Historical romance writer Lauren Royal talks about everything but writing…

What are your interests outside of writing?

I love liberty, live music, movies, HGTV, and bargain shopping.  I love hockey and baseball—watching them, not playing them.  (Go, Ducks and Angels!)  I love traveling in general and cruising in particular.  I’m into life extension, and I think a day spent sailing with my family is an excellent day indeed.

If money were no object, what kind of party would you throw and where?

OMG, what a fun question!  I think I’d throw a week-long house party at a big historic castle in Scotland. I’d rent the whole thing so we’d have it to ourselves (besides the staff who would be waiting on us hand and foot, that is!).  I’d hire all my favorite bands to play—a different one each night.  And a fabulous chef to make amazing, gourmet meals (gluten-free for me, normal for everyone else).

What do you think?  Would you like an invite? :-)

What do you miss about childhood?

The lack of responsibility and worry.  I miss that time when getting homework done was the sum total of what I had to do (well, that and a few simple chores).  That’s it, really, since I don’t let my age stop me from doing anything I want to.  Lack of money might stop me, lack of time might stop me, fears might stop me—but not my age.  Inside, I haven’t yet grown up.  I often say I feel like a big kid with bills.

What fashion trend you followed was very cool then, but looks ridiculous now?

Haha!  That’s got to be leggings with a huge shirt.  And the huge shirt was usually decorated with something gaudy or sparkly.   Ridiculous doesn’t even begin to describe those getups!

What remains undone that you’ve wanted to get done for years?

Scrapbooks!  I have all the supplies—eight or ten top-notch archival albums, fancy papers, stickers, trimmings, and a whole set of scissors that cut different designs.  I had great fun collecting all this stuff, and I’ve had it for at least ten years.  Have I made one scrapbook?  Nope.

Of course, before I could make scrapbooks, I’d have to sort all the thousands of photos I have randomly crammed into boxes.  Which is a daunting project in itself!

What one fear would you like to conquer?

Most certainly my fear of heights.  It keeps me from doing so much—climbing up ancient towers, riding ski lifts, parasailing, ziplining, skydiving.  I can’t even watch other people do these things without feeling a hole open in the pit of my stomach.  The sight of people leaning over the rail from the top level of the baseball stadium nearly gives me a heart attack!

It’s such a stupid fear, and my brother suffers from it, too.  I’m guessing maybe our mother was too protective.  Rather than following my mom’s example, I made sure not to inflict fear of heights on my kids, which was actually quite tough for me.  But I’m happy to say this fear ended with my generation—my kids are quite fearless, and my brother’s children are fearless, too.

What makes you laugh the hardest?

Live stand-up comedy.  There’s something about being in a big room with a couple hundred laughing people that makes every joke seem funnier.  I never turn down a chance to go to the Improv or another comedy club.  And it’s healthy to laugh, you know?  The endorphins are great for your immune system.  So I consider stand-up comedy to be good medicine.  (Hey, does that mean I can deduct it from my taxes?  Hmm…)

I think the funniest show currently on TV is “How I Met Your Mother.”

Which temptation do you try the hardest to resist?

Sugar.  Most definitely sugar.  It’s so delicious and so bad for you—on the long list of reasons why life is unfair, sugar is right near the top.  I have to admit I’m not as good at resisting this temptation as I should be, but I do honestly try my best.  Happily (for me), I don’t count very dark chocolate as sugar.  It doesn’t have much sugar, really, and it has tons of antioxidants, so, hey, it’s health food!

LAUREN ROYAL is the award-winning author of ten historical romance novels originally published by Penguin Putnam.  Her latest release is a revised “Author’s Cut Edition” of AMETHYST.  Visit Lauren’s website or follow her on Twitter or Facebook.