Today we welcome Samanthya Wyatt and her fascinating research for The Only One, a historical novel featuring an English duke whose mission takes him to New Orleans in the 1800s.
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I find that I get a lot more accomplished if I just sit at the computer and write. But if I want my story to be acceptable of any time period, I have to research what is appropriate for the time period in my books. When writing historical, it’s easy to slip up. One little word that sounds modern, can jerk the reader right out of that story. I do my research for the speech, slang, clothes, houses, everything I can think of that particular period.
Google on the internet. Ever have this problem? Everything in the world comes up—but what you want. Right?
Research. Heavy Sigh. I spend hours of research for all of my books. When I say hours, I mean hours upon hours, days of research.
The Duke of Nethersall is on a mission. For the third book in the One and Only historical series, I investigated a ton of sites with any background information I could find on New Orleans history in the 1800s.
New Orleans became the United States’ wealthiest and third-largest city. Its port shipped the produce of much of the nation’s interior to the Caribbean, South America and Europe.
In my research, I used this picture while creating the Carmichael Plantation in my book. I studied many famous plantations, then described the idea of my plantation for the setting. I learned about crops, growing sugar cane, the process of getting it to market. I researched the land, the crops, the moist climate, what flowers grew there, fruit trees.
What did people do? I found restaurants, theatres, operas, bars, gambling houses, and red-light establishments. I found entertainment, jazz, seamen, immigrants, and tourists. But I had to be careful. The time period for my story is around 1825. Some of the things I found happened in 1830. So that meant more research.
The first steamboat came downriver in 1812, providing a more efficient of transportation for cotton. In 1821, 287 steamboats arrived in New Orleans;
So you can see, before a book begins, a lot of research is necessary. The facts are endless. The more you know, the better the foundation of a manuscript. And since I found a wealth of information, I couldn’t resist using what I found—like a steamboat. Since my current book’s setting is in New Orleans, it just seemed natural to have a steam boat whistle while coasting down the river.
About The Only One
A dangerous lord’s warning sparks devastating results
One impulsive kiss to prove the young girl flirted with danger shakes Giles’ firm resolve. The young American is wild and reckless, and before long he realizes, she’s too much to handle. He surrenders. A duke must adhere to his duty. His title demands his home is in England. Tormented with longing for the woman who branded his very soul, he forsakes nobility and returns to claim the love he has carelessly thrown away.
A dangerous lord’s warning sparks devastating results
From the first moment Alexandria saw the duke she knew he would be hers. Determined to get the man she wants, she devises a plan, curbs her reckless nature, and presents the proper lady his nobility requires. The interference of her brothers disrupts her amours pursuit, yet the feisty girl seduces the lord with a woman’s passion, and brands the duke hers forever.
Available now at http://amzn.to/1QoDYjb
A Teaser
“I can handle you.” Her eyes lit up and she seemed too sure of herself.
The gall of the chit.
With one quick movement, his hands shot out and jerked her against his chest. A gasp rushed from her throat, but she boldly held his gaze. With deliberate daring, his arms imprisoned her. He watched the emotions flitting over her face. He meant to punish, to teach, to frighten. His gaze lowered to her mouth.
He’d send her fleeing for good.
He captured her lips in a forceful kiss.
Her fingers twisted his shirt.
Good God, she kissed him back. With such enthusiasm, he was flabbergasted.
Unconscionable, that one so young should kiss with such skill. Had the damned girl been coached? She should slap him, call him a knave. Push him away, scream at him. Instead, she twined her arms about his neck while her warm, seeking tongue pirouetted a mating dance with his.
Chest heaving, he grabbed her shoulders and thrust her away.
“Where the hell did you learn to kiss like that?”
About Samanthya Wyatt
Samanthya lives with her husband in the Shenandoah Valley. She left her accounting career and married a 
military man traveling and making her home in the United States and abroad. Once she found historical romance novels, she couldn’t put a book down. She fell in love with the characters and needed to know their happy ending.
One day she put words to paper creating a story of her own. The more she wrote, the more she became involved with the characters, and they seemed to take a life of their own. She relishes the challenge of penning a story with strong characters, a bit of humor, and active scenes. She enjoys creating new characters and bringing them together in a romantic tale. It took years of writing, joining RWA, joining chapters, entering contests, submissions & rejections which created the author she is today. By keeping her spirit and turning criticism into drive she has achieved her career as a published romance author.
Meet Samanthya at
http://samanthyawyatt.com/
https://www.facebook.com/samanthya.wyatt
https://twitter.com/samanthyawyatt
Sounds like a great read, Samanthya!