Author branding and Henry VIII: Royal persona

Part 3 in series on personal branding If England's King Henry VIII had been an author, who might he have been? Authors, like royalty, can project certain images to create a persona in the minds of their audiences and the general public, to thereby be remembered and gain policy support, or book sales as the case may be.

As noted in Part 1 of this series, the proliferation of social media apps today make it nearly impossible to project an inauthentic persona. The moment you thought you had created a good one, someone would post an instagram of you carrying out the garbage in your underwear. But King Henry was able to create and project a persona that met his needs, and the corresponding author that comes to mind for me is Ernest Hemingway.

As young men, both Henry and Ernest were good looking with athletic physiques. Henry was known for having "an extremely fine calf to his leg," for example. Both played hard at sports, be it jousting or hunting, and both saw themselves as warriors. Both were interested in education and literature. Both married a few times. Both drank to excess. Both attained a "larger than life" persona that continued long after the men themselves had faltered due to illness and, well, bad behavior.

King Henry's Brand Persona

Henry VIII valued education, religion, arts, architecture, innovation and ostentation. He used his physical size to advantage -- he was 6'2" at a time when most men were considerably shorter -- and in many cases his portraits show him taking up most of the canvas. In the background of some portraits he was surrounded by the cultural sophistication reminiscent of imperial Rome.

He excelled at sports and held jousting matches, wearing his gilded armor, satin and pearls, as a way of showing his wealth, strength and power to visiting dignitaries.

To promote his campaign for church reformation, he had pamphlets created and broadly distributed, and paid theatrical and minstrel groups to travel the land and portray Catholic priests as devils while he was the defender of the true faith. (Reminds me of the branding road show I once led for employees in various departments, but in my case the past was the devil and the new brand was the hero.)

In architecture, the exterior of buildings included hundreds of busts, the laurel-wreathed heads of emperors, imperial authorities and military heroes, suggesting these heroes were the foundation upon which King Henry's Tudor dynasty was built.

In art he was featured at the center of huge architectural structures in classical style, in at least one case receiving the water of life and the book of life directly from the angels, a clear reference to his religious persona as head of the Church of England with the divine right of kings.

Later in life, even after a jousting injury and other health conditions changed him dramatically -- and even though the noble king was responsible for about 70,000 executions -- the glorious persona that he had created still permeated. Fans of the Tudors television series may recall in the last episode just before Henry dies, he orders the portrait artist Holbein to change his latest, and accurate, depiction of declining, sickly Henry into the standing image of the strong, virile (note codpiece), magnificent king he wanted his people to see.

In part, I would say, the success of Henry's brand persona is that the powerful, charming, man's man image he created was something the citizens of his time wanted and respected in their king. It was an image that was easy to accept, and easy to follow because it met with their own values, and even in the face of horrible truths it was hard to let go.

Stay tuned for Part 4 of this series, next week: Elizabeth I

Sharavogue recently won first place for historical fiction in the Florida Writers Association Royal Palm Literary Awards. You can purchase a copy from online booksellers and at the Book Loft on Amelia Island, FL. I will be presenting at the Amelia Island Book Festival Feb. 20-21.

Author branding: A royal legacy

Part 2 in series on personal branding In my last post I talked about some differences between corporate and personal branding, and how values rather than product should be the core driver for the brand. Because kings and queens were probably the first successful users of personal branding, we can learn from their practices.

In ancient Egypt, if the monuments and pyramids can attest, rulers valued nothing more than a legacy. Not only to be remembered by their people, but also to help open the doors to a prosperous afterlife, something akin to the Christian belief that good folks go to Heaven and get presents at Christmastime.

Way back in history, c. 1479 b.c., Hatshepsut became the sixth pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, one of few women to achieve that post, and she ruled successfully for more than 20 years. So concerned about legacy was this queen, she had an obelisk at Karnak inscribed: "Now my heart turns this way and that, as I think what the people will say -- those who shall see my monuments in years to come, and who shall speak of what I have done."

When her pharaoh husband died and she was named regent to serve while her infant stepson came of age, Hatshepsut saw a unique opportunity and took full advantage of it. She had herself declared king of Egypt. But now, especially because she was a woman in a man's role, she had to take steps to secure her throne.

She had herself portrayed as a man in the media of the day -- stone carvings -- complete with false beard, Khat head cloth and shendyt kilt, and looked much the figure of a man, showing strong shoulders, small breasts. (In fact, archaeologist have discovered she was obese, had very large breasts and suffered from a skin disease, the salve for which probably contained toxic chemicals that led to her death.)

She also renamed herself "Maatkare," basically a combination of words meaning truth, soul and Sun God (Re), suggesting she was in direct contact with the god and thereby legitimately held her throne.

In pursuit of her legacy, she focused on two things: Architecture and art. She built roadways and sanctuaries, erected commemorative obelisks, and carved her immense temple into the limestone cliffs near Thebes, containing more than 100 statues of herself in various religious poses.

Hatshepsut was basically everywhere. Even though her stepson, ascending to power after her death, did everything he could to remove and erase her legacy from history, most of it still remains.

And so, what four things can be learned from Hatshepsut's strategies for establishing a personal brand?

First, values. For Hatshepsut, they were leadership and legacy.

Second, opportunity. You may not be able to have yourself declared king like Hatshepsut, but in an author's world, to me this means finding a niche that will allow you to shine, and has subject areas that speak to you (like Re) and can keep you interested. Branding is a long-term relationship.

Third, focus. Hatshepsut did not try to do everything, but focused specifically on a few main things that addressed her values. She promoted trade, which made it easier to obtain the things she needed, like building materials for monuments, and art from all over the world. An author may have a lot of demands on his or her time and resources, and still needs time to write. Don't participate in every charity, choose one or two that fit your brand values. Don't try to attend every event or be on every social media platform. Choose the ones that really serve you in some way and fit who you are.

Fourth, endurance. A strong brand will endure. Note that Hatshepsut's has been around for nearly 3,500 years. Most of us can remember corporate brands we grew up with as kids, even if the company that created it no longer exists. I'll bet you can think of some authors right now who have amazingly durable personal brands. Their names alone conjure mental pictures. Bronte? Hemingway? Melville? Austen? Dickens? Twain? And the list goes on and on...

Stay tuned for Part 3 next week.

Sharavogue recently won first place for historical fiction in the Florida Writers Association Royal Palm Literary Awards! You can purchase a copy from online booksellers and at the Book Loft on Amelia Island, FL. I will be presenting at the Amelia Island Book Festival Feb. 20-21.

