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Letter from the Editor
Welcome,
Samhellions, to our August issue where
you’ll get a chance to find out some of the
ways the past informs the present and colors
the future. Take a trip back in time with
us, and discover from author Dawn Halliday
how an unconventional childhood led to a
successful writing career. Wendy Soliman
finds that a little history can go a long
way, while at the other end of the spectrum,
I try to get everyone to wallow in the past.
Karin Shah reveals how she transmuted the
past into futuristic stories, and Beth
Williamson tries to tell the gosh-darn story
without getting ahead of herself.
So grab a
Latin Lover (recipe compliments of Misty
Evens, bless her!) and join us as we take a
look at history—fiction writer’s style.
Anya Delvay,
August Editor |
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Interview: Dawn
Halliday
Marie Harte
Dawn Halliday is a bestselling author
who’s published historical, contemporary and erotic
romance. Her latest release, Highland Obsession,
from Penguin, is getting glowing reviews. Dawn writes
for Samhain, Penguin, Ellora’s Cave and Grand Central
(as Jennifer Haymore). She has degrees in Computer
Science and Education, has worked in a bookstore, taught
children, raises a family and writes captivating,
sensual romance in several genres.
Dawn, thank you for doing our interview.
Thanks so much for having me! I’m excited
to be at the Samhellion!
1. How long have you been writing?
I was homeschooled for a while when I was
a kid, because in those days we were living on a boat
sailing the Pacific Ocean. My mother used to make me
write a story a day. I thought it was torture! But I
think my creative juices started flowing then. We ended
up in Hawaii, and every chance I got, I’d write stories
about our adventures on the Pacific. In middle school,
my writing took on a fantasy flavor that lasted
throughout my early adulthood. I started writing romance
in 2004 after my daughter was born. I always wanted to
write, but not necessarily be a writer—I never thought
it would be possible for something I wrote to be made
into an actual book!
2.
What is your writing process?
Are you a pantser or a plotter?
Usually the story idea comes first for
me. I start out with a concept, a “What if…?” question.
My husband is great at this stage—he brainstorms with me
and helps me hammer down the Big Problem of the story
and a vague idea of how to solve it. The characters
generally fall into place after that—but not always.
I’ve been writing sequels lately, and I find the
characters established before the plot comes (and I like
this a lot!).
As for plotter vs. pantser, I’d say I’m
somewhere in the middle. Now that I’m contracting books
on proposal, my editors want to see a complete synopsis
before I finish a story. So I write synopses now, and I
do find them to be a beneficial loose guide when I’m on
deadline and working hard to finish a book. However, if
the characters decide to take a radical turn, I usually
hand them the reins and let them take the story where it
needs to go. Characters often surprise me. So I still
very much follow my characters’ leads as opposed to
shoehorning them into a plot I’ve laid out in advance.
3. You write as Dawn Halliday and
Jennifer Haymore. Could you explain your choice for
using a pseudonym?
I have two names partially for contract
reasons and partially because Dawn and Jennifer write in
slightly different genres. Dawn writes erotic romance in
all subgenres and Jennifer writes spicy Regency romance.
4. How do you balance writing with family
needs? What is a typical day like for you?
It’s still a challenge to balance writing
and family, but I’m getting better. It’s definitely a
juggling act, though!
I’m definitely a night owl. Here’s my
typical writing day for the summer: I wake up, get the
kids ready and take them to summer camp. When I get
home, I grab some coffee and go through emails. By then
it’s usually around 10-10:30. I work like mad until I
have to pick up my kids. But my really productive time
is at night after the kids have gone to bed. Usually I
leave the house, find an isolated corner in a bookstore
café, turn on my iPod and get lost in the story. I’ll
write until 10 or 11 (or until they kick me out of the
café!) and then come home, fall into bed, and start over
the next day.
5. What do you think of promotion, and
how much do you do?
I think promotion is extremely important
especially for new authors. I heard somewhere that
people have to see your name ten times before they
remember you, so that’s my goal with readers.
The thing about promotion is that it
could, in reality, take up all day, every day. It’s a
huge distraction from writing for me, so I am trying to
limit the amount of time I spend for promo to an hour or
two per day.
6. What’s your favorite genre to write,
to read?
Right now I’m really enjoying writing hot
historicals. And I’ve always liked to read historical
fiction and historical romance, but I really am an
eclectic reader. I will read any and all fiction…if it’s
good! (And, lately, if it’s not too much of a downer or
too “dense”.)
7.
What are you currently working
on?
I’m working on my third Jennifer Haymore
book, the last in the Regency series begun with A
Hint of Wicked that released in June.
8.
What are you reading?
I’m reading one of the later books in the
Aubrey/Maturin series (Naval Historical) by Patrick
O’Brien, The Yellow Admiral. I’m also in the
middle of The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie by
Jennifer Ashley, and sitting right beside me is
Loving Lies by Lora Leigh. Enjoying them all!
9.
What is the best piece of
advice concerning writing that you’ve ever received?
Never give up.
Thanks so much for granting us this
interview!
