Hey everyone! I’m so thrilled to have romance author Natalie Murray on the blog today. Her novel, Emmie and the Tudor King, releases on March 31st. You can pre-order it here. Without further ado, let’s get started on the interview!
What inspired your latest story?
Emmie and the Tudor King is a time travel romance set mostly in the sixteenth century Tudor period, and while I’ve long been obsessed with the neck-clutching Tudor era, the idea for this novel came to me in a dream. I basically was Emmie Grace in the dream: I was from the twenty-first century, but I had the ability to travel back and forth in time to the sixteenth century. It inspired me to write a story about a modern-day girl who falls in love with a capricious Tudor king, but I didn’t want him to be Henry VIII. I wanted to create a fictional Tudor king in a reimagining of the dynasty, but one who was inspired by a young Henry (Henry VIII wasn’t always the obese, grouchy king so many people think of – in his younger years, he was known to be incredibly handsome, athletic, and charismatic).
What is your writing process like?
I always start with an idea about how the book will end. From there, I work backwards and outline the plot, chapter by chapter. My plotting can get quite detailed, but once I begin writing, scenes and turning points often pour out of me that I didn’t plan on. Sometimes the characters want to take a different turn, and I always follow them, but the overall structure rarely changes. My ideal time to write is in the morning over a couple of cups of strong, hot coffee, usually in a café. I actually write better in noisy environments. I tend to run out of creative steam after a couple of hours, so after my morning writing sprint, the rest of my life and work takes over. It usually takes me just over a year to complete a historical novel, including the back-and-forth with my editor and the many drafts that need cleaning up!
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received for writing?
I think it was Elizabeth Gilbert who said (or repeated), ‘Done is better than good.’ I have come across multiple aspiring authors who have made a start on a piece of work, only to hide it in the drawer when they think it’s not good enough (because it’s the first draft, and first drafts are always hard and messy!). But if you keep going, however slowly, you will reach the end, leaving you with a complete story to play with and mold, which is when the writing starts to shine in amazing ways. You can learn a great deal of what you need to know simply by coming up with a solid story structure and putting all the words down onto the page. There is also nothing quite like writing the words ‘the end’—the feeling of achievement is incredible. So, just finish the book!
Who would you cast as the hero and heroine of your latest release?
Emmie Grace is a tricky one for me, but when I wrote her, I imagined a young Abbie Cornish. I also think Cailee Spaeny would make a fantastic Emmie! For Nick Tudor, I am one hundred percent committed to the Australian actor Louis Hunter. Not only is he an excellent actor with genuine gravitas (which one needs to play a Renaissance king!), but he looks so much like how I imagine King Nick.
Abbie Cornish:
Cailee Spaeny:
Louis Hunter:
Imagine that you are ninety years old, what advice would you give to your present self?
I would tell myself to chill the heck out! Ha. I thrive on work and feeling productive, and don’t get me wrong, I am good at protecting my downtime and I do rest, but sometimes I have to remind myself to just stop, breathe, and be present in the simple moments. As a person, I can get wound pretty tight, with multiple balls juggling in the air as I navigate being a mom and wife, keeping a house, running two businesses in two different countries, and being an author. I’m sure that ninety-year-old me would tell me to keep calm, not to take on too much, and to soak in every minute I get to spend with my precious children, husband and family, because I am so lucky to have them in my life.
About Natalie Murray
Natalie Murray is the author of Emmie and the Tudor King (March 31, 2021), Emmie and the Tudor Queen (July 28, 2021), and Emmie and the Tudor Throne (2022) from Midnight Tide Publishing. A fast-paced YA time-slip romance, the Hearts and Crowns trilogy follows an American high school girl to a reimagined Tudor England, where she meets a doomed, but utterly dreamy, Tudor king. The series has received acclaim from Foreword Reviews, YA Books Central, and popular YA authors Brigid Kemmerer (A Curse So Dark and Lonely) and CJ Flood (Infinite Sky), among others. You can visit Natalie at nataliemurrayauthor.com.
You can connect with Natalie on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
About Emmie and the Tudor King
“This book will grab you and won’t let go until you’ve reached the final page. And then it will leave you wanting more. You’ve been warned.”
–YA Books Central
“As satisfying as it is suspenseful…rich with raw emotion.”
-Foreword Reviews
“A swashbuckling, romantic adventure story about time travel and a love that spans four centuries, Emmie and the Tudor King is an absolute pleasure.”
-C.J. Flood, award-winning author of Infinite Sky and Nightwanderers
One moment, Emmie is writing her high school history paper; the next, she is lost in 16th century England, where she meets a dreamy Tudor king who vacillates from kissing her to ordering her execution.
Able to travel back to her own time but intensely drawn to King Nick and the mysterious death of his sister, Emmie finds herself solving the murder of a young princess and unraveling court secrets while trying to keep her head on her shoulders, literally.
With everything to lose, Emmie will come to face her biggest battle of all: How to cheat the path of history and keep her irresistible king, or lose him—and her heart—forever.
Order today on Amazon, Nook, Kobo, or Apple Books.
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