything but romance!
A
few years ago, you appeared as a contestant on THE WEAKEST
LINK. Now that you're a seasoned TV performer, is there a
reality show you dream of being on some day? American Idol?
So You Think You Can Dance? Hell's Kitchen? The Apprentice?
Oh,
gad. No. But I want to get on another game show. I'm a trivia
junkie. And it was so much fun.
A
recent poll of AAR readers named The
Duke and I as their favorite JQ book. Do you agree?
Is it your favorite, too?
I
don't know if it's my favorite, but in many ways it's the
most meaningful to me. It's the first of the Bridgertons,
which obviously turned out to be a major part of my career,
but also, I felt that my writing turned a corner with The
Duke and I. I approached the book from a different
angle, and I think what emerged was deeper and richer than
anything I'd done before. So it will always be special to
me for that.
How
do your stories take shape? Do you start from plot or from
character? Do you outline or are you a seat-of-the-pants
writer? And does your finished product differ much from what
you set out to write?
I'm
definitely an outliner. I spend months on the outlines, but
that's in large part because I do a lot of work on characterization
in the outlining process. As for how I start, that differs
from book to book. Sometimes I have a character, sometimes
a plot or a premise. For How
to Marry a Marquis, I had a title. Or rather,
I had Candice's title! (Thank you, Candice. Thank you, thank
you, thank you!)
For those of you who don't know this, I
owe Candice a HUGE debt. When she was writing traditional
regencies, she wanted to name one of her books How
to Marry a Duke, but her editor nixed it. I thought
her editor was crazy, so I said to Candice, "Can I have
it?" (I still remember exactly where we were--having
tea (or possibly something more boozy) in Trump Tower, of
all places, in Manhattan.) Candice graciously gave me the
title, and it eventually changed to How
to Marry a Marquis to take advantage of the alliteration.
Of
all the books you've written, which one was the most difficult
to write?
Aren't
they all hard? I keep thinking they're supposed to get easier,
but they never do.
If
we were to sneak into your house, what book would we find
on your bedside table?
Foreign
Babes in Beijing by Rachel DeWoskin. I'm enjoying
it tremendously. The author went to Beijing to work for
a PR firm and ended up on a Chinese soap opera called
(you guessed it) "Foreign Babes in Beijing." I
just finished judging two rounds of the Ritas, so I was
ready for a break from romance.
And
what note would we find taped to your computer monitor?
Okay,
this is embarrassing, but since you asked, my sister made
me tape up a fortune cookie fortune I got that says, "You
will earn thousands of dollars daily for doing nothing." She
says, "Isn't that the definition of royalties?" I
say, "Hey, I DID the work..." But I got the last
laugh because --she-- got the fortune that said, "Your
mother is spreading vicious rumors about you." (My
mother denies this, by the way.)
top
 
Originally
appeared at Fog City Divas on June 13, 2006
1) When
her husband calls, her cellphone rings with The Simpsons
theme. When her mother calls, it's Mission: Impossible. Her
best friend has Josie and the Pussycats, and her editor gets
Tainted Love.
2) Before
she was born, the entire maternity ward of her mother's OB-GYN's
hospital went on strike. (A sign, perhaps?)
3) When
people play the My-Parents-Are-More-Embarrassing-Than-Your-Parents
game, she ALWAYS wins. Always.
4) She
is DYING to visit Iceland but can't find anyone to go with
her.
5) She
is a huge Schoolhouse Rock fan and can sing almost every
song by heart.
6) She
was the only kid in first grade to have a lunchbox with a
family member on it. (Think: "Good night, John
Boy!")
7) Her
husband competed in the Junior Olympics as a sabre fencer.
8) Her
recurring dream is getting to some international border and
discovering she forgot her passport.
9) She
has had the same editor for every single one of her books. (You
might not think this is so bizarre, but trust us, it is.)
And finally 10) She
has a bad habit of making lists when she can't figure out
something more cohesive to say.
