Writing historical romance: personal challenges and useful resources

I love writing, and I love writing romance in particular. For some reason I have now written more historical romance than contemporary romance but I didn't plan it that way at all.... In fact I currently have two novels on the go which are contemporary romances and I love them both, but there is something about historical romance that draws me back time after time, and it's not just my inability to come to grips with modern technology  - iphones, ipads, and various gadgets I don't know much about and feel compelled to include in a contemporary novel!

I may love writing historical romance but it can be difficult to make sure the characters, the period and setting, and of course the love story between the protagonists, are plausible. Research is always important whatever period you are setting your story, but it's even more so for historical fiction.

My first challenge is to make sure I get the tone, the language and the thought process of the characters right, and for this I try to take into account the more rigid social order of the times my novel is set. That includes the constraints imposed on women, the importance of religion in everyday life, the relationships between men and women, as well as the broader historical background - such as political struggles and wars, for example.

I set the DANCING FOR THE DEVIL Trilogy in 1847, but the heroine's father fought in Napoleon's cuirassiers at Quatre-Bras and Waterloo. There is, of course, a wealth of material about these battles, but this site in particular was very useful: Waterloo. The site also has details of many battles fought by the British army around the world, including the Punjab wars where my hero Bruce McGunn fought.

Reading social or political pamphlets or extracts of newspapers of the time helps me find out what was going at the time of my story, and what and who was popular, fashionable, or reviled. By reading fiction of the period I can pick up popular expressions, slang or understand the way people addressed one another at the time. If you fancy taking a look at some Victorian slang, click on Victorian Slang, but be warned, it's not for the faint hearted! For lots of fascinating posts and articles on the Victorian age you must read The Victorianist.

Secondly, I try not to get mixed up with the various items of clothing people wore at the time, and that includes underwear! There are of course lots of material detailing items of clothing for both men and women, but for a quick glance at outfits for writing a particular scene I find Pinterest very useful. This site here has great information about female underwear in different time periods and these have beautiful photos and descriptions: Fashion of the 1850s and Romantic Era Fashion and Hair.

When writing historical fiction, 'you have of course to pay attention to distances too. Travelling by horse or carriage took a lot longer in the early nineteenth century, especially in bad weather and considering that the state of the roads could be appalling. It's the same of course for sea crossings. I know it's not exactly relevant here, but I absolutely love this website and will consult it again for anything regarding types of ships. If, like me, you don't now the first thing about horses, this site Horses, will prove invaluable!

The DANCING FOR THE DEVIL Trilogy mainly takes place in the Scottish Highlands where I have unfortunately never been. Here are just a few sites I found useful, including this one on the Clearances. For general information about the Highlands, these were very useful: Highland dress and weapons, Scottish Folklore and Songs, and the Scots Tongue.

Of course, I just don't rely on the Internet and material I find online. I always look out for great books too, all kinds of non-fiction books about fashion, travel and folklore. These featured on the photo below have been invaluable when I was researching DANCING FOR THE DEVIL. Visiting historic houses is always inspiring too, for ideas about design, furniture, everyday items. I always love looking at family portraits and old sepia photos, and make notes of unusual names.

 Finally I would say that the biggest challenge for me is to avoid overloading the story with lots and lots of historical details. However frustrating it may be to leave out fascinating or quirky facts I came across during my hours of research, I need to remind myself that I am writing a love story, not a social or historical treatise!

I hope you found these links useful, but if you have any favourites of your own, please post in the comments!

SWORD DANCE is out!

I am delighted to announce that SWORD DANCE, Book 3 in my Scottish historical romance DANCING FOR THE DEVIL has been released by Accent Press. The cover really shows my heroine's lovely, sunny personality, don't you think? 

 So, what happened in Books 1 and  2, THE DREAM CATCHER and BLUE BONNETS and what can we expect in SWORD DANCE?

The story so far...

Cape Wrath, Scotland, November 1847.

When her ship is caught in a terrifying storm off the far north of Scotland and she catches her first glimpse of Wrath Lodge, Rose believes she has reached the gateway to hell. Her encounter with Wrath's laird Bruce McGunn does nothing to reassure her. A reckless officer discharged from the army, McGunn holds a bitter grudge against her husband's family, the wealthy McRaes, and Rose is soon horrified to find out that he means to hold her to ransom in order to save his estate from financial ruin.

 Bruce's health is failing, and he fears he is descending into madness with terrifying hallucinations tormenting him every night. Soon something else is keeping him awake - a growing attraction for his captive, and the gruesome discovery of two women's bodies near the castle. One of them, Malika, is a childhood friend of Rose's she last saw in Algiers the day before her marriage to McRae. How the women died, who killed them and disposed of their bodies is a mystery Bruce now has to solve.  

Rose manages to escape Wrath, taking with her a posy of pine sprigs she believes was given to her by the Dark Lady, Wrath's resident ghost, and her confused feelings for Wrath's tormented master - the man she calls McGlum.