Author branding: A royal undertaking

As an author of historical fiction who also has a strong background in corporate branding, I've often considered the brands created by historical figures. For centuries, kings and queens had to create their personal brands for some of the same reasons corporations use branding today -- mainly to be memorable and likable by their audiences, and to differentiate themselves from their predecessors or perhaps pretenders to their thrones. Think of Henry VIII, for example. He was not exactly the icon of honesty, charity and good will, was he, now that history has revealed his true nature? But at the time most of the people of England would never meet him, and yet would be called upon to pay taxes and fees, and perhaps support an army going to war. He needed to project an image of strength, devine empowerment, leadership and benevolence. His personal brand, the persona the masses were allowed to know, projected exactly that.

I call that personal branding, even though he was the figurehead of a powerful government much like a corporation. His persona was built around a single person whose actions could make or break the success of the brand.

The basic structure of branding remains much the same between corporate and personal branding. A strong identity is created to represent the business or individual, and to suggest the value in products or activities of that entity. If the entity makes the commitment to that value and consistently delivers it, trust will develop among customers. Over time, the symbol of the brand, or logo, can by itself trigger a feeling of trust. And trust, in turn, generates more business.

But there are also significant differences between corporate and personal branding, especially for an author.

Corporations typically generate many products and may have whole families of brands that fall under one overarching brand, like Microsoft or Kraft. Managers of these brands struggle to create a personal connection with customers in hopes of building brand loyalty, but often fail because of the public's mistrust of corporations. That's why you see them posting in social media alongside other individuals, trying to humanize their organization.

While an author may be generating and selling multiple products similar to a corporation, it is always yourself you are selling. Many readers may try one of your books, and if they like it they will look for anything published in your name to continue reading your voice, your style and your command of storytelling. It is the consistency of quality that will keep them coming back, because they trust that you will deliver, but readers also are attracted to your own values and personality. You can't go around meeting every reader and talking to them about your values, right? So personal branding can help you communicate who you are more broadly and efficiently.

Branding does not mean that you run out and design a logo. Many people like to do this because it seems like the fun, easy part of branding. You can, of course, but in truth your name is your logo, and believe me, good logo design is not easy. A brand does involve imagery, but all the imagery is based on some very serious soul searching and groundwork. Once that is done, the rest falls into place more easily and you do not have to reinvent it every time you need an ad, a poster or a one-sheet. That's where the efficiency comes in.

But first, what is your brand? And who are you?

Many who talk about branding say it is a concise and compelling statement about what you do and how your products are better than any others. And that is one way of doing it. But the strongest and most enduring brands in the world go deeper than that. Their brands are based on values. Instead of telling customers what you do (they already know that), tell them why you do what you do. What drives you? What gets you up in the morning? What is that belief deep in your core that stokes your passion and makes you work so hard? You must find it, and it must be authentic. Write that statement, and from that will flow your mission, your tagline, your colors, your communications plan, your content.

And as I said, it must be authentic. I can't imagine the difficulty for an author to constantly project a persona that is not real, because the truth will show up in your writing anyway. If social media had been around in King Henry's time, no number of portraits, statues or proclamations would have sufficed to maintain his brand against the tweets, instagrams and blog posts that would expose him.

But that's another story!

Today I'm starting a series on royal branding, taking a playful look at some of the kings and queens who created strong personas to support and protect their leadership, and what we can learn from them. More to come!

Sharavogue recently won first place for historical fiction in the Florida Writers Association Royal Palm Literary Awards! You can purchase a copy from online booksellers and at the Book Loft on Amelia Island, FL. I will be presenting at the Amelia Island Book Festival Feb. 20-21.

Historical accuracy: It's good to be right

Last year when I started promoting my historical novel Sharavogue, I got several wonderful and very positive reviews on amazon.com, but was looking to spread the news to other readers. I requested a review from another place my book was listed, Indiebound.com. Great people there, but unfortunately I was matched up with an anonymous reviewer who I can only believe is a bitter and lonely individual. I say that not just because I received a bad review, which I did, but because it was unreasonably bad. Upon reading it, my hands began to shake. I had spent years carefully researching the time, the characters from that time, and all the details. It was the details this reviewer zeroed in on, questioning in a rather nasty tone the book's title, whether a certain kind of tree was present at the time, and so on, including the basic opening sequence in the book in which Oliver Cromwell arrives in Skibbereen, County Cork, Ireland. The reviewer claimed Cromwell had never traveled that far.

Now, since this is historical fiction, and it was at least plausible that Cromwell had visited the village in question, it does not really matter whether he actually did or not as long as I am clear in my author's note about the places where I have stretched the facts in support of the story. But I had studied Cromwell and found that he did in fact visit Skibbereen. I made two mistakes here.

First, I had found an historical map (above) that actually tracked Cromwell's progress in 1649, going through and past Skibbereen in southwest Cork. It gave me a premise to work from but, not realizing I might need it later I did not file a copy. If I'd had that copy I could have submitted it to the reviewer to request a revision in the review.

Which leads to my second mistake: engaging with the reviewer. Upon reading the erroneous review I sent back a message to Indiebound pointing out the errors in it based on my research. They sent my message to the reviewer for a response, and the result was a longer and even more erroneous and spiteful version of the original review. Indiebound passed it off as just a difference in opinion.

Happily for me anyway, while researching my new book I came across the map again, from the British Library no less, and saved it in my files.

Readers of historical fiction love a good story intertwined with fact, so that they can learn about historical  lives and times as they are entertained. I know, I am an avid historical novel reader myself. But as they used to say, tongue in cheek, when I was in journalism, don't let the facts get in the way of a good story. Do be as accurate as possible because you will have to defend some of the details. Don't sweat a minor detail if it helps move the story forward or it doesn't really matter. And don't follow my example -- keep copies of or document everything you find that might be useful to your story. You never know when it might come in handy. I won't be sending this map to the reviewer at this late date, but I feel vindicated anyway. And that's why I say…it's good to be right!

Get a copy of Sharavogue to learn about Cromwell's march in Ireland. When he gets to Skibbereen, the village is called "Skebreen" -- a shortcut the locals used. Cromwell is real, his march is real, and Skibbereen is real. The protagonist and her companions are fiction. The bridge in question is fictionalized based on undocumented legend, and a good story for sure!

