UK Historical Romance Author Rosemary Morris' series on Writing a Novel

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About Rosemary Morris

I lived in England where I was born until 1961 when I joined my late husband in Kenya. Subsequently, I and four of my five children lived in an ashram in France, where we studied Sanscrit literature.

Today, I live in Hertfordshire within easy reach of my children and grandchildren and pursue my career, writing romantic historical fact fiction.

I grow as many of herbs, fruit and vegetables as possible in my organic garden which I put to good use in my own and my family’s vegetarian diet. A row of jars filled with homemade chutney, pickles and jam gives me as much pleasure as writing.

It’s impossible to remember when I first started writing stories. Blessed with a love of history and a vivid, often overactive imagination, since childhood I have read historical fiction and non-fiction. Now I combine this love with writing novels. I describe them as romantic, because the hero and heroine fall in love, historical because my books are set in times past, and fact fiction because I include details such as types of Brussels lace and snuff boxes, child labour in a Regency cotton factory, food and clothes and much more. My characters are not 21^st century ones dressed in costume, their behaviour is appropriate for their era.

My novels are sensual but contain no explicit sex.

Viewpoint.

I attend Watford Writers on most Monday evenings where authors are invited to read extracts from their work so that they may receive constructive comments. Viewpoint is an aspect of writing which inexperienced fiction authors often struggle with. As a matter of fact, it was something which I struggled with for a long time. Once as my older grandchildren would put it ‘I actually got my head around it’ one of my novels was accepted for publication. Until then I head hopped from my viewpoint as an author to, for example, the hero, then the heroine and someone else in a single scene.

There are several ways to deal with viewpoint.

The first way is from that of the omniscient author. In Marina Oliver’s book Writing & Selling A Novel she explains: “This means the narrator sees everything from some lofty outside standpoint entering each character’s mind in turn. The problem is that this style of writing creates a distance between the reader and the omniscient author, and the risk is that the reader won’t care about the characters. Of course, many Victorian novels were written in this style which is no longer popular new fiction.

The second way uses the first person. This means that everything is seen and heard through a single character. It enables the author to show the main character in action and reveal his or her deepest emotions and reactions. However, it means that when other protaonists are not present in a scene the author can’t reveal what they are thinking and can’t follow them when they leave.

The third way uses the third person. It enables the author to present several characters whose actions and thoughts are important.

However, third person is most effective if there is no head hopping in a scene. In other words, the author needs to show everything from one person’s viewpoint in each scene. Also, it is necessary to avoid writing something such as; distraught Ann pushed back her black hair. Ann knows her hair is black. It is unlikely that she would think of her hair as black.

Yvonne, Lady of Cassio.

A Medieval Novel Set in the Reign of Edward II

Chapter One

Cassio Castle – South East England

1298

“Alice stumbled after the squire, who guided her from her home in Lovage village to the nearby island fortress, Cassio Castle. After she followed him up stone stairs, they trod the length of a dim corridor. The squire halted. He pointed at a massive oak door which stood ajar. “In there.”

Alice stepped across the threshold of a magnificent bedchamber furnished with a huge bed, painted coffers and many other items. She gasped for she had never imagined such luxury. Until now, she only knew the two rooms in the thatched cottage she and her large family shared with the livestock they hoped would survive winter’s frozen grip. Here a log fire blazed and a blend of familiar dried lemon balm and lavender scented the air.

Too frightened to face Simon Lovage, Alice quivered. She took a deep breath and looked down at her feet. She could recite frightening tales of the muscular, fiery-haired Earl of Cassio - accounts of his insistence on bedding peasant women, whether they were willing or not.” 

   This extract answers the important questions: Who, What, When, Where, How and Why? from Alice’s viewpoint. I could have used the first person, but it would have prevented me entering other people’s heads while writing Volume One of the saga.

Yvonne, Lady of Cassio

Back Cover

When Yvonne and Elizabeth, daughters of ruthless Simon Lovage, Earl of Cassio, are born under the same star to different mothers, no one could have foretold their lives would be irrevocably entangled.

Against the background of Edward II’s turbulent reign in the fourteenth century, Yvonne, Lady of Cassio, contains imaginary and historical characters.

It is said the past is a foreign country in which things were done differently. Nevertheless, although that is true of attitudes, such as those towards women and children, our ancestors were also prompted by ambition, anger, greed, jealousy, humanity, duty, loyalty, unselfishness and love.

From early childhood, despite those who love her and want to protect her, Yvonne is forced to face difficult economic, personal and political circumstances, during a long, often bitter struggle

Yvonne, Lady of Cassio

Review

Ms. Morris's first book in a new series, Yvonne, Lady of Cassio, sweeps the reader back to the 14th century following the advent of William the Conqueror in 1066 with his army on the shores of Britain. Morris's meticulous research provides a rich background for an engaging story. Readers like myself who know nothing about this period of English history can enjoy the novel and learn something new at the same time.

Following a tragedy involving one of the main characters, one of the noble overlords remarks the villeins of Saxon descent didn't experience grief in the same way as his own people. Considering the Norman forbears were Vikings not too sympathetic by anyone's analysis, it provided an intriguing insight into how perceptions could change over the course of centuries. I highly recommend the book for those who enjoy historical fiction as well as readers who want to read a different story set against a new background in the genre of historical fiction.

Robbi Perna, Ph.D. - Author and Lecturer

Novels by Rosemary Morris 

Early 18^th Century novels

Tangled Love, Far Beyond Rubies, The Captain and The Countess

Regency Novels

False Pretences, Sunday’s Child, Monday’s Child, Tuesday’s Child, Wednesday’s Child

Mediaeval Novel

Yvonne Lady of Cassio. The Lovages of Cassio Book One

www.rosemarymorris.co.uk

http://bookswelove.net/authors/morris-rosemary

Your comments would be very welcome.