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Originally
seen on Squawk
Radio in July 2005
As some of you know, I used to work for
Barnes & Noble. Nothing glamorous, mind you. I didn't
work in Manhattan at the corporate office or anything. No,
I hired on as holiday help in the North Haven, Connecticut
store in 1995, and after the manager realized she'd actually
hired someone who knew about books, I managed to convince
her to let me stay on at only eight hours/week. (Normally,
you had to work at least 20.) Eight hours isn't much, but
it got me out of the house, earned me some walking around
money, and perhaps most importantly, got me a 30% discount
on books. (I can't tell you how painful it was to start paying
full price for books once I stopped working there.)
But the best part of working in a bookstore
was, not surprisingly, the books. It was so wonderful just
being around them. I loved knowing what all the new releases
were, and there is nothing like the little thrill you get
when you stumble across the coolest book that you know you
never would have discovered had you not been shelving it.
Former booksellers also have a pathological
need to tidy up bookstore shelves:
"Good GRAVY! What is the Bevarly doing
in the middle of the Brockways!!! And don't they know that
Outlander should be shelved before Dragonfly in Amber???
I don't care if it's in aphabetical order that way--it's
just plain wrong!"
But you know, for the most part it was
fun. And in honor of booksellers everywhere, I'm going to
share the most bizarre, surreal, annoying, nice, really any
adjective will do, moments from the three years I was there.
I learn that the café discount has
been increased to 50%.
Strangely enough, this occurs during the
holiday rush, confirming my suspicions that Mr. Riggio (the
head of the company) wants to keep the peons sugared and
caffeined.
I discover that I am wasting valuable portions
of my brain on really stupid stuff.
A customer comes in with the following
question: "I'm looking for a book. It was on this table.
Or maybe that one. In July. I don't know the name and I don't
know the author, but there was a dog on the cover."
I say, "Yeah, I know what you're talking
about."
I am mistaken for someone with a way better
bank account.
After chatting for five minutes about books,
I tell a customer that I am actually a romance author. She
looks at my name tag and shrieks, "Oh my GOD! Are you
JULIE GARWOOD????"
I am mistaken for someone with a license
to dispense drugs.
The phone rings. I answer it, always a
mistake.
"Good morning, Barnes & Noble,
North Haven. How may I help you?"
"I'm looking for a book. It's one
of those drug guides. The one for nurses."
"Oh, yes, I'm fairly certain we carry
that. If you hold I'll go check the shelf."
Goes and checks shelf. Surprises self by
finding book.
"Hello? Yes, we have that. Would you
like me to put it aside for you?"
"Oh, no. I don't want to buy the book.
I was just hoping you would look something up for me. You
see, my doctor just prescribed some new medication for me,
and I'm not sure if I can take it with the other stuff I'm
on. Could you look it up and see?"
"Excuse me. May I put you on hold
for a moment?"
GAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!
"Hi. I'm back. I'm sorry, but I don't
think our insurance covers us for dispensing pharmaclogical
advice."
I am mistaken for someone with a non-exploding
head.
It's War in the back room. Bernie the periodical
guy vs. Chris the stockroom supervisor. It's a duel of the
transistor radios. On the receiving desk, Howard Stern. Near
the magazine stack, Rush Limbaugh. And over by new releases
shelf, there is an innocent romance writer, collapsed into
a fetal position as she cradles her head in her hands and
tries to drown... out... the noise.
Good morning Squawkland! It's nice to be
here!
Julie Q.
Read the comments to
this post...
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 I
never set out to write an eight-book series. Believe me,
when I started The
Duke and I, I had no idea that I would still be
writing about those characters seven years later. In fact,
I had every intention of just writing three books. It would
be Daphne, Anthony, and Colin (This is why Benedict isn't
terribly fleshed out as a character in Duke.) When I pitched
this idea to my editor, however, she said to keep it to two
books.  Trilogies
were overdone, she said, and the middle book was always the
worst. But I really wanted to do three, so I made my argument,
and she agreed. As I was working on The
Viscount Who Loved Me (the second book of the
series), Duke came out and it sold quite a bit better than
expected. Plus, readers really got into the whole Lady Whistledown
mystery. So when it came time to write the third book, I
asked my editor if she thought I ought to turn it into a
quartet. The answer was an enthusiastic YES, and by the time
I finished up the fourth book, it was obvious I'd be doing
the whole family.
