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Interview with the author
Why did you decide to write romance novels?
I love to write about deep personal interactions between individuals. I chose this genre because in my former career I wrote and delivered over a thousand communication training programs and the romance novel always delves into the myriad nuances of either failed (usually,) or functional (rarely,) communication between individuals.
Dialogue and a character’s interpretation of every communication, whether through assumptions about what another’s comment(s) mean or through subtle body nuances, provides the cornerstone of conflict and misunderstanding in all novels.
It is through the resolution of these miscommunications that characters in romance novels evolve to mutual trust, understanding, and eventually love. And we read romance novels in pursuit of those delicious Happy Ever After endings.
Every time I write or talk about this I hear the lyrics from the song Sounds of Silence. Here’s a link to one of my favorite renditions by Disturbed for your enjoyment: https://wbr.ec/immortalized
Why time-travel?
The idea of time-travel has always fascinated me, so it seemed a natural starting place for writing a romance series.
Who hasn’t dreamed of slipping back to another place in time or jaunting ahead into the unknown future? I might select another genre in the future, my husband insists there’s a dark dystopian novel lurking in the background, but romance calls me most strongly right now.
Are you planning time-travel novels beyond the Finding My Highland series?
Absolutely. I’m nearing the half-way point in book three of the Finding My Highland Series. I’ve jotted out a few notes for a possible novella in this series as well. The novella idea popped out from a character introduced in book two, My San Francisco Highlander.
While writing My San Francisco Highlander, six new characters (three female and three male, of course,) kept popping into my head. They will become the H/h in a series set in Regency England. At this point, I don’t think it will contain a time-travel element. I’ve already drafted a few notes about each of these characters. The female characters have been particularly persistent in my head for some months.
Why did you pick San Francisco for the location of My San Francisco Highlander?
I fell in love with San Francisco a long time ago. When my husband and I visited during our honeymoon, we enjoyed the usual touristy spots, but the rugged cliffs at Lands End and the towering redwoods of Muir Woods National Monument held a magical quality for me. I believe the seeds for this series were sown way back then. And the proximity to remote wilderness areas only a few hours’ drive from a bustling cosmopolitan city draws me more than the actual city.
You’ll witness that allure in My San Francisco Highlander. There are several scenes set in Lands End, Muir Woods, and other more remote wilderness areas.
A Highlander displaced from 1675 Scotland (the hero in MSFH,) would naturally seek solace in wilder areas. The city is entirely too overwhelming most of the time. Of course, being a romance novel, the primary focus is not on the city but rather the budding relationship between the hero and heroine, and the obvious adjustment problems for a man out of his time.
What periods do these books span?
The first book, Finding My Highlander, begins in 2013 San Francisco and travels to 1705 Scotland. Book two, My San Francisco Highlander, travels in the reverse from 1675 to 1975. Book three will go back in time again to the early Scottish settlements in the Colonies.
Do the same characters travel throughout the series?
Not in the first two books, although there is a familial thread that connects all three books. Book three will bring the series full circle, back in time again, where several characters from all three books make an appearance. But I won’t tell you who.
When did you first know you wanted to be a writer?
I’ve always wanted to be a writer, and I used that desire to pursue several different career paths. For over thirty years I wrote technical educational seminars, a wide range of management training programs in corporate positions, and communication courses for crisis counselors with a State and County Victim/Witness program.
But the lure of fiction and poetry has always tugged at me.
Do you believe in the creative spirit or the Muse?
Most definitely. I can’t say the Muse takes the form of a person or persons as some authors describe it. For me, it’s more an infusion of energy. Often, that energy is very hard to tap into and other times it flows through and out of me like a lash of heat.
What prompted you to jump to fiction writing?
I penned numerous stories over the years, but they were terrible, and I threw them away in frustration. Then, I attended eight or nine creative writing classes. You could say that’s when the creative muse hooked me.
I noticed a few poems on your webpage. How long have you been writing poetry?
For more than thirty-five years. I’m currently working on a collection of romance poems. I hope to have it finished sometime next year. On occasion, I post a few on my web page.
It’s funny to me now, because for years I insisted I didn’t write love poems.
Which is more difficult, writing fiction or writing poetry?
They are very different forms of expression. When I write fiction, characters come alive in my head. They really do speak to me and once that occurs, they won’t let me rest. Place setting and plot structure usually follow the emergence of characters. Sometimes though, a specific location strikes a chord and I’ll sit in that place either figuratively or imaginatively until characters evolve and the story line ripens. Then I get busy with a lot of bumps along the way.
The work progresses when I’m diligent and stick to a schedule. Even so, book one, Finding My Highlander, took almost three years to complete and publish. Book two, My San Francisco Highlander, took about fifteen months. This past year family or personal health issues interrupted my writing routine, but I hope to complete book three in the next few months.
With poetry, on the other hand, I can spend days, months, sometimes years before I find the right word, or phrase, or form that works. Writing poetry is, in many ways, a spiritual process. For me, it is one of the deepest and truest forms of expression. It also inspires and occasionally infuses my prose writing.
Do you write on a computer, laptop, typewriter, dictate, or longhand?
I often jot down lines or ideas on paper first. I have dozens of journals and tablets with just a few pages of written notes. Sadly, I’m not neat!
I think there’s a quote about how a messy office houses a busy mind. If that’s true, then I’m very busy. However, my serious writing always happens at the computer, even though I curse my computer daily, I could not write without it. I’ve tried working on my laptop in various locations but find it uncomfortable to write anywhere other than at my desk. Dictation has never worked for me except to capture those ideas that pop up when running errands.
What advice do you have for beginning writers?
Read! Read everything and keep reading. Then write, write, write. Trust that others may know more than you, but also believe in yourself. Take classes, attend workshops, and develop a disciplined routine.
I’ve often been hit or miss with my fictional writing routine. But once the Finding My Highlander Series started rolling onto the page I became much more structured and constantly strive to improve that process.
I’m reminded of a favorite quote by Ernest Hemingway, “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”
I believe all writers learn this lesson quickly. We all bleed a little or a lot on those pages.
Celia Aaron is a USA Today bestselling author and recovering attorney who loves romance and erotic fiction. Dark to light, angsty to funny, real to fantasy–if it’s hot and strikes her fancy, she writes it. Thanks for reading.