To learn more about Dawn, go
to
www.dawnhalliday.com
or
www.jenniferhaymore.com
*****
Marie Harte has written over
thirty books to date. Her latest Samhain release, In
Plain Sight, is a red hot paranormal romance about
shapeshifters. To read more about Marie, visit
www.marieharte.com.
A Curse by Any Other
Name
Beth Williamson
You may not be
surprised to hear that part of researching historical
romance is learning the language and etymology of words used
during the time period. What may surprise you is what I have
to be very careful of when I write—cussing.
Okay, I admit it;
I love a good curse word. Sometimes it's just the exact
thing to put in a character's mouth. However, some of my
favorite curses have only been around since 1900, which as
much of my work is based in the late 1800s, I'm left SOL.
(I'll let you look up that acronym ;-) )
So, I can
struggle sometimes with what to use. After all, sometimes
you just need to curse, right? Another struggle I have is
using slang in the right century. It trips me up all the
time. Luckily, I have an amazing editor at Samhain (Sasha
Knight) who keeps me in line, even if she has to e-mail me
and say "Get rid of the bullsh**s and a**holes" :D
Writing an
historical can also be challenging if you switch the
timeframe but not the century. For example, my Malloy series
centers around the 1880s, which was far different from 1865
as I discovered when I started writing the Devils’ series.
There were many
inventions, common things we take for granted, or even
clothing that wasn't in use yet. Do you know when the first
Sears & Roebuck catalog was published? Or perhaps the year
Levi’s jeans first came into use? What about money in 1883
versus 1865? Believe me, it's like researching an entirely
different time period, even if it's less than 20 years
apart.
Think about 2009
versus 1989. Big difference, right? LOL! Texting has become
the norm, iPhones and Bluetooth. Can you imagine stepping
into 2009 with your mullet, tight jeans and leg warmers?
Yep, it's exactly the same way with the 1800s too.
It may be minor
to some, but as an avid reader of historical romance I’m
thrown out of the story when I see a word that just doesn’t
belong. I embarrassed my husband in the movie theatre when
we went to go see 3:10 to Yuma (love, love, love that
movie) with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0381849/).
The thing that totally pissed me off was hearing Christian
Bale call Peter Fonda’s character an a**hole.
I said (loudly),
“Hey, that wasn’t even in use until the 1920s!
The curse of
writing historicals.
Each time period
has its own unique ways, as well as the absorption of
everything that came before it. I find myself looking up
just about every little detail, even when antiseptic began
to be widely used in surgery, or how much a loaf of bread
cost, and one of the most important things...when was the
brassiere invented?
***
Beth is the author of over 16
novels, novellas and short stories for Samhain. She is
compassionate, funny, a bit reserved at times, tenacious and
a little quirky. Her cowboys and western romances speak of a
bygone era, bringing her readers to an age where men were
honest, hard and honkin' built. For a change of pace, she
also dives into some smokin’ hot contemporaries, bringing
you heat, romance and snappy dialogue.
www.bethwilliamson.com
A Novel or a History
Lesson?
Wendy Soliman
“This is a novel,
not a history lesson.”
“But,” I
protested, “We’re in 1820’s Egypt. Surely my readers will be
intrigued by the fire which destroyed the Alexandrian
library, (which has to be the mother of all conspiracy
theories, by the way), The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the
Rosetta stone, the—”
“No dear,” said my editor,
wielding her oversized red pen with an ease that suggested
years of practice. “What they’ll be doing is glazing over,
skipping this passage altogether because they’re more
interested in seeing how the romance is panning out between
your hero and heroine or, worst of all, giving up on the
book because you’ve bored them.”
Bored them?
What a nerve!
“But this
information comes out in a conversation between my hero and
heroine in a closed carriage. Who knows where that might
lead?”
“It doesn’t lead
anywhere and it has to go,” said the editor, not unkindly.
“It does nothing to move the story on; quite the reverse, in
fact.”
Once I got over
my fit of pique I reluctantly conceded that she was right.
This was my first novel, accepted by a long-established
British publisher and, obviously, it was going to change the
world. My readers would be dead impressed by my knowledge of
the Regency period and would hang on my every word. I was on
my way to my first million; surely any fool could see that?
But now she of the red pen was telling me to cut out
all the diligent research which lent such an air of
authenticity to the work. Well, I wasn’t having that! This
was my baby, and I knew best.
I didn’t, of
course, but I did manage to persuade her to let me cut the
passage from four pages to one. It was a tough lesson, but I
took it on the chin and learned from the experience. Now I
do as little research as possible and put my time to much
better use by giving my characters free rein and seeing
where they lead me. But if it’s into a situation that
requires research, I’ll stop and make sure of my facts,
before I let them get me into hot water.
It’s important to
take the reader back in time with a little graphic
scene-setting, of course, but I try to ensure that any
factional information I use is precisely that—factual. If it
isn’t at least one eagle-eyed reader will always pick up on
the error, and I’ll lose vital credibility, and said
disillusioned reader, as a result.
I’ve never
forgotten that initial lesson, so hard to take at the time
but in retrospect vitally important. Now, at the end of each
day when I review what I’ve written, I ask myself the
following questions:
1.
