Interview with Elizabeth Rolls

Interview for Elizabeth Rolls

Tell us a little about yourself
Just a little? Okay, I live in the Adelaide Hills in South Australia. We’ve only been here for three years, after moving from Melbourne. We decided to have a complete change from city to country living, and we love it. We have five acres with a few alpacas and sheep to keep the grass down and several dogs and cats and now birds. It’s a lovely area surrounded by apple, pear and cherry orchards. Lots of bird life, parrots, cockatoos, galahs. They’re incredibly rowdy at times, but much less intrusive than city noises. We even see wedge-tailed eagles which is a huge thrill for the kids. They run in shrieking “The eagles are coming! The eagles are coming!” It sounds like something straight out of Tolkien.

What do you write?
I write Regency Historicals for Harlequin. I’ve always loved history, and I particularly enjoy the Regency period. I like the clothes then more than what followed so this tends to stop me at about 1825.

Why do you write?
Because I’d go completely mad now if I didn’t. Of course it’s entirely possible that my family would tell I’m already mad . . . I always have characters – no, people – walking around in my head, and I just have to tell their stories as best I can. I also enjoy the research – it’s nice to have a tax-proof, husband-proof, excuse for all the books I like to buy.

What are you writing now?
I’m finishing off another Regency. It picks up on a secondary character from my last two books. Quite a few readers have asked me about Julian, so I hope they enjoy his story. There’s a bit about him in the book I have out in North America in September, A Compromised Lady.

What kind of clothes do you like to wear?
Would you believe I belong to a nudist colony? No, scrub that – generally whatever I find handy in the morning. Living on a small property as we do, I find jeans and sturdy boots the best bet most days unless I have to go into town in which case my town clothes and shoes are hauled out. Most of the time I just don’t worry much. I enjoy getting dressed up when necessary, but I’m probably most comfortable in pants and jumpers.



Are you in love? Have you ever been?
Who hasn’t? Honestly, I’d worry about anyone who hadn’t been in love. Yes. I suppose I fell in and out of love several times in my late teens, but I met my husband when I was nearly 21 and that was that. We’ve been married for over 18 years now and I can’t imagine being with anyone else.

Do you have a dream lover – and what does he look like?
Well if I did he’d look like Hugh Jackman, but don’t tell my husband. Although he probably knows! We were watching Leopold and Kate some years back and it got to the part where she has to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge to get back to him. I was sitting there yelling, “JUMP! For God’s sake, JUMP before it’s too late!” My husband just stared at me and said, “Um, this is the Brooklyn Bridge she’s got to jump off! Would you do it?”
To which my reply was; “For Hugh Jackman?? In a heartbeat!”

What kind of comfort food do you like best?
Chocolate works for me.

What makes you laugh? Cry?
Like the rest of the world, I’ve just been reading the last Harry Potter book. That certainly made me laugh and cry.

What do you do to amuse yourself when not working?
Reading. Walking. Listening to music. I’m fairly busy with two children and all the animals around the place when I’m not working. Also I’ve ended up on several local committees which takes up some time.

What is it in a man or woman that turns you on? The clean version please!
Kindness and humour. Honesty is important, but I do rather take that for granted. I mean if they aren’t honest then I’m not even going to like them.



What do you hate about life?
I honestly can’t think of anything I hate about life itself. I hate injustice of any sort in the world, but that’s not Life. Life itself is great and to a certain degree it is what you make it. The trick is to realise when you’re happy and well off and to enjoy what you’ve got rather than always wanting what the other person’s got. That’s not to say that you should sit back on your backside and never try to achieve anything, just that we have to enjoy our own lives without comparing them to others. I think. Works for me, anyway.

What do you hope to achieve in life and when will you know that you have been a success?
I tend to think of life in five year lots and set a goal or plan for that time rather than having one over-riding plan. Things change. Right now apart from writing, my major focus is on my children. Raising them and trying to remember that being a good parent doesn’t necessarily mean having perfectly obedient children. At least I hope it doesn’t, otherwise I’ve crashed and burned already! I also tend to think of success as an ongoing thing. Not something we aspire to and then sit back and enjoy. It’s a bit like marriage I suppose. You have to keep working at it and earning it.

What are you going to write next?
I’ve got a couple of ideas floating around. One is a novella, the other two are full length historicals. I’ve started writing one of them so I’ll probably go with that and maybe work on the novella as well. I enjoy novellas for a change of weight and pace, both reading as well as writing.