Hi Hazel! Thank you for taking the time to chat with us at Love Romances and More Reviews and our readers. 

Thank you for spending the time with me.

Let’s start with an easy question. One of the first things our readers want to know about you—how long have you been writing? I 

noticed you have two books published before DOMINIC, were they your true firsts or did any precede them?

I have been writing on and off since I was fifteen, (many, many moons ago).  I don’t know what prompted me to write, it was just a compulsion I 

couldn’t ignore.

 ‘Dominic’ and ‘My Dearest Friend’ were first released in 2005 by All Romance Books, but unfortunately, just as they came out, the company closed due 

to the owner’s demise.  Prior to that, I had a short medieval story, ‘The Void’, published in an anthology.  I was lucky to find a new home for my 

first two novels with Wings ePress and also placed another with them.  ‘Dominic’, as you know, was published in August 2007, ‘My Dearest Friend’ will 

be released in January, 2008, and ‘His Shadowed Heart’ June, 2008.

What draws you to the Regency and Georgian eras?

Whilst I enjoy reading about all periods in history, I feel I have an empathy with the Regency and Georgian eras.  To me, they represent the most 

romantic and elegant periods of English history and it encourages me to attempt to recreate them in my work.

In DOMINIC you have the characters talk about the famed David Garrick. If you could ask him one question, what would it be?

If he could only be remembered for one accomplishment, would it be for the plays he wrote or for the roles he filled on stage.

The characters see Mr. Garrick in a Shakespearean play. Does the great bard have any influence on your writing? 

None whatsoever.  Apart from the most popular of his plays, I know very little about his work.

There’s the old adage, write what you know. What part or parts from DOMINIC are slices of your own life? For instance, are you 

part of that tomboy we see in Sophie? 

Yes, I was a tomboy, but I was more used to the company of dogs and horses than the delightful companion Sophie found in Dominic.

Are you a “plotter” or a “panster” writer? 

I usually have a brief outline of where I want the story to go but I tend to go with the flow set up by my characters.  It’s like watching a play unfold 

and quite often I find myself following a path I had never intended – which only adds more depth to the story.  For instance, I never knew Robert’s 

brother, Stefan, (My Dearest Friend) had an illegitimate daughter until the sergeant strolled onto the stage and told me.

Can you describe your average day before you start writing?

My day usually starts with my writing.  The first thing I do in the morning, even before breakfast, is start up the computer and check what I have 

written the previous day.  Quite often, the morning is gone before I realize that I have eaten nothing.

When you were working a “day” job, what did you do?

When I first started to work, I trained as an assistant Personnel Officer and stayed in that position until I had my daughter at 28.  When I returned 

to work when my daughter started to nursery school, I worked as an Accounts Officer until I was forced to finish working through ill health, 17 years 

later.

Do your readers see elements of that job in your writing?

No, not at all.  I prefer to write in the wonderful world of historical romance.

And how do your days flow when you are writing?

If the house is empty and quiet, I can get lost in my work.  However, I can’t write with constant interruptions.  I’m not lucky enough to have a room 

that I can call my own and instead have the computer set up in a corner of the dining room.  I would love an office where I could be tucked away 

from everything but, unfortunately, it just isn’t possible.

At what point did your family and friends find out you were writing DOMINIC?

Apart from my husband, no one ever knows what I’m working on.  It’s not that I keep it a secret, it’s just that I don’t tend to talk about my plots once 

away from the computer.

Your dedication is to your husband, was he your strongest supporter from start to finish?

My husband is brilliant.  Not only does he support my writing but he supports me in life.  When I had to finish working through ill health 12 years ago, 

it worried me that I wouldn’t be able to do the things I had always done, but my husband said, “You have looked after us for twenty-five years, so now 

it’s my turn to look after you,” and he has done ever since, without complaining once.

As a fellow animal lover myself it was a pleasure to see you were an officer in an agency that raised money for animal charities. 

They make our lives so much richer, don’t they? And that Lucy “helps” you write. Will we see Lucy in a future story?

They certainly do enrich our lives.  Lucy is a real sweetie but, so far, she has not made an appearance in any of my books.  There are horses and dogs 

in my work, but none are based on real animals.  Apart from reading and writing historical romance, animals are my other ruling passion and over the 

years we have owned everything from hamsters to horses.

Are you working on anything right now? Can you tell us a teaser about these projects? 

I am currently working on a Regency with a working title of ‘Sarah’.  For reasons I can’t disclose at the moment, Sarah absconds from her new 

husband, The Earl of Thorne after just one month of marriage.  However, four years later, her husband is brought back into her life when he is 

paralyzed in an accident.  He believes her to have run away with a lover but she is unable to tell him the real reason for her leaving.

Okay, imagination time…or maybe a prelude of what is to come, maybe it’s already happened.  You got the call, DOMINIC is going 

to be a mini-series on television.  Who gets what parts?

Now this will show how lacking in knowledge I am about modern actors!  I used a photograph of a very young Timothy Dalton 

(from Wuthering Heights) as inspiration for the character of Dominic.  Perhaps a young Meg Ryan could be Sophie.  I am really hopeless at this – sorry!

Do you read for relaxation? Who do you turn to?

It’s a standing joke in our family that you can leave me anywhere as long as I have a book to read.  ‘Jane Eyre’ by Charlotte Bronte has remained my 

favorite throughout the years. I adore Edward Fairfax Rochester.  Georgette Heyer, of course.  Diane Gabaldon, Mary Jo Putney, Anne Gracie – I could 

go on forever, the list is endless.

What is one thing about Hazel Statham no one knows but you wish someone would ask you? 

There is very little that everyone doesn’t already know about me.  The only thing I can think of is that I did the cover art for ‘Dominic’ and 

‘My Dearest Friend’ when they were originally published by All Romance Books (although I really prefer to paint animals).  They offered me a cover 

artist contract but I wasn’t able to accept. 

Do you have anything to add?

I love hearing from my readers and promise to answer all my mail.  I can be contacted at hazel.statham1@ntlworld.com  or through my 

website www.hazel-statham.co.uk   My website is also where you can read excerpts of my current and upcoming works and also reviews.