For Georgian Month’s Author of the Month, I am delighted to present my favorite romance novelist, Sylvia Halliday (aka Louisa Rawlings, Ena Halliday, and Sylvia Baumgarten). Ms. Halliday– whose work manages to be sweeping, passionate, and historically meticulous– wrote many epic historical romances in the ’80s and ’90s. She’s gained the kudos of many great authors– including Roberta Gellis, who called her work “fascinating”– and she’s won many prestigious awards within the romance community, including the Romantic Times’ award for Best Historical set in France (for “Promise of Summer,” one of my favorite romances ever). Sylvia is with us today, to discuss– among other things– her writing career, swashbucklers, Mad Men, toga parties, the Kennedy assassination, and her past and future projects.
In addition to this exclusive interview with Sylvia, I’m also having a giveaway of her classic story “Summer Darkness, Winter Light”– a 1995 Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice finalist for Best Historical– which I reviewed here. One commenter has the chance to win a print copy of “Summer Darkness, Winter Light”– and Sylvia will personalize and autograph for the lucky winner! All you have to do is leave a comment below.
Hi Sylvia! So where are you from? How did you get into writing? Did you always want to be a writer, or is something you decided to get into later in life?
I was born in Toronto, Canada. Because it was during the Depression (yes, I’m that old!), and my father couldn’t get work in Canada, we moved to the US (Massachusetts) when I was just 4. As a small aside: When I saw “The King’s Speech” I cried because, for a few years until we became naturalized, that was MY king! Continue reading “Author of the Month: an interview (and giveaway) with Sylvia Halliday!” »
