Introducing...Minerva Spencer

Who is Minerva Spencer?

People are talking...

"Minerva Spencer's writing is sophisticated and wickedly witty. Dangerous is a delight from start to finish with swashbuckling action, scorching love scenes, and a coolly arrogant hero to die for. Spencer is my new auto-buy!" —New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Hoyt "Readers will love this lusty and unusual marriage of convenience story." —New York Times bestselling author Madeline Hunter "Smart, witty, graceful, sensual, elegant and gritty all at once. It has all of the meticulous attention to detail I love in Georgette Heyer, BUT WITH SEX!" —RITA-award winning author Jeffe Kennedy

Let's get to know Author Minerva Spencer

Where did you get the idea?

My heroine, Mia, was a minor character in another book and pretty much demanded
her own book. I really liked her playful, clever, and driven personality and
knew she would need a strong hero; somebody who was able to deal with her
scandalous past. Adam had been hanging out in the back of my mind for awhile and
I decided he was the perfect hero for Mia: a man with a dangerous reputation and
even more scandalous history!

What's the story behind the title? I'm terrible at two things when it comes to my books: character names and book titles. I usually just want to get on with the business of writing the book and ignore anything else. I named the books in this series, DANGEROUS, BARBAROUS, and SCANDALOUS. I felt sure they would get changed to something more descriptive, but my editor liked them! No spoiler, but tell us something we won't find out just by reading the book jacket.

Well, the cover just shows you a hot guy and pretty woman. But the book is about
second chances. My protagonists are older than the typical romance couple: she
is 32 and he is 37. They both have adult children and they've both had prior
marriages that have not been easy.

Tell us about your favourite character.

I LOVE Mia and Adam, but I'd have to say my favorite character is Martin
Bouchard. He is an escaped slave from New Orleans who has done well from
privateering and has an out-of-control personality. He has his own book in the
series and gets roles in all the other books.

If you could spend a day with one of your characters, who would it be and what would you do?

I'd love to go shopping with Mia. She has a zest for life and fun that even
seventeen years in a harem could not suppress.

Are your characters based on real people, or do they come from your imagination?

None of them are real people although there are characteristics that have come
from people I know. For example, Martin--who I mention above--is definitely a
lot like my father, who was a gruff, iconoclastic French-Canadian and had the
type of personality that attracted people in droves.

How long did you take to write this book?

This one came pretty easy--maybe a couple of months. But then I decided to
re-write the entire last quarter of the book. The second ending came out almost
perfect on first draft--almost like it wanted to be on the page.

What kind of research did you do for this book?

I always do tons of research and then use very little of it. This book takes
place in England, at sea, and in the port city of Oran, in modern Algeria. I
probably spent the most time researching sailing vessels and times and then just
ended up reaching out to author Bernard Cornwell to settle my questions. He told
me some good "rules of thumb" for calculating sailing times. Thanks Mr. Cornwell!!

What did you remove from this book during the editing process?

TONS. I type fast--over 100 wpm. With the exception of one book, I usually end
up with about 20,000 works to cut. I cut out extra characters and many scenes
that were good, but just unnecessary.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Pantser all the way. Sometimes I might just have a character, sometimes an
event, I never know. And then I sit down and see who shows up on the page. Some
characters tell their story and keep their distance, some seem to want to hang
around.

What is your favorite part of your writing process, and why?

That first rush of writing, when I can't type fast enough to get the story on
the page.

What is the most challenging part of your writing process, and why?

When I try and make characters do something they don't want to do. I know it
sounds weird, but sometimes I just can't force them to behave. Usually I let
them take me on a journey and then see if that works. Most of the time it does,
thankfully.

Can you share your writing routine?

I write 7 days a week from 7:30-2:30.

Have you ever gotten writer's block? If yes, how do you overcome it?

Not so much a block, but an inability to tell the real story. So then I end up
writing 20 pages and then cutting 20 pages.

If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

I only started writing 5 years ago, so it's not like I'm a really seasoned
writer when it comes to managing the ups and downs. I guess the thing I would
have liked to know off the bat was how to trust my judgement. But I think that
is something you can't know until you've screwed up a few times.

How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?

Hmmm. Well, I guess I've completed about 11 books and have another 10 or so that
are somewhere around the 50%-75% mark.

Do you have any writing quirks?

I don't like to listen to writing gurus/self-help speakers--people who try and
tell you how to write. Writing is very personal and I feel like somebody else
trying to impose their method on me just screws with my mojo. I REALLY enjoy
hearing about other writers' processes, however.

What did you do before you began writing fiction?

I was a college history teacher, criminal prosecutor, and B&B operator
before I began writing.

How did you get into writing?

I had just closed my B&B after 8 years and was really depressed. I hated
operating a B&B and felt drained after we closed it. My husband told me to
take a break and think about what I wanted to do. I got an idea for my first
book and then sat down and wrote it in about a month and a half. And I was hooked.

What do you like to do when you're not writing?

We still live in our B&B, so I have a huge 9 bedroom/10 bathroom/11
fireplace house that needs constant maintenance. Over the years I became an
expert on boilers, adobe, and dozens of other repairs. I spend a lot of time
fixing things…

Apart from novel writing, do you do any other kind(s) of writing?

Not anymore. I used to write legal documents when I was a lawyer, but I no
longer practice law.

Share something about you most people probably don't know.

I am an excellent roller skater and was asked years ago to join a roller derby
club. I declined--those women are mean!

Which book influenced you the most? This is a HARD question! I'll just say the book that immediately came to mind, Kurt Vonnegut's BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS. I know it is not his best, but it was the first of his I read. I was just blown away--and still am--by his writing and his mental process. What are you working on? I just finished book 4 in The Outcasts Series. The title is NOTORIOUS and it features a character you will meet in DANGEROUS-- Mia's son, Jibril. What's your favourite writing advice?

Just write. You can edit later.

Do you write in any other genres?

Yes, I've written a detective novel, a contemporary fantasy, and a science
fiction duology. I've also written a children's book which is being published by
crowdfunding.

The book you're currently reading THE PINK CARNATION by Lauren Willig. Here is a little teaser from DANGEROUS: "IN SHORT, SIR, I WOULD LIKE A MARRIAGE WITHOUT EMOTIONAL ENTANGLEMENT."

The marquess's eyebrows, his only expressive feature, crept up his forehead, as if he had a difficult time imagining something as foreign as an emotion—not to mention becoming entangled by one.

They took each other's measure before she broke the silence. "What of you, my lord? Why do you wish to marry? It does not sound as if your two experiences with marriage were felicitous." Mia did not mean to be cruel, but she needed to know what he wanted and why he was here tonight—a place he clearly wished not to be.

"I need an heir." His pupils flared until his eyes were almost black, as if he were imagining the process of getting an heir. With her.