Fact or Fiction?
 
Our RNA chapter recently discussed the question of how accurate factual background needs to be when writing fiction. To what extent can we adapt the truth on the grounds that we don’t want the facts to get in the way of a good story?
 
This set me thinking about my own approach. Given that I write principally historical fiction, the factual context of the period I’m writing about and the public figures of the time are important as well as the current issues of the day. That awareness feeds the dialogues between my characters, their political views etc. So where do I set the boundary between truth and story-telling?
 
I start with an idea of the period in which I’m considering placing my story and research it thoroughly. How? I check out the main events of the year/s I’m interested in, including economic, social and political issues as well as the weather, natural disasters, clothing, furniture, buildings of the time, publications etc. With luck and a following wind, something will leap out at me, an event, or a scandal and then I’m off…
 
I use a number of sources including the British Newspaper Archive (a subscription source, but well worth it for 18th century onwards), Hansard archives and other relevant archives, plus any books written at the time and often available at the British Library—if you live in the north like me the Reading Room at Boston Spa can now obtain most items so you don’t need to go to St Pancras. Quite a lot of older items have been scanned in and can be viewed digitally at home, but you do need to join (an easy and free process).
 
Then I explore the ‘what ifs’ and this is where my imagination roams wide and I adapt known events to suit my fictional story. For example, in researching the Boer War (the context for two of my novels) I looked at the actual records of volunteer civilian doctors and Red Cross nurses and found that one civilian surgeon was listed as ‘missing’ after the conflict, as was at least one of the nurses. Did they die? Probably—but supposing they didn’t? Might there be a reason they chose to ‘disappear’? So was born the theme for Miss Deacon Investigates, in which an inquisitive government inspector sets out to unravel the mystery.
I have done considerable research on the role of women spies in the 1st and 2nd World Wars. How to use such a popular time period and be different? So I created a female character who’d been a spy in both and brought her to life through the eyes of her great niece, who by chance discovered the family connection. The result was The Year I found Great Aunt Alice, a past-meets-present novel.
On a lighter note, I researched the Great Exhibition of 1851 and discovered they had toilet provision for visitors in the Crystal Palace, at one penny a go! So I created my own sanitary engineer and the baby daughter who was born in said toilets and what befell her when she grew up. No, I chose not to call it ‘The Sanitary Engineer’s Daughter’--In for a Penny sounded much more catchy.

How do you decide to read or listen to a particular book?
 
What influences my own choices are, in no particular order, as follows:
 

• A genre I like or feel like trying
• An author I’ve read before and enjoyed
• A recommendation by a friend
• A series I want to follow
• Something escapist and life-affirming for that feel-good factor
• The monthly choice of someone in my book group (excellent, because it makes me read something I might not have picked off the shelf)
• A cover and blurb that draws me in
• The opportunity to read or listen to a sample (at this point if I don’t care for the writing style or the voice I won’t download it)
• Spotting a published review which gets me interested
• As an author myself, reading around my own genre (mostly historical romance) as much as possible
• Non-fiction for the purpose of researching a period as background for my fiction writing
• Non-fiction on a topic that interests me

 
What I do not look at are star ratings or other readers’ reviews (although I may read the latter afterwards out of interest to compare to my own views). Why not? Partly because they are not always genuine. Sad to say. Goodreads is currently investigating matters to do with misuse of ratings and reviews, for example.
 
As authors, we try to signal by the cover and blurb what the reader can expect. In romances, the level of sexual content can be an issue (for readers who don’t want it as much as for those that do!). In my case I have and I haven’t included explicit scenes, while some authors consistently either do or don’t. Maybe I’ll present a future blog categorising my books accordingly!

Venture into Audio
My latest project has been to prepare the first of my Classic Regency Romances, SURPRISED BY A DUKE, for production as an audiobook. It’s common knowledge that audiobooks are taking an increasing proportion of the market, particularly digital audio for download, and that many listeners are choosing a subscription service to obtain them. This is my first venture into this new world and is due out later this month. I will add the link to my HOME page when it goes live.
As a volunteer in my local library, I’m aware that other formats are still much in demand, such as large print as well as audio on CDs for those with sight difficulties, who perhaps also find digital activity challenging. So I do support those who argue that the expansion in digital download should not be at the expense of abandoning CD production, which continues to be an important provision.
One of the first questions I was asked was, “Are you narrating it yourself?” Well, definitely not was the answer to that! I don’t have the acting skills or the professional recording studio. If you’re interested in learning more about the world of audio production, watch out for various interviews on the Romantic Novelists’ Association BLOG post (see link ‘Blog-Author interviews and more’ on HOME page and scroll down to check out the ‘Ask an Industry Expert’) posts
And don’t forget you can use the contact form at the foot of the same page. I’d be interested in what readers think about audiobooks.