Here is an excerpt. I hope you enjoy it.

‘What are you doing? Please stop,’ she breathed, as his lips trailed along the curve of her throat. 

          If only he could... He looked up and the seductive power of her sultry, heavily made-up eyes gleaming in the moonlight hit him like a bolt of lightning. Every fibre of his body reacted to the feel of her soft body against his, the warm fragrance of her skin. She was right, though. What the hell was he doing? Once again he reminded himself that he had no right to feel that way, no right to want her, but damn it, the woman would tempt a saint. And he was no saint.
          He swallowed a deep, hard breath, released her and made himself step back. ‘All right. We’ll stay here a while and wait until McRae and his remaining guests have gone to bed. Where’s your horse?’
          ‘I left it tied to a post behind the hunting lodge.’
          ‘What about your bag?’
          ‘It’s still strapped to the saddle. By the time I spoke to the girls and the musicians, we had to get ready to come here.’
          ‘How did you manage to get into the hunting lodge without being seen by McRae’s men?’
          ‘It wasn’t easy. I got stuck as I sneaked in through one of the downstairs windows and ripped my - ’
          ‘You got stuck?’ He would have laughed if he weren’t so angry.
          ‘The musicians had to pull me in. We had to be quick and very quiet, because Cameron’s men were in the kitchen.’
          Damn the woman. Didn’t she care about the danger she put herself in?    ‘So, after clambering through a window, you had the brilliant idea to disguise yourself as a dancer and throw yourself into the lion’s den.’
          She flinched at the harshness of his tone. ‘I thought I could avoid bumping into Cameron.’
          ‘You bump into everything and anything you come across, why not McRae?’ he interrupted, taut with temper. ‘He could have recognised you when you were with the others in the music room.’
          ‘Then I would have confronted him and exposed him for the liar and the debauched rake he is in front of all his guests!’ The baubles on her necklace tinkled like little bells as she shook her head.
          ‘Weren’t you afraid of all those men ogling you, lusting after you?’ Me included, he remembered, guilt tightening his chest.
          ‘Well, I... I didn’t think I would have to dance. My plan was to get into the castle and hide until I could speak to Lady Sophia. Unfortunately, Cameron’s manservant was watching us like a hawk and I had no choice but to go into the music room with the others. The girls promised to create a diversion so that I could sneak out unnoticed.’
          ‘A diversion? That’s a mild way of putting it,’ he sneered. ‘The girls’ dancing was... ahem... striking, to say the least. Ask that poor old man who collapsed.’ He drew in a deep breath. ‘Anyway, where did you learn to dance like that?’
          She lowered her eyes, snapped a leaf from a nearby bush and tore it into tiny pieces that spiralled to the ground. ‘Malika taught me, in secret. She always said I was good enough to be one of them.’
          She was right, her dancing had been entrancing, mesmerising, but he wasn’t going to tell her. ‘I still can’t believe you took such risks tonight, just to talk to McRae’s fiancée. It was stupid and foolhardy.’ And damned brave, too, even though he would never admit it. Gripped by conflicting urges, he towered above her, his fists clenched and his jaw set. 

SWORD DANCE is available from Accent Press and from Amazon

  

BLUE BONNETS available to pre-order!

I am delighted to announce that BLUE BONNETS, Book 2 of my historical romance trilogy DANCING FOR THE DEVIL, is now available for pre-order! It will be released by Accent Press on 28th January 2016.

BLUE BONNETS follows on from THE DREAM CATCHER, http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dream-Catcher-Dancing-Devil-Book-ebook-y/dp/B017D73N0Q/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Blurb

Cape Wrath, Scotland, November 1847.

Bruce McGunn, laird of Wrath in the far North of Scotland, is as brutal and unforgiving as his land. Discharged from the army, haunted by the spectres of his fallen comrades and convinced he is going mad, he is running out of time to save his estate from the machinations of Cameron McRae, heir to the McGunn's ancestral enemies.

When the clipper carrying McRae’s new bride docks at Wrath harbour, McGunn decides to hold the woman to ransom and use her to get more time to repay his debts. However, far from the spoilt heiress he expected, Rose is genuine and funny - a ray of sunshine in the long winter that has become his life. She is also determined to escape.

As Rose runs away to be reunited with her husband, she discovers there is a sinister side to the dazzlingly handsome aristocrat she married after a whirlwind romance. Why was Cameron so desperate to get her father's military journal? Why did he insist on keeping their wedding a secret? She is even more confused when Bruce catches up with her and she starts to feel irresistibly attracted to him. Soon she risks her marriage to help Bruce find the truth about his past and solve the mystery of the brutal murders committed on his land. Will her love be enough to heal his haunted heart?

Rose's and Bruce's story will conclude in SWORD DANCE, available in March 2016!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B019E15RTE?keywords=blue%20bonnets&qid=1451913618&ref_=sr_1_1&s=digital-text&sr=1-1