Interview with Regency Romance Author Donna Hatch

Donna Hatch, author of the best-selling “Rogue Hearts Series,” is a hopeless romantic and adventurer at heart, the force that drove her to write and publish eighteen historical romance titles, to date. She is a multi-award winner, a sought-after workshop presenter, and juggles multiple volunteer positions as well as her six children. Also a music lover, she sings and plays the harp, and she loves to dance—especially ballroom-style. Donna and her family recently transplanted from her native Arizona to the Pacific Northwest where she and her husband of over twenty years are living proof that there really is a happily ever after.

Welcome to my blog. Today we’re giving away Heart Strings, but we’re talking about The Matchmaking Game. I hope that makes sense to everyone. Haha. Please tell us about your newest novel.

Thanks, Linda, it’s always a pleasure to be here. The Matchmaking Game is actually a novella of roughly one hundred pages about best friends who become more. Rowena’s childhood friend, Evan, has returned home from war a handsome, but mysterious stranger. In an effort to bring happiness to her father, not to mention uncover the Evan she remembers from their youth, Rowena seeks to unite their parents. Who better to match a lonely widow and widower together than their adoring children? Her matchmaking game could help their parents find happiness and draw out her childhood friend buried beneath Evan’s new reserve … or it could break more than one heart.

Where did you get your inspiration for this story?

Honestly, the opening line came to me whole, then I built the story around it in a purely seat-of-the-pants manner. That seems to be how I float most of the time. Here is what started it all: Rowena Emerson studied her longtime friend, Evan Barnes, and tried to judge by his expression if he’d be game for a new scheme. It was hard to tell; he had come home from the war a mysterious stranger, with only glimpses of his former playful self who had always been ready for a new lark.

What kind of research did you do?

Most of my research is ongoing so I needed very little new information for this story, however, I did review the process of a lady mounting a horse side saddle just to be sure I got the details correct for a key scene I wrote in this story.

Tell me about one of the main characters and what you love about him or her?

The heroine was so fun! She’s sort of a tom-boy (although that term was not yet in use) and a fun-loving, live-life-to-the fullest adventurer whose best friend is a neighbor boy named Evan. Evan never really saw her as a girl…until he came home from the war and they took a good hard look at each other.

Here is an excerpt from The Matchmaking Game, where Evan first realizes Rowena is no longer the gangly friend from his youth:

Evan laced his fingers together so Rowena could mount her horse. A pert smile came his way before she placed her left foot in his cupped hands. She put one hand on his shoulder to steady herself as he boosted her up. Her soft body brushed his arm and chest. Her scent, something soft and feminine he could not name, tingled his senses. Mere inches away, her smooth cheek and moist lips taunted him. His chest squeezed and his knees wobbled. Awareness of her, of the desirable woman she had become, rendered him immobile. She glanced at him, one brow raised, and a half smile curving those luscious lips. A burning energy formed in the middle of his stomach and shot outward like sunbursts.

She parted those lips and spoke. “Am I too heavy for a big, strong man like you?”

“Er, no. Of course not.” He cleared his throat again and boosted her up with a bit too much force.

Despite his aggressive boost, she placed her right leg over the leg rest of the sidesaddle and found her balance. She settled the long, heavy skirts of her riding habit around her, while he helped position her left foot in the stirrup.

With the reins in one hand and her riding crop in the other, she eyed him with an expectant lift to her brows. “Shall we?”

He shook his head, stopped staring, and mounted Otoño. It must be all Winnie’s talk about courting Rowena that had him so rattled. He couldn’t entertain such an idea. He’d made a vow to Joseph and all but promised himself to Cynthia. Besides, as an additional benefit, Cynthia’s dowry could restore the family fortune without having to sell off some of its most precious assets and break up generations of holdings. His path was already paved. Honor and duty dictated his next move.

Where is your website and blog so my readers can check out other books you have written?

www.donnahatch.com is website, or you can go directly to my bookshelf at www.donnahatch.com/bookshelf

Thank you so much for having me here today, Linda!

Thank you for this wonderful interview. I hope my readers check out your new book. You can purchase an ebook for only $2.99 at Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/ebook/dp/B01MUC3MAZ