Showing posts with label history. Show all posts
Showing posts with label history. Show all posts
Friday, July 5, 2013
History, How I Love History
Yup, I bet that surprises most of you. But I really do love
history. Once upon a time, I read a great deal of historical fiction. The heavy
stuff, from Leon Uris, James Michener and Allen Drury to William Manchester.
I devoured American History, Irish History, Native American
History…I just couldn’t get enough. I even thought, at one point, that I would
write tomes such as Uris, Michener and the like. But…I discovered as much as I
enjoyed reading it…I really didn’t want to write it.
I didn’t want to write REAL history. I discovered the joy of
my life…mucking with history, trampling thru the facts, rewriting what happened…
I wanted to write Hollywood history! (Really, Hollywood never gets it right.) When
real history gets in the way of a good story, the solution is simple. Change it.
If you change it a lot, like toss in vampires, zombies or
overt paranormal elements, it isn’t too hard. And it’s easy for readers to see
it, recognize it and know this isn’t about the facts, ma’am.
If you change it a little, add in a new person who meets
famous people, or turn a well-known figure into a solver of mysteries…ala the
ones I read where Jack London solved mysteries in the San Francisco Bay…you can
get away with it. As long as you don’t interfere with what is known as
historically accurate.
But if you claim you’re writing what really happened, you
have to get the facts right. All of them, from dress codes to furniture to
available food items…street names…I mean, be accurate. Because if you aren’t…someone
is going to care and spell out to you exactly how much of an idiot you are.
Now, I write adventures. And in my adventures, I write
deliberately inaccurate history. I know that pirate ships of the 1690’s didn’t
have ship wheels. They had a whipstaff. Tortuga was actually a tiny little
ramshackle town, perched on the rocky shores of a small island, not an
established pirate city, with merchants, a mayor and all. And Port Royal was a
city of great sin, not a calm British settlement, the center of the British
realm in the Caribbean.
Yeah, I know these things. I know chocolate wasn’t readily
available. I know coffee wasn’t available. I know Elizabeth didn’t marry and
leave the crown to her children. I know England didn’t release Ireland as a
possession in the 1700s. I know…well, I know a lot.
But that isn’t fun. And it doesn’t fit what I want my
characters to experience. I do try to make it plain, in my blurbs, in my
blathering about the books…but I still worry someone is going to attempt to
nail me on getting a historical fact wrong. I’m considering a sticker for my
books… Warning: Deliberately Historically Inaccurate.
Yet, I love history. As I sit here, on the Fourth of July,
writing this, the television is playing a series called The Revolutionary War.
A historical step by step of the American War of Independence. Love. It.
What do you say? Do
you have a favorite historical period you like to read? A book? Are you
interested in the books which rewrite or muck about with historical truth, or
does it irritate you? If you could rewrite anything of history…what would you
do?
Monday, February 4, 2008
Colleen Gleason: Putting Truth Into Your Fiction and Other Challenges in Writing Paranormal Historicals
Pirates, please help me in welcoming Colleen Gleason to the ship! *hearty cheers*
Colleen, as if you didn't know, is a fellow pirate who traverses the salty seas, writing about vampires, if you can believe it. *superstitious routine done by crew members where they cross themselves in protection against vampires*
Captain Colleen has published three books in the Gardella Vampire Chronicles, and her newest release, The Bleeding Dusk, hits the shelves today! (She even has a rave review from J.R. Ward!): "Sophisticated, sexy, surprising. With its Regency graces and vampire lore, this book grabs you and holds you tight until the very last page!"
I love writing paranormal historicals.
One reason I like the historical setting is that it gives the heroine (and other characters) a different set of restrictions than they have in today’s world. It makes it more challenging for them—and for me.
Such as? Well, obviously, no cell phones, no texting, no Internet and email. Makes communication that much more difficult, and it makes it easier for things like swapping or taking on new identities. It also allows me to build in more tension because, again, it’s harder to get places, to contact people, to find out things.
And then there’s the whole fashion aspect. While, I admit, there are times when I wish I could put my Victoria Gardella Grantworth into some serious CFM boots, or a glittery cocktail dress, or Max into a leather duster, or Sebastian into some tight suede jeans…I also get to use the styles of dress at that time to my advantage.
It’s a lot harder for a young woman attending a Society ball to find a place to hide her stake than it was for Buffy, who just slipped it up her sleeve. I’ve had to get creative with my heroine and find ways for her to secret weapons on her person, and even to have to change in the carriage and need help from someone to unlace her corset! Fun, fun, fun.
Another reason I love writing historical paranormals is because I get to play with history. I get to take events that actually happened and give them a paranormal twist or otherworldly explanation.
For example, when I was researching the second book in the Gardella Vampire Chronicles, Rises the Night, I learned that John Polidori, the author of The Vampyre, died a somewhat mysterious death. There were differing explanations as to why/how he’d died. Well, heck, I thought...I’m certain it had to do with his exposing vampire secrets in his book The Vampyre, and they came after
him for revenge.
And voila! I had a plot twist that I was able to build upon.
I also learned that secret societies like the Carbonari were very common in Italy at the time, and so I figured there had to be a secret society of vampire protectors that also existed—and thus I created The Tutela, which is just that: a society that protects and serves the undead, and appear in my books.
