Mr. Romain: I’m married to Theresa Romain, author of romance novels set during the Regency (1811-1820). Her debut, SEASON FOR TEMPTATION, was published last month.
Mr. Romain: I studied music and history in college, and I’ve played the French horn professionally for years. But that’s a hobby at this point. My career is in technology. I develop products for a manufacturer of data storage products (like external hard drives).
Mr. Romain: We met when we were both graduate students in history. I was studying in the TA office—a small room shared by several graduate teaching assistants—when she stopped by to visit another TA. I thought she was cute so I kept glancing up from my book to check her out. Unfortunately, she thought I was glaring at her.
After she left I asked the other TA about her. I suspected (and hoped) that word of my interest would get back to Theresa. Sure enough: a few days later Theresa stopped by the office pretending to look for her friend. In reality, she knew I’d be the only one there. We talked for a while and realized that we were both fascinating people, 🙂 so we made plans to go out.
A few days later we had our first date. We played trivia in a bar, and she wowed me with her knowledge of the bones in the human body. That’s when I started to wonder if she was the one. But I knew she was THE ONE a couple months later when I was helping her study for a class. The fact that we could make each other laugh with Civil War-themed jokes made it clear I had found someone truly unique and ideally suited for me.
Mr. Romain: I was at work. She called to tell me the news, and I was thrilled for her because I knew this is the career she wanted and that was a big step towards that goal. But there was still a lot of uncertainty, too, since we didn’t know what the terms of the contract would be and she didn’t yet have an agent. Over the next few weeks she got an agent and the contract was negotiated, and each of those moments seemed almost as significant as the THE CALL itself.
Mr. Romain: I think James, the hero of SEASON FOR TEMPTATION, is more like me than not, but he wasn’t modeled after me. What I like about James is that he acts realistically and with good intentions. In some romances, the conflict seems contrived, or could easily be resolved by open communication. In SEASON FOR TEMPTATION, James behaves the only way he can given his situation, his sense of honor, and the expectations of Regency society.
Mr. Romain: “A” on the first date. “B” on the second date. No further explanation will be forthcoming.
Mr. Romain: I think of playing catch with our young daughter, Little Miss R. And basketball. I’m a big fan of college basketball and always make at least two brackets for the NCAA tournament (hedging my bets).
Mr. Romain: About three years, I guess. That’s when she first revealed her Top Secret work in progress (she wrote about ¼ of the book before she told me anything about it) and her ambitions for a bold new career choice. I was surprised, but after I read what she’d written I knew she’d be a great success and encouraged her to go for it.
My advice is to be encouraging without offering unsolicited advice. If she asks you to read her work, you should do it. And don’t delay. Offer constructive suggestions if you can, but be aware that even a gentle comment could easily be misconstrued as criticism, so tread carefully. An author’s work is deeply personal, so it’s hard for them not to be a little sensitive about it.
If she’s under a deadline, leave her alone.
Mr. Romain: Well, (smirk), you know, (wink), research is an important part of writing a novel. (Nudge, nudge.)
Mr. DiPasqua: LOL … Which character in your wife’s books would she say most resembles you and/or your personality?
Mr. Romain: She would probably say mostly James.
Mr. Romain: Her first book was not a novel, but a biography of a silent film actress. Theresa loves old movies and is extremely knowledgeable about them.
Also, she can lick her own elbows even though that’s supposed to be impossible.
Mr. Romain: I thought SEASON FOR TEMPTATION was funny and smart, and I’m hardly the target audience. (Have you seen how pink the cover is?) The book has gotten some great reviews, too, so I’m not the only one who loved it.
Here’s the back cover copy:
Mr. Romain: And here are some of those great reviews I mentioned:
Mr. Romain: We recently learned that Theresa’s second book was accepted for publication. It’s called SEASON FOR SURRENDER and will come out in October 2012.
Order SEASON FOR TEMPTATION: Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Indiebound • Powell’s
Giving away a signed copy of Theresa Romain’s historical romance debut, SEASON FOR TEMPTATION. (open WORLDWIDE!)RULES:
To win you must:
1. Ask a question or leave a meaningful comment.
2. You MUST be a follower/subscriber of Lila DiPasqua’s blog (through Google Friend Connect).
3. Must be at least 18 years of age.
4. Winner will be selected at random on SUNDAY November 6, 2011.
Mr. DiPasqua: Thanks again for chatting with me, Mr. Romain! Okay folks, see you all next month! Now let’s hear your questions or comments. 🙂
Good morning Mr. D. and Mr. R.