I've enjoyed it a lot, but if I could do
it over again, I would have known at the beginning what I
was going to do. And
I would have made a cheat sheet for myself with all of the
characters' pertinent details on it. I have that now, but
only after having made some mistakes (including one that
no one ever caught!) I would also have plotted the arc of
the series a bit more carefully. I had to set Romancing Mr.
Bridgerton, for example, eight years after An
Offer from a Gentleman because of the way I plotted The
Viscount Who Loved Me.
One of the problems about writing series
is that you can never please everyone. Readers beg me to
bring back old characters (and some take me to task for not
doing it!), and then others complain that the family gets
too much of a role. Right now I'm hearing from readers who
want me to do a huge family reunion in the last book. Which
would be sweet, but I just can't do it. The most important
thing to remember while writing a series (IMO, at least)
is that each book has to be more important than the series
as a whole. In other words, you can't write a scene for the
point of expanding upon something that happened in an earlier
book unless it also supports the current book. And you can't
trot characters out just because you like them. Sure, everyone
might like an update on a different couple, but writing a
whole scene just for them pulls the reader away from the
current love story.
But there are also wonderful aspects to
writing a series. I may moan when someone asks me about a
tiny detail that I can't for the life of me remember (you
have no idea the number of times I've had to open my computer
files and do a search function to find an answer to a reader
query), but on the other hand, it's very gratifying to know
that readers are so invested in my characters that they actually
care to that degree. I've also had the opportunity to develop
secondary characters over multiple books. One of my very
favorite things has been writing the character of Violet.
As the series progresses, you learn more and more about her.
(Me too!)
So would I do it again? Or more to the
point, do I plan to do it again? Not anytime soon, I think.
I'm ready for a break. My next set of books will be a twofer.
I'm looking forward to doing something quite discrete and
then moving on. I'm sure we haven't seen the last of the
Bridgertons, but I do think it's time for me to set them
aside for a bit and recharge my batteries with something
else.
After Gregory, of course. I'm putting him
in a pretty big pickle. Which he probably deserves.
Best,
Julie Q.
Read comments to
this post.
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Teresa brought up a really interesting
point in a comment below. She said:
I'm working on the sequel to my September
release, After Midnight, right
now. As most of you know, I've written related books but
my attention span is simply too short to do a long series.
One of the things I AM discovering as I
start this sequel is that I like the fact that the emotional
resonance between the two characters is already in place.
I had a similar experience working with
Colin and Penelope in Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, but I also
found it very very difficult. It was the first time I had
ever written a story for two well-established characters,
and I had a devil of a time plotting it. Every time I would
get an idea I would realize it wouldn't work because of the
histories and personalities I'd already given them. Something
would make sense for Colin but not for Penelope. The next
day it was the opposite. I think this is why I tend to create
an all-new hero or heroine to go with one who is already
established. It gives me so much more freedom in the plotting
stage.
Julie Q.
Read the comments to
this post.
Rose asked in a comment about my husband
Paul, to whom every single one of my books is half-dedicated.
(I always dedicate my books to someone and then also to Paul).
I actually get a fair bit of reader mail asking about the
dedications, and ironically, today Paul received his first
fan letter. Yes, one of my readers sent fanmail to Paul!
It was pretty cute, actually. She worked all (or at least
many) of the dedications into one long paragraph.
Anyway, Paul is an infectious disease physician.
He works primarily in a lab these days, researching new medications
for the prevention and treatment of malaria. He just received
a grant to fund his research from the NIH--I'm so proud of
him!
Malaria is a disease of poverty, so it
can be difficult to get the large pharmaceutical companies
to do the necessary research and development to treat it.
The trick is to find a drug that is used in the developed
world that will also work for malaria. If the drug companies
can earn money treating, say, male-patterned baldness, then
they will make the same drug at cost or for a very small
profit for the developing world to use for malaria. Or they
will allow a foreign company to break the patent and make
the drug there for use only for malaria.
