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What inspired you to write historical fantasy fiction?
When I was twelve my mother gave me my first Georgette Heyer Regency novel and I fell in love with the era and Heyer’s fabulously funny and elegant romps. The Regency is such a beloved historical era that I always thought the intense historical research needed to write about it was a bit out of my league. However, I attended a fabulous session about Regency research at a writing conference and realised that, yes, I could do this and, more importantly, that I had an enormous passion to do so.
On the way home from the conference I sat on the tram (I live in Melbourne, Australia) and thought about what kind of Regency novel I wanted to write, and by the time I got to my stop I had worked out the foundations of The Dark Days Club, the first book in my Lady Helen Regency supernatural series. Each book is set in a Regency social season and its host city: London, Brighton and finally, Bath.
![The Dark Days Club Book Cover](https://i0.wp.com/baneslibraries.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/VL-Book-cover-Template-16.png?resize=1410%2C2250&ssl=1)
How would you sum up your books in a sentence?
Pride and Prejudice meets Buffy the Demon Slayer (in my books Lady Helen fights Regency demons not vampires).
Do you have a special place to write?
I’m very lucky—I have a writing room with a big window that looks out on to our garden. My rescue terrier, Buckley, joins me and I write while he snoozes, scratches up my carpet and chews a stolen sock. It is an amiable work arrangement.
Has writing been life-long ambition, or did you start writing for different reasons?
When I was about nine, I wrote an epic high country horse poem that my teacher copied for the class and all my classmates read and loved. It inspired a huge ongoing horse game—a bit like chasie but with a lot of neighing—at recesses and lunches so it had spin offs too. That was my first successful publishing venture and I had the writing bug from that moment.
What are your favourite Children’s/Young Adult book or books?
I grew up in what was probably the first Golden Age of Young Adult writing, so I had wonderful books that became both favourites and influences. One of the lesser-known ones is Tunes for A Small Harmonica by Barbara Wersba which introduced me to the delight that is a strongly realised first person point of view.
I also loved The Outsiders by S E Hinton. The Anne of Green Gables series was much loved, as was The Silver Brumby series by Elyne Mitchell, a rather fabulous tour-de-force from the horse point of view which absolutely suited a horse-mad nine-year-old. I adored the world created in Harry Potter books and lined up at my local bookshop with my other slightly self-conscious adult friends for each book.
![Eon Rise of the DragonEye book cover](https://i0.wp.com/baneslibraries.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/VL-Book-cover-Template-14.png?resize=1410%2C2250&ssl=1)
Do you have a new book currently being written or about to come out, if so, can you tell us anything about it?
I am currently writing for adults with a series of regency adventure novellas about mid-life twin sisters who, bored with high society regency life, use their money and privilege to help women and children out of dangerous situations. It is called The Benevolent Society of Ill Mannered Ladies and I am hoping to release the first one later this year through my website.
Find out more about Alison’s Work:
Twitter: @AlisonGoodman
Instagram: alisongoodmanauthor
This interview was conducted in 2020.