Interview With Author Hazel Hatman
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
This is my debut novel but it is the first of a series of five novels. I also have a couple of other standalone novels written, that I need to get around to finishing the edits on so I can release them.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My book is The Darcy Dilemma. Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice focussed on class, with the upstart Lizzie marrying above her social grade. More than two hundred years after Miss Austen’s death, I was amazed to find class is still the greatest determinator of someone’s life, more than disability, race or gender. And the best way to move up a class level, is to marry well. So I thought what might P&P look like if Miss Austen were writing today? I took her cast of characters, a money-troubled gentlewoman and her suitors, a clergyman, a soldier, a ne’er-do-well and a well-bred rich man and let them go…
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I am eminently distractable so need to be comfortable and warm. This winter I’ve found wearing cashmere fingerless gloves and shrouding my feet in pure wool walking socks essential.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
The great Jane Austen, obviously, but also lots of romance authors like Diana Gabaldon and her Outlander series, Lucy Score (Riley Thorn and the Dead Guy Next Door was hilarious), R S Grey (check out Hotshot Doc), and the talented Emily Henry (Beach Read). Helen Hoang, Sally Thorne and fellow Brit, Beth O’Leary also had an impact.
What are you working on now?
The follow-up to The Darcy Dilemma, Hindsight. It features Eleanor’s sister, Jasmine. Jasmine always strives to do what is right, but then her righteousness costs her the love of her life. Years later, when they meet again, Jasmine realises she still loves him but he seems to have moved on.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My website www.hazelhatman.com will always have the latest information on my books.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep going. When you can’t seem to finish the book, when you get those first edits back and the page is drowning in red, when no agents respond to your submission letters, just keep going.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
‘Marry me,’ from my husband
What are you reading now?
Santa Maybe by Mary Jayne Baker. I was ill over Christmas so am still trying to catch up on my holiday reading.
What’s next for you as a writer?
So much to do. Finish the Larkford Series of 5 books, get around to editing my standalone books and in the back of my mind is a soft crime series.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling
How to Stay Alive: The Ultimate Survival Guide for Any Situation by Bear Grylls
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