Love those Royal Palms, and the trees too

Since returning to my home state of Florida after 21 years in Seattle, I have delighted in seeing the beach on a regular basis, the beautiful mossy oaks and the majestic royal palms. I did not know when I engaged with the Florida Writers Association I would have such a wonderful Royal Palm surprise in store!

At last week's FWA annual conference I received the Royal Palm Literary Award, first place for historical fiction, for my novel Sharavogue. It was an honor hoped for but not expected, and I am thrilled to be among so many talented writers who were recognized.

It was my pleasure to be sitting next to my new friend Linda Reynolds, whose unpublished thriller manuscript Spies In Our Midst also won a RPLA -- her book to be out later this year. And Mary Ann Weakley, my new friend from the book signing tables, won the RPLA for her memoir, Monastery to Matrimony, A Woman's Journey.

At the signing tables I also met Nadine Vaughan, who writes children's books and historical fiction, and lives just minutes away from me. We may be collaborating on some things soon. A shopper at heart, I picked up a copy of The Lantern by my friend Joanne Lewis, as well as The Secret Confessions of Anne Shakespeare by Arliss Ryan. Both of these are intriguing and hooked me on the first page.

Here is a partial list of the RPLA winners (from NE Florida), provided by Vic DiGenti, FWA Regional Director. For the full list see the FWA website:

Congratulations go out to a host of NE Florida writers who hauled in a large number of RPLA Awards. This includes the Book of the Year Award to M. W. Gordon, whose book Deadly Drifts took first place in the Thriller/Suspense category (Published), and went on to garner the Book of the Year (Published) award for having the highest total number of judges' points. BTW, Mike was the speaker at last month's Ponte Vedra FL Writers meeting.

General (Pre-Published) FIRST PLACE –BABE by Elle Thornton Fantasy (Pre-Published) FIRST PLACE – The Jaguar Key The Eternals: Book One by Kate Maier writing as Katherine Starbird Science Fiction (Published) Second Place – Lifespan by T. J. Silverio Women’s Fiction (Pre-Published) FIRST PLACE – Merciful Blessings by Lynn Kathleen (Pen name for Nancy Quatrano and Daria Ludas Historical Fiction (Published) FIRST PLACE – SHARAVOGUE by Nancy Blanton Novella (Pre-Published) Second Place – The Magic in the Middle by Mark Reasoner Thriller/Suspense (Published) Second Place – Power Fade by Keith Gockenbach Thriller/Suspense (Pre-Published) THIRD PLACE – A Lion in Spring by Kenneth R. Overman Autobiography/Memoir (Published) FIRST PLACE –Meeting Her Match: the Story of a Female Athlete-Coach, before and After Title IX by Debbie Millbern Powers SECOND PLACE – From the Inside Out by John David Tinny THIRD PLACE – A Life of Blood and Danger by Daniel J. Hill. Educational/Informational (Published) Second Place – Schools: A Niche Market for Authors by Jane R. Wood

Writers conferences and book festivals are such fun and great ways to meet and learn from other writers. They are not great places to sell books, unless they also open and advertise the book fairs to the local reader community. But as I noted recently in another blogger's post (and I can't remember which one or I would link), it does not matter how many books you sell at these events, it is about the people you meet and the effort you make to get your name out there. I sold only two books at St. Augustine's Heritage Book Festival, but one of the readers is a wonderful person who gave me a great review. Was it worth it? You bet!!!

So in addition to the thrill of winning a literary award for Sharavogue, the other benefit is the confirmation that it is important to continue writing. I am working on the prequel and sequel to Sharavogue and my research is uncovering some remarkable stories to tell. Stay tuned...

And mark your calendar for the Amelia Island Book Festival, February 19-21, 2015.

Roads into the past

Roads have always been important to civilizations, from narrow dirt pathways leading to water and food supply, to major super highways that support international trade and industry. In researching the past, knowing the roadways is key to understanding the way communities lived and operated. That's why I was thrilled recently to discover the Down Survey Project online. This is an amazing effort called the The Down Survey of Ireland Project, funded by the Irish Research Council under its Research Fellowship Scheme. The 17-month project was completed in March 2013. In short, the project combines digitized versions of surviving maps of Ireland from the 17th century (barony, parish and county level) with historical GIS (including various census and deposition sources) and georeferencing them with 19th-century Ordnance Survey maps, Google Maps and satellite imagery. Got that? Simple, right?

Well, no matter. If you have any interest at all in the history of Ireland, you will be amazed as I was to see the incredible public resource that this project has established.

Just as an example, for my book which begins in 1649, I can look up what landholders were in the area of my research, see exactly where their properties were located and what roads were in existence at the time. The old roads are represented as straight lines in the version I was able to bring up, and I doubt there were too many straight lines back then, but it does give me a general idea of locations and directions for ingress and egress. I'd say, for historical fiction it is a far better information source than my imagination.

Many thanks to the project team Micheál Ó Siochrú, David Brown and Eoin Bailey for creating this remarkable website. And thanks to Micheál Ó Siochrú also for his book God's Executioner: Oliver Cromwell and the Conquest of Ireland -- another valuable resource to me.

For England's roadways, historical novelist and blogger Patricia Bracewell has produced a four-part series on early English roads, featuring Watling Street, Ermine Street, the Fosse Way, and the Icknield Way. The series includes old maps and photos of present-day trails, and is featured on the English Historical Fiction Authors blog site.

Do you know of similar resources that might be helpful to authors? I'd love to know about them. Please comment.

Meantime: There are just three days left for my great giveaway of copies of Sharavogue on Goodreads. Sign up here!

Reviews & book promotion

I am pleased to say the Historical Novel Society review of my novel Sharavogue has now been posted. I am glad to see it after several months of waiting. HNS reviewers can be tough, and do not hold punches if they don't like something, so overall this seems to be a positive review. By the way, HNS has a conference in London first week of September. I won't be able to attend but I am sure it will be a great event.

It is wonderful, of course, to see "nicely written" in the first line of the review. The reviewer goes on to summarize the story, and notes that it moves along at a quick pace, "sometimes too quick." This may be true, I did intend to maintain a momentum, and most of my readers say "I couldn't put it down" -- which is a good thing.

A few other comments about timing and events I believe are subjective, but well taken as I work on the story for the prequel.

So what next? How can I maximize this review? I have shared it on social media. I am one who avoided all but Facebook for a long time because it consumes time that I would rather use in other ways. But it is hard to argue with the reach, if I have no data to actually recognize results in terms of sales. Last week I received a reader review on Amazon. I shared it on FB, and where usually I might get between 15 and 85 views, this one was reshared and drew more than 300 views and several very favorable comments. That was certainly worth the time invested.

