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Stella Cameron is the New York Times/USAToday/Washington Post bestselling, award-winning author of sixty historical and contemporary novels and novellas. Each of her single-title releases has appeared on the WALDENBOOKS mass market, and romance lists, and on the BARNES AND NOBLE list.
Stella has won the ROMANTIC TIMES Career Achievement Award for Romantic Suspense and the ROMANTIC TIMES best Romantic Suspense of the Year Award. She has been a RITA finalist, and is the recipient of the Pacific Northwest Writers' Association Achievement Award for distinguished professional achievement and for enhancing the stature of the Northwest literary community. The Personal Skinny: I was born and raised in Dorset, England. While I was editing medical text and working in London's Harley Street, I met my husband, an officer in the American Air Force, at a party. He asked me to dance (The Mexican Hat Dance) and we've been together ever since. I get a lot of questions about England and whether I still have strong feelings for the country where I was born. Usually my answer is something like this, "I'll always believe I've been very lucky to live in America and I wouldn't live anywhere else by choice, but do I get homesick? You bet. The climate here in the Pacific Northwest is similar to that in many parts of England. As seasons change I can become very pensive. When the scents of autumn and fallen leaves are in the air, I see Hyde Park. Winter rain reminds me of being in some small Cotwolds town, and ducking into a tea shop for a hot cuppa! In spring I am once again in an English cottage garden shere a wak sun shines on new flower, and summer takes me to Weymouth, my hometown, and the sea. Those sensations can make me cry before I remember to smile." Of course, it's only the need to research the next book that takes me home every couple of years...
Stella and her husband live in Seattle, Washington. They are the parents of a son and two daughters, one of whom is married. And Stella and Jerry are "absolutely dotty and doting" grandparents for the first time.
Interview with Stella Cameron |
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 FINDING IAN Harlequin Presents February 2002 Buy Now |
January 2001 Writerspace: You've been writing for twenty years, tell me about the most positive change you've seen in the romance publishing industry since the beginning of your career. Stella Cameron: Daring. Letting loose. An explosion of great talent that follows personal dreams for stories. And the great understanding that has come to the publishing industry that these are darn good books that shouldn't be clones. WS: You frequently switch back and forth between contemporaries and historicals. Is there a pattern or do you just write a book for whichever characters are clamoring the loudest? SC: I'd like to say this is all a matter of being led around by my characters. Actually, it's my publishers who have a ring through my nose. I write according to contractual dates. Whichever kind of book is next in line is written. Now, I happen to love this because it works out that I alternate between historical and contemporary stories and while I'm writing one, I'm always excited about the next--possibly because I anticipate entering a different world. WS: FINDING IAN is a new avenue for you in that it does not have a suspense element. Will there be more books along this line? SC: The suspense in FINDING IAN comes from hanging on to find out what will happen between a man and a woman who are in love but who have lives separated by thousands of miles, and from Byron's struggle with the paternalistic feelings he hadn't expected to have. Yes, I intend to write more love dramas. WS: How was writing FINDING IAN different from writing your contemporary suspense novels? SC: Couldn't be more different! In FINDING IAN, the conflict is internally driven. If these folks didn't have emotional needs and wants, there would be no story. As it is, they "want" so badly that the odds at stake are huge. If we take for instance, GLASS HOUSES (contemp romantic suspense) or ALL SMILES (historical romantic suspense) we're faced with a villainous plot and this is always more external than internal. In these books, the love story is the true center of the book, but the conflict is a combination of bad intent from others and the lovers' struggle to balance everything. WS: What sparked the idea for FINDING IAN? SC: We have an adopted daughter and I've spent her lifetime wondering about her biological family and what terrible events must have precipitated giving her away. Also, loving children and keeping them safe is a trust we've been given. No child should be afraid and neglected. This is at the heart of my theme in FINDING IAN and this type of situation is part of my own life. WS: "Cameron's latest has all the touching elements of an Oprah show, with a tragic childhood, intense soul-searching, and romance worked in to appeal to a broad base of readers." --Booklist How do you feel about FINDING IAN being compared to an Oprah show? SC: I'm enormously flattered. Booklist understood exactly what FINDING IAN is about, they saw both the poignancy and the humor in the book, and the sensuality. Oprah is one of my favorite people because she seeks to find the heart of her topics. Her focus is on the wonder of finding love and honor, and so is mine in FINDING IAN. WS: You put a lot of effort into helping aspiring writers with a Q&A board on your website, articles you've written with advice, writing contests, and your workshops. Why such an interest in helping them? Is this something you wish someone had done for you when you were starting out? SC: This is almost too simple! A teacher hangs out inside me. I love interaction with people who care as much about writing as I do, and feeling I can give them pointers, hope, and cheer them on. I've been writing professionally for twenty years so I hope I've learned something. I've certainly read a vast number of books on the subject and learned about pitfalls I want to help others avoid. Also, helping other writers makes me feel good. Where do we get our ongoing pool of storytellers?
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