On Writing Historical Fiction by Victoria Chatham

 

AVAILABLE HERE

I was recently asked why I  chose to write historical novels, and I needed to think about the answer. The truth is, I was not too fond of history when I was in school. Other than the Norman invasion of England in 1066 and Columbus sailing the ocean blue in 1492, dates meant nothing to me. I don’t think I once correctly listed the succession of kings starting with Edward 1. Nor could I tell you the dates of the Wars of the Roses or the Great Fire of London. As for the English Civil War, without resorting to Google, I can only tell you that the combatants were the Parliamentarians, or Roundheads, led by Oliver Cromwell, on one side and the Royalists, or Cavaliers, who supported Charles 1, on the other.

The first historical novel I remember reading was The Sun in Splendour by Jean Plaidy, and, for

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once, history came alive. After that, I started looking more closely at historical fiction and found that history was not just about dates. It was about people who had lived in different eras, whether they were rich, privileged people at the top of the tree, or the lowly commoner. Catherine Cookson set most of her novels in Northeast England. Georgette Heyer’s characters populated London and wherever their country seats might be, while several had adventures in France or Spain. I enjoyed C.S. Forester’s Horatio Hornblower, who served in His Majesty’s Royal Navy and then the adventures of Bernard Cornwall’s British soldier, Sharpe.  

In writing my historical novels, I have envied colleagues who still have family papers, whether letters or diaries. In my family, very little of our history survives. Thanks to dedicated cousins on my mother’s and father’s sides of my family, I know something of it now. As much as I enjoy research, building family trees was never something I wanted to get into, possibly because of all those dates of births, marriages, and deaths, or hatches, matches and despatches, as my maternal grandmother used to say.

History may seem like a thing of the past, but the truth is we live in history all the time, and what we know today may make dusty reading for some teenagers in the future. While we hark back to the Regency or Victorian eras, more recent histories set during WWII are still popular. I won’t apologize for referencing English history because that is what I know best, but history happens everywhere. Ancient Egypt was the setting for several novels by Pauline Gedge and Wilbur Smith, the latter giving a vivid depiction of South Africa in many more of his novels.

History can be fascinating whether you enjoy it in fiction or non-fiction, movies or television series. Wherever you find it, I hope you enjoy it too.

Victoria Chatham

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Art and Mayhem

 

For those of you unfamiliar with my Two Harbors cozy mysteries, they feature the residents of Whistling Pines Senior residence. The protagonist is the facility recreation director, Peter Rogers. A talented musician, Peter is tasked with providing recreation opportunities for the aging residents. An unwritten portion of his job description is squelching unfounded rumors before they become contentious.

In Whistling Artist, newly released by BWL Publishing, the facility is in an uproar over the removal of a painting by a local artist. The northwoods scene has hung on the wall in Whistling Pines for decades. The artist, a local woman with a remote studio, had specified that the painting couldn't be displayed with a companion piece showing a cabin overlooking Lake Superior, until after her death.

As is the case in many of the small towns featured in my writing, the local residents are distrustful of outsiders and reclusive people. As soon as the painting is removed, rumors start to swirl about the artist's private life. Because the artist never married, rumors swirl about her elderly male patron, her live-in female mentor (who doesn't return from a sabbatical), and the numerous art students she used as models for her paintings.

That's the serious part of the book.

Being a cozy, we don't want to dwell on a serious aspect of the story for too long. As the main plot unwinds, a group of Whistling Pines art students are taking classes from a woman who owns a local art studio. We're unsure if the interest in the class is due to the art classes, the inebriated instructor's tales of her life in France during the '60s, or the liberal amounts of wine dispensed to the art students during the class. When a nude model is recruited, an uproar ensues, led by a group of right-wing religious fanatics. The art studio is picketed, and a news crew arrives to document the protest. There are mixed feelings about the publicity, with the Chamber of Commerce viewing it as an opportunity to advertise an upcoming festival. The police chief defers an interview to the quirky fire chief who'd been called to hose down the protesters.

As usual, things get crazy, in a good way, and the two plots get woven together in a surprise ending that puts many rumors to rest and confirms others.

Check out Whistling Artist at:

Hovey, Dean - BWL Publishing Inc. (bookswelove.net)

Unusual and Forbidden Love Stories, by Diane Scott Lewis

 

Miss Grey's Shady Lover
Diane Scott Lewis has crafted a witty, short parody that made me titter at the author's pointed euphemisms and veiled sexual overtones. The characterization of Anya and Libidinous is spot-on for the time period. What an amusing romp ensues as this tale unfolds! (warning, quite erotic)
              ~ Angie Just Read for The Romance Reviews

The Defiant Lady Pencavel
"Readers should not take this story too seriously as with every line, Ms Scott Lewis pokes fun at late eighteenth century society and men in general. There is also a cheeky Cornish maid with an over the top accent who adds colour and humour. A very fun romp to help blow the cobwebs away." - Historical Novel Review

Buy HERE

I thought for fun I'd write two parodies, but many didn't understand that they were parodies and I wasn't trying to write serious stories. One on Fifty Shades, set in the 18th c., and the other, also 18th c., is a parody on historical romance novels. I still enjoyed the process.

I like the idea of forbidden love, a shy maid and her arrogant master, and two disparate people, betrothed but totally unsuitable for one another. They both want their freedom for different reasons. Could they ever find love? 

I poke fun at every trope there is.

In my current work in progress, Outcast Artist in Bretagne, I take it to a higher level. It's World War II, and a young Englishwoman-with a tragic secret-is stranded in France after the Germans invade. Her activities, sketching near the coast, brings her under the scrutiny of the German Commandant. 

