Hello again,
Ingrid! Thank you for joining me today.
Hi, Crystal. It's my pleasure to be here! Thank you
for inviting me back. I brought a batch of my world-famous Nearly No Fat
brownies! I hope you like them. You can get the recipe on my blog. I also have
a gluten-free and nearly no sugar version!
Okay, let's get to
it! I've read your latest romance novella and I want to pick your brain!
Pick away! Just leave some for me to use later. :-)
Tell us about the hero and heroine in Giovanna's
Dilemma.
Well, first of all, there are two heroes and two
heroines. Actually, *counting on fingers* make that three heroes and two
heroines.
Odd numbers make
the best drama, don't they?
Definitely! Who wants everyone to pair up nicely?
Where's the fun in that? *laughs*
So, um… who are
they, the heroes and heroines?
Right! Lol. The story starts with JP and Karen out to
dinner. They are celebrating their three-month dating anniversary. Two
Canadians living in London, England, they met at the National Gallery, where JP
works as an Art Historian. His present, on this special night, is a
one-of-a-kind lecture he has prepared especially for Karen. He takes her to the
National Gallery and launches into the tale of Giovanna Cenami, Giovanno Arnolfini,
and Pieter Baes, who is Jan van Eyck's young assistant.
How did you come up with these characters?
I've
taught Art History in the past, and I've known about The Arnolfini Portrait
since, I would guess, grade ten. So it's been on my mind for quite a while! I
did quite a bit of research on the painting and thought I could improve on the
historical interpretation a little. *laughs* Well, I guess I didn't so much improve
it as create what I hope is a series of plausible events to flesh out the main
characters a bit. So, I wanted to develop that romantic story between Giovanna
and Pieter, and I needed a knowledgeable Art Historian to tell the tale. And I
thought a contemporary romance could be used to compare and contrast with the
historical romance of the painting. That's how JP and Karen came to be.
By the way, what does JP stand for? You never tell
the reader his full name.
I never
really settled on what "JP" actually stood for. Sometimes I thought
it was Jean-Paul, or John-Paul. Other times Jean-Pierre. In the end, I decided
to leave it simply as JP.
Besides thinking about this painting for a few
years… where did you get the idea for this romance?
Just from looking at the painting and wondering about
the characters; putting myself in Giovanna's shoes and wondering how she must
have felt, at fourteen to come from a wealthy family and to be betrothed by her
father to Arnolfini, a man much older than herself. I asked myself: what if she
was in love with someone closer to her own age? Wouldn't that make a dramatic
story? But who might the boy be? Very little is known about the details of
these characters' lives, so I invented Pieter Baes, a young Flemish boy, quite
smitten by Giovanna's Tuscan charms. And of course, I could not pass up the
opportunity to explore a teen girl's over-the-top drama as she stands there and
poses for this master painter. :-)
Why did you
combine the two genres: contemporary and historical? You have to admit, that's
a bit unusual.
Yes, and I also used multiple points of view, as well.
The romance that takes part in the present and bookends the historical tale is
from Karen's POV. And the historical POV is third person. I wanted both stories
to co-exist and to also be separate from each other. And I wanted to explore by
contrast the two romances. I thought this way, both stories shed some light on
each other.
They certainly
did! Tell me, is this your first historical romance?
Yes… well, it's my first published historical romance.
Book three of my Diagnosis Love series will also be a historical
romance. And I also have a literary novel that will be set in the past.
Did you enjoy
writing in this genre? I only ask because everything else you've written has
been either contemporary or paranormal.
Yes, I did enjoy it! What I didn't like was the
research. I just don't like to do any more research than I have to. :-) But I particularly enjoyed the challenge of
making my vision fit both the reality of the creation of the painting and the
historical accuracy of the finished product. I mean, I wasn't setting out to
create an "alternate reality" story, so I had to make sure that by
the end, my romance coincided with the established historical facts… to some
extent at least. *laughs*
What are you currently working on?
