Hillary Fields hasn't wasted any time establishing herself as a
woman of letters. Just a year after she received her bachelor's degree in
classics and philosophy from St. John's College in 1997, she had a short story of
hers nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Since then, she's published two novels,
The Maiden's Revenge and Marrying Jezebel, with a third, Heart
of a Lion, set for release in the fall of 2001. After reading about her in the
New York Times, I tracked down her website and ended up sending
her a series of questions via email.
RH: When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?
HF: I think I started to write my first book when I was about
8 years old. In fact, I know I did, because found it in a drawer
recently, and it began, "Hi, I'm Hillary. I am 8 years old..." I've
always been a big reader with too much imagination, and I've
discovered a great way to make my fantasies come true through
fiction.
RH: You've had experience--and success--with "more literary"
aspects of writing. Why do you choose to work in the romance field?
HF: Well, I'm a big fan of romance from way back. I started
reading historicals when I was in the 7th grade, and was hooked
right away. Despite the fact that I enjoy other kinds of literature,
romance is especially close to my heart because it focuses on
emotions and their resolution as much or more than on external
conflicts, so as a reader, you can truly identify with the heroes and
heroines better than in other kinds of fiction. Also, as a closet
sentimentalist, I really just enjoy reading about love!
RH: Are there aspects of writing romance that you particularly
enjoy? Any aspects that present occasional problems for you?
HF: I love writing dialogue, snapping comments back and forth
between my characters, because it's always such a surprise to see
what they say! Sometimes they fight, sometimes they insult one
another, and occasionally, they even burst out crying. People in love
will do that.
I especially love when my characters act unexpectedly, because then
it's just like reading a great story, not simply setting it down on
paper. Still, that can present problems when a scene won't go the
way it's planned, thereby messing up what you've got in mind for
the next several chapters. I guess you can't plan for everything!
RH: What draws you to a particular story or setting for a novel?
HF: I am a fan of history, having taken classes on Ancient
Egypt, Greece, Rome, and so forth since I was a kid. For my next
novel, Heart of a Lion, the inspiration came from a course I
took on the Crusades at NYU several years ago. When I learned
about the rigors of crusading for ordinary people, and heard the
story of the Children's Crusade in particular, I began to wonder how I
would have handled that situation. From there, I began to construct
a heroine who did just that, and a hero who would match her.
Similarly with my previous two books, I looked at times in history I
was particularly attracted to, and began to create an adventure that
appealed to me. I love pirates and archaeologists, so my first two
heroines became my means of living out those fantasies. I think in
future, I may try out being an astronaut, or a policewoman, or a
painter...
RH: So it sounds like you're not planning to stay in historical
romances for the rest of your career.
HF: Not at all - I'd love to write a contemporary romance! In
fact, I have a great idea currently buzzing around my brain for a
book about a rock star and the "square" business mogul she falls in
love with (against her will, of course). Additionally, I might be
interested in time-travel romance, or even paranormals. There are
so many juicy story possibilities in those genres.
I'd also love to work on a series of literary short stories, or even
branch out into non-fiction at some point.
RH: Let's talk a bit about the feminist qualities of your
protagonists. They're strong, ambitious women, but they also have
their romantic sides...
HF: People tell me the heroines of my novels are unusual. I
don't think so. I see examples of similarly strong women throughout
history and everywhere I look around me in the world today as well.
I like to think they mirror the struggle of today's women to
accomplish their goals, and if they are side-tracked by the more
emotional portion of their natures when they encounter their heroes,
it is part of learning how to be a whole, completed person.
One cannot live on work alone - or on vengeance, as my pirate
heroine Lynnette learns, or even on commitment to a promise, as
Jezebel finds out in my second book. Right now, as I work on my
third historical, my heroine Isabeau is discovering that the promises
of childhood don't fade with time or with the changes in one's
destiny. She is learning to trust another human being for the first
time in her life.
In general, I like to bring both hero and heroine into an
understanding that true fulfillment cannot be acheived alone, that
there is something greater than either of them. It means that, unlike
what happens in a lot of romance novels, neither the hero nor the
heroine must compromise to be with the other - instead, they learn
to become even more themselves by being with each other.
RH: Who are your favorite romance writers? Favorites in other
fields?
HF: In romance, I began by reading Valerie Sherwood, Jude
Devereux, Johanna Lindsay, and Judith McNaught, but my absolute
favorites are Sharon & Tom Curtis, a husband and wife team who
sometimes write under the name Laura London.
In fantasy, I'd have to say J.R.R. Tolkien is one of my favorites, (I
have a tattoo on my shoulder adapted from one of his drawings, so
that should give you some idea of my admiration), I also love Neal
Stephenson, Tim Powers, Mercedes Lackey, and Douglas Adams. Oh,
and of course, Anne McCaffrey and Marion Zimmer-Bradley.
The list goes on and on, from Jane Austen to Vladimir Nabokov, to
J.D. Salinger and Louis de Bergeries!
RH: As a romance writer, do you feel like part of a "community,"
whether it's among other writers, or among writers and fans?
HF: Yes, very much so. I'm a part of several e-mail lists,
Romance Writers of America chapters, and so forth. This is one of
the most supportive writing genres around, I believe. Possibly
because our fans read so voraciously, we're really not in competition
with one another, and thus are able to help each other out. The level
of advice and aid you receive depends only upon your own
involvement in these groups.
Last November, I attended my first Romantic Times convention in
Houston--wow, what a blast! From costume parties to posing with
cover-models, we had so much fun I needed a week to recover! And
at last, I finally got to meet some fans. It was so gratifying to know
I'd made an impression on others through my writing. I doubt
I'll ever forget the first time a woman walked up to me and told me she'd loved
my books. Hopefully, in future, I'll get a chance to meet more fans!
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