My goal as an author is not to sell millions of books, just to sell at least enough to break even and support the next one. But there is no getting around the fact that promotion is hard work, requires constant maintenance, and is at least as much if not more time consuming than writing the actual novel -- and far less rewarding!

In a very interesting post, author Eileen Goudge explains why she left her traditional publisher to pursue self publishing. Initially I felt bad for her because it would mean she would have to take on all the promotional work independent writers and publishers have to handle themselves. But Goudge dispels the myth that traditional publishers offer a marketing budget for your book. Apparently authors are on their own anyway, and then are discarded if their book sales are not stellar. Perhaps she is better off not having to play the game of traditional publishers. I wish her great success!

Heiress abduction for wealth and status

The abduction of an Irish heiress occurs in my next novel, a prequel to Sharavogue, so I have been looking into this practice which, for men, was a rather acceptable means of elevating one's station in life. Not surprisingly, the heiress abduction theme has been a favorite for the ages among romance writers and those studying legal history. On a quick search I came up with historical fiction/romance authors Amanda Scott, Claire Thornton and Paul B. McNulty focusing on this theme, plus numerous scholarly articles. I'm sure there are countless more.

As part of my research I just finished reading The Abduction of a Limerick Heiress by Toby Barnard. I think the picture on the cover tells the story -- the woman as ornament, possession and plaything (according to the fellow on the left with the come-hither finger), but the look on her face suggests she is at times complicit.

In this case, the heiress Frances Ingoldsby is abducted not once, but twice. Her family pulls her away from the first fellow (and she is glad to go because he is already having affairs with household servants). While the fellow claims to have married Frances, her family presumes the marriage illegal and not consummated, and hides her away in a rectory. From there she is again abducted by a fellow of slightly higher standing in the community, Hugh Fitzjohn Massy, who aspires to a gentleman's status. Massy soon realizes he has his hands full, because Frances is a bit of a belligerent alcoholic, and he requires his entire family to keep her in check and support his scheme.

Soon the agendas of all who believe they have a stake in Frances's inheritance start playing out, and family members with political standing exert pressure on the lawyers and judges to ensure their own profitable outcome.

With abductions, once the crime had been done in most cases the family did not fight too hard for the woman's return, because it was assumed the heiress had been, shall we say, "damaged" by the abductor and they would have difficulty finding her a suitable husband once she was back on the marriage market. So it came down to negotiating the best deal for the stakeholders. Poor Frances, treated like the prize pig.

In the end, she willingly marries and has a son by Massy, but in fact the story continues. When Frances dies, the maneuvering begins anew, the same arguments are revived, and the fight is on for her inheritance.

In her book, Stolen Women in Medieval England, Caroline Dunn writes that abductions, sexual violations and elopements were all classified as "thefts" in statute law at the time. (See review by Emma Osborne.) As Julia Pope points out, it was not the victims themselves who were seen as stolen property, but rather the lands and wealth that would be transferred through them. The crime of abduction was taken very seriously, and resulted in courtroom battles and sometimes more violent responses, but the heiress did have a bit of sway. Under 13th century law, if the female victim did not consent to the marriage, or consented after the fact, the criminal punishment remained the same.  However, if she had consented in advance of her abduction, no crime had been committed.

Blogger Susanne Saville writes about a more recent event, the 1826 abduction of 16-year-old Ellen Turner in Scotland. Her abductor convinced her that only by marrying him could she save her family from the poor house. Thus, she unwittingly consented, and it took an act of Parliament to annul the marriage. The abductor was convicted of the crime and spent three years in prison.

In the PBS Masterpiece series Downton Abbey there have been two abductions. Between Lady Sybil and the chauffeur Branson, it is actually an elopement because Sybil is consenting, and the family persuades them to return to the castle together where Branson's status is elevated. In another episode -- horrifying to me as a Labrador retriever owner -- Thomas the footman abducts Lord Grantham's dog Isis in hopes of being seen as a hero when he later rescues the dog. Someone else finds and returns Isis, but Lord Grantham, seeing the deeply concerned Thomas after an all-night search, mistakes his fear for loyalty.

The lesson for a storyteller? There are a thousand ways to go with the abduction theme, and all of them can be dramatic and interesting!

The Eyes of Anthony van Dyck

Can the eyes in a portrait reveal the secrets in a person's character, or foretell their fate? Can a portraitist see through a person's eyes to the fears hidden behind them? In researching Thomas Wentworth, the first Earl of Strafford, for my book The Prince of Glencurragh, I am struck by my subject's eyes as captured by the eminent artist and portraitist of the period (1640s) Anthony van Dyck. The eyes are both striking and haunting with emotion as if the artist clearly saw through to Wentworth's inner feelings. And this was the artist's magic.

Born in Antwerp, van Dyck studied and painted throughout Europe before he moved to London in 1632, at age 33, to work for King Charles I.

"Van Dyck was now an artist with an international reputation and was widely traveled…He knew the art of pleasing distinguished and demanding patrons; he was equipped with a brilliant technique, and had at his command the whole repertoire of baroque painting. Above all, he possessed extraordinary imaginative powers, and, as a portraitist, an almost unequalled feeling for character and nobility of spirit," wrote Malcolm Rogers, in Anthony van Dyck 1599-1641, a catalog of work published for the artist's 400th birthday.

More than nobility, when I look into the eyes of Wentworth, I see anger, distrust, and a heightened fear. Wentworth began life in April 1593, the second son of a wealthy Yorkshire landowner, and ended as the closest advisor to the king. He is best known for his brief tenure as Lord Deputy of Ireland. He could not have known at the time the portrait was painted that he would be found guilty of treason by Parliament, for supporting the king's prerogative over the people's elected representatives, or that the king himself would sign Wentworth's death warrant. Wentworth was beheaded in 1641, and those eyes suggest he could see it all coming.

From that portrait, Macaulay's History of England described Wentworth this way: "That fixed look, so full of severity, of mournful anxiety, of deep thought, of dauntless resolution, which seems at once to forbode and to defy a terribly fate, as it lowers on us from the living canvass of van Dyke."

As Judy Egerton writes in the same book, "No portraits painted by van Dyck in England more brilliantly demonstrate his penetrating powers of perception than those of Charles I and Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford, two sharply contrasting personalities."

