Welcome to New Faces, where we are pleased to introduce some of the debut authors in the romance genre. This issue, we welcome Terry Blain, whose American historical Kentucky Dream is a new release from the Precious Gems Historical line. Let's meet Terry!

Tell us about yourself.

I was lucky enough to grow up in a large, extended mid-west family with a rich oral tradition (read: story telling). Even after my parents moved to California, every summer we drove cross country to Illinois and had a big family reunion. I remember sitting on the front porch or in the kitchen listening to everyone tell stories about when they were kids or when their parents were kids.

I studied history in college, but interrupted my education to get married. My husband was in the Navy, so we got a chance to live all over the country. We ended up in San Diego where we stayed when he 'retired'. We have two college aged sons.

Are you coming to writing from another job?

Boy, I hate to say how many jobs. I did go back to school and get my BA in History and then my Masters Degree. I've taught history at the college level, been the Ombudsman for two of my husband's ships while he was on active duty. Right now I work in Purchasing for a biomedical research institution. But I'm still teaching as I teach a 'how to write romance' class at the community college as well as do workshops for writers on how to research and write historical romance.

What led you to write romance?

I'd always wanted to be a history major since high school, and to me, a history teacher is a storyteller. So when I was teaching I had all this academic knowledge and everyone said "you should write a book." My excuse was that I wasn't the best typist in the world - then my husband bought a computer and so I had to write a book. So I took a class at the local university and I learned that the chances of selling are better if you choose a genre: like mysteries, sci-fi or romance.

I'd always read historical novels, and when I started reading romance I discovered the one of the elements I enjoyed in those novel was the romance, although they weren't labeled romance. Novels like Samuel Shellenberger's Captain From Castile, the Elsworth Thane Williamsburg novels, and Janice Holt Giles Americana novels.

And the romance element is the universality of any story. Regardless of time or setting, social customs, economic conditions, politics, wars, crusades or whatever, there is always the relationship between men and women to be explored.

Also, I think knowing the past in important. You know Koko the gorilla who learned sign language? When she signs "the past" she motions in front of her, when she signs "the future" she motions behind her, as we can see what in front (the past) but can't see behind us (the future). So how can we know where we want to go in the future unless we have some idea of our past?

I was lucky enough to grow up with a sense of community and history from the stories I heard my family tell. So writing historical romance gives me the opportunity pass on stories of who we are and where we come from while exploring the relationship between men and women. What could be more fun than that?

Tell us about getting your first book published.

Lucky for me there were members of Romance Writers of America in the local university class I took, so I joined in 1989. Our San Diego chapter is quite active, with lots of workshops and speakers, and I went to several national RWA conferences. It took me quite a while to write this first book, as we spent a lot of our time then at cross country meets, soccer games, Boy Scout camp outs, track meets, and band concerts with our boys. Then it took quite a while to sell KENTUCKY DREAM. I have a stack of 'nice' rejection letters from editors saying they like the story, the characters, etc., but don't like the time frame (1794). But one of my first writing teaches said that you need three things to get published -- talent, luck and perseverance, and if you have perseverance, you can get by with one of the other two. So I stuck it out and finally sold KENTUCKY DREAM last year.

What kind of research was involved in this first book?

I guess the first thing I researched was how to write romance. In my academic career I'd written a lot of term papers, plus a huge pre-thesis for my Masters so I wasn't intimidated by writing three or four hundred pages like some in my first writing class.

In a sense, I'd already done a lot of the factual research getting my degrees. And one of first thing I noticed when I started to read historical romance was that some of them weren't very accurate. Jean's TTR Forum IT'S THE LITTLE THING THAT COUNT is right on the money. There's an old Chinese proverb that says 'Every time some one opens a book they learn something". I think because I've been a teacher I'm very aware of this. So I want what ever people learn from my book I want to be as accurate as I can make it. The one thing I really had to research was the costuming, as in a romance chances are someone's clothes are going to come off, so you have to know what they are wearing to start. And then, of course, I'm one of those who loves to do all the research and have to tell myself to stop and actually write.

I chose the setting for KENTUCKY DREAM because I've always like frontier stories and Kentucky and Ohio were the frontier in the late 1700's. Also, I had ancestors from that area.

Who are you influences as a writer?

My favorite authors tend to write contemporary, which is rather odd. I like Justine Davis/Dare, Naomi Horton, Suzanne Brockmann, Nora Roberts, someone who can tell a good story and get me to care about their characters. Historical authors like Jo Beverley, Mary Jo Putney, Patricia Gaffney, Lorraine Heath. Because I'm a writer as well as a reader, the two authors I admire most are Linda Howard and Victoria Thompson as I can see how they worked over the years to define their craft. It's hard enough to learn to write, but to do it while always working on a deadline, wow, you really have to admire writers like that.

What does your family think of having a romance author in the house?

My husband's been supportive through this long process to get published. And it give him an excuse to keep buying and playing with computers (so you can have your own, honey). My boys think it'll be a great way to impress girls (my mom wrote a romance).

Tell us about plans for the future.

I've just finished my second book, set in Colorado in the 1880's, and have sent it out. I'm working on my next story, set in Texas. I'm also trying my hand a screen writing, as I'm doing revisions of a screen play I wrote with my brother (an action/adventure). But I have lots of historical romance story ideas in my mind, and hope to write for a long time.

How can readers get in touch with you?

I'd love to hear from readers. For now, write to me care of Kensington Publishing Corporation, 850 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10022.

Thanks, Terry, and best of luck! Readers, check out our review of Kentucky Dream.

February 16, 1999