Q & A with Carolyn Miller

*Today we welcome Carolyn Miller to my blog. Nice to have you stop by. Tell us about the book – can you share the blurb?

A Hero for Miss Hatherleigh is an inspirational historical romance, set in the south coast of England during the Regency period of English history (1811-1820).

Blurb:

Can a very proper noble lady find a future with a fossil-hunting man of faith?

As the daughter of Viscount Aynsley, Caroline Hatherleigh knows every rule of society—and she’s always followed them precisely. When she visits south Devonshire and encounters a fossil-hunting scientist and his sister, her assumptions about what is right are shaken. She is suddenly confronted by questions she has never considered about the importance of friendship and faith—and her comfortable understanding about how the world works is thrown off balance.

Gideon Kirby loves science, and hunting down proof of past lives is a joy he won’t willingly give up. But his scientific leanings are being challenged by both his personal beliefs and by local smugglers in the Devonshire countryside. And every day his sister’s illness is becoming more desperate and her care grows more demanding. Adding a proper Viscount’s daughter to the mix is a complication Gideon never expected—especially since he has a secret that demands he stays far away from this young woman he’s falling for in order to protect his beloved sister.

When a mysterious stranger visits the village, that secret is set to be exposed, no matter how Gideon fights. Then tragedy strikes in a smugglers cave. And the threat of scandal may lead to broken hearts and passionless propriety. Will the shaky bond these two have managed to build be strong enough to overcome their differences—or will the trust they’ve withheld from each other end up tearing three lives apart?

*Where do you get your inspiration for your books?

For A Hero for Miss Hatherleigh I was particularly inspired by Mary Anning, of whom it is reputed the tongue twister ‘she sells sea shells by the seashore’ was based on. But I didn’t want to write her story; Tracy Chevalier has already done that in the excellent Remarkable Creatures. So I wrote a story based in the south of England that referenced her and something of the fossil hunting mania in early 1800s England. With two sons, I suppose it was inevitable that I would eventually succumb to the world of dinosaurs!

For previous books I’ve been inspired in different ways. For my very first Regency, The Elusive Miss Ellison, I wanted to write a Pride and Prejudice-type story, but with some of the wit and humor of another of my favorite authors, Georgette Heyer. For my third published novel, The Dishonorable Miss DeLancey, I wanted to explore what life was like from the perspective of the ‘bad girl’ from The Elusive Miss Ellison, a point of view which readers told me they really appreciated.

In 2015 I was blessed with the opportunity to visit my sister who was living in England at the time, and we were able to visit the beautiful Georgian city of Bath. This led to my need to set a story there which included such iconic sites as the famous Baths, the Pump Room, and the Assembly Rooms, which I used for a pivotal masquerade scene in my novel Winning Miss Winthrop. On the same trip I was able to visit Derbyshire and Edinburgh, which led to other novels being set in these locations, such as Miss Serena’s Secret and The Making of Mrs. Hale. Visiting England from Australia requires almost a full day of travel in the air, so I was determined to make the most of it!

So I’m inspired by interesting historical tidbits I come across, and places I’ve visited, but also by what’s around me, whether it be family or church relationships, or personal challenges I face, such as dealing with unforgiveness or understanding God’s mercy and grace. There is so much in this world that can make for great stories!

*What's your key environment that helps you get to writing? Do you have a writer’s nook, corner, getaway? Where do you do your most productive writing?

I am very blessed to have a small room I use as my office. I find I write best when my children are at school and I’m at my desk with my resource books close at hand. My desk overlooks our backyard, so when our chickens are out free ranging on the grass I can check if they’re getting into my husband’s vegetable patch!

 *What are you saying in your book(s) that will encourage Christians today?

My books have been called ‘defiantly’ Christian, where Christian characters (and not-yet Christian characters) are faced with some of the real life issues experienced today, such as unforgiveness, gossip, trust, infertility, even adultery. My characters pray, read their Bibles, attend church, experience salvation, and wrestle with doing things God’s way, which readers tell me they enjoy as my books feel ‘real’. Readers write to tell me they’ve been inspired to remember God’s grace and to show that to others, which encourages me.

I could simply write ‘clean’ but I think the inclusion of overt Christian practices is important for Christian readers who, like me, struggle at times with living God’s way in an ungodly world. I think the thing that most encourages me is the number of non-Christian friends I have who read my books and experience a gentle ‘washing of the word’ as they read Bible verses and salvation prayers – which I hope and pray will lead to their salvation one day. So if Christians want to read a hope-filled, historically detailed romance, then I hope they’ll give my books a read!

*How do you pick names for your characters?

I’m a little bit fussy about my names, in that I want them to be historically accurate (so there are no Kylies or LaToyas in my books!) J I have several master lists of names that were popular during Regency times in England that are based on birth records and gravestones, which I use especially for first names. For surnames I will often use an atlas and base names on villages in the wider area of where I’m setting the book. Of course, with six books out, and another three releasing in 2019 I’m going to have to get even more creative with sourcing the names I use to avoid  double ups!

*How important are reviews to you?

I think it depends on the reviewer. Naturally I want positive reviews, especially from well-known bloggers and publications, and it was wonderful to recently receive a lovely review from Publisher’s Weekly, which called A Hero for Miss Hatherleigh “a winsome exploration of life, love and faith in Regency England.” Of course, my books have received some negative reviews, most often by people who seem to object to the Christian content (despite it being tagged as Christian fiction published by a Christian publisher).

I find that if I try to write according to the last review I’ve read then I can tend to waver and second guess my writing and lose my sense of purpose. I’ve learned it’s important to protect my headspace so I can write what I feel God wants me to. So apart from reading a few more well-known reviews, I tend to avoid reading them, and hope my fans will set the record straight for when those negative ones occur.

*Who are some of your favorite authors? What genre is your favorite? What books have you enjoyed lately?

I have always enjoyed Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer, who both write about the Regency period. Christian authors I enjoy include Francine Rivers, Lori Wick, Becky Wade, Kara Isaac, Carrie Turansky, Dee Henderson, Roseanna White, Susan May Warren, Courtney Walsh, Juliana Deering, Kaye Dacus – oh, too many to list!

I enjoy contemporary and historical romance, and don’t mind a little suspense / mystery either. 

Books I’ve recently enjoyed include (re)reading the Debra White Smith contemporary retellings of the Jane Austen novels, The Austen Escape by Katherine Reay, Just Look Up by Courtney Walsh, Grace in the Shadows by fellow Australian author (& missionary!) Christine Dillon and Out of the Cages by Aussie YA author Penny Jaye.

*Bio

Carolyn Miller lives in the beautiful Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, with her husband and four children. Together with her husband she has pastored a church for ten years, and worked as a public high school English and Learning and Support teacher. 

A longtime lover of romance, especially that of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer’s Regency era, Carolyn holds a BA in English Literature, and loves drawing readers into fictional worlds that show the truth of God’s grace in our lives. Her Regency novels include The Elusive Miss Ellison, The Captivating Lady Charlotte, The Dishonorable Miss DeLancey, Winning Miss Winthrop, Miss Serena's Secret, The Making of Mrs. Hale, and A Hero for Miss Hatherleigh, all available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Koorong, etc

*Links – social media and to buy

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A Hero for Miss Hatherleigh releases March 19, and is available to preorder at

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