Van Dyck completed many portraits of King Charles I, but no matter the pose, the king's eyes suggest sad resignation. Here is the king who fought Parliament to preserve the king's prerogative--basically his right to rule his kingdom through royal blood and divine right, without approval of Parliament--even though it led to a bloody civil war. But his eyes do not show the light of an impassioned leader, and sag as if he would rather close those lids  than see what was coming. He and his Royalist army lost the civil war, and Charles was beheaded in 1649 by order of Parliament under the leadership of John Pym. Then the Parliamentary army, led by Oliver Cromwell, proceeded to Ireland to crush a bloody rebellion.

In addition to many portraits, van Dyck's paintings of courtly life and other settings do much to chronicle 17th century England. Van Dyck died in London in 1641 after a long illness. He was 42.

Movies for dreamers

A few days ago I enjoyed watching Ben Stiller's version of "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty." It was a story I thought I knew. There were some really silly scenes that gave me a good laugh, and unfortunately planted a song in my head I am still trying to discard: "Ground Control to Major Tom…" Arrgghh. It also brought up some funny memories for me. My father always called me "the dreamer," especially after the day he was driving to work and caught me crouching on the sidewalk playing with a bug instead of walking to school. "La ta da ta dah dah, there she goes, the dreamer!" I guess he thought I was a complete loser -- he was an accountant so dreaming was not his thing -- and didn't think my imagination would come in handy one day.

When I was little I identified with the 1947 Danny Kaye version of Walter Mitty. Kaye portrayed a sweet person, but very passive, and always getting into predicaments because of his wandering mind. Yeah, been there. Stiller's version is not quite so passive, and a larger part of the movie focuses on the grand adventures he truly has in trying to track down a photographer played by Sean Penn. It eventually recalls a bit of The Wizard of Oz, when he discovers he had in his possession what he was looking for the whole time, i.e. the ruby slippers. 

Somewhere along the line I finally got the message this guy got: Why the hell not? Let's go! And as a result have had some pretty good adventures of my own.

I realized that I had never actually read The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, so I downloaded the short story by James Thurber, with an introduction by his daughter Rosemary. First published by The New Yorker in 1939, it gained wide appeal. There are a lot of dreamers out there, or maybe also a lot of people frustrated by the lovable dreamers in their lives. I think no matter how good a life can be, sometimes we all need a place to go.

A Facebook post today from Seattle's Hay House quotes Edgar Allen Poe: "Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things that escape those who dream only at night."

While dreaming, I have to say another movie captured my imagination perhaps even more than Mitty, and that was "About Time," from Richard Curtis. It's about being able to travel back in time in your life for do-overs. How many times have I wanted to go back and redo a situation so it comes out better? Hindsight, and all that. Particularly where my father is concerned, I have often dreamed how wonderful it would be if only I could go back and know him better.

Writing: Building Story out of Chaos

My reading list right now is has about six legs, so I liken it to a bee flitting all about and drinking up honey. I never know where it is all leading, and frankly it is none of my business at this, the research stage of writing. My job is to soak it in and when I have enough, the empty spaces will fill in and show me how everything is connected. As Jeffrey Rush said as the character Philip Henslowe in "Shakespeare in Love," strangely enough, it all turns out well. How? "It's a mystery!" Recently, I started The French Mistress by Susan Holloway Scott. I enjoy her books and wanted to learn a little more about what went on in the Restoration years. This is about the relationship between the Duchess of Portsmouth and the amorous King Charles II.

After the Amelia Island Book Festival in February I exchanged books with author Dee Phelps. Her first novel, The Disappointment Room, is set in South Carolina during the plantation era, about an evil mother who hides a disappointing child in an attic room and pretends to her politician husband that the child is dead.

Last week I picked up Winter King, Thomas Penn's book about Henry VII and the dawn of Tudor England, which was recommended to me by my friend John King. It was published in 2011 but I had not seen it before. The reading is slow-going at first, because of the complexities of family connections, but fascinating and informative.

As I am now living in the South, I also like to learn about the local area history, so I am studying the Timuqua Indians, from a book by Deon L. Jaccard. The Timuqua were in North Florida for about 4,000 years before the French and Spanish arrived to build forts and colonize. Apparently they were tall, fit, peace-loving people who, to their own downfall, helped the Europeans survive. I should have learned about all of this in high school, but if the story of the Timuqua ever was mentioned to me it fell on deaf ears, I'm sorry to say.

I am eager to get through this material and see where it all goes, but as we writers all know, life happens in the meantime. Yesterday I spent most of the day recaulking a bathroom. Ah well, somehow that may end up having a role in the mystery also. You never really know which part of your experience will ignite the story.

Happy writing!

Tribute to the Pirate Queen

In honor of St. Patrick's Day today I am honoring a famous woman in Irish history, Grace O'Malley, also known as "the pirate queen," and "Granuaile." Grace was an amazing woman who supported her countrymen in rebellion against the English, defended her family castle, and stood face to face with Queen Elizabeth herself. Born in Ireland during the time of King Henry VIII, her father was a chieftain, her family seafaring, and her home deeply rooted in Clew Bay, County Mayo. Her family owned a string of castles protecting the coast, and the fishermen in the region paid a tax for that protection.

Story has it that Granuaile was a nickname her father gave her -- it means short or cropped, and that's exactly what she did to her hair when her father told her she could not accompany him on a trade voyage because her hair would get caught in the rigging.

Apparently she married two or three times, and had several children. When she took to the seas two of her sons, Tibbot and Murrough, were beside her.  With their ships tucked into the bays, they awaited merchant ships passing through their waters, then stopped and boarded them to demand a toll in cash or cargo.

In 1593 when her two sons and half brother were taken captive by the governor of Connacht, the pirate queen sailed to England for an audience with Queen Elizabeth to argue for their release. Even so, Grace defiantly refused to bow before the English queen because she did not recognize her as queen of Ireland.

Grace's story is long and complex, twisting and turning as many Irish stories do. She inspired legends, poems and songs, and I had her in mind as I set the character Elvy on a path toward her territory in my book, Sharavogue.  For a good biography on Grace and her adventures, look for Anne Chambers' book, Granuaile.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Who cares about historical fiction?

I suppose I'm not the only author who sometimes asks herself, "Is anybody out there really going to read this?" But I was pleased to read M.K. Tod's 2013 Historical Fiction Reader Survey to find out that in fact there is a strong audience, and it is growing in the under-30 age group.

