Charlotte_Lamb – The Romaniacs

With a flourish of my hat and a swirl of my cloak, I say welcome, welcome, welcome Elizabeth Moss, to Romaniac HQ, and congratulations on your debut Tudor novel, Wolf Bride. We have all sort of tasty treats for your delight – Celia’s famous chocolate cake, Hobnobs, strawberry milkshake – but what would a lady from the Tudor era be offered?

Thanks for the foody welcome. I’m not averse to some chocolate cake! But for a Tudor lady, I suppose some gingerbread might be offered, still warm from the oven, or a tasty egg custard or rice pudding liberally sprinkled with nutmeg.

Oo – I love rice pudding. We’ll go with that, shall we? I’ll put the order in.

I notice Wolf Bride has an interesting Twitter hashtag. Would you like to explain?

Yes, we’ve chosen #feelupthebodies as the Twitter hashtag for the whole LUST IN THE TUDOR COURT series. Since WOLF BRIDE has been likened to an unholy trinity of Hilary Mantel, Sylvia Day, and Fifty Shades author EL James, #feelupthebodies is just a little bookish fun to help people grasp what my book is about, i.e. sex in the Tudor court!

Please tell me more about the book.

It’s essentially a romance, but a highly erotic one, set against the decadent, intrigue-riddled last days of Anne Boleyn’s reign. The stern Lord Wolf comes to court to claim his promised bride, Eloise, one of Queen Anne’s young maids of honour. He’s a soldier, a bit rough in his manners but highly regarded by King Henry, and Eloise has no choice but to marry him. But that doesn’t mean she has to love him or even trust him. As her husband, Wolf holds absolute power over her, and Eloise knows it. Her vulnerable position as his wife is further brought home when Anne Boleyn is put on trial for adultery, and Eloise is summoned to give evidence …

I’m looking forward to reading Wolf Bride.

And what of Elizabeth Moss are you prepared to divulge?

I also write rather less steamy Tudor fiction as Victoria Lamb, and poetry and literary fiction as Jane Holland. This is no secret. But since my writing is very different as Elizabeth Moss, I try not to tangle the reins too much on social media. My late mother was the romantic novelist Charlotte Lamb, at whose prolific knee I first learned the word ‘hero’.

I currently live in Cornwall with my large family and spend too much time on Twitter! Readers can chat with me there as @ElizabethMoss1 or @VictoriaLamb1, as they prefer.

Which is your favourite genre a) to write, and b) to read?

For both reading and writing, Regency romance is my constant favourite amongst ‘grown-up’ fiction, and close behind that, children’s or teen fantasy fiction. I write the former as Elizabeth Moss and the latter as Victoria Lamb.

What’s next for you?

More LUST IN THE TUDOR COURT, of course! REBEL BRIDE is book two, and I’m partway through that now, only slightly knocked back by a current case of RSI. I’m a fast two-finger typist, so the dreaded pain does strike from time to time.

I hope the RSI settles down. As a writer with rheumatoid arthritis, I empathise.

Now for a few quick-fire questions:

Favourite Torchwood character? Captain Jack, natch.

Summer Nights or You’re the Only One That I Want? You’re the One.

‘Nanu Nanu’ or ‘You plonker, Rodney’? Rodders, every time.

Petticoat or slip? Petticoat. (See my Petticoat Club stories!!)

Tragedy or comedy? Tragedy. I find comedy harder to enjoy.

Pop or classical? Pop, pop, pop. I have no taste.

Cat or dog? Dog. Though I have both. And a bunny.

Chicken or beef? Chicken.

Henry VIII or Elizabeth I? Gloriana, of course! Henry VIII was a Bad Man.

Thank you so much for joining us today, and many congratulations on the release of Wolf Bride.