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Author Revealed

Jude Deveraux
Photograph by Kim Jew

Jude Deveraux

Jude Deveraux is the author of more than forty New York Times bestsellers, including Moonlight in the Morning, The Scent of Jasmine, Scarlet Nights, Days of Gold, Lavender Morning, Return to Summerhouse, and Secrets. To date, there are more than sixty... Read full bio

Author Revealed:
Q. Who is your favorite fictional hero?
A. Mr. Darcy, of course.
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Jude Deveraux: A Self Portrait
Jude Deveraux Revealed
About Jude Deveraux
  • What is your birthdate?:
    9/20
  • Previous occupations:
    One of the jobs I had to put myself through college was in a greenhouse and that started my love of plants. After I graduated, I taught elementary school for a few years before I started writing.
  • Favorite job:
    Writing.
  • High school and/or college:
    Murray State University in Murray, KY, plus the University of New Mexico
  • Name of your favorite composer or music artist?:
    Verdi. I like Andrew Lloyd Weber a lot.
  • Favorite movie:
    The 1939 version of The Women. I know most of the dialogue by heart.
  • Favorite television show:
    I love TV and have 30 programs set on my DVR. I like Dexter, Mad Men, The Mentalist, Supernatural, House, all the BBC programs. I watch TV and movies more than I read because when I read, I start editing in my mind and it takes the fun away from the book.
Revealing Questions
Q. How would you describe your life in only 8 words?
A. Starting over
Q. What is your motto or maxim?
A. Be thankful for the small things.
Q. With whom in history do you most identify?
A. Queen Elizabeth I
Q. What are your most overused words or phrases?
A. I have an editor who keeps me from repeating myself. She circles the words that I use more than once on a page. Sometimes it's a real challenge to use different words. Right now, I'm trying to figure out how to say the "roar" of the alligators without using that word in every sentence.
Q. What is your greatest achievement?
A. That I've been able to sustain my career.
Q. What’s your greatest flaw?
A. Right now it's my absolute hatred of aerobics. I will stand in one place and happily lift hundreds of pounds of weight, but put me on a treadmill and I am nearly insane in ten minutes.
Q. What’s your best quality?
A. My memory. I can remember, verbatim, conversations from 20 years ago.
Q. What trait is most noticeable about you?
A. That I'm short.
Q. Who is your favorite fictional hero?
A. Mr. Darcy, of course.
Q. Who is your favorite fictional villain?
A. I don't like bad guys.
Q. If you could meet any historical character, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?
A. I would like to meet Queen Elizabeth I and I wouldn't say a word. I'd just listen and watch.
Q. What is your biggest pet peeve?
A. People telling me something is for my own good when it's really to their advantage.
Q. What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing?
A. I like to garden and cook. My favorite days are when I start cooking at 6 a.m. while watching old movies on TV.
Q. What’s your fantasy profession?
A. I think writing is good. You get to stay home and you can work all day or skip a day. I love looking at a blank sheet of paper and thinking that I can fill it up with anything I want to write.
Q. What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
A. Honesty, honesty, and honesty.
Q. If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?
A. Berries. If it has "berry" attached to the name of it, I love it.
Q. What are your 5 favorite songs?
A. I like Grace Slick's White Rabbit, the Carmina Burana, ZZ Top.
On Books and Writing
Q. Who are your favorite authors?
A. I mostly read research books, but I do like murder mysteries. I read Nancy Atherton, Mary Higgins Clark, and Dorothy Cannell. I like anything about Thomas Jefferson.
Q. Is there a book you love to reread?
A. Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons.
Q. Do you have one sentence of advice for new writers?
A. Don't let your ego take over and rule you.
Q. What comment do you hear most often from your readers?
A. That they wish I'd write more historicals --- which I'm doing now.