A Conversation with Jude Deveraux, Author of Scarlet Nights

You’ve written several other historical romance novels. Did any of your previous books inspire this story? Are there more books to come in the Edilean family series?

In the past, I wrote a series about two families, but I found that limiting, so I decided to create a town. I came up with seven founding families, showed their personalities and interests in Days of Gold, then carried them forward. Yes, I plan to write lots more books set in Edilean. I truly and deeply love my characters.

I want to write about other characters in the town besides those from the founding families. I want to see how they feel about living in a town that’s run by families that have lived there for centuries.

Who is your favorite character in the story and why? Do you think this is Mike’s story more so than any other character’s? Why or why not?

I think Mike’s life changed the most. He was a very lonely man, but he didn’t know it. His sister, Tess, did and she fought to give him a life, but Mike didn’t know what he was missing.

But I also think Sara’s life changed. She was devastated by the loss of Brian, the man she loved. She had her entire life planned out, knew where she was going and with whom, then zap! it was all taken from her in an instant. It took away her sense of self. I think maybe she felt that all she deserved was a man like Greg.

How did you come to be a writer? What is your background, and who are your influences?

I write because I have stories running around in my head. I never dreamed of being a “writer” per se. I just wanted to put the stories in my mind onto paper. I haven’t changed. I still have characters in my thoughts, and I want to find out what happened to them. I want to hear them talk and see what they do if they are in a certain situation.

Describe the journey you took while writing this book. How many hours of research did you have to do in order to capture the spirit of the Southern town? Is Edilean based on your hometown? Was there any character that you spent more time researching than the others?

Edilean isn’t based on any particular small U.S. town but all of them. As for the research, I spent many, many hours on it. My good friend Detective Charlie Stack helped me with all of it. He directed me to books and websites and he answered all my questions, whether I asked about martial arts or economic crimes.

I spent more of the time learning about the types of fraud that people like my fictional Mitzi committed than I did anything else. It was fascinating to me how women like her work.

You have been praised by Romantic Times magazine as an author who “has always enchanted readers” and who “instinctively knows what every woman is searching for—her own knight in shining armor.” Was your goal to have Sara find her “knight in shining armor”? Do you think this is a correct assessment of what your books aim to do?

I like for my people to find True Love—and that’s not always easy. I have started writing several books in which the hero and heroine disliked each other so much that I discarded the book. It’s okay if they think they hate one another but feel physical attraction, but if there’s nothing between them, then I can’t work with it.

As for Sara, she deeply and truly needed someone to rescue her. I don’t think she realized—but the town did—that she was heading down into a deep depression, one that she probably wouldn’t have recovered from. Even if Greg Anders weren’t a criminal, the truth was that he didn’t need Sara. Mike did. Sara gave him a home and a future. They were perfect together.

Why did you decide to tell the story from both Mike’s and Sara’s points of view? What effect do you think this has on the story overall?

Sometimes I need for a character not to know what’s going on in the story, so I write in first person. In Scarlet Nights there was so much going on that I had to keep the reader informed of every change and every secret. When I was first plotting the book, I thought of telling the story just from Sara’s point of view. What Mike was doing and why would be kept a secret, but when I tried that, he came off as a jerk. He was sneaking into the apartment, then staying there even when Sara told him to leave. It didn’t work! I changed it all and told the reader everything upfront. Sara was the one who didn’t know what was going on, not the reader.

Did any real-life criminals inspire the characters of Greg Anders and his mother?

Yes, they did. In fact, everything I wrote about Mitzi and Greg is the truth, based on real cases.

You have a remarkable talent for capturing the description of Southern life, especially the food and the landscape. Was it difficult to bring the South to life? Do you write more from experience or imagination?

I just write about Edilean as I see the town and the people. Since I am Southern, I describe what I know.

I have a passion for old houses, so it’s been fun to find houses that fit my people, then have them walk around inside. If I use an old house as the model, I like to imagine how the residents over the years would have remodeled it. I always have a thick stack of photos of the house, the facade, the floor plan, and the setting. Merlin’s Farm has been the most interesting because there’s so much to it. I have many pages of photos of that place, as it’s based on an actual plantation.

Who is your favorite author? Who are you reading now? What is next for you?

I don’t really have a favorite author. The truth is that I read very little fiction. I read a lot of nonfiction for my research. I have several TV shows that I watch, as I think it’s good for me to keep up with current slang and what’s going on in the world. I also watch a lot of movies and I have favorite DVDs that I play often.