Author Interview with Tamara Gill

I'd like to welcome Tamara Gill, author of A Stolen Season, to the blog today for a short interview.

What made you decide to starting writing – and why romance?

I started to write romance after walking past some books in a shop and a novel, with the most beautiful Empire style gown caught my eye. I bought the book, which happened to be a Stephanie Laurens novel. Wow. Fell instantly in love with the Cynsters and my love of romance novels was born. After that, stories of my own started to form in my mind, and I decided to write some of them down. It was the beginning of my own romance with writing, which will be a life-long love.

If you could visit any period in time when would that be?

The Regency period would have to be my favorite period in time. And it’s not because of what wars were won and lost in that time, who was on the English throne, or because of the scandals Lord Byron was causing, but because of the gowns. Since seeing the Empire style gown for the first time, I wanted to know what period had dresses like that. It all comes down to the fashion I’m afraid. 

Do you find it difficult to write across several romance genres?  How do you get your mind to change gears?

I write across different genres, and I hope I do it well. I don’t find it difficult, but I do check facts when writing in historical periods, but not before starting the book, I do it during. I like writing across different time periods as it never leaves me bored. There is always something new to explore, different speech colloquialisms to use and of course, the hero’s are products of their time, so it makes for interesting conflicts with the heroine.

As a fan of historical sites – what are a few of your favorites?

I’m a huge fan of historical places. I love history and all its gory glory. My favorite place in all the world is the Tower of London. There’s something about that place that calls my name. Every time I’m in England I have to visit the site. Maybe it’s because the crown jewels are housed there. *grin*

Are there any popular historical shows that you just have to watch?  I’m currently addicted to Reign about Mary Queen of Scots.

I love Reign, in fact, I had to ban myself from watching it all the time as I was getting no writing done. I also love historical movies, Jane Austen ones especially. Outlander is a given, I’d marry Sam Heughan…oops I mean, Jamie tomorrow. The White Queen miniseries was fantastic, and I loved the play of families that show portrayed, and not always favourably either. If it’s an historical movie, of any era, I’m there.

Quickfire Questions.

Tomboy or girly girl?

I’m an Aussie. I’m a bit of both.

Cats, dogs or something else?

Cats

Leather or lace?

Lace

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Title: A Stolen Season
Release Date: February 23, 2015

Archaeologist Sarah Baxter just broke one of the biggest rules of time travel: leaving a piece of 21st-century equipment in 19th century Regency England. Unfortunately, when she goes back to retrieve it, she makes an even bigger mess of things—resulting in the death of an English earl. Now his brother is not only out for revenge, but he also has Sarah's device. Which means an entirely different approach.

It doesn't occur to the new Earl of Earnston that his charming acquaintance is responsible for his brother's death. He is merely swept away by a passion that threatens his very reputation. Yet he gets the distinct impression that Miss Baxter is hiding something from him. Now Sarah must find a way to steal back her device, hide the truth about the earl's brother and—most importantly—to not fall in love...

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About the Author:

Tamara is an Australian author who grew up in an old mining town in country South Australia, where her love of history was founded. So much so, she made her darling husband travel to the UK for their honeymoon, where she dragged him from one historical monument and castle to another. A mother of three, her two little gentleman's in the making, a future Lady (she hopes) and a part-time job keep her busy in the real world, but whenever she gets a moment's peace she loves to write romance novels in an array of genres, including regency, medieval and paranormal. Tamara loves hearing from readers and writers alike. You can contact her through her website, and sign up to follow her blog or newsletter.

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More on Tamara Gill

Jasmyn's Review of A Stolen Season

ARC Review: A Stolen Season by Tamara Gill

Title: A Stolen Season
Author: Tamara Gill
Source: NetGalley
Genre: Time Travel Romance
Length: Novel
Release Date: February 23, 2015
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Rating - 4
Sexual - 3

One small mistake in the past will change everything about her future...
Archaeologist Sarah Baxter just broke one of the biggest rules of time travel: leaving a piece of 21st¬century equipment in 19th century Regency England. Unfortunately, when she goes back to retrieve it, she makes an even bigger mess of things—resulting in the death of an English Earl. Now his brother is not only out for revenge, but he also has Sarah's device. Which means an entirely different approach is needed. It doesn't occur to the new Earl of Earnston that his charming acquaintance is responsible for his brother's death. He is merely swept away by a passion that threatens his very reputation. Yet he gets the distinct impression that Miss Baxter is hiding something from him. Now Sarah must find a way to steal back her device, hide the truth about the earl's brother and—most importantly— not fall in love...

Time-travel can be hard to write.  Especially when the time-travel changes present day situations.  Tamara Gill did an amazing job with the small details on this one.  While most of the story does take place in the past - one of the most moving scenes is actually in the present between Sarah and her father.  It was written beautifully and really helped make the story what it is.

Sarah has really managed to make a mess of things - and she continues to do so.  Even though she really only has the best intentions, she seems to have a gift of messing up the past.  When she finds herself falling in love with Eric instead of just trying to retrieve a modern day artifact from him, she knows that she's in trouble.  But they just can't seem to stay away from each other!  Events seemed to just spiral out of their control and it just reminded me so much of real life.

The past was brought to life beautifully.  I loved the people and even Sarah's small mistakes and how the ton reacted to them.  She seemed to make quite a few minor mistakes every day - but Eric just found them endearing (a trait I loved about him).  They were a very fun couple to watch and complimented each other amazingly.  This is the way a time-travel romance is supposed to be.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

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