Monday, May 30, 2011

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


16 comments:

  1. I love historical fiction and I look forward to reading your book. Thanks for doing the interview!

    Brandi
    vi2005@aol.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Please sign me up, I couldn't see the cover on this blog (the amazon box is just ticking an ad) so I went to amazon and it has a beautiful cover. Story sounds great.

    rmjagears AT gmail DOT com

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  3. This sounds very interesting. Thanks. ladyoftruefaith@cox.net

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  4. This sounds like my kind of book!!! And your spinach titles sound amazing...Please enter me for a chance to win. margieatmijaresdotnet

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  5. I'm very interested in your premise for The Lady of Bolton Hill and I've heard a lot of good things about it. Spinach meatballs? Sounds yummy, but I'm curious how you make them? I can see it mixed with ground turkey, but if not, will you share?

    I'd like to be in the drawing for this book. Thank you, ladies!
    Congratulations Elizabeth!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Please enter me! I'm a subscriber and a follower through gfc.

    I posted this to my blog: http://dancealertreads.blogspot.com/2011/05/k-dawn-byrd-author-register-to-win_5364.html

    dancealert at aol dot com

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  7. Would love to read your book! My husband and I are spinach lovers, also!!

    Please enter me in your drawing. Thank you!

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  8. Lady DragonKeeperJune 1, 2011 at 2:38 AM

    The book cover of "The Lady of Bolton Hill" is what first caught my attention. It is so gorgeous! I wonder what Ms. Camden thinks of it?

    Thanks for the chance to win!

    jafuchi7[at]hawaii[dot]edu

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks for everyone's kind comments about my book!

    As for the spinach recipes....there is a reason my family won't eat them! My spinach meatballs are meatless. I use pre-packaged chicken stuffing mix, frozen chopped spinach, a little parmesan cheese, and egg whites as a binder, then roll them into balls and bake them. I nibble on them as snacks, hot or cold. I was a single lady until well into my 30's.....one of the catastrophic side-effects of cooking for one is creating recipes that inedible by the rest of the human population. I am at my day job right now so don't have access to the complete recipe....but just about anything that comes out of my kitchen ought to carry a warning label!

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  10. So very much enjoyed this interview and the summary of the book sounds very interesting. count me in the drawing. rdg.rendezvous@gmail.com

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  11. Reading your interview I was reminded of one of my college roommates...very opposite of me but we are still friends to this day. All that sort of messiness aside, she is a dear friend. Thanks for the info on your book..it sounds like one I would enjoy.
    JFWisherd(at)aol(dot)com

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  12. I'd love to win this book. This sounds like my kind of book. Looking forward to reading it.

    Carol
    cgdinasia@yahoo.com

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  13. thanks for the chance to read this wonderful novel :)

    karenk
    kmkuka at yahoo dot com

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  14. A lady journalist in the Gilded Age sounds like a great story, I'd love to be entered for The Lady of Bolton Hill. Thanks!
    worthy2bpraised at gmail dot com

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  15. Very interesting interview. I must say I am not a Spinach fan! This book sounds like a good read. I would love to win a book from a new author to me.

    Thanks for the opportunity!

    judyjohn2004[at]yahoo[dot]com

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  16. The Spinach meatballs sound good to me, Elizabeth!

    Oh - another day and another mention of your book. I expect great success with it and can't wait to read it.

    ReplyDelete

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