Tod's survey (funded by the Historical Novel Society) reached nearly 2,500 participants, mostly female, during 2013 and her results were published in January this year. While it is not exactly a scientific survey and Tod notes the probability of bias because the survey was distributed through historical fiction blogs and websites, it still provides useful information.

The highlights for me were that historical fiction is now mainstream, and most readers are aware when a book is independently published but it does not it does not stop them from making a purchase. The strongest driving factor for the purchase is a GOOD STORY. (This one's my favorite.)

And, the top three reasons respondents read historical fiction? (1) To bring the past to life, (2) Because there are great stories, and (3) To understand and learn without having to read non-fiction. That's right! The authors read all that stuff for you and weave the details together into something that is true, entertaining and educational!

At a recent book festival, a gentleman approached me and felt the need to tell me why he would not purchase my book. He said he believed historical fiction distorted the facts, and he did not know which parts were true, and which parts were fiction. I tried to tell him that usually you can tell that the events are real, and most of the details, but the characters are often from the author's imagination as a device to help tell the story from a certain perspective. The author's notes and acknowledgements also tend to explain what is true and what is fabricated. Many books, like mine, include a list of readings (if not a complete bibliography) and sources for historical accuracy.

He was not particularly open to what I was offering, but we can't win them all. I am sure he continued through the book festival to find a hot new crime thriller.

Another big takeaway from Tod's survey is about the importance of social media. Readers favor online sources for book recommendations. Seventy-eight percent said they use blogs, websites and other social media. I guess there is little justification for holding out on that one. My good friend Andrea Patten, a non-fiction author, says she uses Facebook religiously, but it is Twitter that attracts the most new readers. (Sigh!)

If you are an author of historical fiction I encourage you to read Tod's report. I found the results inspiring!

Setting yourself apart for readers

Part 9 in the "How I found my snow path to Dingle" series

Picking up where I left off on my series about my writing process for Sharavogue, today I am focusing on "What makes your book different from other books like it?" This is a question that might come during a media interview or from an anyone who is considering reading your book. To answer, I had to do my homework. When I selected the time period for my story, I searched for books in the Cromwellian years, the Interregnum, and on the bookends of that period during the reigns of Charles I and Charles II, the Restoration.

Specifically during Cromwell's time there were very few historical novels – I found only two, in fact -- that take place in this turbulent period. I have since found several more but I think I am safe to say I have written of a time often overlooked by other authors. So, for readers like me who also like to learn about history as they read, it might be a good choice.  Sharavogue (the title of my novel but also the name of the plantation where the protagonist was indentured) also illuminates what life was like for slaves and indentured servants on the sugar plantations of the 17^th century. These plantations were a boon to England’s economy but could not have been profitable without slave labor.

An intriguing  and distinguishing fact is that a colony of Irish planters developed on the island of Montserrat, and they too had to own slaves. The focus is on an Irish colony and perspective rather than an English one.

My style of writing is also quite different. I have used devices and structure to keep the book light, exciting and fast paced, but still packed with story, action and historical information -- just enough, and interwoven as best I could so the story did not become a history lesson. My page count is under 300, not the tome of some historical novels. This required quite a bit of brutal editing, but I knew the costs of printing would make a larger book a difficult sell for an unknown author. Some people like this style -- the book keeps them engaged so that they read it all the way through in a day or two. (One reader laughingly complained that it was my fault she did not get her Easter cooking done). But others have told me they would have liked more time for contemplation by the characters.

My hope was always that after finishing the book my readers would come away satisfied, entertained and informed. I also hoped to tell a good story about the Irish, who have held my imagination since childhood. A recent reviewer captured the gist of the story just as I had hoped:

"The Irish were no different, after all, than the English. Cruelty reigned. We were without justice, without recourse. We were without hope." Fifteen-year-old Elvy Burke only wants to live up to her destiny. As the daughter of a great warrior, she dreams of being a leader of her people and a defender of her country. But Oliver Cromwell and his brutal army change her destiny. After cursing Cromwell to his face, she flees her village determined to find a way to kill Cromwell and free her land. She thinks that only Cromwell is brutal, but she discovers the hard way as she becomes an indentured servant in the West Indies, that the English do not have a monopoly on brutality. Elvy learns to survive and she finds kindness in unexpected places. She uncovers her own strengths as she fights her way back to her home in Ireland.

via Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: Sharavogue : A Novel.

This will be my last post in this series, unless any readers have additional questions that I will be most happy to answer. I look forward to any comments or suggestions for future posts. Best wishes and happy writing!

Is history relevant in a 140-character world?

Part 8 of my "How I found my snow path to Dingle" series In this edition I'm focusing on another question asked about historical novels: "How is this relevant in today's society?" Sharavogue takes place in the 1650s, far removed in both time and location to what most of us experience today. But it is based in fact, so an obvious answer is to refer to the quote attributed to philosopher George Santayana, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Or the same with similar wording attributed to Winston Churchill and several others -- all the way to Jesse Ventura. Then there is the ever-positive Kurt Vonnegut, who says "I've got news for Mr. Santayana: we're doomed to repeat the past no matter what. That's what it is to be alive.”

As one who loves history and historical fiction, I sometimes wonder why writers need bother with trying to prove history relevant. It is, because it is. History is fascinating and woven from the lives and experiences of everyone who lived before us. Most humans love a good story, no matter what century it comes from. When I read historical fiction I also love learning about what life was like at a different time, and what circumstances caused things to be that way, and why people made the choices they did. It always in some way informs my own life without the author having to draw direct connections.

I recently read House Girl by Tara Conklin, which flips back and forth between pre-Civil War slavery and a present-day lawyer trying to attribute works of art to the slave girl. The whole story is about connecting past to present, and parts of it were quite good, but I found the historical portions by far the most interesting and well written, and the present-day portions sometimes feeling forced and distracting.

I also recently stumbled across The Traveler's Gift by Andy Andrews, a book someone had given my husband when he retired. It is basically a trip back in time to get seven philosophies for success, with the underlying message that each of us has a gift and the things we do have value and importance, whether we know it or not at the time. At one point we visit the Battle of Little Round Top where Col. Joshua Chamberlain's desperate last-minute charge is key to the Union victory there, which ultimately leads to the end of war, the end of slavery in America, and the growth of a superpower that is able to do good in the world. An oversimplification to be sure, but a strong message about relevance.

