HRM Digital Premier

Caroline Warfield
Award winning author of historical romance usually set in the Regency
and Victorian eras, Caroline Warfield reckons she is on at least
her third act, happily working in an office surrounded by windows
where she lets her characters lead her to adventures in England and
the far-flung corners of the world. She nudges them to explore the
riskiest territory of all, the human heart.
Children of Empire Series, Books 1-2, Soul Mate Publishing 2016-17
The Unexpected Wife, Book3, July 2018, Soul Mate Publishing
Holiday in Bath, Mirror Press 2017
Lady Charlotte's Christmas Vigil, October 2017
Never Too Late, The Bluestocking Belles, November 2017
www.carolinewarfield.com
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A few months ago
I realized with pure stupefaction that my
most recent novel, Say No to the Duke, is my
30th novel! How could that possibly be true?
Back in 1999, I wrote my first novel, Potent
Pleasures, in order to pay off my student
loans, because my husband Alessandro felt
we had too much debt to have a second child.
I had such a limited plan! I just wanted to
write one book, be paid for it, and have a
baby.
A chat
with
award
winning
author,
Eloisa
James
Never mind the fact that all my
friends told me it couldn’t be done. How
could I write a romance? I’d never taken a single creative writing
class. My parents didn’t even let us watch TV as children; my
knowledge of pop culture was near zero. I was an assistant professor
teaching Shakespeare, and my husband and I had no extra
money. I certainly couldn’t join the Romance Writers of America
and ask for advice, or take a writing class either, for that matter.
But I was determined. Sometimes I think that is the defining
characteristic of my personality. (My husband might call me
‘stubborn’ instead!) I bought some romances at a used book store,
and I taught myself how to write a novel by studying them as if they
were Shakespeare plays. Then I sent my novel to agents…and six
months later I had a contract that was for slightly more money than
my student loans.
Need I say it? I got pregnant! Anna is about to start her
sophomore year of college.
That first contract wasn’t just for one novel, though: it was
for three. By the end of that contract, I had become a writer. I loved
creating worlds, meeting readers, seeing my books on shelves. I
joined the RWA. I started taking workshops in writing. I wanted
to write the best romances I possibly could. I wanted to hit the
New York Times bestseller list. My head was full of new ideas for
romances. I was hooked!
Readers are always asking me how I do it. How does one
write 30 novels, raise a family, and have a career as a Shakespeare
professor? The answer is determination. I don’t like hearing that
something is impossible. In grade school I told my best friend
Shannon that I was going to go to Harvard someday, as my father
had done. I’ve never forgotten her pitying look the following day
when she informed me that her family’s encyclopedia said that
Harvard was for men only. Trained by a feminist mother, I rallied
quickly and declared I was going, no matter what.
Luckily, her encyclopedia was out of date. But the lesson
I learned still applies. How many times have people told you that
you’ll never be able to do that? When I was a junior professor, the
chair of my English Department begged me never to let anyone
know that I was writing romances. “You’ll never get tenure,” he
predicted.
Here’s what I’d like to share with you, from the viewpoint
of 30 novels (and 31 comes out next spring!): Don’t listen to anyone
who says he or she knows you can’t do whatever it is you want to
do. You can find a way.
The chair of my English Department, all those years ago,
was certain that my academic career would be over if people found
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