We chat with author Virginia Heath about Pride Comes Before a Fall, which is the third installment of this witty Regency romcom series, a headstrong chaperone is torn between following her rigid principles or her heart
Hi, Virginia! Welcome back! What have you been up to since we last spoke two years ago for the release of All’s Fair in Love and War?
Lots of writing and lots of travelling. Since we last spoke, Look Before Your Leap, the 2nd of my Miss Prentice’s Protégées, has been released, the 3rd is about to hit bookshelves and I’ve even finished writing the 4th. However, you’ll have to wait until Summer 2027 for that final book in the series to be published. In between that, I’ve visited India, Japan and Egypt, which were three big destinations on my bucket list and all three were amazing. I also got to be both mother-of-the-bride and mother-of-the-groom as both my kids decided to have weddings within a year of each other. So life has been really busy, but in a good way.
Your latest novel, Pride Comes Before a Fall, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Funny, sexy, thought provoking, romantic.
What can readers expect?
An independent, outspoken, reforming heroine, who has never needed a man to complete her, finds herself falling for one of the patriarchy she’s supposed to be smashing—a duke with dimples who isn’t at all what she expects an entitled duke to be!
Where did the inspiration for Pride Comes Before a Fall come from?
I suppose it grew out of the initial mention of Portia Kendall in the first book of the series All’s Fair in Love and War. When I first introduced the four childhood friends who would each become the heroine of their own standalone love story, I wanted each one to be different. Georgie was the lonely one who needed a found family, Lottie was the tomboy, Kitty was the daydreamer and Portia was the most intelligent one who had quite forthright political opinions. Especially when it came to the class struggle and lack of equality rife during the Regency where the series is set. By the time Look Before You Leap was finished, it became obvious that Portia didn’t only want change, she wanted a complete political revolution. So much so, she’s prepared to risk her freedom and her future by anonymously writing pithy columns calling for reform for an underground, illegal newspaper considered (at that time) seditious. When it came to writing Pride Comes Before a Fall, I figured if she staunchly supported the abolition of the aristocracy because she thought that they were all entitled, pompous, obsolete and out of touch, then I should force her to cross paths with someone who flipped some of those set in stone principles on their head. Hence I created Leo, the most lovable and unconventional duke of his age. A powerful man capable of completely destroying her once he discovers her dark secret. Except he does entirely the opposite…
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
As a former Head of History at a school here in the UK, I really enjoyed weaving some of the issues of the time into this story. But as a hopeless romantic who writes Romcoms now for a living, I adored leaning into the ridiculousness of some of the situations my leads got themselves tangled in. Then there is the fact that the heroine is a writer, like me, so it was fun to put some of my own processes onto the page disguised as hers. I also particularly loved creating some endearing and eccentric side characters, which is something I’m known for. Aside from Leo’s troublesome sisters, magnificently meddling mother, the hero’s faithful hounds Captain Barkington and Inspector Snifferson, and the heroine’s hopelessly romantic, daydreaming, disaster-prone friend Kitty (who is the star of next year’s final Miss P book Practice Makes Perfect), the nominee for Best Supporting Actor is very definitely M’Lady Whiskers. She is the hero’s evil and disdainful white Persian cat who will only tolerate him and only very occasionally!
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
Oh my goodness! Some books fly out of your fingers and pretty much write themselves, and some become the uncompliant bane of your existence. This book was very much the latter and was almost the death of me! It was, without a doubt, the hardest book I have ever written. And with the benefit of hindsight, I now completely understand why. Not that I realised that during the months I sat banging my head against my desk wondering why the story just wouldn’t work. Especially as I had a loose plan for this one and a brilliant ending all ready. Something that I never usually do because I cannot plot. I watch the story live like a film in my head and write down everything I see and hear. Weird I know, but it works for me. However, try as I might, by the time I reached the middle of the book, I just couldn’t make the plot work to get to that brilliant ending. I wrote and deleted. Wrote and deleted. Deleted, rejigged and deleted again, and all I seemed to do was tie myself and my characters up in more knots.
Then, as I so often do during a bout of writing-induced insomnia, I had an epiphany. My brilliant ending wasn’t the ending at all. It was the plot twist in the middle! Once I figured that out and abandoned the rest of the planned plot, a new film started in my head and everything fell into place. And the best thing is that I am so proud of the story it became. It is, without a doubt, one of the best books I have ever written. The early reviews of it have also been fantastic, which is such a relief after all the trouble Pride Comes Before a Fall gave me. It also goes to prove the old adage: Easy reading is HARD writing.
What’s the best and worst writing advice you’ve received?
The best is to just write, even if you’re stuck and not feeling it, because you’ll get there in the end. The worst, as Pride Comes Before a Fall is proof, was to plot out the story thoroughly before you start writing it. That, I can assure you after this book, is something I will NEVER be doing again!
Looking back, what’s one piece of wisdom you wished you knew when you were starting out?
That this writing malarky is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes dedication, discipline and a lot of work to make a career out of it, so pace yourself. Newsflash, I didn’t and often burned myself out creatively.
What’s next for you?
I’m simultaneously trying my hand at writing a contemporary romcom and a witchy, accidentally time-travelling romcom at the same time, so hopefully you’ll see those on a bookshelf soon. And, of course, I’ve still got all the edits and stuff to do on the final standalone story in the Miss Prentice series, so I’m not done with Regency romcoms yet either.
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up? Any you’ve read so far this year that you’ve enjoyed?
Bizarrely, for a city girl from London, I went through a big cowboy romance phase earlier this year. My favourite of all of them was Done and Dusted by Lyla Sage, so obviously I devoured the rest of that series. I also really enjoyed Fan Girl Down by Tessa Bailey and Merry Christmas, You Filthy Animal by Meghan Quinn. I’m really looking forward to getting my hands on The Love Stunt by Lulu Morris because I loved her debut The Dating Pact. What’s not to love about a sunny plus-sized heroine, a jaded movie star and a fake relationship romance?
