Love is worth the risk
Recently John Le Carré gave CBS’s Sixty Minutes five tips for novel writers. You can find them here. One was easy: “Keep a travel journal.” Some were lessons I learned the hard way: “Make the verb to the work,” and “Start your story as late as possible. One is giving me fits. “Start writing at […]
Jude Knight introduces us to Victorian Tourists to New Zealand. The nineteenth century, says the book I’m currently reading, was the European century; the century in which Europe dominated the world. The nineteenth century was a European one also in the sense that other continents took Europe as their yardstick. Europe’s hold over them was […]
Tina Susedik with details about the Oregon Trail The Trail to Love is my first historical romance and part of The Soul Mate Tree Collective. The story is set on the Oregon Trail. As I wrote the book, I research many words to find out if they were used in 1854 and was surprised […]
Gina Danna on romance and war Why write about the American Civil War? It is a period that I, as a historian, love. Victorian America, with all the rules and societal set by England set, was practiced here on courting, marriage, fashion and how to manage life. Yet how did the War affect it? This […]
Highlighting Historical Romance: We welcome Alina K. Field today to tell us about spymasters, and the book sounds like a gem. Thank you so much, Caroline, for having me as a guest today. My latest release, The Bastard’s Iberian Bride, is the first book in my Sons of the Spy Lord series. On one of […]
If you’ve seen those clips of cats chasing a laser light, you know what I mean. Oh look! It’s shiny. No matter what is in front of them, they will chase the shiny thing. That’s me. I write historical romance, and research is a given. In my case the dollop of history is a bit […]
This week’s writing challenge from Marketing for Romance Writers gave me flashbacks to the days when I had to endure job interviews. Inevitably someone on the selection committee would ask the dreaded question, “What’s your greatest strength?” The first time I heard it I was stymied. Since I went through a long period in which […]
Process? I don’t need no stinking process. My book, alas, needs a plot. I’ve read the craft books. I know a scene from a sequel, and I understand the big W shaped romance plot and the four acts that make it up. I get hooks and turning points. I’ve tried outlines, story boards, and scene […]
Highlighting Historical Romance: Regan Walker The issue of emancipation for Catholics consumed England for many decades, beginning in the 18th century and continuing until the Catholic Emancipation Act in 1829. Prior to that, Catholics could not, among other things, hold public office nor serve in Parliament. Ironically, the Prince Regent opposed Catholic Emancipation even though […]
I’ve always said I can go for weeks on a few good words. My muse feeds on it. Tell me you like my book, and I’ll hustle to write another one. That said, I may get months of forward energy from this particular review. The March issue of InD’Tale magazine published a review for The […]