Congrats Theresa on your Debut release of Season For Temptation.
It sounds like a very enjoyable read and I’m looking forward to reading it.You sound like a very supportive husband and that’s one of the wonderful traits all the Romance husbands seem to have in abundance. 🙂
Thanks for sharing.
Carol L
Lucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com
Congrats on Theresa’s books! I’d never thought to even try to lick my elbows… `
I love reading these interviews. It is fun to see the husband’s perspective. He sounds so supportive. Thanks
I am a subscriber in google reader.
debby236 at gmail dot com
This is my first interview read with a spouse author and I think it is a great idea, love it. I would like to wish you the best on the book and all that follows. Thank you for a chance to win a great book.
Cynthia
cpharney(at)yahoo(dot)com
wow, looks all the reviews mentioned :
-. Give in to temptation
-. Hilarious and utterly adorable
-. This delicious debut is Regency romance at its best — rich narrative, accurate historical details and interesting characters
-. Season for Temptation was an absolute delight to read, and is one of my favorite books of the year. It has it all – witty dialogue, amusing circumstances, charming characters and a perfect romance
so everybody have to read this book =D
Congratulations on the release Theresa and thanks to Lila and husband to interview the fabulous author 😉
Another interesting and fun interview. I love the first Monday of each month – it’s so fascinating to meet the husbands behind the authors. Also a great way to discover new authors and new books to pick up – I haven’t read any of Theresa’s books but will definitely be starting with Season of Temptation!
Thanks for another great interview!
Is it hard being the spouse of a romance writer?With deadlines and story problems does it interfere with your private lives?
Enjoyed the interview with the mysterious Mr.R. Biggest surprise besides the licking of the elbows, was that Theresa wrote the first quarter of the book in secret. I loved Season For Temptation, and can’t wait for Season For Surrender.
What a great interview! I think most romance authors hide what they do at first. Way to go Mr. R for being so supportive of your wife’s choices! That makes you a hero 🙂
I love these RH interviews. 🙂 It’s always interesting to hear from the husband’s POV. 🙂
I do love your wife’s book cover. I love the dress and the yes the colour too. 🙂 Sure that I’ll enjoy the book as well. 🙂
Good morning, everyone! Thanks very much to Lila and to Mr. DiPasqua for allowing us to join the fun at A Writer’s Salon!
Mr. R is at work right now, but he’ll check in this evening. For now, I want to thank all of you for stopping by! Isn’t this a fantastic interview series? I always gobble up these romance husband interviews, and I’m so glad Mr. R got a turn in the not-too-hot seat. Actually I wasn’t sure how he’d answer a lot of these questions, so this was a fun surprise for me too!
Carol L.–yes! Mr. R is very, very supportive. He understands that writing is a career, even if it doesn’t happen within the bounds of 8-5, M-F. And he’s even willing to read my work, which I appreciate–he’s a tough but insightful critic.
girlygirlhoosier52–Give it a try! I read in some trivia book that it was impossible to lick one’s elbow, and of course I had to try it. I was pretty proud when I realized I could DO THE IMPOSSIBLE. I guess my shoulders are really flexible? Anyway, I’ve never found a use for this “talent.”
Debby–thanks for stopping by! I was very excited to have Mr. R do this interview, because I wanted to see what he’d say. 🙂
Cynthia–thanks so much for the kind words about my book. Lila and Mr. D have done other romance husband interviews, and they are always a treat!
Eli–thanks so much! I’m thrilled by those reviews. Mr. R’s first review of the first draft of SFT was “your characters sound like aliens.” Thankfully things have gotten better since then. 🙂
Carolyn–thanks for giving new authors a try! Season for Temptation is my romance debut, and I really appreciate when readers are willing to check out a new name on the shelves.
