NEBR interviews Lisa Norato, author of I Only Want to be with You

Lisa Norato was impressed with the joy of reading at a very young age. Her mother, a voracious reader with a special fondness for romance novels, encouraged her and supplied her with books. As a result, Lisa grew up in awe of writers. She still recalls hurrying home from school to watch Jacqueline Susann being interviewed on the Mike Douglas and Merv Griffins shows. Yet it wasn’t until attending a New Bedford art college, after being assigned to write and illustrate a children’s book, that she first tried her hand at writing. What she discovered was an outlet more creative than anything she’d ever experienced.

Abandoning the art career, she enrolled in Katherine Gibbs School, where she learned, among other skills, to type, and has been typing away ever since. A native Rhode Islander, Lisa continues to live in the state where she is employed as a legal assistant in the City of Providence. She is a member of the Rhode Island Romance Writers author group based in Cumberland, Rhode Island, and the national organization of Romance Writers of America.

Visit the author on MySpace at www.myspace.com/lisanorato.

What inspired the character of the Reverend William Stafford in I Only Want To Be With You? Was it a challenge centering a romance novel around an English vicar?

Having read my share of romantic novels, something has always attracted me about a less than traditional hero. The sort of guy who’s got everything going for him and yet there’s one aspect of his personality that makes finding love a challenge. I’m also a big fan of British humor. I love BBC sitcoms and England-based movies. The idea of creating a committed English vicar inspired me in every respect. I found vicarious pleasure in the idea of an American woman falling for an Englishman. The challenge came in fitting him into a romance novel intended for the modern market. With no full, consummated sex, I worried whether the story would be competitive enough to sell. And neither would it be appropriate as an inspirational, because I intended to explore William’s struggle with his sexual desires. In addition, the story was something new for me in that it’s contemporary. Everything I’d written up to that point had been historical. Still, I still had plenty of research to do, which I enjoy.

In terms of your writing process, do you develop character or plot first?

I start with a story concept, meaning that I have an solid idea of what the story is going to be about. Beyond the romance, that is. But the characters always come first for me. My plot develops as a result of fleshing them out and discovering how they will react to the situation I’ve placed them in.

That being said, can you summarize I Only Want To Be With You in a sentence?

It’s about a woman faced with the choice of choosing between her personal dreams and the call of her heart.

I’ve noticed a number of novels titled after songs. How does the song I Only Want To Be With You relate in your book?

There’s a wedding reception in the novel with a DJ playing 60s British pop. I complied a playlist of some of my favorite oldies, and as I wrote, it was like the story was a movie in my head and these songs were its soundtrack. Among them, Dusty Springfield’s I Only Want To Be With You resonated as what my main character Marcella was experiencing. Her own personal theme song.

The novel travels from the Cotswolds of England to New York City with vivid, colorful description. Do you feel the setting of a story is important?

Extremely important. I’ve heard it said setting is the third major character in a novel, and I completely agree. Setting adds atmosphere and flavor. It helps shape and develop characters. Among other things, environment and climate impact their speech and manners, their style of dress and their degree of sophistication. Very often I’m drawn to a book simply because of its setting. Setting gives the reader an opportunity to be transported to a time and place of their choosing, and for people like me, that’s why we read--to relax, enjoy and escape to another world. So when I sit down to begin a new book, I’m very selective about the setting.

What do you enjoy reading? Which authors have influenced or made an impression on you in your writing career?

I enjoy reading a variety of books in women’s fiction, romance, inspirational and suspense and also some historical non-fiction. Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand sticks out in my mind as one of the most enjoyable books I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. But then I’ve been attracted to horse stories since I was a kid. I like discovering new and different authors. I have been greatly influenced by Mary Higgins Clark, even though what I write isn’t anything at all like her thrillers. She has an easy reading style with an incredible talent of keeping the reader in anticipation of turning the page. Jane Heller has also impressed me with her humorous voice and breezy, entertaining stories, something I aspire to in my own writing and which is why I also enjoy Sophie Kinsella. That and Ms. Kinsella’s hilarious British characters. Author Annette Blair a good friend of mine who has inspired me both personally and creatively with her talent and dedication.

Tell us a little something about your second book due to be released August 2009. Where did you come up with the idea for Where Eagles Fly?

It originated with my sister and I vacationing at a beautiful historic dude ranch in Laramie, Wyoming. We rode every day across plains and up mountains on a pair of poorly-trained, misbehaved horses. It was, at times, frightening, thrilling and exhausting. We ate around a campfire, and as the days wore on, I got a strong sense of the past. I knew one day I’d set a story there. Where Eagles Fly is a romance featuring a lonely, 40-year old, high school music teacher who, while on her way to visit her sister’s historic dude ranch, is transported back in time to the original nineteenth century cattle ranch, where the founding family has been waiting for her arrival. They all welcome her except the eldest son, a 29-year-old, horse-whispering cowboy who hides a disability that causes him a great deal of embarrassment and anxiety. He stutters. His character was inspired by a letter to Ann Landers in which a stutterer explained her personal torment. Her letter moved me enough to save the clipping and use it to create my hero.