Meet Our Contributors: Blythe Gifford

As a long-time contributor to the Unusual Historicals blog, I’m pleased that it 

RWA Conference 2013

continues to thrive.  Here’s a little get-to-know-me Q&A.

You write historical romance, a pretty conventional genre.  What makes your historicals unusual?

First, I select unusual time periods.  The English Regency (think Jane Austen) is the most popular period for historical romance.  I write primarily in the medieval period.  And even there, the most popular part of the medieval period tends to be the earlier periods, the 1100s and 1200s.  Although I have written primarily Fourteenth Century settings, I’ve also written books set in the Sixteenth and now Seventeenth Centuries. 

And although England is a popular setting, I’ve traveled afield from the norm.  When I slipped across the border to write a Scottish setting, I chose the Borders, not the more popular Highlands.  And I believe, though I cannot prove, that I am the only author of historical romance to ever set a book in Flanders.

Another thing that is unusual about my books for romance, though not for straight historical fiction, is that I tend to include real history, and often real historical characters in my books.  English kings Edward III and Richard II and James V of Scotland are among those who have played a part in my stories. 

What draws you to a particular setting?

I tend to be interested in periods that fall through the cracks and haven’t been fully explored (or overdone!).  Time and time again, I’ll find myself needing a particular fact about a specific two year period that just isn’t covered in detail in the history books.  When I decided to do a Scottish Borders trilogy, for example, I did not set it during the era of Mary, Queen of Scots, but in the reign of her father.  James V was a Scottish king so relatively obscure that there was only one full-length biography of him! 

Any time periods you haven’t written that you would like to explore?

One of the challenges of the time periods I write is that my female characters have such limited options. Society was extremely stratified, both for men and women. As I grapple with the heroine’s journey, I ultimately have three options: marriage, the church, or prostitution. And only one of those constitutes a happy ending!  I’ve several ideas for American settings (talk about unusual in romance!), particularly late 19th century and early 20th century, but nothing on the drawing board at the moment. 

So what’s new?

I’m about to release my first self-published book, THE WITCH FINDER.  (Any day now!)  While it remains a romance, it is darker and more historically focused than my work for Harlequin.  The story takes place on the Scottish Borders, right after the Restoration of a king to the throne after a period of political and religious conflict that devastated the country for years.  Amidst all this uncertainty, Scotland had its worst witch hunting, particularly along the Borders.  The story is of a witch finder and a woman suspected of being a witch.  That’s about the biggest conflict between hero and heroine I’ve ever had to overcome!

What’s next?

My next books for Harlequin will return to the English court of the Fourteenth Century.  The Royal Wedding stories center on the real weddings of the king’s two oldest children, both of whom married for love.  My couples are caught up in the events surrounding them.  SECRETS AT COURT will be out in March of 2014 and WHISPERS AT COURT later that year.

You’ll be hearing more about all these as I blog here! 

Webpage: www.blythegifford.com 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/BlytheGifford 

Twitter: www.twitter.com/BlytheGifford

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/BlytheGifford

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/672889.Blythe_Gifford

Booklist:  Because I’m with a crowd that loves history, I’m giving you my booklist in historical chronological order, not in the order the books were written.

Fourteenth Century

Stand alone stories.  King Edward III appears in those marked s

INNOCENCE UNVEILED – 1327 s (Flanders)

HIS BORDER BRIDE – 1356 s (Scottish Borders)

THE KNAVE AND THE MAIDEN – 1357 (Southwest England)

SECRETS AT COURT – 1361 s (Coming in 2014)

WHISPERS AT COURT – 1363 s (Coming in 2014)

The Weston Daughters (King Richard II appears in both books.)

