Diana Rubino’s newest romance novel will be released in June 2009. Traveling Light is about historical preservation architect Leigh Halliday who is transported back in time by her latest project renovating a medieval castle. She lands in King Richard III’s bed in 1485 where she finds love with a dashing knight—along with some murder and mayhem..jpg)
Q: You’ve published 12 novels at this point, but tell us about how it all started.
A: I thought the way to publication would be to write short stories and get recognition that way, but my former journalism prof told me to forget that, and write a novel. The idea scared me to death, but he sent me titles of a bunch of ‘how to’ books, and I hunkered down and began. I quit my full time job, a bold move, and started the first draft of my first novel in 1981, at age 24.
Q: You have a particular interest in British history, but what genre(s) have you/would you write and why?
A: I love American history too, so I’ve written a few books set in the U.S.—Colonial, Civil War, turn of the century, Prohibition, and the early 1960s. I’ve also written a few paranormals—ghost novels and time travels. My latest is a chick lit vampire romance set on an Italian cruise ship.
Q: If you were going to write a non-fiction book, what would the title be? (this is my novelist’s version of the Barbara Walters’ special question of “If you were a tree what kind would you be?”)
A: I actually have a cookbook in the works, no title yet. I’d love to write a biography of Mayor Frank Hague of Jersey City, who was very good friends with my great grandmother in the 1930s. If only she’d kept a journal!
Q: Who is your favorite romance author? Who’s your favorite non-romance author, if any? What books are you reading these days?
A: I don’t have any one favorite, but there are authors whose books I’ll buy if their name is on them. That includes Doug Preston & Lincoln Child (they write great thrillers together), Barbara Erskine (very eerie paranormals set in Essex, England), and Bertrice Small. She never disappoints.
Q: Tell me your favorite “when I was doing research for this novel you wouldn’t believe what I did/what happened” story:
A: I was in England with my husband on a research trip, and I got us locked in Carisbrooke Castle after it closed. We squeezed through the locked gate to finally escape.
Q: How long, on average, does it take you to write a 100,000 word novel? What is your typical writing schedule like when you’re on deadline for a novel?
A: I give it a year, between research and writing. I’ve never had a deadline from a publisher, but I’d once sent an agent the first 3 chapters of my vampire romance. He said he’d like to see the entire ms., so I wrote 5000 words a day til it was finished. He later rejected it. Oh, well. But at least I know I’m capable of turning out 5,000 words a day. My usual output is 2,500 words a day.
Q: I know you’ve had a few, so please share your other fascinating jobs/careers. Do you, or will you ever, write full-time?
A: I own an engineering business with my husband, based in Cambridge. I quit my full time job at a brokerage house to write my first novel, and wrote full time for 7 years. But I wouldn’t want to write all day, every day, all the time. Our work from the business comes in spurts, which gives me time to write all day when it’s slow. But spending all day every day with no one but fictional characters drove me a little nuts.
Q: Anything else you’d like to share with readers that I haven’t asked?
A: I’d like to tell any aspiring authors who are frustrated that it’s taken them 3, 4, 5 or more years to get that first contract, remember, I wrote for 18 years before getting ‘the call’ so never give up! Keep believing, and keep the faith! And of course, keep writing, because you’ll only get better.
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