I almost hate to admit this, but I have so many books on my TBR Pile that I usually won’t order a debut book/author until after the book is actually published. That way, some reviews will have been posted to sites I trust or ratings shared by friends–and I can be a little more assured I will enjoy the book. Thanks to Lila’s reminder (provided by her blog) I have noticed that Season for Temptation has received good reviews and ratings so it has just moved to my Reminder List. That means that I will order it soon (unless I… Read more »
Gail–I really want Mr. R’s answer on this, so I’ll make sure he weighs in this evening when he’s home again. From my perspective, the answer’s a definite yes. Most writers in the early stages of their careers are still working a day job–including me. This means that writing happens at odd times, like late at nights and on weekends. I don’t know that this is any different for writers later in their careers, since they have more deadlines to manage! But I do find that I have to be very careful not to shortchange my family when I’m getting… Read more »
GayleC–thank you so much. 🙂 That’s very kind of you! Glad there were a few surprises in this post. Seriously, try the elbow thing! (But not in public. It looks pretty bizarre.)
Kellie–Mr. R is the first person I thanked in the acknowledgments of Season for Temptation! A writing career would be a lot more difficult without his support.
May–isn’t it a gorgeous cover? Actually, Mr. R did like the cover too. We both thought it was incredibly elegant. But I guess it IS pretty pink for a man to read in public!
heartoftexasbooks– I like to learn more about new-to-me authors too. There are so many fantastic books from established authors; it’s nice to get some “word of mouth” from a review site or a reader friend before trying a new author. Thanks for checking out my book!
Great interview. Love these husband interivews. They are great. I love the date question about who are you like. Great answer Mr Romain.
My question is for both of you. Do you like to read in your spare time? Any favorite authors? Favorite books? And for Theres-Next books coming out? Is this going to be a series? and if it is how many for this series?
Thanks for the giveaway and the chance to win.
I love these interviews & look forward to them each month.
SEASON OF TEMPTATION sounds like an awesome read. I love funny and romantic. I can relate to the wanting to read instead of hanging around a crowd of people.
Yes, I did attempt to reach my elbow & couldn’t. Are you double jointed in one of the areas required to do that? 🙂
Hi everyone!
I’m so glad to see you all here! Mr. D will be here later tonight. 🙂
Hi Mr. R and Theresa!
I’m delighted you’re both here, today! Thanks for the wonderful interview, Mr. R. We all love to get to know the man behind the authors we read and enjoy.
Theresa, SEASON OF TEMPTATION is on my TBR pile! Many congrats on your debut. It looks like a fabulous book to me. Can’t wait to read about James and Julia!
Oh and a great big congrats on the upcoming novel, SEASON FOR SURRENDER. 🙂
Hugs,
Lila
Hi Mr. D, Mr. R., Theresa, and Lila! I love these romance husband interviews every month. I have found so many neww authors through them. Mr. R. sounds like a very loving, caring, and giving man. I do have one question. How did Mr. R. propose to Theresa?
Theresa, I have read so many great interviews about Season For Temptation that I am anxious to read it. Am looking forward to reading Season For Surrender when it comes out next year as well. Best of luck with your writing!
Congratulations to Theresa for selling her second book! That’s fabulous!
I had to laugh at her editorial comments about Mr. R barely dancing at their wedding. Why men don’t like to dance I will never know!
Hello Mr. D and Mr. R!
Like everyone else, I truly enjoy these interviews and Mr. R, the love and support you have for your wife is very evident in your responses. I especially liked your answer about the first date!
Mrs. Romain, Congratulations on the release of Season for Temptation and a contract for Season for Surrender! May both be super successful for you.
Please do not include me in the contest as I was lucky enough to have already won a copy.
kacbooks(at)hotmail(dot)com
GFC follower and newsletter subscriber
I so love this blog and hearing from the husbands. I also love finding new authors Season For Temptation is in my TBR pile. Best of luck in this new pursuit.
😀 Nice interview, I have little knowledge of the bones in a human body. But it sounds like I need to study this some more 😉 No idea this is so important when it comes down to “wowing” a guy…. Good to know!
Chrisbails–thanks for asking! My next book will be a sequel to Season for Temptation, and it’ll be out in October 2012. What comes after that is still TBD. 🙂 Reading is my favorite thing to do in my spare time! I love historical romance and nonfiction. Right now I’m reading Rose Lerner’s A LILY AMONG THORNS, which is absolutely fantastic. I’m also working my way through Neil Stephenson’s SNOW CRASH, which is about as far as you can get from historical romance OR nonfiction, but I still do like it. Mr. R is more of an XBOX guy, but he… Read more »
Ivy–I guess my shoulders are really flexible? I can push my arm back pretty far. It’s probably not the most attractive move. 🙂
And that was me responding to Ivy but forgetting to put my name in the comment box. Durrr. Sorry!