Paul and I have been together almost half
of my life. I'm not kidding. I met him the second day of
freshman week at college and we started dating in late October.
So it just makes sense that all my books would be half-dedicated
to him. Honestly, I just can't imagine life without him.
The dedications are always fun to write--with
some self-imposed pressure, of course. I want them to be
good! And meaningful, even if no one else gets it but us.
(Although my family usually gets them, too). He really did
want to throw my laptop off the balcony once (he occasionally
lacks patience). And he did call coffee a foul, disgusting
drug (he sometimes expresses strong opinions) although I
must point out that HE made the pot this morning and indeed
drank from it.
Here we are at his sister's wedding. Note
my fab make-up! My sister-in-law worked at InStyle Magazine,
and so she knows lots of stylists and make-up artists, and
she got a guy from Sex and the City to do all the bridesmaids!
(and the bride, of course.) You can tell from my photo with
LisaK that I have no idea how to do eye make-up, Sigh. Someday
I'll learn. Or maybe she'll show me!
Best,
Julie Q.
Click over to
the comments from
this post.
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People asked me below if I have found that
any one of my novels is a clear reader favorite. Actually,
I did do a poll a couple of years ago, and while some books
did seem more popular than others, there was no clear winner
or loser. As an author, I found it rather comforting.
I think it would be difficult to have one
book everyone holds up as your masterpiece. I certainly hear
feedback from readers who say things like, "The new
book is nowhere near as good as this other one," but
thankfully, this is balanced out by readers who say, "The
best yet!"
Any author who values her sanity must eventually
accept that with every book, someone will think it's a stinker.
And hopefully, someone else will decide it's her favorite.
With that in mind, here are my favorite
squawker books:
Elizabeth
Bevarly: Her Man Friday
Connie
Brockway: As You Desire
Christina
Dodd: "The Bed is Unmade" in
Once Upon a Pillow
Eloisa
James: Much Ado About You
Lisa
Kleypas: Dreaming of You
Teresa
Medeiros: One Night of Scandal
Happy Reading!
Julie Q.
Read the comments to
this post.
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This is actually a strange topic for me,
as I haven't actually written anything longer than five pages
in the first person, but there were questions about it down
the board (waving at J Perry) so I thought I'd take a stab
at it.
The big difference between first and third
person is, obviously, that with first person, the reader
only gets into the head of one person. With third, it can
be multiple people, although in romance it's generally only
two. (Big exception is Eloisa James, who, IMO, is utterly
brilliant with the omniscient narrator and multiple points-of-view.)
But there is an offshoot of this--in first
person the reader generally gets deeper into the narrator's
head/psyche than in third person. You get to know the character
better. You're privy to the thoughts and feelings of that
character as described by that character. With the third
person, technically speaking you're privy to the thoughts
and feelings of a character as described by the narrator
(the author.)
These two factors mean that first and third
person work better for different types of books. Romance
isn't a great fit for first person because romance is, by
definition, mainly about TWO characters. If you keep it in
first person, you lose half the story (well, not really,
but I can't think of a better way to describe it.) This isn't
to say that it can't be done, and well (Joan Wolf wrote a
few that I thought were great) but if you, as an author,
are going to choose to do away with one of the protagonist's
point of view, you should probably have a good reason for
it.
This is why first person works well for
gothic romances. Gothics have a great deal of mystery to
them, a woman-in-jeopardy sort of theme. By keeping the reader
as in the dark as the character about the hero's thoughts,
the author can keep up the sense of drama and fear.
Young Adult fiction works very well in
first person as well. There may be (and frequently is) romance
in the story, but a lot of the time, the real theme is the
growth and life of the main character. And first person allows
the author to create that much of a deeper portrait of the
character.
Thoughts, anyone?
Julie Q.
P.S. In case anyone is interested, second
person is written with "You." As in: "You
go to the car and open the door. You get in, but you see
that your purse has been stolen." The only books I can
think of written in second person are Jay McInerney's Bright
Lights, Big City and the Choose Your Own Adventure books.
Does anyone know any others?
Read the comments to
this post.
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