1--What is the title of your latest release?
TO SWOON AND TO SPAR – it’s the fourth book in my Regency Vows series.
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
A woman saddled with an unwanted husband decides to stage an elaborate haunting at their country house in Cornwall, to scare him away to London so that she might enjoy some peace and quiet. Unsurprisingly, not all goes according to plan.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
Cornwall has always been one of my favorite parts of the UK, and I’ve been wanting to write a book set there for a while; given the (allegedly) haunted house that plays such a key role in this book, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to make the setting a remote seaside cliff in Cornwall, to really make the vibes atmospheric.
4--Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?
I’d love to hang out with my heroine, Jane, because she’s incredibly smart and determined, but she’s very shy, and her shyness comes off as grumpiness and standoffishness to newcomers, so I’d have to slowly wear her down and convince her to open up to me. I’m confident I’d win her over eventually, though!
5--What are three words that describe your hero?
Penvale, the hero, is best described as determined, thoughtful, and perhaps a bit stubborn.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I needed an animal that could convincingly mimic the sound of a human baby (a weird thing to need, I know!) and while I eventually went with a cat, I learned that foxes are very good at this!
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I wait until I’m done to edit – I write extremely fast drafts and then usually do an initial round of edits as a full re-write from start to finish, incorporating in changes as I go, and then another couple of rounds of edits after that.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
I would happily eat ice cream 365 days a year, including in the dead of winter (and I live in Maine, so I do not say this lightly).
9--Describe your writing space/office!
I have a tiny little writing nook underneath the staircase in my living room, and I love it – I’ve wallpapered the walls there, and I have a beautiful piece of art I commissioned of all the characters in my series hanging on a wall, and the desk I write at is one my grandma gave me that’s actually a Victorian-era antique! It’s a great vibe for writing historical romance.
10--Who is an author you admire?
I think Julie Anne Long is an absolute genius – her Pennyroyal Green and Palace of Rogues series are some of the best historical romances in existence, in my opinion, and I learn something about writing from every book of hers that I read.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
Ten Things I Love About You by Julia Quinn is the book that turned me into a romance reader, and I guess I owe my entire career to it!
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)
For this particular book, I’d already written the first three books in the series, and we were waiting to see if my publisher was going to pick up the last two in a two-book deal. I felt fairly confident, but was still nervous about it, because there are never guarantees in publishing! I’d taken the train down to Boston for the day and was sitting in North Station, eating a cannoli, waiting for my train back home to Maine, when my agent called with the news. It made for the happiest train ride of my life.
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
I read a lot of historical romance, unsurprisingly, but I also love historical mysteries, so long as they’re not too grisly. Deanna Raybourn’s books are a particular favorite.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
It’s probably a three-way tie between The Princess Bride, The Philadelphia Story, and the 1994 Little Women.
15--What is your favorite season?
Fall! By a landslide!
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Answer: With a fancy cocktail! All the other details can change year-to-year, but the cocktail is pretty consistent.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I just finished an advance copy of Cat Sebastian’s next historical romance, We Could Be So Good, and it’s great – it’s a queer romance set in 1950s New York, and I loved it. It comes out in June!
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
I love Italian food, but my favorite vacation I’ve ever gone on in terms of food was a trip to Morocco! The food was incredible.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
Travel, ice skating (very poorly), play tennis (even more poorly).
20--What can readers expect from you next?
I’m writing the fifth and final book in my Regency Vows series now – it will be out in 2024, and it’s a second-chance romance that I’ve been waiting literally years to write. I can’t wait to share it with readers!
The Regency Vows #4
A Novel
The Regency Vows series that is “sure to delight Bridgerton fans” (USA TODAY) returns with this story about a viscount and his irascible new wife who hopes to chase her husband from their shared home so that she can finally get some peace and quiet—only to find that his company is not as onerous as she thought.
Viscount Penvale has been working for years to buy back his ancestral home, Trethwick Abbey, from his estranged uncle. And so he’s thrilled when his uncle announces that he is ready to sell but with one major caveat—Penvale must marry his uncle’s ward, Jane Spencer.
When the two meet in London, neither is terribly impressed. Penvale finds Jane headstrong and sharp-tongued. Jane finds him cold and aloof. Nevertheless, they agree to a marriage in name only and return to the estate. There, Jane enlists her housekeeper for a scheme: to stage a haunting so that Penvale will return to London, leaving her to do as she pleases at Trethwick Abbey. But Penvale is not as easily scared as his uncle and as their time together increases, Jane realizes that she might not mind her husband’s company all that much.
With her trademark “arch sense of humor and a marvelously witty voice” (Entertainment Weekly), Martha Waters crafts another delightful romp for all historical romance fans.
Romance Historical [Atria, On Sale: April 11, 2023, Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781668007907 / eISBN: 9781668007914]
Martha Waters was born and raised in sunny South Florida and is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her lifelong love of England and romantic comedies inspired the writing of To Have and to Hoax, which is her first novel. She is a children’s librarian in North Carolina, and loves sundresses, gin cocktails, and traveling.
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