Chasing Love Across Time with Leslie Hachtel | S5 EP236: Book Banter Podcast
- Dianne Burckhardt
- 34 minutes ago
- 6 min read
Leslie Hachtel on Finding Stories in Unexpected Places, Writing to Avoid Housework, and Shopping eBay for Time Travel Relics.
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Bleeped words (done to make sure we do not get censored anywhere): k!ll!ng
Hello My Happy People,
Apparently, romance novels and housework are natural enemies.
At least, that was one of my takeaways from my interview with Leslie Hachtel. Leslie told me that one of the reasons she started writing was to avoid doing housework, which may be one of the most relatable origin stories for a writing career I've ever heard.
Before becoming a romance author, Leslie had a pretty interesting collection of careers. She worked as a licensed veterinary technician, caterer, advertising media buyer, and horseback riding instructor for people with disabilities.
I especially enjoyed hearing her talk about working with horses and the incredible connection she witnessed between horses and humans. She got to see people overcome fears and obstacles, and I think experiences like those give a writer an incredible amount to draw from when creating characters and the challenges they face.
Then there is Come Back to Me. One of the things I found fascinating was learning that the inspiration for a time-travel romance that takes readers back to Scotland in 1562 started with something as ordinary as Leslie going to an estate sale. I can understand hoe being surrounded be the artifacts of another person's life could spark so many ideas. I love the fact that an everyday experience can plant the seed that eventually led Leslie to envision an entirely new romance world.
Leslie took that inspiration and created the story of Skye Blaine, a woman willing to travel through time in search of the person she loves. The story combines romance, history, time travel, magic, and faith while asking just how far someone would go to find their soulmate. Not to mention an inventive use of eBay. And it seems that inspiration turned out to be pretty damn good because Come Back to Me became the start of a new series for Leslie.
Our conversation also took us through Leslie's career as an author, which now includes nineteen romance novels across several subgenres. And, of course, her four-legged writing partner, Josie, made an appearance in my Five Quick Questions.
But I have to come back to the housework because I identified with Leslie's point of view and the exact opposite. I'd rather write than dust, vacuum, do dishes, or do laundry. But put a new writing challenge in front of me, especially starting a new project, and suddenly my cabinets have never needed straightening more desperately in their lives.
Apparently, writers can use writing to procrastinate on housework and housework to procrastinate on writing. It's a wonderfully ridiculous little dichotomy.
So I have to ask: Which side of the writing-versus-housework debate do you fall on? Are you someone who would rather write than do housework, or does facing a new writing challenge suddenly make cleaning out the cabinets seem like the most important thing in the world? Please comment because inquiring minds want to know!
Enjoy,
Dianne
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