We're talking books today with Jill Limber, author of the historical romance novel, Montana Morning.
Jill is a multi-published author and former RWA President whose books include Montana Morning, A Heart That Dares and The Right Track. Jill resides in San Diego with her husband and a trio of dogs and one very ancient cat. Jill's favorite pastime is to gather with friends and family for good food, conversation and plenty of laughter.
We asked Jill about her new book, how she came up with the idea and why she chose historical romance to write.
Q. Thank you for this interview, Jill. Can we begin by having you tell us why you chose to write historical fiction?
I have loved history since I was a child. Living museums were my favorite part of any vacation and I read a lot of children's books about historical events and historical figures. I majored in history in college, so it was a natural to write historical romance.
Q. Did you outline before you wrote your book or did you just go with the flow?
I did plot the book with an outline—more of a detailed synopsis, really. I'm one of those writers who needs to know where a plot is headed.
Q. Who was your favorite character in Montana Morning and why?
Without a doubt, Katherine. Montana Morning is really her story. Wes is the hero, but he is along for the ride.
Q. Who was your least favorite character?
Well that would be the bad guy, Denty. But I have to admit, there is a lot of fun in writing a villain.
Q. Can you tell us about the setting and why you chose it?
I knew I wanted to set it in the western part of the United States, and it needed to be a remote location without a lot of civilization. Montana was perfect. Life is tough there and the people that made it were a hardy bunch of pioneers.
Q. What was the hardest part to write?
I had to do a lot of research about day-to-day life. Where the characters would obtain their goods, where the railroads ran, what types of crops were grown in the area.Old dairies were great because the women who wrote them really gave me idea of what their daily life was like. They wrote a lot about caring for their families and social gatherings.
Q. What was the inspiration behind the story? Where were you when you came up with the idea?
I do love a marriage of convince story, and of course this works best with historical romance. I was reading a story about the orphan trains that took orphans from the eastern cities to the west, and it came from that.
Q. Do you plan on writing more novels?
Absolutely. I'm finishing one right now that takes place in Buffalo New York in 1888. The title is The Ungovernable Governess, and it is a fish-out-of-water story about a woman from Alabama who is forced to go to New York for a position taking care of a wealthy family's children.
Q. Thank you for this interview, Jill. Can you tell us where we can find out more about you and your wonderful new book?
Just go to the Boroughs Publishing Group website – http://www.BoroughsPublishinngGroup.com. It's all there!
You can visit Jill's website at www.JillLimber.com.