For my third Gardella book, I wanted to base part of the plot around something in Rome. I kept Googling things like “Rome 19th century legend” “Rome 18th century secret” “Rome myth” “Rome legend.” And while I got a lot of things about Remus and Romulus, I also found out about The Door of Alchemy (La Porta Alchemica), which is a real door that still exists today, and is described in my book The Bleeding Dusk.
In fact, because it was so fascinating, I used that door as the main focal point of the suspense plot in the book. And to think I found it quite by accident! That’s the beauty of writing paranormal historicals, and the fun stuff that research can uncover.
One more, then I’ll stop and take questions….when I was working on the fourth Gardella Vampire Chronicles book, When Twilight Burns (coming in August), I found out that during the time the book was set the former Prince Regent of England was crowned king, and that the coronation was a huge, elaborate, expensive affair…and that he refused to let his estranged wife, Queen Caroline, enter Westminster Abbey for the coronation.
I had to use that tidbit in my book, and I knew just how to build that paranormal aspect around it!
I want to thank Fran for having me and for dressing up the place so nicely—that Writer’s Angel is extremely inspiring. I’d love to borrow him.
I’d love to take questions from anyone about the books, the series, the research process, etc.—so lay’em on me! Oh, and ARGH!!!
Hellion, again: Colleen is not only a kick-ass pirate, but she's a kick-ass pirate with booty! One lucky commenter will win one of Colleen's books--winner's choice. (Can't get any better booty than that.) So please stop and ask your most pressing questions about research, the series--and most importantly: is Sebastian a sort of Professor Snape character? And when do we get to see more of him?
Colleen, as if you didn't know, is a fellow pirate who traverses the salty seas, writing about vampires, if you can believe it. *superstitious routine done by crew members where they cross themselves in protection against vampires*
Captain Colleen has published three books in the Gardella Vampire Chronicles, and her newest release, The Bleeding Dusk, hits the shelves today! (She even has a rave review from J.R. Ward!): "Sophisticated, sexy, surprising. With its Regency graces and vampire lore, this book grabs you and holds you tight until the very last page!"
I love writing paranormal historicals.
One reason I like the historical setting is that it gives the heroine (and other characters) a different set of restrictions than they have in today’s world. It makes it more challenging for them—and for me.
Such as? Well, obviously, no cell phones, no texting, no Internet and email. Makes communication that much more difficult, and it makes it easier for things like swapping or taking on new identities. It also allows me to build in more tension because, again, it’s harder to get places, to contact people, to find out things.
And then there’s the whole fashion aspect. While, I admit, there are times when I wish I could put my Victoria Gardella Grantworth into some serious CFM boots, or a glittery cocktail dress, or Max into a leather duster, or Sebastian into some tight suede jeans…I also get to use the styles of dress at that time to my advantage.
It’s a lot harder for a young woman attending a Society ball to find a place to hide her stake than it was for Buffy, who just slipped it up her sleeve. I’ve had to get creative with my heroine and find ways for her to secret weapons on her person, and even to have to change in the carriage and need help from someone to unlace her corset! Fun, fun, fun.
Another reason I love writing historical paranormals is because I get to play with history. I get to take events that actually happened and give them a paranormal twist or otherworldly explanation.
For example, when I was researching the second book in the Gardella Vampire Chronicles, Rises the Night, I learned that John Polidori, the author of The Vampyre, died a somewhat mysterious death. There were differing explanations as to why/how he’d died. Well, heck, I thought...I’m certain it had to do with his exposing vampire secrets in his book The Vampyre, and they came after
him for revenge.And voila! I had a plot twist that I was able to build upon.
I also learned that secret societies like the Carbonari were very common in Italy at the time, and so I figured there had to be a secret society of vampire protectors that also existed—and thus I created The Tutela, which is just that: a society that protects and serves the undead, and appear in my books.
For my third Gardella book, I wanted to base part of the plot around something in Rome. I kept Googling things like “Rome 19th century legend” “Rome 18th century secret” “Rome myth” “Rome legend.” And while I got a lot of things about Remus and Romulus, I also found out about The Door of Alchemy (La Porta Alchemica), which is a real door that still exists today, and is described in my book The Bleeding Dusk.
In fact, because it was so fascinating, I used that door as the main focal point of the suspense plot in the book. And to think I found it quite by accident! That’s the beauty of writing paranormal historicals, and the fun stuff that research can uncover.
One more, then I’ll stop and take questions….when I was working on the fourth Gardella Vampire Chronicles book, When Twilight Burns (coming in August), I found out that during the time the book was set the former Prince Regent of England was crowned king, and that the coronation was a huge, elaborate, expensive affair…and that he refused to let his estranged wife, Queen Caroline, enter Westminster Abbey for the coronation.
I had to use that tidbit in my book, and I knew just how to build that paranormal aspect around it!
I want to thank Fran for having me and for dressing up the place so nicely—that Writer’s Angel is extremely inspiring. I’d love to borrow him.
I’d love to take questions from anyone about the books, the series, the research process, etc.—so lay’em on me! Oh, and ARGH!!!
Hellion, again: Colleen is not only a kick-ass pirate, but she's a kick-ass pirate with booty! One lucky commenter will win one of Colleen's books--winner's choice. (Can't get any better booty than that.) So please stop and ask your most pressing questions about research, the series--and most importantly: is Sebastian a sort of Professor Snape character? And when do we get to see more of him?
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