fiction saturdays: interview & contest w/ louise gouge

Louise is giving away a copy of her latest release At the Captain’s Command to one lucky person who comments on this blog post between now and Friday, April 15th. For a chance to win, you must comment on this blog post with your email address. To prevent trollers from accessing your address leave it in this format: yourname(at)email(dot)com

If you prefer not to leave your email but still want to participate, email me at preslaysa(dot)c(dot)williams(at)gmail(dot)com any time between April 9-15th.

Winners will be announced on April 23rd.

Now, for the interview…

I’m excited about having inspirational romance novelist Louise M. Gouge with us today. Louise writes historical novels for Love Inspired Historical fiction. Her latest book with Love Inspired, At the Captain’s Command, released this month.

 Welcome to The Literary Mama. Tell our readers a little about yourself.

Thanks so much for inviting me here, Preslaysa. I love your moniker The Literary Mama. As a writer, a mama of four, and a grandmamma of six, I feel right at home. I met my husband David in Denver forty-six years ago, and we married just twelve weeks later. A very short courtship but a very long romance! We’re empty-nesters now and still enjoy each other’s company. For us, it’s no cliché to say we’re best friends. He’s very supportive of my writing and often helps me with research.

 When did you get the writing bug…and when did you follow the call to write?

I’ve always had a very active imagination and, as a child, often entertained myself by creating stories. When I was a young mother, at a friend’s prompting, I began to write one of those stories and found it was great fun. I finished the novel and then went back to college to learn all I could about creative writing. After obtaining my degree, I began to attend writers’ conferences. An editor bought that first book and its sequel. I can’t imagine not having a story to tell or a book to write.

What is At the Captain’s Command about?

At the Captain’s Command tells the story of a heroic British naval captain, son of an influential earl, who dares to fall in love with a provincial American girl. Then he discovers her family’s devastating secret.

Loyal to the British Crown, orphaned Dinah Templeton has vowed never to marry a seafaring man, for her father died at sea and her merchant captain brother is always away. But when Captain Thomas Moberly sails into St. Augustine to defend the East Florida shores from American pirates, Dinah finds that her heart may overrule her head regarding this seafarer. Captain Thomas Moberly, captain of HMS Dauntless, has been assigned to capture the notorious American pirate Nighthawk, who plagues the Atlantic coast of East Florida. War-weary and hoping for a refreshing visit with his brother and sister, who live near St. Augustine, Thomas never expects to find love. But how can he resist the lovely Miss Templeton, even though she is what his father, Lord Bennington, would call a common American?

At the Captain’s Command is available at amazon.com, cbd.com, and Walmart.

If this novel were made into a movie, who would you like to play the hero and heroine?

Captain Thomas Moberly just happens to look exactly like Eddie Cibrian of CSI: Miami. What a great looking guy! And the lovely Naomi Watts would make a perfect Miss Dinah Templeton.

What type of research do you do for historical novels?

First, let me say that I love research. I love immersing myself in another time and place and social environment. I used to go directly to the locations of my stories, but these days it’s very easy to get much of what an author needs from the Internet. I can find out what springtime is like in Boston even in the middle of winter! Still, I had great fun going to St. Augustine (a two-hour drive from my home) and spending several days in the historical society library to research At the Captain’s Command and walking the streets of America’s Oldest City. That being said, I try very hard to capture life as it was in the time I’m writing about, such as the smells or sounds or sights my characters would have experienced. I make sure the true historical events I incorporate in my books are portrayed accurately and backed up by credible history resources. In other words, I don’t “bend” history to suit my plot. Even more important, I try to set up the correct social environment for my characters, for this often provides the greatest conflict and motivation for my hero and heroine.

 Do you have any other books coming up in the future?

Yes, I do. My novella, The Gentleman Takes a Bride, will be coming out in June 2011 in an anthology entitled The Wedding Season.

Here’s the blurb:

Surely Elizabeth Moberly was born to be a nobleman’s bride. She can’t possibly be attracted to the untitled stranger who interrupts her cousin’s wedding. Yet Elizabeth finds herself drawn to Philip Lindsey’s tender heart and strong faith. And if Philip has his way, he’ll convince Elizabeth the only title she needs is Mrs. Lindsey, beloved wife.

How can readers get in touch with you?

Come on over to my blog/website: http://blog.Louisemgouge.com. I’ll be glad to see you there.

Thanks for stopping by to visit to Louise.

Thank you again, Preslaysa.

Louise is giving away a copy of her latest release At the Captain’s Command to one lucky person who comments on this blog post between now and Friday, April 15th. For a chance to win, you must comment on this blog post with your email address. To prevent trollers from accessing your address leave it in this format: yourname(at)email(dot)com

If you prefer not to leave your email but still want to participate, email me at preslaysa(dot)c(dot)williams(at)gmail(dot)com any time between April 9-15th.

Winners will be announced on April 23rd.