On Author's Circle today, we welcome PIPER G HUGULEY, named 2015 Debut Author of the Year by
Romance Slam Jam and Breakout Author of the Year by AAMBC.
Huguley is a two-time Golden
Heart ®finalist and is the author of the “Home to Milford College” series. The
series follows the building of a college from its founding in 1866. On release,
the prequel novella to the “Home to Milford College” series, The Lawyer’s Luck, reached #1 Amazon
Bestseller status on the African American Christian Fiction charts. Book #1 in
the series, The Preacher’s Promise
was named a top ten Historical Romance in Publisher’s Weekly by the esteemed
historical romance author, Beverly Jenkins.
Huguley is also the author of “Migrations of the Heart,” a
five-book series of inspirational historical romances set in the early 20th
century featuring African American characters, published by Samhain Publishing.
Book one in the series, A Virtuous Ruby won
the Golden Rose contest in Historical Romance in 2013 and was a Golden Heart®
finalist in 2014. Book four, A Champion’s
Heart, was a Golden Heart® finalist in 2013.
She blogs about the history behind her novels HERE She lives in
Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and son.
1.What’s your personal brand of
romance?
I write historical romance featuring African American characters.
2.Where do you get your
inspiration from, in stories and in life?
There are so many stories that have
been overlooked in history of people of color that are triumphant, I was just
able to read the history, and imagine the stories. The hard part was convincing myself that I
was the one to write them.
3.How do you do your research?
My
stories overlap with what I do as a professor. So I’ve been reading this
history ever since I was in graduate school preparing to teach 19th
and 20th century United States literature.
4.Who is your favorite
character in your book/books?
Well like a mother, I don’t like to say that I
have a favorite one. So I will say that
I’m currently working on telling the story of March Smithson and she’s striking
a chord with me right now.
5.What do you think of the
Tall, Dark and Handsome trope? How does it work for your heroes, and when does
it not?
Well, Virgil Smithson is my hero who fits into this trope. I think that when most people refer to this
trope, they are referring to hair color, not skin color, but that’s what I am
discussing.
6.Your favorite romance author
or a memorable one you read that you must share with our readers:
Well, Beverly
Jenkins is a must of course, but I feel the need to give a shout out to an
inspirational author many may not know about—Siri Mitchell, who wrote a romance
featuring a Gilded Age immigrant heroine, in A Heart Most Worthy. I felt truly transported into that world.
7.In what way are your romances
different from their mainstream counterparts? Let’s talk diversity.
Well, I feature African American characters
who are working though their faith during some very difficult times. It’s not a
niche that a lot of people have explored. At the time that I first published, I
had one comparable and that book was out of print. Still, the fact that my
characters are under a lot of duress holds many lessons for all of us. We can cry and be angry about the history at
this time, but I think that the ancestors would prefer that we learn and pass
it on, so that repeated errors do not occur. I call this the, “So you think you
had a bad day?” phenomenon. And people
everywhere think they have had bad days, so the potential for connection with
anyone is real.
8. Share a little something
about your work that no one knows about yet.
My readers have seen March
Smithson grow up through three books and she will be quite transformed when they
meet her in her own story. That’s it!
And
that’s it. Thank you for visiting my blog, Piper, and allowing us a peek into your
life.
Thank
you for having me!
(Want to get to know more authors? Be sure to check out previous Author's Circle posts.)
(Want to get to know more authors? Be sure to check out previous Author's Circle posts.)
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