Hi everyone,

This is Marie-Claude. Hope everyone in the US recovered from Thanksgiving. I’ll be on a carrot stick diet for a few more days I think. Today, I am pleased to welcome UK native Evonne Wareham. Evonne is quite a special finalist. She finaled twice!!!!! This year, she finaled in the American contest V with a romantic suspense, NEVER COMING HOME.

Before I interview her, let me announce another winner. Today we congratulate Sue A!!!! Way to go Sue. : )

And turning to Evonne now……

M-C: Now Evonne, you are quite a unique American Title finalist. In the whole history of this contest, you are the only one who ever finaled twice. How did it feel when you learned you had made it to the finals of American Title V?

Evonne: After a bit of squeaking, I think I made myself a cup of tea. Then I rang my mother, and one of the two friends who knew that I had entered, and emailed the other, who lives in France. Then I was going to post to let my fellow Title Magicians, the other finalists from American Title IV know. I hadn’t told them I had entered for the second time, but Mel had already seen the finalist list and posted to ask if there was something I wanted to tell them.

M-C: You have a lot more experience than us with this and it is true that we, Title V finalists ask you a lot of questions about the contest logistics. How did the final changed things in your writing life?

Evonne: It’s given me a lot less time to write – which is exactly what happened last year. You are so busy, first with the entry for RT and then with publicity for the contest, writing takes a back seat. Since this is my second final. I’m thrilled and excited and incredibly grateful to Dorchester for picking my manuscript from the pile for a second time.

I’ve found that since last year, editors in particular have been much more responsive to my submissions, and although I did not achieve publication after ATIV, I have much more of a feeling that it is only a matter of time. I hope I am not delusional.

M-C: I am sure you’re not, I bet there are many good things coming along for you very soon!!! Can you tell us a little about NEVER COMING HOME?

Evonne: Kaz Elmore’s four year old daughter died in a car crash, while on an access visit to her father, in the US. Now, six months later, a man turns up on Kaz’s doorstep in London, to offer his condolences. His account of what happened at the crash site differs wildly from what Kaz got from her ex husband. She needs to find her ex, to discover what really happened to her daughter. Devlin, the stranger, seems to be the only one willing to help her. She doesn’t know his motives, but she need his skills – the attraction between them is a complications she really doesn’t need.

M-C: This looks like a very powerful story. How did you get the idea?

Evonne: I really don’t know where this one came from. I usually get fragments, perhaps a scene, or a snatch of dialogue in my head, then after a while it comes together and I know what the story will be. I don’t remember the process in this case, but that must have been what happened.

M-C: In what style or tone is this story written?

Evonne: Fast paced, dark, unsettling, wry humor, classically romantic in places.

M-C: An interesting series of characteristics. How do they translate in the book?

Evonne: NEVER COMING HOME is the darkest thing I have ever written. When I was editing it, I was surprised how dark it was in places. Whatever I write, my aim is for it to be a page turner, so I always have a voice in my head saying, faster pace, faster pace. I’m quite a sentimental romantic at heart, and as parts of the book are set in Italy, I indulged myself with a few classic moments – the walk along the Ponte Veccio at dusk, the drink in a little corner bar, the intimate dinner for two. The perfect setting, that a girl dreams about when she’s falling in love. Kaz has been through a pretty rough time, I though she deserved a little romance. It’s a new thing for Devlin, and it was fun to find out that he was a secret romantic too.

M-C: You seems to have a bit of both. The dark side and then the sweet romance to balance it out. Do you know why you write this way?

Evonne: I can’t account for the dark side coming to the fore, but I do always like the injections of pure romance – the sort of things that real lovers do. I make no bones about the fact that what I write is escapism, meant to entertain, but I want to feel that my characters are grounded and real, that they have the same hopes and fears and dreams as the reader, except theirs are more extreme, because of the pressure I’m putting them under.

M-C: How does your story fit with our American title V finalist Love Conquers theme?

Evonne: Devlin has a very nasty past. He worked for the government, in a branch of the security services that no one acknowledges exits. The one that does all the really dirty jobs. And he was good at it. He’s done things that he will never talk about. He has trouble believing that any woman can accept what he has been. He’s never been in love and he doesn’t know if he can do it. Kaz has learned the hard way that she has to be independent and she’s extremely cautious about following her instincts over Devlin. She can’t understand why she trusts him, particularly when she gets a small glimpse of the world he once inhabited. Love is what makes it possible for them to get beyond all that. I know that after the end of the book they are going to make a success of a new life together, even though it will sometimes be tough.

M-C: You said you had a very fast pace.

Evonne: I hope that it’s fast. It’s also quite complex, and I hope the reader won’t see the twists and turns coming.

M-C: And what sort of heroine is Kaz?

Evonne: She’s a very practical woman. Life has thrown her a pretty raw deal, but she knows that she has to pick herself up and get on with it. She’s quite self aware. She knows that her upbringing, and her parents’ bohemian lifestyle, have left her with insecurities and that she overcompensates by looking for stability. That’s part of Devlin’s attraction, no sane woman would expect him to stick around and set up house. Kaz has the chance to prove that she’s got past all that too. That she can have a fling that is only about sex, with a complete hunk. Except Devlin isn’t behaving the way he’s meant to behave. And neither is her heart.

M-C: And Devlin, what sort of hero is he?

Evonne: He’s an alpha, because of what he used to be, but it is so much part of him that it’s no longer a big deal. That makes him quite laid back, able to accept Kaz’s independence. He sees her unconscious vulnerability and her bravery and it touches him in a way he’s never experienced before. Kaz comes into his life when something is changing in him – he’s getting protective impulses that he finds deeply unsettling. He’s wrong footed and he neither likes nor understands it.

M-C: What kind of villain do you have?

Evonne: Luce is something out of a nightmare – Devlin’s nightmare, if he ever admitted to having them. They used to be in the same line of work, but now Luce has gone far beyond the dark side. And he has a score to settle with Devlin.

M-C: What do you think readers will get from the book?

Evonne: I hope they would get an unputdownable read.

M-C: Unputdownable , what a great word. I never heard that said before. You taught me something new today Evonne! Do you have any more writing projects?

Evonne: I’m currently working on a Victorian gothic – for fun while the contest is on, although it’s not getting along very fast. I have another project in development for a contemporary romance, a real tear jerker, and I’m doing on and off research for a cozy crime series that I hope to write one day, set in London. I’m inventing a whole new network of streets in Chelsea, and every so often I write a bit more to the descriptions of the locations and store it in a huge folder.

M-C: You are very busy and have a great imagination! Where on the web can we find you?

Evonne: You can find me at http://titlemagic.blogspot.com which is a site I share with finalists from American Title IV.

M-C: You will be back on Thursday to interview a character from NEVER COMING HOME. Who did you choose and why?

Evonne: I’m talking to Suzanne, Kaz’s mother. She’s had an interesting life. She was an international model in the swinging sixties, and then the muse and mistress of a famous artist. She was thrilled to be asked to recount some of her memories.

M-C: An international model from the sixties! Can’t wait, sounds like a lot of fun.

Thank you so much for coming today Evonne and answering my questions. Thank you Sylvia for letting us come today to your blog.

To everyone, don’t forget to return on Thursday for a fascinating interview conducted by Evonne and please leave her a comment today for your chance to win! There are still prizes left!

Have a wonderful Monday!

Marie-Claude Bourque

www.mcbourque.com

Tags: american title, contest, dorchester, publishing, romantic times

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