THE HARLOT’S DAUGHTER – 1386 (England)

IN THE MASTER’S BED – 1388 (Cambridge, England) 

Sixteenth Century – 1528-29 The Brunson Clan Trilogy - Scottish Borders (James V appears in Books Two and Three)

RETURN OF THE BORDER WARRIOR

CAPTIVE OF THE BORDER LORD

TAKEN BY THE BORDER REBEL

Seventeenth Century – 1661-62

THE WITCH FINDER  

After many years in public relations, advertising and marketing, Blythe Gifford started writing seriously after a corporate layoff. Ten years and one layoff later, she became an overnight success when she sold her first book to the Harlequin Historical line.  Since then, she has published eight romances set in England and on the Scottish Borders, many featuring characters born on the wrong side of the royal blanket.  THE WITCH FINDER will be released in the fall of 2013. For more information, visit www.blythegifford.com 

Author photo Jennifer Girard

Meet the Contributors: Jessica Knauss

Jessica Knauss with Alfonso X

Jessica Knauss joined Unusual Historicals last April with her post about Traitors and Turncoats in medieval Spain. Her first historical novel, Seven Noble Knights, is available from Encircle Publications. She has two other historical novels set in medieval Spain in the idea/research stage and also writes contemporary fiction for the young at heart. A literary translator in her "spare time," Jessica's English version of the Abencerraje was recently adopted as a college textbook. Here are three more facts in her own words:

I was born a writer. I often got sidetracked because I have so many other passions (as writers should), but I've written fiction or poetry off and on since I was about six years old. After I finished my PhD, I didn't get the job it seemed everyone, including me, was expecting me to. It turns out, I wasn't meant to be a tenure-track teacher of Spanish language. Before I sat back to consider what other lucrative options might be available, I began writing again, this time armed with astonishing historical knowledge and research ability. I've added other simultaneous careers, both to feed my love of books and to pay the bills, but I haven't quit writing since then.

I've been fascinated with Spain almost as long as I've been a writer. I was a child when the idea of Spain dropped into my head unbidden and soon took over my heart. I approached Spain from every angle: I watched Zorro on TV ad nauseam; learned Spanish as soon as I could; listened to music in every genre; got a degree in translation from Spanish to English because I just knew everyone wanted to enjoy Spanish literature without putting in all the hard labor of learning the language; learned the history and tried to keep up with the politics; and, finally, earned a PhD in medieval Spanish literature. A terminal degree in any subject could be considered the culmination of one's love for it, but I think it's only now that I'm exercising my fiction chops on it that I'm really doing it all the honor I can.

I can't seem to stay put. Since I met my husband, I've followed him wherever the wind takes him. As I write this, I'm in our most temporary location to date: living in a hotel. We've been here going on five months now, which rivals some of our other lease agreements, but having our furniture (and books!) in storage keeps this from seeming like a permanent arrangement. Whenever it comes time to move somewhere new and unknown, I tell my husband, "I can write (and freelance edit, and work for Loose Leaves) anywhere," but there is a limit. For historical fiction, it's impossible to research properly if you don't know from one moment to the next whether there's a good library nearby or if your own books are located several time zones away, no matter how good the internet is getting for this stuff. For writing in general, I have to settle down somewhere long enough to build good relationships with a new critique group. I'm lucky my amazing group in Arizona is still willing to include me on Skype.

For what seems like years now, my husband and I have been promising each other that the next one is the last. But this time, it's for real. This time, we'll move somewhere so ideally situated for careers, weather, or families, that we won't even imagine the grass is greener elsewhere. Right? Please wish me luck in finding that perfect location.

Other than a driven fiction writer, Jessica Knauss is a freelance editor and a founding partner and editor at Loose Leaves Publishing. Find out more about her writing and bookish activities here. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter, too!

Meet our Contributors: John Issitt

Agents of Reason

John Issitt

I wrote Agents of Reason over four Scottish summers whilst escaping my then day job as a Provost in the University of York. I owe it and its hero Jeremiah Joyce a debt. Since its publication I have realized that writing is my vocation. I have taken the risky step of becoming a full-time writer. I swing from the thrill of new beginnings to the fear of having no money to fix the boiler!