Classic Regency Series,  Book 3

It is now 100 years since Georgette Heyer’s first novel was published. To celebrate that centenary and in honour of a prolific author widely hailed as the Queen of Regency romance, I have produced a series of three Classic Regency Romances. Many of you will have read the first two (Book 1: Surprised by a Duke, Book 2: Tricked by a Duke) and the third is out this month. Protected by a Duke tells the story of an aristocratic young woman trying to escape a forced marriage and the Duke who assists her.
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Out now on Amazon Kindle, KindleUnlimited and in paperback.

Classic Regency Series, Book 2
 
I recently interviewed a literary agent who commented that we all need a bit of comfort-reading at the moment. Here’s a light-hearted bit of fun for you, just published: ‘Tricked by a Duke’. It’s about a duke who served in the navy, albeit 200 years ago! On completing his term, he leads a somewhat purposeless, dissipated life for a few years, until he finds himself landed with a title and estate and a message from his late uncle that he really should pull himself together and make his top priority the acquiring of a suitable wife. The trouble is, his reputation goes before him. What decent woman would even consider his suit…unless, perhaps, she thought him someone else. So the trickery begins.
Available on Kindle, KDP Select and as paperback from Amazon Books.

Something for everyone
 
This is the time of year when UK romance authors’ professional body, The Romantic Novelists’ Association, announces the category winners in their annual Romantic Novel Awards. So whether you like comedy, fantasy, historical, sagas, thrillers… there’ll be something for you, including a debut category for you to discover the rising stars of tomorrow. In total, 9 section winners were announced at the virtual award ceremony in March and novelist Mike Gayle was presented with an Outstanding Achievement Award. Congratulations to all the finalists as well as the winners.
 
For more, including a recording of the award ceremony, see:

Armoured for the ball
 
Thank you to readers for feedback via Amazon and Goodreads on the first of my new set of Classic Regency Romances, Surprised by a Duke, published a month ago. I’m now working on the second in the series which is called Tricked by a Duke. The trickery comes when said Duke pretends to be someone else as well as his real self. As usually happens, the deception cannot persist forever, but we can have some fun while it lasts.
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My inspiration came, as it often does, from a real event of the time. In May 1819 a Lady Hyde Parker (yes, really!) held a Masquerade (a masked ball) at her grand town house in Cumberland Place. The event ran all night and about 300 families attended (a very big house!). Next day’s papers described the event and listed many notables and which costumes they wore. However there was an unidentified gent, who wore a full suit of armour in the character of Baron de Courcy, which armour weighed in at 70 lbs; the helmet alone weighing upwards of 15 lbs. The gent who wore this cumbrous load for nearly six hours apparently said he experienced the greatest ease and comfort!

What’s in a word?
 
Why say bamboozle when you can say trick?
Why say blunt instead of money?
Why say cattle in place of horses?
Why say faradiddles rather then lies?
Why say havey cavey for suspicious?
 
The answer is, if you are Georgette’s Heyer, whose traditional regency romances are liberally spattered with regency cant and slang, the meanings of some of which are not always obvious.
Interestingly Jane Austen, whose novels were published during the period in which Heyer’s stories are set, used them far less, but she did come up with several contributions to common English usage of today, such as:
 
If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a hundred times,
Brace yourself
Dinner Party,
Dirt Cheap, and
Dog Tired.
 
Available now on Kindle, KDP Select and in print from Amazon: Surprised by a Duke
Book 1 of the author’s new Classic Regency Series, written in the style of that Queen of the Regency, Georgette Heyer

​Reflections
The past year has been a strange one, most of our engagement with others being only through eye contact, often through misted glasses, trying to speak clearly through layers of face-mask, being greeted at doctors and dentists surgeries by receptionists kitted out for space travel and inevitably there has been the sadness of losing old friends.
Thank goodness for community, its practical and emotional support, fun engagements on-line for quizzes and sing-songs and learned talks from fellow U3A members and for the amazing shop staff who have kept our supply chain going for all those daily essentials.
As a reader, how great to have access to so many books in e and audio format, and as a writer to supply my own via Kindle and KDP Direct. I’m sure I’m not alone among self-published authors in appreciating the support we get from all those staff behind the scenes at Kindle Direct Publishing. Thank you!
Reflecting on 2020, I am gratified that all my titles continue to sell, the most sales being via KU and KOLL. My most selling paperback continues to be the biography of Violet Douglas Pennant. My 3 historical series (Regency Lady, Regency Master and Regency Secret) continue head my e and KDP sales, and my top seller for the year has been His Capricious Lady, about a budding young woman author crossing swords with a somewhat conventional duke and his disapproving mother.
THANK YOU READERS!