Happy Friday!
Today I’m chatting with romance author, Heather Hiestand, whose historical romance, HIS WICKED SMILE, made its way into the world this week (Kensington Books; May 1)! Heather’s Redcakes series unites two of her loves — historical fiction and desserts — in the form of a family owned bake shop that caters to some impressive customers. (Hint: the queen.)
Joining the first two books in the series (Marquess of Cake; Taste of Scandal), HIS WICKED SMILE introduces readers to Gawain, a character who is not satisfied with his place in the Redcake’s company. Instead he is determined to earn his own fortune and land the lady of his dreams. But, as we know, life is full of surprises and Gawain’s journey leads him to a healer, who changes the course of just about everything he has ever known.
It’s been such a treat to work with Heather again and I hope you enjoy our conversation about favorite recipes, creating strong leading ladies, and what keeps this busy busy author motivated!
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Congrats on your release of His Wicked Smile! Do you get just as pumped for the release of a third book in a trilogy as you do for the first?
I’m so excited that I’ve pre-ordered my own copies from Amazon just in case the ones from Kensington don’t show up on release day! I have to say I have yet to break myself from reading reviews of my books, so it’s been terribly exciting to see positive comments about my heroine—my first foray into a multicultural heroine in historical romance—and about the book overall. My first ever Library Journal review has everyone in my publishing team excited, too.
I love the concept of the Redcakes series. Historical fiction and yummy sweets rolled into one? It’s so fun that you incorporated your love of baking into the series. Did you set out to write this kind of historical series at first or did the bakery concept come later?
I watched A LOT of Food Network when my son was small. He was that kind of baby who whined or cried constantly unless there was background noise. At the time several cake shows were on, and it seeped into my consciousness until my series concept was born. I came to the Victorian period through steampunk, which I wrote for a couple of years. One of those stories, under my pen name Anh Leod, had renewed life in the bestselling anthology “Bring on the Heat.”
What’s your favorite baking recipe? Have you ever thought about opening up your own shop?
My favorite recipe has to be for the classic chocolate chip cookie. Toll House, of course, or the Pamela’s Baking & Pancake Mix one for the gluten free version. I did once want to open up my own tea shop, about twenty years ago, but my entrepreneurial dreams took another direction. These days, being a writer is a business in itself, and that’s enough for me.
Let’s talk motivation. His Wicked Smile is out now, in September, you are releasing another book called The Kidnapped Bride AND you recently released a sexy contemporary under your pen name. How do you balance it all? What keeps you interested in a project?
Some projects get half written and then are put aside for one reason or another. Tempting Josie (a new release under my Anh Leod name) was one of those, due to research I needed to do on undercover ops for my FBI hero. So then, over time, interest rebuilds until I have to finish the story. I fell into a really happy place with my Redcakes world and the ideas just flow. The Kidnapped Bride had to be written so I could finish the story of Lady Elizabeth Shield, who runs away at the start of His Wicked Smile and whose fate is a mystery throughout that novel. Then, of course, I had to write my first full-length, full-on, Christmas novel. I kept coming back to the holidays in the Redcakes series, and my editor, Peter Senftleben at Kensington, was kind enough to allow me to write Christmas Delights, which is Lewis’s story. Lewis is the most beloved secondary character among my readers, so I was thrilled to be able to write a novel featuring him. I also got to play with a fairy tale and a secondary romance in that one – my most complex novel yet.
I know you dug into some research for His Wicked Smile, but how much of your writing process includes researching because you primarily write historical fiction? Do you base some of your characters on real figures? Do you ever feel hindered by certain historical events?
No one in the Redcakes series is coming from real life except for Queen Victoria on a couple of occasions. I try to keep my stories mostly realistic in terms of the setting. My characters may be outliers, but the world should be a recognizably late Victorian one. As a recent reviewer said, I’m writing standard romance, not historical fiction. And I love it! I’m such a sucker for the enduring tropes of romantic commercial fiction. Marriage of convenience? Yes! Secret babies? Bring them on! However, I am always forcing myself to read nonfiction, to keep up on research. Sometimes it is easier to digest than other times, though. And you can never know everything, so mistakes get made. I’m always thrilled when my new research corrects a problem in a work in progress. Of course, sometimes sources contradict each other too. It’s history, after all. No one living today remembers the 1880s.
You’ve created a cast of eclectic ladies in your Redcakes series – Alys (Marquess of Cake) is completely focused on her career in the bakery, Magdalene (Taste of a Scandal) devotes her time to her family, and now, Ann (His Wicked Smile) is a widow and an Indian healer. None of these ladies fit under the “damsel in distress” category. What’s the key to creating multi-dimensional characters in your historical fiction books? Keeping them strong but also ensuring they are open to love and romance?
I have to give everyone an interesting story, even the most minor characters. It’s a blessing and a curse, depending on who my reader is. Because I know I need to keep my setting (such as the bakery) reasonably consistent, my characters from one book to the next have to be very different, or each book would sound the same as the last. So I really try to bring varied types of people to the table as love interests. Alys is a main character for the series, being the original Redcake, so Magdalene, Ann, Elizabeth and Victoria (the series heroines so far), all have to be in contrast to her. I think my heroines are pretty distressed, or there wouldn’t be a story to tell. Fiction is conflict after all. But, the keys to fixing things are in their own personalities. Given the Victorian period, finding a good husband was a huge priority, so it’s easy to bring love into the mix.
Is there something you would like to see done more in the historical genre? Setting? Time period?
I can totally understand why the Regency period is a constant source of interest. The personalities of the age, the war, the lifestyle, all are utterly fascinating. But I do love it when authors dig a little deeper into history and vary their eras. I’m a bookworm and I’ll read about any historical period. I’ve dug into other ethnicities in both of my two new releases. I have a Hispanic hero in Tempting Josie and a half-Indian heroine in His Wicked Smile. It is a challenge to be authentic but I’d love to see more of those kinds of characters as well. Lastly, I love seeing stories that are about more than aristocrats.
Are there any writers that have been completely knocking your socks off lately? Do you read a lot of historical fiction on your own or do you like to cleanse your palette with another genre?
I took a class recently through Coursera on historical fiction (vs historical romance) and that had me reading more widely. I loved it. Some authors I’ve read recently, across genres, who excited me were Brenda Novak, Julie Ann Long, William Shaw, Michelle Willingham, C.M. Stunich, Olivia Cunning, Yangsze Chou, and Katherine Howe. I can never stick with one genre.
Thanks for chatting with me today, Heather! Before we go, let us know what we can expect to see from you soon!
I’m working on proposals right now, so I’m not sure what comes next after Christmas Delights, which will be out in late autumn. Watch this space for updates… Thank you for interviewing me, Estelle!
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For more on Heather: Website | Twitter | Facebook
His Wicked Smile is part of the REDCAKES series + can be found on Amazon | B&N | Kensington Books