Agents of Reason grew from my historical research and my frustrations with academia. My doctorate concerned Jeremiah who was a political radical and religious dissenter in London over the period of the French Revolution. The western world was rearranged by the events in France. At first it was welcomed by the metropolitan intelligentsia who saw it as feeding their own causes. But such support rapidly evaporated as Robespierre and then Napoleon led it to self destruction and war. Jeremiah lived through these times and was part of the movement that attempted to secure political representation for ordinary people independent of religious persuasion. He failed in his lifetime as did his collaborator Tom Paine, but over the longer term his efforts contributed to the march of freedom. Today we enjoy rights he fought for and on those grounds alone his story is worth telling.

But therein lies the difficulty. To tell his story simply through the archival record is impossible for a number of reasons. The first concerns the limited surviving archive. Records of radicals and radical publications were dangerous – they provided evidence to used in law. Most radical goings-on were conducted by word of mouth - records were minimal and normally destroyed. Only scratchings remain. Also, over time most radicals became deeply embarrassed about their former enthusiasm and destroyed their letters. Jeremiah burnt his and the same happened to the records of his employer – the Earl of Stanhope.

The second reason or set of reasons, is to do with how history has been written. Academic history attempts to provide an objective account from evidence – impossible if there isn’t much. The records that survive are mainly those of the official world – the papers of government, the prime minister and the aristocracy. Furthermore, most academic history has little feel for the life of a common man like Jeremiah. Such history reflects the winners and tells the story through the lens of the great and the good – not through the experience of men like Jeremiah. As a result there are many silences – the voices of the lower orders, of women and of the different, who were actually no less important in the action, are rarely heard.

I came to academia late after working in a range of physical employments – timber cutting, building and technical jobs in the film industry. Like Jeremiah I had worked with my hands, knew the difficulties of unemployment and demanding working conditions. I entered academia as a stranger to the values it operates and I remain estranged from a world which seems at the same time a wonderful opportunity to think, but ludicrously constrained by conventions it is largely unable to recognise. 

One such constraint is the demand to write in a particular way. My doctorate, numerous papers in learned journals and a book on Jeremiah’s life and writings. were written within the limiting conventions of academic history which I felt never let me get close enough to Jeremiah the man. The license for interpretation of the motivations of the common man is small and has, if you are to be published, to be aligned within academic rules that debar the fictional. The result is that it is impossible to capture the textures of a life lived.

Agents of Reason comes from negotiating and hopefully resolving some of these factors – at least to the best of my ability. I have tried to put my head into Jeremiah’s world armed with 20 years of study and half a century of life. I have used the archive but not been afraid to fictionalize when the story demanded. How well I have done is for the reader to judge.

Agents of Reason is a story of political intrigue set in late Enlightenment England and what has come to be known as Prime Minister Pitt’s ‘terror years’ due to his system of spies and prosecution of radicals. But it is also a story that navigates the tensions of the human condition. Jeremiah was subject - he was selected, used and abused by authorities not wishing to get their own hands dirty. But he was also an agent - he chose and part directed his course of action. Within and by such contradictory tensions Jeremiah was tested – for his integrity and his resolve. He gave a good account of himself. I wonder how I would have got on?

Learn more about our newest contributor John Issitt at:
Website: http://www.agentsofreason.co.uk/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3175872.John_Issitt
Friend on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/john.issitt.10
Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Issittjohn

Meet Our Contributors: Lisa J. Yarde

When Carrie Lofty offered me the opportunity to contribute to Unusual Historicals almost seven years ago, I jumped at the chance because I write the unusual historical. With varied settings from medieval Spain, England, Wales and France, and diverse historical figures ranging from an 11th century Saxon nobleman at Hastings to a 14th century Moorish queen, my writing doesn't fall into the traditional favorites of the Tudor or Regency periods. I tell stories about people who never got the chance to do so, because of their gender, religion, status or simply, because they ended up on the losing side of history.

