I’m delighted to welcome Harlequin Historical Romance Author LARA TEMPLE to Rakes and Rascals today for an exclusive interview.
Thanks so much for inviting me, Carol. I’m thrilled to be here!
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R&R:
Could you tell us where you were born and what it was like growing up there?
Lara:
I was born in a very small town in Oxfordshire, in an old farmhouse with only a couple other families within miles. My father was a pianist and often in Oxford while my mother, brother and myself spent a great deal of time alone together, wandering around the nearby woods, picking blackberries in season, and living a very rich imaginary life because there were few children nearby, which is probably when my story-telling tendencies started. It was a great childhood but when my kids were born I was determined to have them surrounded by other children, which they are. I often take my kids to visit my old haunts, though.
R&R:
How would you describe yourself – temperamental or easy-going?
Lara:
Temperamental wrapped in a layer of easy-going. Other mothers often ask me how I can be so laid back and patient with my kids. I have no idea what to say because inside I’m on high alert and never really in rest mode. I would love to be a truly easy-going person but I’m far too afraid to try.
R&R:
When it comes to food do you like sweet or savoury or both?
Lara:
Savoury! I am addicted to salt. My husband is definitely on the sweet side of the scale and we never poach on each other’s desserts/puddings. Like Jack Sprat and his wife.
R&R:
What is your most treasured possession?
Lara:
I’ve moved so often and had to travel so lightly very little has managed to stay with me through the years. But there are some things I treasure such as the book my mother prepared of my first five years. The book (in the picture) is an amazing gathering of anecdotes and photos and little titbits, including the first ever story I dictated to my mother – an adventure story about a city under the sea (with an HEA of course!).
Another treasure is my first stuffed animal which used to be a blue rabbit but since I had a bad habit of disappearing into the fields and forgetting it on trees and under bushes, it had to be repaired so many times it has morphed into something quite different (as you can see in the picture – mine is the bag of pink rags on the left). The others lined up in the picture are those of my three brothers which fared a little better.
R&R:
If you could afford a second home anywhere in the world where would you choose and why?
Lara:
I know it’s a cliché but I fantasize about a house in the countryside outside a small town in Umbria. I would have my writing corner on a patio in the shade of climbing wisteria and buy fresh cheese and bread and tomatoes and sit and write with a glass of wine as I look out over fields of sunflowers and vineyards. Of course, I haven’t quite thought out what I will do with my kids and husband during this creative idyll…
R&R:
Finally, what has been your most embarrassing moment?
Lara:
I’m having a hard time narrowing them down to something repeatable in polite circles. I think some of my worst moments were when I was a teenager – everything was so intense. Once there was a boy I really liked and one day he came up to me and asked if I wanted to go to the beach with him and I was so stunned and excited I was stuttering something when I realized he hadn’t been talking to me at all but to the girl standing right next to me. My whole body go beet red with embarrassment. Today I wish I could go up and hug my young self in sympathy. But those memories are always useful for my books…
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Thank you for taking time out to be here today and sharing these interesting facts about yourself, Lara.
Thanks so much for having me here, Carol, and for asking these off-the-beaten-track question. They brought back fun (mostly) memories.
If you would like to find out more about Lara and her books, here are the links:
http://amzn.to/2mWin9R
https://www.laratemple.com
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14951515.Lara_Temple
https://www.facebook.com/LaraTempleAuthor/
https://twitter.com/laratemple1