Welcome to my website G. Jillian Stone. I’m honored to have you on as guest. Thanks for inviting me, Mason.

Why don’t you share with us the very exciting news you recently received. On March 25, early in the morning, I was getting ready to go to the dentist to have a temporary crown done. I answered the phone on the way out the door. It was the contest director of the RWA® calling to say THE YARD MAN had finaled in the Romantic Suspense category of Golden Heart.®

Who did you tell first? Haha! Besides my son, who heard the screaming when I set down the phone from the other room, I immediately e-mailed my crit partner, a.c. Mason, of course.

Where did you go immediate after? The dentist, of course. Life goes on, even though your brain is buzzing with happiness. Not an altogether bad way to sit in the dentist’s chair.

How did you decide to enter the contest? And what category to enter? Once again, haha! It was my crit partner, a.c. Mason, who convinced me to enter the Golden Heart. I didn’t want to enter.  First of all, even though THE YARD MAN had finaled in several contests last year, in the fall months the ms had been getting it’s butt kicked in the romance category and I wasn’t feeling all that confident. Around the time of the Golden Heart entry deadlines, I decided to try entering the RS category. I knew I had written a romantic suspense story but the historical setting had always thrown me when entering contests.

Are you planning to attend the award ceremony? Going to Nashville, baby!

What is the manuscript about?

Set in late Victorian London, THE YARD MAN is the first in a series of romantic suspense novels featuring a clever and wickedly sexy Scotland Yard detective, a love story and a suspense/thriller subplot.

Here’s the blurb:

Zeno Augustus Kennedy is part stoic gentleman, part adventurous Scotland Yard agent. Brilliant, troubled, and wildly uninhibited in bed, he is an enigma of the first order. Having lost his mistress, killed in a horrific blast perpetrated by Fenian dynamiters, Zeno has struggled for years to forgive himself for not preventing the bomb attack. Just as the memory of his explosive past begins to ease, the young widow Cassandra St. Cloud moves in next door.

After six months of marriage and nearly three years of mourning, Cassandra is more than ready to purge off her widow’s weeds and begin life anew. An artist by temperament as well as training, she is not only eager to paint again but entertains the idea of a romantic escapade, something discreet but rather daring. Having an amorous and famous detective for a neighbor proves to be more than tempting, especially when her affaire with Mr. Kennedy catapults them both into a perilous adventure.

Where did you get your inspiration for the story? I was knee deep in another historical romance novel, which was rapidly turning into a trilogy. After writing over 300,000 words with no end in sight, I was feeling a bit drained and overwhelmed. I needed a break from the ms. Having read and enjoyed Amanda Quick’s mystery/suspense, romance novels, I began thinking about something set in the late Victorian period. I didn’t want to do yet another variation on Sherlock Holmes, so I opted for Scotland Yard detectives (often portrayed in novels and film as bungling inspectors). I thought why not create a special branch of elite detectives and hook them up with feisty heroines?

Is it true that The Yard Men Series has two branches? Yeah, there is Special Branch and Secret Branch.

Tell me the unique attributes of each branch and the tone of the novels. The first novel, is romantic suspense and involves Special Branch detective, Zeno Kennedy. In that story, I introduce several other detectives, including Phaeton Black, an eccentric, somewhat troubled character who I instantly knew I wanted to develop into the dark hero of his own story. Since Phaeton is an occult detective I needed to create a new division of Scotland Yard called Secret Branch. These stories are darker and more erotic in tone and incorporate both suspense and paranormal elements.

Are there more Yard Men in the wings? And what branch do they work for and why?  Oh yes. I have another RS story called THE CARNAL SINS OF RAPHAEL, which involves Detective Rafe Lewis and an industrial tycoon’s daughter on the run from a crazed, maniacal killer who hates the new machine age and is determined to see anyone involved in modernization obliterated. What I love about this suspense tale is I have them on the run from the beginning to the very end of the story.

THE MISS EDUCATION OF DOCTOR EXTER is a story I am also excited to write. Reader’s first meet Doctor Exeter in Phaeton Black’s story, when he and Phaeton team up to solve the vampire murders (amongst other crimes). In THE MISS EDCUATION OF DOCTOR EXETER he solves a series of occult murders that come to involve his ward, Mia, (now fully grown up) who has begun to shapeshift into a Leopardess. As the dark mystery unfolds, Mia helps Doctor Exeter expose a strange, brilliant inventor bent on revenge. Together they defeat a small army of undead creatures and uncover a plot to eliminate every member of the British Royal Society. In the process, they also fall into a very heated, sexually charged romance.

Share with me your research techniques? How much do you do? As you know, I do a lot of research on the front end of every story. As I begin the writing process, I research details as I need them. I am a big believer in sprinkling in lots of authentic period details, which helps ground the characters as well as the reader into the world/time frame.

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? Very early on, I think I wanted to be a screenwriter or filmmaker. I went to art school and eventually fell into working as an advertising creative. I continued to take film school courses and ended up involved in a film production company (documentary projects, music videos and TV commercials). Finally, I figured out I was more than likely a storyteller and began to write down my stories. For the past year and a half, I have been working very hard at learning the finer points of fiction writing.

At what point do you feel you shifted your focus to your literary career? When Tony, my partner of ten years died of cancer, I went through a very important shift in priorities. I thought––no one knows how long they have on the planet. If you have stories to tell and you’d better get them told.

Who inspires you? People who are passionate about what they do.

What are you especially grateful for when it comes to your writing? I am grateful for all the support and encouragement I have received along the way. My crit group and wonderful crit partner (of course). I also want to recognize the creative risk-taker in me. It is not easy forging your own path in fiction writing, but I think it is critical to developing your voice as a writer.

Tell me something I don’t know about you? I have so many dark secrets I’m not sure which one to tell.

I like doing a speed round for others to get to know you. I’m going to list a few things and I want you to name your favorite.

Superhero? Doctor Who

Hero? Edward Sissorhands, Jack  Sparrow––Heathcliff. Obviously, I gravitate towards the eccentric, darker types.

Time Period? 1880––1910.

Historical Novel? SEA OF POPPIES, is a current favorite. The novel is set in British Raj India. Part of the research I am doing for my next historical novel.

Historical Film? A Room With A View (such a feel good movie) or Wuthering Heights, the BBC version with Tom Hardy. Yes, I know you love him too!

Thank you. That was great fun.

Is there something you’ve always wanted to be asked about a special talent, a pet, so on that you’d like to share with us. I have a horse named Bronson who I have owned since he was three years old. He has won many blue ribbons and buckles for me. He is smart and brave with an attitude––truly a hero.

What’s next for you? Two historicals in the works. One set in British Raj India at the turn of the century, tentatively titled FOREVER AND A DAY and another set during WWII Scotland called THE SHEEP INSPECTOR. Both are mainstream novels with romantic elements.

I wish you all the success G. Jillian Stone. Thank you for sharing with us your exciting experience as a 2010 Golden Heart Finalist for the Yard Man in the Romantic Suspense category.

Thank you, Mason, for the interview and all your support over the last year. You have truly

been a huge part of all this excitement and I would not be celebrating the Golden Heart final if you had not talked me into entering.

G. Jillian Stone can be found at the following places:

Website: http://gjillianstone.com
Blog: Mondays at http://ahistoryofromance.wordpress.com

Mason
a.c.Mason
Darkness ♀♂ Desires
www.acmason.com