If this is the first time you're hearing about me, here are a few things you should know:

I'm obsessed with historical research

This shouldn't come as a surprise, but sometimes I would rather spend months or years researching a period than writing the book. I know, not exactly helpful for getting the book finished. While I still believe the best historical fiction immerses readers in a place and time with great and useful details, my emphasis on the research is becoming a bit of a problem now. The bookshelves are falling apart under the weight! Don't believe me? Elements of these books:

The books! (That's all I could get into the shot - there are more)

went into the writing of these books:

There are still three more books to write in the series on Moorish Spain. You know what that means. More research! 

I'm a huge travel buff

If I won the lottery, I would never be in one place for very long. Who's got a bad case of wanderlust? This person! Imagine how it must be when I can travel to the places I'm researching for a particular novel (cue the angels and their harps). There's nothing like walking the streets where the historical figures might have walked to lend authenticity to certain scenes. I'll never forget the first trip to Spain in November 2001 and a tour of the Alhambra in Granada. Things that still stay with me: the sounds of my boots on medieval cobblestones and the murmur of water in fountains. I've also been to Wales and England for other stories, each place leaving its own distinct impression.

Heather field in South Wales. Still have some dried sprigs in my room.

I love making book trailers

Not as much as I enjoy research, of course, but it's pretty close. Not every author finds value in trailers, but I do as they've attracted some new readers. A combination of the right music and images will capture elements of a story perfectly. I've found great links to images at Fotolia.com and Dreamstime.com. Good, free images are at Creative Commons and Public Domain Pictures. Some of the best music is available via Pond5 (requires payment) and Incompetech (free). Here's my latest effort for the upcoming title, Sultana: Two Sisters:

Lisa J. Yarde writes fiction inspired by the Middle Ages in Europe. She is the author of two historical novels set in medieval England and Normandy, The Burning Candle, based on the life of Isabel de Vermandois, and On Falcon’s Wings, chronicling the star-crossed romance between Norman and Saxon lovers. Lisa has also written three novels in a six-part series set in Moorish Spain, Sultana, Sultana’s Legacy and Sultana: Two Sisters, where rivalries and ambitions threaten the fragile bonds between members of a powerful family. Her short story, The Legend Rises, which chronicles Gwenllian of Gwynedd’s valiant fight against English invaders, is included in Pagan Writers Press’ 2013 HerStory anthology.

When Lisa's not writing, she's most likely found doing research, moderating Unusual Historicals, playing PC games until 3AM, or hanging with the two best nephews on the planet and one very spoiled Shih Tzu.

Meet Michelle Styles

Long time UH contributor Michelle Styles writes warm, witty, and intimate historical romance, mainly for Harlequin Historical. She has written over20 full length novels for them plus several shorter works. She writes in a number of time periods and indeed her first book for Harlequin Historical in 2006 was also the first time  they had published an ancient Roman historical.
Although she has had forays into Regency and Victorian (including her latest An Ideal Husband? -- published this month), Michelle has recently convinced The Powers That Be that she should be writing more Vikings. Her next published book Paying the Viking Price will be out in Novmeber 2013.  There are two more Vikings waiting to be scheduled as well.

Here is a bit more about Michelle in her own words:

Part of Michelle's over grown garden

Although born and raised near San Francisco, California, I traded the west coast sunshine and lifestyle in for the much colder climate of Northumberland, U.K. when aged 24, I married my husband. Completely changing my life and leaving my family was probably the most foolhardy but romantic thing I have ever done.  I was young enough not to consider the consequences but I’ve never regretted doing it. One of the biggest things to help me get over the initial homesickness and culture shock was discovering that Mills and  Boon were the same as  my beloved escapist reads from Harlequin.

Some of Michelle's ducks and hens on the back lawn.

Currently I live a mile south of Hadrian's Wall with my husband, three children who are off at university but still return home on occasion loaded down with laundry, two Border collies and a cat who is convinced he is an editor. To Americans, I sound English and to the British, I sound American.  When pressed, I say I speak both American and English as the two countries are often separated by a common language.  I’ve always been an avid reader, with an interest in history but really I read anything, preferably romance but have resorted to cereal packets in desperation before. 

