Hazel Statham lives in Staffordshire, England. She started writing at fifteen and has written on and off ever since. She’s always been fascinated by history and writes mainly in the Regency and Georgian eras, although she has been known to occasionally stray into Medieval times. Writing is a compulsion she just can’t ignore and her work has been mainly influenced by Heyer, Bronte and Austen; although, over the years, she has read many other authors who have inspired her. When she was a child, she often told herself stories and it progressed to committing them to paper to entertain her family and friends. However, there has been gaps in her writing years where marriage and employment have intervended, but now that she no longer works, she is able to return to her first love and that is writing.
Her first two novels were published in 2005. She has been married to her husband, Terry, since 1969 and has a grown daughter and beautiful grandson. Apart from reading and writing historical novels, her other ruling passion is animals and until recently, she was treasurer for an organization that raised money for animal charities. You can visit her website at http://www.hazel-statham.co.uk/ and her blog at http://hazelstatham.blogspot.com/.
Welcome to Beyond the Books, Hazel. Can we start out by telling us whether you are published for the first time or are you multi-published?
This is my second book with Wings ePress. However both books were briefly published in 2005 by All Romance Books before the company sadly closed due to the owners demise. I have three more books awaiting publication. One more with Wings and two with Highland Press.
What was the name of your very first book regardless of whether it was published or not and, if not published, why?
The first book I wrote was way back in 1962 and it was called ‘Goldacre’. I was fifteen and thoughts of publication never entered my head. I wrote purely for pleasure, as I do now. Publication is just the icing on the cake.
For your first published book, how many rejections did you go through before you either found a mainstream publisher, self-published it, or paid a vanity press to publish it?
I had one rejection before I finally found a publisher. In the rejection letter they said they would be interested if I changed the story to fit their current needs, but I wasn’t happy with that and instead sought a publisher who would accept it as it was.
How did the rejections make you feel and what did you do to overcome the blows?
It wasn’t really a blow and I didn’t see it as an out and out rejection. I had no great expectation of my work being accepted and had only submitted after being badgered to do so by the lecturer who headed the writing group to which I belonged. I have always written for my own pleasure and publication had been the furthest thing from my mind. However, I was thrilled and delighted when it was accepted without any alterations needed as I wanted the story to remain as it was.
When your first book was published, who published it and why did you choose them?
All Romance Books were the first publishers to take my work. I write ‘sweet’ and several publishers I looked at were only interested in the higher heat levels. However, All Romance published all heat levels.
How did it make you feel to become published for the first time and how did you celebrate?
I just couldn’t believe it. It was fantastic. Suddenly something I had done purely for my own amusement became of worth to someone else. To celebrate, we all went out for a meal.
What was the first thing you did as for as promotion when you were published for the first time?
Self-promotion was alien to me and I found it difficult to put myself forward. However, I started sending my work out for reviews and was amazed at how kind people can be. It encouraged me to do interviews and participate in online chats.
If you had to do it over again, would you have chosen another route to be published? No. For me, this was the only way to go.
Have you been published since then and how have you grown as an author?
When All Romance closed, I submitted the two manuscripts they had taken, ‘Dominic’ and ‘My Dearest Friend’, to Wings ePress who contracted them immediately. They also took ‘His Shadowed Heart’. Highland Press has since accepted ‘Consequence’ and ‘Lizzie’s Rake’. As an author, I have grown in confidence and now write with the intention of submitting my work.
Looking back since the early days when you were trying to get published, what do you think you could have done differently to speed things up? What kind of mistakes could you have avoided?
To be honest, things happened very quickly for me. I had already written six books before I started sending them out – so the material was there ready to submit to publishers. My biggest hurdle was a lack of self-confidence and it took me a while to realize that my work could be of worth.
What has been the biggest accomplishment you have achieved since becoming published?
I don’t know whether you would think it an accomplishment but although I live in the UK and my work is published in the USA, I was thrilled when the City Council contacted me saying that they wanted copies of my work in all of their libraries and I felt that I had finally arrived!
If you could have chosen another profession, what would that profession be?
I can’t think of any profession I would rather follow than being a writer. However, my other ruling passion is animals and until recently I was treasurer for an organization that raised money for animal charities. I would like to have done more in that direction but closure and my health prevented me from taking it further.
Would you give up being an author for that profession or have you combined the best of both worlds?
I was still able to follow my compulsion to write whilst working as treasurer, so I guess you would say that I was able to combine the best of both worlds.
How do you see yourself in ten years?
Exactly where I am now only, hopefully, with more publications under my belt. I couldn’t give up being an author as writing is a compulsion I can’t ignore. It has been a part of my life for so many years that I would be lost without it.
Any final words for writers who dream of being published one day?
My advise is to write what you know and care about, otherwise the results could disappoint both yourself and your readers. You have to love what you write so that your readers will too. Don’t be discouraged by rejection, write what is closest to your heart and enjoy the process. Soon you will reap the rewards of perseverance.
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http://www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com/ in January.
Hazel’s virtual book tour is brought to you by Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tours at http://www.pumpupyourbookpromotion.com/ and choreographed by Jean Lauzier.
Tags: Pump Up Your Book Promotion, virtual book tour, Hazel Statham, My Dearest Friend, Regency Romance
