Elizabeth Camden's "The Lady of Bolton Hill"

Title: The Lady of Bolton Hill
Publisher: Bethany House

Cover blurb: Clara Endicott is beginning to make a name for herself as a journalist who is intent on exposing the dark side of industry. In the splendor of gilded age America, she soon finds herself face to face with the childhood sweetheart who is no longer the impoverished steel worker she once knew.
     Daniel Tremain has risen to become a powerful industry giant. He always idolized Clara, but when she writes an exposé about his company, her words trigger a series of events that threaten to destroy them both.

1) How did this story come to you?
When I was in college, I found myself paired with a complete stranger for a roommate. She was a worldly city-girl with a Brooklyn accent so think it was hard to understand her. I was tidy, she was messy. I was quiet, she had a laugh loud enough to be heard in the next county. We had absolutely nothing in common except we both adored an extremely obscure singer from Ireland (The Pogues, in case anyone is interested.) In an instant, all the differences were swept aside and we immediately bonded over a mutual love of a musician no one on this side of the Atlantic had heard of.
I drew upon that unlikely friendship to form the initial flare of attraction between Daniel and Clara. They have wildly divergent temperaments and upbringing, but they both adore the deeply romantic music of Frederic Chopin, and that bond serves as a foundation upon which a magnificent romance ultimately blossoms.

2) Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.
I’m afraid I made one mistake after another on my path to publication. I suppose my biggest problem is that I am an intense introvert, which means I have a real problem dragging myself out of the house to network. I assumed that writing groups were all about trading manuscripts and critiques. I didn’t think I needed support in terms of my writing, and I was probably right on that score. What I didn’t understand was that some decent networking could have shown me the ropes in landing the correct agent, targeting the right market, and avoiding a ton of mistakes on the business side of publication. It took me a while to figure out the process, but once the ball started rolling, things happened very quickly.

3) Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
a. My house is so crammed with books, I have a one-book-in, one-book-out policy. Sad, but necessary.
b. I am a spinach fanatic. I’ve made up recipes called Spinach Pie; Spinach Delight; Spinach Extravaganza, and my favorite, Spinach Meatballs.
c. My family calls the spinach recipes I make up “rabbit food” and won’t eat any of it, which leaves more for me!

4) What are you working on now and what's next for you?
My next book is The Rose of Winslow Street, slated for publication in early 2012. The setting is a small New England town in 1883. Into this peaceful, idyllic village comes a brash warrior from Romania, who storms into town with a wealth of mystery, long-buried secrets, and a heart as wide and deep as the Atlantic Ocean. He is a strong, fearsome man, but pretty quickly he develops a soft-spot for the heroine, which is a huge complication for him. It is hard to say more without delving into spoiler territory, so I’ll leave it at that for now.

5) Parting comments?
Just that I am thankful for the chance to be in this business. Reading novels was a huge part of my life, and if I can give back just a tiny fraction of the joy I have had from reading, I will be very grateful indeed. Thank you for the opportunity to help me get the word out!

6) Where can fans find you on the internet?
I blog at http://elizabethcamden.com/blog