In my book, I chose to stay in the 1650s. While the relevancy is not mapped for readers as in the books I've just described, I think it derives from the characters themselves and the struggles and obstacles they work to overcome. One of my readers talked to me at length about the character Tempest Wingfield, who becomes a plantation master only because he inherited when his father died. She related strongly to his internal ragings against a life he never chose, and the sorrows he felt nonetheless for not being a better son, honoring and loving his father while he had the chance. Other readers related strongly to the pain of the poor choices Elvy Burke makes that lead her down more difficult pathways. As noted in an earlier post, Sharavogue itself (the plantation on Montserrat) is a character, passively supporting the plantation lifestyle  in its own harsh existence.

Who has lost a loving parent and not felt deep regret? Who has not made poor choices in life and learned from them? And who has not witnessed injustices large or small and felt powerless to change them?

True relevance comes from the heart. But on a political level I must add that Oliver Cromwell (the bad guy in my book) remains today a relevant and controversial figure. I talked once with a British citizen who believed the commonwealth Cromwell established was the right and appropriate idea for his government, and the monarchy was irrelevant. Yet the Cromwell name is mostly associated with the 16th century Thomas who destroyed the Catholic monasteries, and the 17th century Oliver who slaughtered the Irish.

These stories and the jigsaw puzzle of factors that created them are impossible to deliver in a tweet or a Facebook post, and I worry about the lack of reading that could surely lead to the "forgetting" of history. (For example, I shudder when I hear women say they want to be stay-at-home moms, having lived through the time when women fought tooth-and-nail for the right to work and vote, and still struggle for equal pay.) But I take hope from something another writer once said to me: "People don't care about history until they realize they have one." And then it becomes all-important.

On the set of "Laggies" in Seattle

Today I'm taking a brief diversion from my snow-path-to-Dingle series to describe my adventure as an extra on a movie set last week. Thanks to co-worker Melanie Skaggs I took a vacation day from my work responsibilities and signed up to be an extra on the set for Laggies, a new movie directed by Seattle-based Lynn Shelton. It was a full day to be sure, but interesting.

Laggies is a story about a young woman who does not want to grow up, and when her boyfriend proposes marriage she bolts and is set on an adventure with some high school girls, until she falls for her friend's father. Kiera Knightly plays the lead. I admire Knightly for her work in Pride and Prejudice, Atonement, and Pirates of the Caribbean. She seems so good in historical stories, maybe one day she'll play Elvy in a screen version of Sharavogue.

Sam Rockwell plays the father, and Mark Webber the jilted boyfriend. I became a fan of Rockwell also after his roles in Galaxy Quest and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.  I did not know of Mark Webber and so look forward to his performance in this one.

Our day began at 9:30 am, Base Camp in a parking lot adjacent to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where I work and where the scene for the day would take place. Base Camp consisted of a set of trailers for equipment and office space, dressing rooms, wardrobe and whatever. It turned out there were only three extras available that day, including Melanie, Dave Arquitt (a Port of Seattle electrician), and me. We were asked to dress like travelers, not wear red or white, and bring along two or three extra outfits so they could select for us. There was a wardrobe trailer packed full of options, and they found Dave (who was just coming off a shift) a purple woven shirt to replace his branded work shirt. We had fun feeling like pros while changing in our tiny dressing rooms.

A van delivered us to the airport along with the hairdresser and makeup artist, and we headed for the TSA security line because the scene would be at boarding gate on Concourse A. We were delighted to find that behind us in line were Webber and Knightly, escorted by some film crew. Knightly tried to disguise her identity by pulling a lock of hair across her face. In truth, it was not much good because she is very recognizable to those who know of her and she is every bit as beautiful in person as on screen (Melanie and I were envious!). But no one bothered her and we progressed easily through the concourse, stopping once along the way where cameras were set up to capture the walk under the "Clouds and Clunkers" art installation. Melanie, Dave and I got to precede the stars in this shot, and I got my hair fluffed by the stylist -- how cool is that?

At the end of the concourse crew members were like bees buzzing around with activity. We had no idea what they were doing and for a while it felt odd being in the midst of but not really part of the activity. When they were ready to shoot the scene they finally included us. Our cue was, "Background!" and we knew it was time to take our places. Knightly and Webber were seated in front of a window with the nose of a big jet in front of them. The Background was made of up people in airport seats--us and set crew members dressed as travelers--looking like we were waiting to board a flight to Vegas. When an actor/flight attendant called for boarding, we background members all got up in a sequence, and Webber and Knightly stood up, and sat back down, saying their dramatic lines for the break up of their romance. There was laughter several times when one of them flubbed their lines.  "Reset!" meant it was time for background to return to our places and shoot the scene again, which we did four or five times. We had fun hiding in the jetway and trying to stay quiet while the filming was going on.

We took "lunch" at about 3 pm, then came back for the close-up shots. Faces and hands, including the moment when the two lovers' hands separate. We background folks milled about in the distance impersonating a busy airport terminal, nothing more than blurry figures. Our two main stars left at about 5 pm, and on her way out we got a thank you and a big smile from Kiera and her body guard.  Then background and crew kept working for about two more hours to make sure we had any filler shots that might be needed.

There was a lot of activity going on in the sidelines, for sound, digital work under a dark tent, and more of which I have no idea. We were working beneath 40-foot ceilings and ambient light that changed several times with the weather. Pipe and drape had to be moved, camera angles shifted.

It was just one day in a life for each of us, but fascinating to participate in this industry and see how these movies are made--all the preparation, effort and energy, and the many people it took to get just that one scene. I now have a much better understanding of why those credits are so long at the end of a movie, and the production costs so high. Many thanks to Dave Drummond, Phil Andrade, and Lynn Shelton for including us in this day and sharing their world with us. Can't wait to see the movie!

How memory informs story

Part 7 of my "How I found my snow path to Dingle" series It’s amazing sometimes, where the pathways of thought will lead. This example comes from when I was researching currency in the 17^th century. In my novel Sharavogue, a coin is a central icon throughout the story so I needed to find just the right one. There is much to be found about Elizabethan currency, but so far not as much that is specific to my time period.

Anyway, the word “sixpence” set me off.  It reminded me of “Half a Sixpence,” the 1967 musical based on a novel by H.G. Wells and starring British pop star of that time, Tommy Steele. The title song began to play in my head. I knew it well because my parents went to this show when I was 11 years old. They came home from their date absolutely bubbling. They were happy. They were both singing. They bought the soundtrack and played it frequently. And when my father sang it was a grand thing – not that he was a great singer (he wasn’t bad), but it meant there was happiness and joy in our household. When he was happy, we could all be happy. The converse was also true.

