Hello gentle reader,

You may recall THE SECRET OF A HEART NOTE by Stacey Lee was featured in one of my Waiting On Wednesday posts a few months back. Since then, I’ve been able to read an ARC of this book and I’m delighted to report it was as good as I hoped. It comes out on 27th December and I strongly suggest you preorder it!

And today I’m pleased to welcome Stacey again on this blog for an interview. Hope you enjoy!

My interview (3rd December 2016)

Your first two books were Historical novels, but THE SECRET OF A HEART NOTE is a Contemporary novel. Was the genre switch intentional? Or did you just write the story you wanted at the time? 

Definitely not intentional! I wrote about something that I love — scents! And the story that came out was set in modern day, though there is definitely an overlay of ‘history.’ Mim comes from a long lineage of aromateurs descended from the Queen of Sheba, and one of the things she struggles with is balancing the life of ordinary teen with the burden of being the last aromateur left in the world. I’m not sure it fits neatly into one category or another so I just like to call it ‘contemporary with a hint of magic.’ 

Mim is an Aromateur. Can you explain how you came up with this amazing and unique concept? 

Natural perfumery, the art of combining real botanicals (as opposed to lab created) into harmonious combinations is a passion of mine. Plants are complex, sentient ‘beings,’ each with their own history and use profile. Using plants for love potions is not a new idea, but I wanted to bring a modern, almost scientific sensibility to this practice.

What type of research did you have to do for this story?  

In addition to smelling hundreds of plants, I visited several gardens of ‘ancients,’ including plants that have been around since the Ice Age. I spent a bit of time at Strybing Botanical Garden in the San Francisco Golden Gate Park, which is where a key scene takes place, as well as Point Lobos, near Monterey, California, the sight of the surfing scene. 

My favorite scene in the book is when Mim goes “surfing” with Court. Is surfing one of your hobbies too? 

Surfing was on my bucket list. I finally checked it off two summers ago in Hawaii. Everything was going well, until I wiped out, and the board glanced off my forehead, leaving me with a big bump and a black eye. So, I guess won’t be doing that again!

Can you talk about what you’re working on right now?

I’m working on my third historical, DEAR MISS SWEETIE, about a Chinese girl in 1890 Atlanta who becomes the pseudonymous author of a wildly popular advice column, and who attempts to use her power of the pen to change the course of a trial of a black man accused of assaulting a white woman.

Finally, do you have any reading recommendations? Recent reads that stood out? 

I loved Traci Chee’s THE READER, as well as Roshani Chokshi’s THE STAR TOUCHED QUEEN. For an unusual sci-fi, I also enjoyed Parker Peevyhouse’s WHERE FUTURES END. Currently, I’m reading Padma Venkatraman’s CLIMBING THE STAIRS, and it’s wonderful.

Thanks for the interview, Stacey!

You can add THE SECRET OF A HEART NOTE on Goodreads.

And check out Stacey’s Twitter for an awesome giveaway!