It's back for another year... Welcome to this year's #HistFicMay! I know a number of writers like to have these prompt in advance so that you can line up a few answers, so it seemed like a good time to share them. Of course, the aim of #HistFicMay is to celebrate both the fantastic network of historical fiction writers and their books, so even if you don't use the prompts, hopefully you can use the hashtag on your social media to discover fabulous authors and writings. And here they are: Introduce yourself and your writing Who inspired you to become a writer? Standalone or series? Do you always/ever write happy ever afters? One time period or dual (or more!) timeline? What is your favourite era to write about? What is your favourite era to read about? Let's talk about research... What has been your greatest research discovery? Which source do you always go back to? What's your strangest rabbit hole? Has research ever driven you mad? If you could time travel, when w...
There is a line in the remake of The Parent Trap when the man (who owns a vineyard) is showing his former wife his collection of special wines: "I'm a man of limited interests". That is sort of like me with books! I have accumulated quite a few old books and it's not just because I love books.
Our oldest complete book is the one above. It predates most of the settings for my books, the Jacobites, and the Great Fire of London. There is something very exciting about thinking about the different people who have read it over the years! I got it because it links in with one of our family's favourite books, The Children of Green Knowe.
And then there are books which directly impact on my own writing. My sister bought me a first edition of Walter Scott's Ballads and Lyrical Pieces, a book which is gifted in my own story Day's Dying Glory. It is amazing to be able to hold the book, getting an idea of things beyond the words: the weight of the paper; the size of the margins where short notes can be written; the intricate swirls and colours of the cover's inside...
And, of course, there are those old books which indulge other aspects of my interests. These interests - as mentioned in last week's blog - go on to inspire my writings in one way or another.
So I think it is not only sensible but also right to gather old books, and certainly a great source of inspiration for an historical fiction writer. Not only do we get to hold the same object we are setting into the hands of our characters, we also get to see the stories and the instructions people received through books then. Remember: all these books were an inspiration to someone back in the day too, or they would never have been published!
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