Exclusive interview with novelist Laura Lee Guhrke and a review of her new romance novel  about finding love after rejection‭ *** ‬3‭ ‬stars

By Gabrielle Pantera‭

Wedding of the Season, romance rekindled

HOLLYWOOD,‭ ‬CA‭ (Hollywood Today) ‬10/24/2011‭ ‬-‭ ‬“Being rejected is one of those things we can all relate to,‭ ‬and it‭’‬s a big part of romance,‭ ‬but it‭’‬s seldom explored in a romance novel except as background information,‭”‬ says Wedding of the Season‭ ‬author Laura Lee Guhrke.‭ ‬“I wanted to tell stories about what happens to people after they‭’‬ve been rejected,‭ ‬and what they do to find love.‭ ‬That‭’‬s how the‭ ‬Abandoned at the Altar‭ ‬trilogy began.‭”

Wedding of the Season‭ ‬unfolds in the beginning of the Edwardian era,‭ ‬not your typical‭ ‬romance story set in the Regency.‭ ‬Guhrke takes time to develop the era as an integral part of the story.‭ ‬We get to‭ ‬know‭ ‬the characters‭ ‬and see them grow.‭ ‬They don‭’‬t jump right into bed as happens in many romance novels.‭

Lady Beatrix Danbury always knew she was destined to marry William Mallory.‭ ‬However,‭ ‬when he gets the opportunity to live his dream and become an archaeologist she refuses to‭ ‬go with‭ ‬him‭ ‬to‭ ‬ Egypt.‭ ‬The wedding is called off.‭ ‬When he returns six years later he‭’‬s a duke,‭ ‬and Beatrix is on the verge of marrying another.‭ ‬Will is‭ ‬only back home to raise funds‭ ‬for his continued‭ ‬search for Tutankhamen.‭ ‬Will Beatrix stay‭ ‬in England or will he‭ ‬reignite her sense of adventure‭ ‬and get her‭ ‬to marry him and come with him to Egypt‭?

“I wrote‭ ‬Wedding of the Season,‭ ‬Scandal of the Year,‭ ‬and Trouble at the Wedding in a much shorter time frame than I am comfortable with,‭ ‬and for the past year and a half,‭ ‬my life has been super-crazy,‭”‬ says Guhrke.‭ ‬“It‭’‬s hard to maintain that sort of intensity while keeping sane and enjoying time with your family.‭ ‬But I wrote these books faster than I‭’‬ve ever written before.‭ ‬My editor says that they represent some of my best work,‭ ‬so that was very gratifying to hear.‭”

“It‭’‬s hard to say when the idea came to me,‭”‬ says Gulrke.‭ ‬“Book ideas are usually very‭ ‬nebulous and vague at first,‭ ‬and they take shape as I write.‭  ‬As for‭ ‬Wedding of the Season specifically,‭ ‬all I knew at first was that the heroine had a motorcar.‭ ‬I‭’‬ve always wanted to write a heroine with a car.‭ ‬And I liked doing it so much,‭ ‬I gave a car to all my heroines.‭”

“While I was writing‭ ‬Wedding of the Season,‭ ‬the secondary characters of that book came to life in my head as fully formed as the main ones,‭”‬ says Guhrke.‭ ‬“That scared me a little because you never want secondary characters to take over.‭ ‬So,‭ ‬I took those two secondary characters and told their story in the second book,‭ ‬Scandal of the Year.‭”‬

“The couples in both books came to me very vividly,‭ ‬and I don‭’‬t usually have such strong ideas about secondary characters until I am actually writing their story,‭”‬ says Guhrke.‭ ‬“Unfortunately,‭ ‬that did not happen with the third book of the series,‭ ‬Trouble at the Wedding.‭ ‬I didn‭’‬t have either character figured out for that book until I was nearly finished.‭”

Glurke says she didn‭’‬t need to do much research of documents,‭ ‬but she did study certain divorce cases in articles from The New York Times.‭ ‬The heroine of‭ ‬Scandal of the Year is divorced.‭ ‬She discovered English divorce law is complicated,‭ ‬that it took more research.‭ ‬She studied Edwardian beach wear and motoring outfits,‭ ‬which she found hilarious.