Michelle's cat in editorial mode when
 she was plotting latest Viking.

Writing means I put my imagination to good use rather than inflicting it on my family. And writing for Mills &Boon has been a real dream come true, made all the sweeter by the fact that my mother used to tell me that reading romance would never bring me the career I wanted.

When I am not writing, reading or doing research, I tend my rather overgrown garden which also home to assorted ducks and hens,  or do needlework, in particular counted cross-stitch.  I also love baking and have made my own bread for years. Kneading is particularly good when trying to figure out plot problems. But because I like to eat, I also exercise for about an hour and a half every morning.

You can read more about Michelle Styles and her upcoming books on her website: www.michellestyles.co.uk

Meet our Contributors: J.S. Dunn

Author J.S. Dunn

Book List

Bending the Boyne: A Novel of Ancient Ireland

Connery the Great, a short story

In honor of March and St. Patrick’s Day, the normally reticent J.S. Dunn offers the following ramblings:

My fifteen minutes of fame flashed by long ago, in winning a state spelling competition in sixth grade via the televised final round. Spelling ability is one result of reading nonstop from a tender age. So much for early fame.

It would be difficult to name hobbies, as a hyperactive type who doesn’t understand the term free time. Much time is devoted to research and writing. Other than that, the favorite is gardening. My favorite season is gardening weather! Favorite place to travel is anywhere to research the next novel. The seasons spent living in Ireland to garden also made the debut novel Bending The Boyne a reality. People ask, what was it like having a country house in Ireland.

Each sunrise wakened a fresh glee, like being a child again. One doesn’t know what any given day in emerald Eire will hold. A big salmon once landed on my kitchen floor, a gift tossed inside from a fellow who’d been openly poaching fish from me. One of the horses that boarded on my paddocks placed in the Grand National race and that was exciting. Eire’s wonderful people were the best part. A 92-year-old stonemason who’d walked to work every day of his life, soft-spoken and proud, well read, and a true gentleman. Bits from him went into the Dagda’s character. A six-year-old neighbor lad had a razor-keen wit; he was written into young Aengus.

The second novel is in progress, about a doomed warrior-lord at Tara and set at 1600 BCE during Eire’s Bronze Age. A third novel is outlining itself in my head, set at the end of the Bronze Age as iron comes into use.

So many topics, so little time! Improved and new methods in archaeology have accelerated the discoveries in the past ten years. Archaeologists’ vision of the ancient Isles has changed. Why can’t popular literature keep pace rather than recycling 19^th century thinking? Using discredited or outmoded assumptions does the public a disservice. (How many druid spinoffs can the market absorb?) Someone should write an updated Stonehenge tale based on recent digs there and new findings. There’s the challenge: use the new paradigm and break some new ground.

Unusual Historicals is one of the few HF blogs that I follow, for its range of subject matter, and I’m grateful for its contributors and the readers.

*slan* and happy St Patrick’s Day (belated)

J.S. Dunn lived in Ireland during the past decade, on 12 lovely acres fronting a salmon river. The author continues to research and travel the Atlantic coasts and recently  enjoyed wonderful seafood on the Cotes d’Armor, and in Cornwall, and at the famed Lobster Pot restaurant in County Wexford, Ireland.

Meet our Contributors: Ginger Myrick

In the second post of Meet our Contributors, author Ginger Myrick tells us a bit about herself.

Ginger Myrick

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ginger_myrick

Book List

El Rey: A Novel of Renaissance Iberia

The Converso: A Tale from Renaissance Iberia

The Welsh Healer: A Novel of 15^th Century England

Hello, fellow readers and writers!

I can usually see the bright side of any situation, but this time I am stumped. Try as I might, I cannot find anything interesting in the subject matter (me.) I am utterly normal and probably the least exciting person I know. In fact, one day during my daily constitutional with my faithful dog-walking companion, we were discussing people who make their careers from their creativity and how there seems to be a direct correlation between these tortured souls and the passionate works they create. We were talking about my uneventful childhood, and my friend innocently stated, “Well, you’ll never be a Hemingway!” and she’s right. But the fact is, I’m okay with that.