Does the
factual information I’ve used slow the story down?
2.
Does it need to
be there at all?
3.
Am I sure it’s
accurate?
If the answer to any of those
questions is no, I’m pretty handy at wielding my own red pen
nowadays.
***
Wendy Soliman was brought up
on the Isle of Wight in the south of England but now lives
in Andorra, a small principality nestled in the Pyrenees
mountains between France and Spain.
Five historical romances,
published in England, are the result. A Reason to Rebel,
published by Samhain in April this year, is also set in the
English Regency and is her first e-book.
Learn more about Wendy and her
books by visiting her website at:
www.wendysoliman.com
Looking to the Past
Anya Delvay
Writing
historical romances is a challenge on a number of fronts,
not the least of which is successfully blending modern
expectations and artistic licence with historical accuracy.
The way we think, eat, dress and express ourselves now,
along with modern societal norms and mores, is often vastly
different than it was a hundred, two-hundred, not to mention
two thousand, years ago. A storyline perfectly suited for a
contemporary novel might fall apart with a resounding crash
if shifted, let’s say, to the Regency period. Basic human
emotions and needs may not have changed much over time, but
the way they are expressed certainly has. What we consider
normal would be shocking in some other periods, and
vice-versa. It’s up to the writers to ensure their novels
stay as true as possible to historical fact while keeping
the stories fresh and enticing to the modern reader.
And that can’t be
achieved without research.
I sometimes get
the impression many writers think of research as a necessary
evil or something to be taken like a dose of castor oil
(with great reluctance and a delicately held nose). I really
get pleasure from it, and often find the act of researching
can take a nebulous idea, redirect and refine it into a far
better one. Besides, who says research has to be dry, dull
or boring? Sure, some of it is, but there are lots of really
great ways to immerse yourself in a period and still have
fun. Here are a few suggestions for writers looking for
historical information and some enjoyment as well.
·
Visit with or
join a re-enacting group. This is not to be confused with
groups like the Society for Creative Anachronisms, where
participants choose a time period they want to belong to and
are free to interpret the costuming, etc. however they wish.
Re-enacting groups tend to revolve around important military
campaigns, and many of them do a lot of meticulous research
into the clothing, lifestyles and habits of the time period.
I’m attached to the King’s Royal Yorkers, a group here in
Canada, whose focus is on the 18th Century
American rebellion (yes, I said rebellion not revolution,
because that’s how we see it). Most re-enactors camp, cook
and dress as faithfully to the time period as possible,
giving participants and visitors alike a glimpse into the
past. One of the most important things I’ve learned from my
involvement with the Yorkers is that new information is
constantly coming to light regarding the period and the
people who lived in it. I’ve taken this as a warning never
to assume what I learned previously is still considered
correct—and that goes for all historical eras.
·
Read books
written in the period, if possible. I like reading
contemporaneous material when contemplating writing in a
particular time period. Not only does it give you a sense of
what was happening then, but it can also help you find the
proper tone for the book. Erotic romance writers have the
best of it...historical erotica and pornography abound, and
can make for very interesting reading, although the purple
prose might make you laugh.
·
Pick an element
of the time period and make that your main focus. Creating a
hero or heroine who is extremely clothes conscious or
fascinated with horses, for example, gives you the chance to
narrow the scope of your research. You still need the wider
picture, but a character with a specific interest allows you
to give more detail on one aspect of the time period. There
are pitfalls though that should be watched, including making
your character so obsessed they become one dimensional, and
adding so much information on the subject the story itself
gets lost in the details.
·
Incorporate
other interests into your research. If you’re investigating
something you already love and then actually doing what
you’ve learned, it becomes that much more realistic. I like
to sew and cook, so I’ve found old recipes and tried them
(with various levels of success) and am in the process of
sewing myself the kit I need for re-enacting. Believe me,
there is nothing like hand-sewing a garment or getting into
a pair of stays to make you appreciate what it took to be a
decent woman back in the 18th century. And, when
you’re cooking that medieval feast, stop to imagine what it
would be like doing it without your handy-dandy stove, oven
or refrigerator...
·
Re-visit the
tried and true with a new eye. Museums and publications
devoted to archaeological finds, sociological research or
science can be treasure-troves of information and ideas.
Libraries often carry a full set of magazines such as
National Geographic, and they, like museum tours, will often
spark an idea, or give you basic information you can build
on. And neither option is as dry as a textbook.
These are just a
few ideas to help jump-start your creativity and get you
looking at research from a slightly different perspective.
It’s not all musty tomes and dry-as-dust theses, although
there are plenty of those too. History is all around us, if
only we look with a new and heightened perspective.
**********
After living a chequered
past, and despite an avowed disinterest in domestication,
Anya Delvay has settled in Ontario, Canada, with a husband,
the youngest of their three children and two increasingly
fat cats. All her living companions know to leave her alone
when they see her hunched over the keyboard—with the
exception of the cats who couldn’t care less, especially if
the food bowl is empty.
To find out more about her
writing drop by Anya’s website at
www.anyadelvay.com or her blog at
anyadelvay.blogspot.com.
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