Author Interview – CST Harding
· Who is your favorite character to write, and why is that person your favorite? If picking a favorite character would be like picking a favorite child, which character seems to be the most demanding or your attention and detail as a writer?
I am probably in love with “Harry” – Henrietta Jones. She is unique, at least to me, and an interesting mix of contradictions: difficult and stubborn, yet generous; mischievous but mature; an innocent child one moment but then wise and intuitive with a desperate drive to succeed. I seem to have little control over her. She is wild and unmanageable, and does what she wants in spite of the author. All I can do is to remove the words that are not hers.
· Describe your writing process. Do you outline, plot and plan, or is your writing more organic?
I write to see what happens. There has to be an idea and a plot outline, but as the characters develop, the story emerges around them. I am their author but also a reader who is curious to understand the actors and all their little secrets. And whether they succeed. Of course they do, but I am always intrigued to see what happens, and I am often surprised! Occasionally they do something I don’t like or expect, but they insist.
· Tell us what you enjoy most about writing your genre.
The process of creating an entire universe, with fascinating larger-than-life characters who experience crises and seize opportunities, who rise above challenges, fall in love, and achieve the impossible. I love making them real, slowly building up their thoughts and emotions, until they take over. I love making them find their destiny. What can be better than creating your own world?
· What have you found to be most challenging about writing in your genre?
How much there is to learn. I learnt early on to be my own most brutal critic and cut out everything that is not totally essential. Sometimes there was nothing left! I can still write a perfectly crafted paragraph which is lifeless, or something which is technically awful but mesmerising, and I don’t know why. Good writing contains a lot of hard work, but the best writing also contains an inexplicable magic.
· Do you identify with your main character or did you create a character that is your opposite?
Neither, but I do base some female characters on women I have known, and I shamelessly steal some facet or foible, perhaps an approach to mischief, or the way they laugh, or the way they react to ridiculous situations. I made the mistake of explaining to some friends that a part of them is in the book, and they all want to know more. But I can never tell them.
· Describe the book in 10 words or less for people who are just learning about it.
Wild mischievous girl saves the country, and a boy from himself. (eleven!)
· Is there anything you would like people to take away from your book?
Just enjoyment. And perhaps a wistful smile… But secretly I also want them to empathise with the characters, to find them loveable and real with chemistry that makes them laugh, and perhaps to cry at the end. I don’t care about the plot. That is merely insane.
· What has been the toughest criticism you have received as an author? What has been the best compliment?
Best compliment… “loved the real chemistry between the hero and heroine.” Toughest criticsm… “couldn’t finish”. That hurts. I mean it really hurts!
· What is your favorite line from your book?
Am I allowed more than one? This is when hero and heroine first meet…
“How dare he, she thought with fury, but sneaked another look, just to check how awful he was!His nose was bent, broken in some fight, balanced with bright blue eyes to drown in or seduce, and a wicked smile that was just beastly.”
And this sums up Harry’s rebellious nature…
“I sir am no gentleman, perhaps you are not very clear, you swine? Is there a law that says women are forbidden to fight duels? I thought not!”
And finally to show that she is slightly mad…
” She scowled at his nose, just where it bent. Perhaps it did not need to be re-broken… Perhaps if she knelt on it…or those braces dentists used. Or a metal hook…”
· To date, what is your favorite (or most difficult) chapter you have ever written?
The last. I think it brilliant, but I am possibly biased. Every loose thread had to be woven to a satisfying conclusion. Every character had to resolve. I ended up rewriting it several times. I was rather pleased at the end, and even shed a little tear.
·
Title: Henrietta Jones: The Boy with the Broken Nose
Author: CST Harding
Wild and unmanageable, “Harry” runs away to buy a horseless carriage and a pair of red buttoned up boots. She instantly dislikes an arrogant American, and when she can’t intimidate him, she falls in love with his automobile, needles him, taunts him, flaunts her ice maiden look until he is driven mad, and then plots to straighten his nose
The first Henrietta Jones was blessed with a daughter who has grown up to be more extreme and full of the devil than anyone else in Victorian England. After being ridiculously trained to cheat at life and kill men with two fingers she rebels. She’s had enough. But somebody wants Joshua dead. She discovers a murderous scheme to destroy England, and upsets the beautiful but brutal red-lipped cigarette-smoking Magda von Uxhuell-GIllenband, who tries to seduce Joshua and then tries to kill him. She postpones plans to turn wild, to unravel automobile murders, a deadly secret treaty, and save a stupid boy. She seems to be England’s top spy but nobody has told her. She becomes a brilliant detective but steals the evidence. She enters the first London to Brighton Automobile Race, and fights a femme fatale in the last duel in Hyde Park.
Only Harry can save the country from chaos, but can Joshua stand the pace?
And how will she fix that infuriating broken nose!
About the Author
CST Harding grew up on the western slopes of the Malvern Hills, and then experimented with computers and banking before settling down to write novels about outrageous women in Victorian England.
He spends his time split between Sevenoaks and Bath, where he does much of his writing on a narrowboat with the help of the odd glass of wine.
History has always been his first love. He took a degree in archaeology, and has travelled widely with a particular fascination for historical sites. A high spot was Everest Base-camp.
His other love is romance and has always preferred heroines with attitude. He became an author partly to write about rebellious girls who can change the world in outrageous plots, and women who can burn a path through life and hang the consequences.
For more information see https://cstharding.com or on Facebook under cstharding. He loves feedback which helps with future novels, and will reply to all communications.
