SEELIE KAY: Postcards from The Ledge: The week in The Loft: D. S. Dehel!

Joining me today in The Loft is fellow Extasy Books author D. S. Dehel. D. S. is a lover of literature, good food, and the Oxford comma. She also adores literary illusions, writing sex scenes, and British men! When not immersed is writing a spicy romance, she is not only a wife and mother, but also the tender of a coddled feline, Mr. Darcy, and a pampered puppy, Jameson. D. S. studied at the University of Glasgow, but currently resides in Delaware.

Author D. S. Dehel

S: Good morning, D. S. Thanks so much for joining me today in The Loft.

Why did you become a writer?

D. S.:  I don’t think people become writers. They are born writers and the stories have to come out somehow. It was inevitable that I would one day be a published writer because my earliest scribbles were inside a book. I wanted to be a part of it.

S:  Did you have a mentor when you became a writer?

D. S.:  No, I didn't, which meant a great deal of floundering around trying to figure things out. What I did have was a professor who is also a highly respected author, who believed in my writing enough to encourage me to pursue a MFA under his tutelage. Life circumstances kept me from doing that, but years later, his belief that I was good enough kept me going. Full disclosure, he had also warned me that if I put off writing when I was in my twenties to have a career and raise my son, I’d never be published. I had to prove him wrong, so that also kept me going. I’ve never been more proud than when I emailed him to say, “Hey, remember me? Guess what I did?” And his praise was worth the wait.

S: (Smiles.) That always makes any accomplishment more meaningful.

Complete this sentence: "When I started writing books, I wish I had known..."

D. S.: …how difficult it is to become published. There’s a mythology that a writer writes and boom, it becomes a book. That’s not how it happens in the real world, and the sheer amount of work to make it happen is daunting—and that’s before the rejection letters start rolling in.

S: (Nods.) I always laugh when someone smirks at my occupation and says, "Maybe I should write a book," like it's the easiest thing in the world.

What is your writing process?

D. S.:  Much of my writing process is internal. I literally write a first draft in my head before I sit down in front of the keyboard, so what comes out is a second—and sometimes third—draft of a scene. I have to thank one of my professors for that insight. I thought I didn’t understand how to write properly. He listened to me describe how I go about my day plotting and planning while I cook or do dishes or walk, and he pointed out that what I do is drafting, just not on paper. The downside to my process is that I often feel less productive than other writers, because I don’t have a high daily word count. The up side is that I tend to write clean drafts which need fewer revisions.

S: I actually write the same way, but my process is born of years of experience as a journalist. When writing a news story, you don't have the luxury of first and second drafts. There isn't the time. You have to nail it on the first try. Which means you are writing the story in your head on the way back to the newsroom.

What is your favorite thing about writing romance?

D. S.:  Happy endings. As a writer, I get to control my world. Sure, I torture the characters sometimes, but I also give them their just rewards. Life isn’t like that, especially right now. I have always detested unhappy literature. I don’t want to read about miserable people who have miserable endings. I can hop on social media for that. I want the fairy tale ending, and I get it every time.

S: (Laughs.) I agree with you there. I sometimes wish there was a platform on social media called, "Happy Posts."

Tell me about your book, "The Baron Regrets." Why did you write this book? What was your inspiration?

D. S.:  All of my stories start with an image and grow from there. This one began as a woman standing in front of a mural in dire need of repair. She knows how to fix it, but there’s more going on in her head. As I began to figure out how she knows what she knows, and what her inner turmoil is about, the plot progressed. I also wanted to see if I could write a more “traditional” contemporary romance. I actually ended up with a cozy mystery, so I guess it was a failure on that front, but my Christmas story, “Kissing Strangers,” came out of Baron, even though it was published first. I got a two-for-one deal in the end.

S: Always nice when that happens!

Is there anything about this book that makes it special to you? To readers?

D. S.: "The Baron Regrets" has all of my favorite features--A gorgeous house, a ghost, and a woman dealing with real life situations that arise out of relationships. I wish Aescton Hall actually existed so I could go visit it. I’d love to have tea with Tess and Leo. For readers, I hope they revel in the Easter eggs I left for those who have read “Kissing Strangers.” They get to see the story in a deeper fashion.

Here's the blurb--

Tessa Winthrop, an art restoration specialist, is hoping for the job of a lifetime—one which would cement her reputation in a field dominated by her male colleagues.

Working for Baron Lucien Stanhope—or Leo as he prefers—challenges Tess’s talent, intellect, and emotions. Leo is charming, handsome, and way out of her league. It doesn’t matter, though, because she only is there for her art and the mystery surrounding master painter Giovanni Remini.

When a night of passion leads to consequences that could mean the end of her career, Tess fears that the baron regrets having ever met her.

But fate has more in store for them, and sometimes regrets are the beginning of better things.