I never wanted to be a Hemingway, in fact, never aspired to be a writer. I still have trouble with the title and oftentimes feel like a fraud. The only way I can see to maintain the charade is to craft a convincing story, and as I have mentioned before, to do that I must write what I know. I am an unremarkable person, so I write about ordinary characters. My protagonists are not gods and goddesses nor paragons of virtue, and my antagonists are not evil scheming demons without a shred of decency. They are all utterly human with human strengths and failings. I believe this is what makes them real and believable. And to keep my books from becoming too mundane, I can always call on the wealth of lunacy provided by my surroundings to inject a more colorful personality.

Although my home life is far too hectic to be conducive to any serious, Hemingway-scale attempt at writing, rich inspiration abounds! In my family, I am the calm, cool, and collected Libra who keeps everyone else from murdering each other, but I am responsible for the welfare of a seriously entertaining lot. There are my temperamental, perpetually 9-year-old husband (No mid-life crisis here, folks!) whose feathers are in constant need of smoothing, and two technically grown ‘men’ (my sons) who delight in ruffling said feathers. My dog is a lovable clown and my cat is a stinker, and I wouldn't trade a one of them for the world. They are loud, messy, maddening, and endearing, and have all found their way into my books … well, except for the cat. He may star in his own book down the road if I can ever find a quiet moment to do the illustrations. A girl can dream, right? 

Ginger Myrick was born and raised in Southern California. She is a self-described wife, mother, animal lover, and avid reader and knitter. Along with the promotion for THE WELSH HEALER, and EL REY, she is currently crafting her third novel, which takes place during the U.S. Civil War. She is a Christian who writes meticulously researched historical fiction with a ‘clean’ love story at the core. She hopes to persevere with her newfound talent and show the reading community that a romance need not include graphic details to convey deep love and passion.    

Meet Our Contributors: Heather Domin

First post in a new series: on the last Monday of every month, one Unusual Historicals contributor will tell you a little more about herself and her writing.

---

old photo is old (but still cute!)

Heather Domin
website: heatherdomin.com
twitter: @heatherdomin
blog: wordpress.com
Goodreads Author Profile
Historical Novel Society page

current book list:
The Soldier of Raetia
Allegiance: A Dublin Novella

now with less lighting
and more nerd glasses

Hello all, Heather here. I've been lurking around UH for a year or so now, and recently agreed to help Lisa out with blog maintenance. I must apologize for my lack of a Professional Author Photograph—I don't have one, because I'm not a professional author. To quote my BFF Julie, writing is my avocation, not my vocation; I've never published professionally and have no plans to do so. I'm just your garden variety internet nerd, sharing my writing with like-minded folk while remaining a socially phobic hermit. Win-win! I take a long time to get a story ready, but after 30 years I've come to accept that's just how I roll. Some writers are teppanyaki tables, some brick ovens, some deep fryers, some bubbling cauldrons. I'm a Crock-pot.

my biography

Both my novels feature love between men, so I'm often labeled an M/M writer. That's cool, but I'm not a fan of labels; they tend to be less about telling readers what you write and more about telling you what to write. Like my favorite Asgardian, I do what I want. History, though, is a common theme in almost all my work. I was a history major, and as a fangirl I consider history one of my original fandoms. I read mostly historical nonfiction and fiction, plus sci-fi, horror, and romance; I'm partial to epic battle adventure, swords preferred, sandals optional. Even my stories set in the present have one foot stuck in the past. (Probably because that foot belongs to a vampire, but that's a different post.)

What I like about UH is that we don't do labels either. The word "unusual" can apply to setting, period, characters, format, all kinds of things, but it doesn't have to fit a certain definition—there's no Unusual-ness Judge. We have different backgrounds and viewpoints, but we all share a love of history and storytelling. I might not be the most sociable of the bunch, but I'm stoked to be here.