Lucinda Brant Interview Published on: 10, Jul 2023

I grew up on the outskirts of Sydney, NSW, Australia. The town is now a suburb, but back then it was dirt roads and dairy farms. Weekends were spent roaming the countryside with my cousins on our bikes. We rarely came home until dusk. We also didn’t have a television, a phone, or a car until I was well into my teens. But I had books and access to a great public library! So plenty of time to dream and read about exotic locales. My mother came from a very large family, so there were lots of cousins, aunts and uncles, and consequently loads of family drama, which was all fuel for a young writer’s imagination!

I wrote my first novel in my teens. I would take each new chapter to Math class and hand it out for feedback. Can you tell I wasn’t a great math student? LOL

Not entire characters, but certain aspects of a personality or physical characteristics which I’ll borrow. I’ve come close to basing an entire character on a good friend of mine from Uni days, though I won’t tell you which one in case he happens to read this!

Being an indie-published author had its fair share of challenges in the beginning. Indies weren’t taken seriously by many in the traditional publishing industry—eBooks were thought to be a passing fad. When I tried to enter my books in competitions, often I would be rejected because I was an Indie. How times have changed! Those same organisations now embrace indie authors. Which is great! I guess Indies being able to give up the day job and earn a living at writing as well as getting on the bestseller lists helped to change all that.

For me it’s more a case of having the time to write everything down. I don’t write fast enough for my readers! And I have several novels on the backburner, so plenty to get on with!

I have a substantial library of non-fiction books on the 18th Century, collected over a forty-year period. So, most of my research for Noble Satyr came from delving into my own library. As it is set in the 1740s in France and England, I read many contemporary journals and diaries, newspapers, and loads of books on Louis XV, the court of Versailles, and the Georgian court of George the Second. Since it’s publication I’ve travelled many times to London and Paris, and Versailles, and it’s wonderful to walk the halls, gardens, and rooms that my characters do!

I don’t know if my style has changed all that much. I still take three steps forward and then two back, meaning I compose and edit as I go. My approach certainly has, as I used to write my novels on paper using a HB pencil. I still write all my research notes by hand, but I now create the stories on computer.

I construct detailed biographies and family trees, and try to know everything about a character and their family before I begin writing. But first I need to know their name—first, middle and last, and their titles (if they are ennobled) before I do anything else. I can’t move forward without a name!

Oh, the main character of Alec Halsey! He had to be intelligent, but also have a high EQ (emotional intelligence), be swoon-worthily handsome, flawed but likeable, have an interesting backstory, a turbulent love life, and be a bit of an outsider. Someone I would find interesting enough to cheer on throughout an entire series. A very tall order. But my readers have really embraced him, which is lovely.

Of course. If I can’t relate to them on some level, I can’t write about them, so I’m sure it’s the same for my readers.

Never give up! Never surrender (to quote from a favorite movie Galaxy Quest). I write because I love it, and I love to read. And I love my characters, and I love the 18th Century. So find what you love to write about, and keep at it. There has never been a better time to be published. Gone are the gatekeepers and naysayers. You can be a published author. eBooks and indie publishing have made that happen. Whether you are successful at it will depend on so many other factors, but I truly believe if you love what you write, readers will find you and embrace your stories.

I write every day. I keep active in mind and body. I take time away from the computer. It’s all about life-balance. If I encounter rejection or setbacks, in whatever form, I merely pick myself up and get on with it. Life is too short to navel gaze the negativity!

I’m busy writing the fifth Alec Halsey mystery. Then I have a three-book contract with Dragonblade Publishing, to write an historical romance series about a family of unruly unconventional sisters. I then have three more books to write in my Roxton Foundation Series. And after that it will be full gallop into a new series about the younger generation of Roxtons. So plenty to get on with!

AllAuthor is a great site for seasoned as well as new authors to showcase their books, and to utilize its services. I particularly love the weekly generated mock up book banners, which I use on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. Thanks! And thank you for hosting me.