Lila–thank you so much! You are a fantastic hostess, and Mr. D is a wonderful interviewer. 🙂
Cathy P–thank you! And, ha, funny story about the proposal. Mr. R proposed kind of by mistake while we were driving to a TA meeting in his ancient Ford Taurus. How’s that for a romantic setting?!
I’d mentioned that I was planning to move in with a friend soon, and he asked me to marry him instead. I had to clarify that it was a genuine proposal. And then I said yes. 🙂 (And my friend did fine getting her own lease.)
Rebe–I think they have to be taught that dancing is ok (that is, not un-masculine) when they’re young? My family loves to dance, and my brother’s an excellent dancer. Mr. R does a mean moonwalk, but that’s about it.
Karen C–thank you! I hope you enjoy reading SFT!
Anonymous–yay! I’m honored to be in your TBR pile. I have a big TBR pile myself, and I’m looking forward to reading every single one of the books in that stash.
Jo’s Daughter–you made me laugh out loud! I have no idea if skeleton-trivia would work with most men, but Mr. R’s pretty tolerant of oddball knowledge.
I think he was probably also glad that I was a very cheap date. If I remember right, I was so nervous on our first date that all I ordered was a Diet Coke (it was after dinnertime).
Great interview! A lot of the couples meet when in high school or college it seems.
I read the blurb for Season for Temptation and it seems like a nice story. It seems like he’ll end up with Julia…but I definitely am rooting for Louisa more. I love heroines who are kind, quiet, and bookish. I hope you’ll give her a happy ending also!
GFC follower: Amy
angeldream3[AT]gmail[DOT]com
Amy–I hope I’m not giving *too* much of a spoiler to say that James winds up with Julia. But Louisa winds up with the ending that suits her best, given the way she feels during the story.
And she will get her own happily-ever-after! I’ll tell the story of her romance in SEASON FOR SURRENDER, out in Oct 2012.
Great interview, love getting to know you. I have to know do you read your wife’s books?
A lot of men just aren’t in to that kind of thing.
That was a very fuuny post.
Theresa: Your husband mentions reading a few romance novels. Has he really read one beside yours? Inquiring minds want to know.
Virginia–Mr. R is my first editor, always! So he reads the roughest, most jumbly versions of my books. He really does it just to be nice, not because he loves it–but he can definitely tell when I’m telling a good story or when something’s gone off the rails.
Kim–yes, he really has! I strong-armed him into reading Courtney Milan’s debut novella and novel (THIS WICKED GIFT and PROOF BY SEDUCTION), because I loved them so much. And he loved them too–because what’s not to love about fantastic writing, realistic characters, and clever plots?
After that, he was willing to try another romance, so gave him Sherry Thomas’s NOT QUITE A HUSBAND. His verdict was very positive: “It’s like a great adventure novel! But with sex!” Got any more man-reading-romance suggestions? 🙂
Hey, Mr. D. : )
Mr. R., I am very impressed by your insightful description of James’s character and your understanding of historical romance story lines. Good show! Congrats to Mrs. R. for her smashing debut and the terrific news about Book #2! If you two ever decide to use your own real life story of “Point A to Point B”, please let us know ; )
US Resident, GFC Follower, Subscriber
gcwhiskas at aol dot com
I truly enjoy these interviews. They give us a different perspective that’s quite interesting. Congrats, Teresa, on the successful debut of your novel! AND thanks for the contest!
lindalou(at)cfl(dot)rr(dot)com
Gail–Not too hard. I’m an introvert so I don’t mind time alone. If there’s a deadline and she’s working in the evening, I’ll put Little Miss R to bed and then read or hit the XBox. Most often, though, we spend our evenings together since she’s able to write during the day.
May– I like the cover, too. It’s elegant. IMHO, covers featuring mullets and man boobs are embarrassing for all concerned. This is a book I wouldn’t be ashamed to be seen reading in public.