A strange attraction ensues, an impossible situation, but August von Gottlieb is not the Nazi Norah fears he is. He, too, detests what Hitler is doing to Europe.

On the rocky shores of Brittany, a dangerous liaison develops, two people caught up in war, intrigue, and passion. 

She's shunned and threatened by the villagers. He is in danger of losing his position before he can accomplish what he needs to.

Sabotage, a secret weapon, and forged documents will threaten them and everyone around them in a fight for their lives.

Another tale of forbidden love, set back in history, my favorite genre. Due out in August 2023.

Diane lives in Western Pennsylvania with her husband and one naughty dachshund.

To find out more about her books: DianeScottLewis 

London here we come...by Sheila Claydon

Find my books here

I always try to tie-in my monthly blog content with one of my books. Admittedly sometimes the link is a bit tenuous but I usually manage it. So what is it this time. Well to discover the detail you will have to read the third book of my When Paths Meet trilogy, Saving Katy Gray. And although all three books stand alone, to truly understand that means reading Mending Jodie's Heart and Finding Bella Blue as well!! Just kidding of course, but there is a link, right at the end of the book when Katy changes her job to something she really wants to do.

How does this tie-in with London? It's because I'll be there soon with my 8 year old granddaughter who, you might remember from a previous post, is staying with me for 3 months while her parents move jobs, home and school from Hong Kong to Singapore. Actually her Dad is here too but working online from my study, so much of of the time it's like having her here on her own.

She has settled in so well it seems as if she was always here even if, sometimes, my energy levels are tested! Online lessons are going well, she has made friends with local children, and the dog is her new best friend. They are inseparable, which is lovely to see but it will be sad for both of them when she eventually leaves for Singapore. Before then, however, we have our visit to London.

First we will be visiting extended family who live close to London, most of whom have never met her. Then it's on the train to central London where we are lucky enough to have access to an apartment for the 5 days we will be there. Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, the River Thames, The Tower of London are all factored in. Then there are the museums. For some unaccountable reason my granddaughter wants to visit the War Museum. Then her big cousin, who will spend a day with us wants to take her to the Natural History Museum, and her Mum says we should take her to The British Museum. We want to see a show as well....but what one? What would an 8 year old enjoy best? Mathilda? The Lion King? Aladdin? 

I used to work in London so know it well but I must admit to looking forward to seeing it through the eyes of an eight year old. What will fascinate her, what will she see that the adults in the party will ignore until she starts asking questions? I can feel another book coming on...but not until she is back with her parents in Singapore and I have had a long, long rest:)

London seems to be a theme. Here are two more of my books that are partly set in the city.

                                            

                                               

Changing More Than The Clocks by Helen Henderson

 

Fire and Amulet by Helen Henderson
Click the title for purchase information

One of the autumn/winter events that I have come to hate is Daylight Savings Time. Now I am not going to debate the benefits of shifting clocks ahead or back an hour. The fact is, the older I get the harder I find it is to adjust to the changing of the clock. And it doesn't make a difference whether the hour is springing forward or falling back, both are now wrecking havoc to my life. But I am not the only one.

A social media meme of a dog with a sign hanging around its neck notifying its owner that changing the clock does not change its feeding time made me laugh. 

One dog owner I know slowly shifts the feeding time five minutes a day to help her animals adjust. That never worked with the tuxedo cat who used to rule my household. He made it very clear. Bird song and brightening skies meant it was time for his humans to rise and give him his milk. Door slams made sure that we woke. And the evening feeding time? Whenever he wanted to be fed. Delays resulted in loud meows and leg pats (with extended claws).

Another type of seasonal change can be just as impactful as changing the clock. There comes a time in an  author's writing life when a series ends. The Windmaster Novels eventually came to an end with Windmaster Golem. The series covered two generations of mages and a legend pulled from the mists of time. Adjusting to saying good-bye to characters I had lived with for years was harder than that of a time shift.

Two of my favorite things are hanging out with mages and flying with dragons. A coin flip decided it was time to take to the skies. A documentary of the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, a volcano on the island of Luzon in the Phillipines became the initial inspiration for the world of Fire and Amulet. The images of the volcano and the lands around it took me back to the time of my childhood when I lived there.

Since the topic focuses on change and time, in recognition of the changing temperatures outside, a snippit from Fire and Amulet of the change of seasons.

Helen Henderson lives in western Tennessee with her husband. While she doesn’t have any pets in residence at the moment, she often visits a husky who have adopted her as one the pack. Find out more about her and her novels on her BWL author page.

Nighttime breezes accentuated the crisper air of harvest season that had accompanied the last few days of her travel. The cooler temperatures came with daytime storms that kept her huddled beneath her cloak for what little shelter it provided. Although the rain and lightning restricted her movement, it did little to stop her mind from roaming down untenable paths.

Worries about her future, whether Geren and his new bride were happy in Nawddmir, and if Drakus, Hiryur, and their herd had found safe pasture, mingled with memories.

The cool air recalled all the times she hid in Trelleir’s cave to escape the desert heat that scorched Darceth in the summer months. Not even the dark hours provided respite from the heat that burned your lungs and stole what little energy one could summon. In the few steps from the communal well to the garden, even without a single splash or spill, the full bucket emptied by half.

A low chuckle escaped. Caldar could never object to days spent at the cave because it was the head slayer’s orders to go there and assist Trelleir. What was supposed to be a punishment was a reward in disguise.

To purchase Fire and Amulet: BWL

 ~Until next month, stay safe and read.  Helen

Helen Henderson lives in western Tennessee with her husband. While she doesn’t have any pets in residence at the moment, she often visits a husky who have adopted her as one the pack. Find out more about her and her novels on her BWL author page.