Besides
my continuing Diagnosis Love novella series, I'm working on a short
literary novel centered on art, featuring a romantic triangle between a young
artist, his agent, and an art critic. This novel is almost fully drafted, after
eight or so years of kicking around in my computer, so I'm totally psyched! I
am also editing another romance novel with the working title: Her Father's
Sins. This novel originally had Bahdria as the prologue. It deals
with a woman who inherits her father's Big Pharma pharmaceutical company and in
the process learns what an SOB the industrialist really was. She wants to make
reparations to the business people he duped, and in the process she meets a
wonderful man named Gabriel who lost his research company, his family,
everything, to her father in a hostile takeover.
Do you have any current releases?
Funny
you should ask! Noble Romance Publishing just released my sweet,
contemporary/historical romance novella Giovanna's Dilemma. It tells the
tale of Giovanna and her betrothed Arnolfini. Most people know her as the
pregnant-looking woman in Jan van Eyck's masterpiece The Arnolfini Portrait.
So, is she pregnant?
*Laughs*
It would make quite an interesting sequel if she were!
Excerpt:
"Ooh. I get
to see my man at work! I love it. Come on, big guy, let's hear this amazing
lecture. Educate me." I wrapped my hands around his neck and whispered
seductively.
JP stared at me,
his face turning shades of red. He was so much fun! I could do this forever. I
kissed his cheek and released him.
"I hope you
like it. It's a special lecture. I wrote it with you in mind. In fact, wrote it
for you."
"Aw . . .
that's so sweet! But keep the technical details down to a minimum, would you?
Unlike you, I haven't been studying Art History for the last sixteen
years."
"Great!"
JP turned me around, and we walked to an empty bench set against the back wall.
He sat down
beside me. At a distance of some twenty-odd feet, van Eyck's work looked
completely different than when I stood up close.
"I thought
we could start from back here and then move up, you know, to change our
perspective."
"Of course,
because perspective is everything in life, isn't it, sweetie?" I patted
his hand encouragingly.
Slipping into
lecture mode, JP took my hand, much in the same way the fur-coated man held the
preggo's hand in the painting; I was touched to see how nervous he was. This
sweet, passionate man, who researched and lectured on art for a living!
He cleared his
throat. "This is one of van Eyck's most famous masterpieces. It tells a
very romantic story."
"Really?
That stodgy guy doesn't look like much of a romantic," I said.
JP chuckled.
"Oh, no. This painting doesn't merely depict a romance between Giovanna
Cenami and Giovanni Arnolfini."
I thought about
this while I studied the painting. "Well, the only other thing is that
little terrier standing guard between the couple. And this is a portrait
painting. I know that much from having dated you these past months."
"Ah . . .
the lady doth listen."
I teased him.
"Of course the lady listens! Just because she doesn't care doesn't
mean she doesn't listen. So, tell me then, oh learned one, where is the romance
in this painting, if it isn't between the old man and the young woman whose
hand he's holding?"
"Allow me to show you."
With a wry smile, he launched into the love story of Pieter Baes and Giovanna
Cenami.
Do you have any upcoming releases?
Yes!
Noble Romance Publishing is releasing Retrograde – Diagnosis Love II on
June 25th. Lovers of
paranormal romances with kick-ass heroines and smexy vamps (that is, lovers of Diagnosis,
Love) will absolutely love Retrograde! It is part two of the
projected Diagnosis Love five-part novella series.
Purchase link:
https://www.nobleromance.com/Books?author=178
Where can readers find you on the internet?
My blog - http://ingridmichaelsromance.blogspot.ca
Twitter
– https://twitter.com/#!/IngridMichaels
Face
Book – http://www.facebook.com/IngridMichaels
I'm
also on Goodreads, Pinterest, and pretty much everywhere else! :-)
Thank you so much for joining me!
Thank you,
Crystal. It's always a pleasure to be here and to spend some time with my
favorite reviewer! Have another brownie!
Don't mind if I do. *pours massive glass of milk*
Make sure you enter to win a copy of Giovanna's Dilemma below and keep a lookout for my review right after this one!
Hi Crystal! Thank you for your wonderful thoughts! I'm glad you enjoyed the story. :-)
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