Author Interview with Jillian Chantal

Welcome to the Pen Dames May 2025 blog! This month we're interviewing talented author Jillian Chantal, known for writing books that showcase 'romantic adventure with an international flair.' Leave a comment on this blog for a chance to win a print copy of her book, Hearts Don't Lie. 

Please introduce yourself.

I’m Jillian Chantal and I write romantic stories under this pen name. Today, I’m featuring my book Hearts Don’t Lie which is inspired by the song “Brandy” by the band Looking Glass.

BOOK BLURB Two lost souls…each living a lie. Jane Millbrook, sister to two brothers presumed dead in the Peninsula Wars, has fled the only home she’s ever known as it was too dangerous to remain there on her own after her mother’s death. She has made a life for herself as a barmaid in a dockside pub. Her new name is Brandy as a bottle of the liquor was the first thing that caught her eye when the proprietor asked her for her name. Charles Daniel Jameson, injured while in the United States during the War of 1812, arrives home to find his fiancée married to another. He’s scarred both physically and mentally and resigns his Army commission. He takes to sea under the assumed name of Captain David Jones. After meeting at the pub, the two of them begin to step out with each other with neither having any intention of marrying anyone. Both are broken and determined to keep up the charades they each live. Until Jane/Brandy attracts a stalker….

EXCERPT

Despite the noise in the ale house, Jane Millbrook found herself in a trance as she watched the bar man pour the golden liquid into several steins. She pictured bubbles, not a head of beer. Her mind took her back to the days before. Before her brothers went to war. Before her mother died. When they used to drink champagne before dinner when there was something to celebrate. Before she ran away into the night. Before her life changed irrevocably due to that man. When her name was still Jane.

“Hey, Brandy, you going to bring us that round tonight, or what?” a customer yelled across the packed room.

The bar man shoved the tray at her. “Wake up. Dream on your own time or you will have plenty of time to do so as you won’t be working here. We don’t have time for lazy wenches. Get moving.”

Jane plastered a false smile on her face and picked up the tray. She turned with a swish of her skirts and pretended she was happy and gay. The stench of spilled beer and the vomit still drying on the floor near the table of drunken young men from the posh set—the set she used to belong to but had no idea those kinds of boys existed—caused her stomach to roil. Will I ever get used to it?

Taking the tray to the corner table with several regulars, she set a stein in front of each of the men. The one who called across the room earlier said, “Tell my mate here how you got such an odd name. I mean, really, who in the year of our Lord 1814 names their daughter Brandy?”

One of the men at the table she had not seen before said, “A drinking man?”

The first man howled with laughter. “Yes. Indeed. For you see, she told us when she was born, her mother asked her father what they were going to name her and he thought she asked what he was drinking.” He smacked his thigh and laughed so hard, Jane was sure she saw tears roll down his cheeks.

Of course the story was not true, but she had to change her name when she escaped. Brandy was as good as anything else and it was what she took the night she left. The night she slept in an abandoned doorway, drinking the brandy both to keep warm and to make herself forget. She put on another fake smile. “Yes. That’s right, luv.” The accent that was not her own had almost become second nature. She knew if she spoke in her normal modulated tones, it would be a dead giveaway of her origins.

Hearts Don't Lie Buy Link

Jillian, what else can you tell us that will allow us to get to know you better?

I live on the beautiful gulf coast of Northwest Florida. I am a lawyer by day, writer by night and weekends (and the odd lunch hour).  I am also a keen lover of history, photography, Liverpool Football Club, and international racing cycling. One of my favorite times of the year is fall, but I also love July for the everyday racing that is the Tour de France. There are a number of cycling races that are great to watch, but the France tour is a special one that I enjoy immensely.  I love looking at the scenery and castles as well as the racing itself being exciting. I find myself, as a historical nut and writer, imagining the people who had to escape the Nazis and where they would have hidden from them as well as how hard it would be to cross the Pyrenees to safety on foot. 

What books were your favorites as a child?

I adored Noel Streitfield stories and then moved on to Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie. I still love, love mysteries. I was an early reader and even though there were a lot of subtleties I didn’t catch with Sherlock and Agatha as a youngster, I adored those stories.

How and when did your writing journey begin? 

I wrote a story in the 5th grade about Mr. Pepper and Miss Salt who fell in love and married. Mr. Pepper went to med school and became Dr. Pepper. That was my first “published” story as my teacher bound it together and I read it to the first and second graders. I also used to write little stories about gifts I would give and put them in the package.  

As an adult, I started writing a novel to keep my mind off legal stuff in the middle of the night. Plotting is much more fun than arguing cases in my bed. LOL

What genre is your book? What do you like about writing in that genre?

This one is historical. I love history and like to do research into different eras and places. Since I love mysteries and thrillers so much, I like to add those elements in. 

What is the setting of your book? 

England in the Regency era. And some scenes are set at sea. I chose it because the story needed the adventure of horseback riding, carriages, and the potential of a scandal to make it exciting.

Which of your main characters is your favorite and why?

The hero is my favorite in this one. He is wounded physically and emotionally, but he has huge growth in the story. He learns a lot about himself on this journey.

What writing projects do you have on the horizon?

I am working on a series of stories where the heroine sees ghosts.  She teams up with a dead president and a handsome detective to solve crimes with the help of the spirit world. 

What is your best advice for aspiring writers?

Write the book that you are passionate about. It will shine if you do. If the book writing is a chore, that will also show. 

Which authors/books are on your keeper shelves?

Martha Grimes- she writes mysteries set in pubs in England. Been reading her since the 1980s, I think. 

Harlan Coben- a master of thrillers with twists in the tale.

Thank you so much, Jillian, for spending time with the Pen Dames! 

Readers, remember to comment below for a chance to win a print copy of Hearts Don't Lie. You can find Jillian Chantal at the following hangouts:

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