‭“‬For sheer visual deliciousness,‭ ‬I also watched the entire first season of‭ ‬Downton Abbey,‭”‬ says Guhrke.‭ ‬“Any historical romance reader needs to watch that show.‭ ‬It‭’‬s a fantastic slice of Edwardian life.‭ ‬Some might quibble about certain details,‭ ‬but oh my gosh,‭ ‬I think it‭’‬s drool-worthy.‭ ‬The clothes.‭ ‬The house.‭ ‬The servants.‭ ‬Maggie Smith.‭ ‬For a romance writer,‭ ‬what‭’‬s not to love‭?‬” The popular BBC mini-series is recently premiered in America on PBS Masterpiece.

Gulkre says she enjoys reading a lot of fiction set in that period,‭ ‬not historical romances but books contemporary to that time.‭ ‬“A lot of Oscar Wilde,‭ ‬Edith Wharton,‭ ‬and E.M.‭ ‬Forster.‭ ‬It really helps to read works of the period you‭’‬re writing in.‭”

Erika Tsang is Guhrke‭’‬s editor at Avon.‭ ‬“She‭’‬s been my editor since I joined Avon,‭ ‬and I love her,‭”‬ says Gulrke.‭ ‬“In fact,‭ ‬I‭’‬m very happy at Avon.‭ ‬They‭’‬ve been very supportive of me always.Erika and I have worked together for eleven books now,‭ ‬and we have our process pretty well defined.‭ ‬She knows when to say,‭ ‬whoa,‭ ‬where are you going with this,‭ ‬but she also trusts my creative instincts.‭”

“When I first came to Avon,‭ ‬I had to write the standard three chapters and synopsis for approval,‭”‬ says Gulrke.‭ ‬“I hate‭ ‬writing a synopsis because I‭’‬m not the sort of author who outlines.‭ ‬I‭’‬m very seat-of-the-pants.‭ ‬Until I put the actual scenes on paper,‭ ‬I have no idea what I‭’‬m doing except at a very instinctual level.‭ ‬About five or six books ago,‭ ‬I asked Erika if I had to write a synopsis for the next one,‭ ‬and she said,‭ ‬‘Why write a synopsis‭? ‬You never follow it anyway.‭’‬ That‭’‬s why I love Erika.‭ ‬She understands me.‭”

Gulrke met Tsang after she bought her first book for Avon,‭ ‬Guilty Pleasures.Guhrke says her biggest challenge is devising a title that editorial,‭ ‬sales and herself are all happy with.

Guhrke says she found her agent the way most published authors do.‭ ‬She asked her fellow writers,‭ ‬culled names,‭ ‬made calls,‭ ‬wrote letters,‭ ‬and did interviews.‭  ‬Gulrke‭’‬s agent is Steve Axelrod,‭ ‬of the Axelrod Agency.‭ ‬“He‭’‬s the best agent I‭’‬ve ever worked with,‭ ‬and I‭’‬ve had several.‭ ‬He‭’‬s amazing.‭ ‬In my opinion,‭ ‬the success of an agent-writer relationship is based on the author being clear in her own head of what she does and does not want,‭ ‬and finding an agent that suits those goals and ideas.‭”

Guhrke says she hopes her novel will be adapted for film,‭ ‬but that it‭’‬s less likely with historical because period drama is so costly to make.

Laura Lee Gulrke‭ ‬is a The New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of fifteen historical romances.‭ ‬She‭’‬s received many awards including a RITA Award for romance fiction writing.‭ ‬She spent seven years in advertising,‭ ‬had a successful catering business,‭ ‬and managed a construction company before making a career of writing novels.‭

Wedding of the Season‭ ‬by Laura Lee Guhrke
Mass Market Paperback,‭ ‬384‭ ‬pages,‭ ‬Publisher:‭ ‬Avon‭; ‬Original edition‭ (‬December‭ ‬28,‭ ‬2010‭)‬,
Language:‭ ‬English,‭ ‬ISBN:‭ ‬9780061963155‭ ‬$7.99