But then I remembered that this kind of happiness went from occasional to rare and did not last. Over the next eight years things would tumble, my parents would divorce, and I would go off to college bewildered and distressed. It was the 60s and 70s – sex, drugs, rock & roll. Everything was bewildering. Our family of five exploded, each going our own ways, and our ties to each other became thin and fragile.

Then I began to consider my father’s viewpoint in all of this, which I believe was primarily one of disappointment. Probably from before he and my mother even married, he had set his sights on having a family and hoped to raise three boys. He must have imagined them as smart and good-looking, athletic – probably winning ribbons and trophies on the swim team, playing on high school and college football teams, and then more ribbons and trophies riding hunter-jumpers with power and finesse. Then those sons would go on to make fortunes in their professions and sire grandsons in their own image, establishing my father’s legacy forever.  Was it God’s sense of humor that instead that instead gave my father three sensitive girls who loved dolls and pretty clothes? (There is no reason now why a girl can’t do all the same things the boys could do, but in the those days, as the TV series Mad Men demonstrates, the options were different and doors were not so open for women.)

Then I arrived at the next thought layer, focusing on my father’s disappointment. And I always seem to come ‘round to this. None of his daughters were particularly athletic, and I’m sure he thought we were destined to become housewives, secretaries or school teachers rather than captains of industry. I focused on journalism, and I recalled one morning when I was visiting him while on break from college and we were having breakfast. He told me if he was ever to write his memoirs he would start it in a particular way. I can’t even remember now what way that was, because my own young and disappointed mind was preparing to lash out him. Instead of encouraging him to write his memoir and offering to help – which is what I would like to do today – I smirked and said “That’s probably what they would tell you not to do.”

I think the conversation pretty much ended after that, not that I recall the rest clearly. My punishment is that my father wrote no memoir, and when he died suddenly I realized (with the impact of a brick squarely between the eyes) that I knew almost nothing about him, his life as a young man, his dreams, his turning points. My husband says that if my father wanted to write his memoir, he would have written it – my stupid comment would not have had the power to stop it. But then, to take on such a task one has to be inspired. I think my father felt he did not have a legacy he could be proud of.

Before he died my father once said to me he had reached the top of the mountain and was now descending the other side. He did not like it. He had nothing to show for his life. I said, “You have three daughters.” This elicited barely a shrug.

He was disappointed. And I was disappointed. Perhaps it was not so much disappointment in his daughters, as I had until now believed. We know he loved us. We know in his own way he was proud of us. Maybe he just felt that he should have done more with his life, and so it was this, along with self-doubt and perhaps even contempt, that caused him not to write about it.

As I considered all of this, I realized the value for a writer is to follow the thought process through when memories come up, to discover some perspectives that might not have been clear before. It may be painful and so it is easier to just turn away and focus on something else, but when relived in the mind these thoughts and emotions inform the depths of story. My first novel was about the life of a man of my father’s time – I did not have my father’s history, so I simply made it up. It was a satisfying process, and I was able to inject much of the feeling I had experienced in our family life (write what you know, as they say).

I never published that novel. Someday I may return to it and reconsider. It is based on the history of his times, but it is still only a story. I will never really know what my father experienced, what he thought or how he felt. I wish even now I could give a half a sixpence for his thoughts.

In writing Sharavogue, what I perceived as his disappointment informed the feelings and character of Tempest Wingfield, master of the plantation on the island of Montserrat. He too had dreams and ideas that were never realized, because he was trapped in a destiny of his father's making. It was his father's dream to have a plantation, but his father's death and other circumstances had determined this character's unwanted fate, and so the actions and behavior are ruled by his anger and sorrow.

Meet My Villains

Part 6 in the series: How I found the snow path to Dingle I once dated both a Roger and an Osborne, and neither proved to be very good dating material, but they did not reach the villainous status of this guy: Roger Osborne. Straight out of history, I did not need to invent him as the bad guy in Sharavogue. He showed up on his own.

But more about him in a moment. This is a post about the characters in the story, and particularly the villains who actually drive the action. In Sharavogue there are three villains. The first one we meet is Oliver Cromwell himself. Cromwell and his New Model Army have just defeated the Royalists in a bloody civil war. Cromwell has emerged as England's new leader and has beheaded King Charles I in London. Now he comes to Ireland to cut down the Irish rebelling against English plantation on their soil.

Our heroine Elvy Burke confronts this powerful figure when he marches on her village. Cromwell had facial warts which helps add to his villainous image. It is Elvy's hatred and vow to kill Cromwell that drives her forward and commands her decision making.

Through a series of events Elvy soon confronts the second villain of sorts, Sharavogue itself. The word Sharavogue comes from the Irish meaning "bitter place," and it is the name given to a sugar plantation on the Island of Montserrat in the West Indies. The plantation system of the time depends on slave labor, and Elvy becomes an indentured servant struggling to survive against the customs, hard labor and the disease-ridden environment.

Because of her vow, Elvy cannot rest until she finds a way back to Cromwell to assassinate him. Thus, she seeks out the governor of Montserrat for assistance, and he is none other than Roger Osborne. In the 1650s, Osborne became governor of Montserrat when the original governor, Anthony Briskett, died. Briskett was revered for his vision and ability to engage and encourage fellow settlers and plantaton owners, and build a prosperous economy for the tiny island based primarily on tobacco crops. Briskett owned the best plantation on the island, married Osborne's sister Elizabeth, and they had one son. Roger owned the adjacent plantation, but thought the grass was greener on Briskett's side of the fence.

When Briskett died, Osborne's palms must have itched to get his hands on Briskett's plantation, but Elizabeth still wanted a husband and father for her young son. She married a Dutch planter and gentleman by the name of Samuel Waad.

What happens next is infamous for this period of history, and author Richard S. Dunn (Sugar and Slaves) lays it out like a play, listing all the characters by role. Picture Osborne, a massive spider, waiting for the perfect opportunity to weave his web and capture the fly.

Waad is a wealthy merchant and a bit of a dandy, but also very steeped in the rules of honor. When Osborne has Waad's house guest arrested for beating a local tailor with his cane (what was the tailor's offense, I wonder?), Waad is embarrassed and insulted. He writes a letter to Osborne that not only complains against the arrest, but goes on to call out Osborne's corruption and whoring.

Waad is now ensnared in Osborne's trap. Osborne is head of the militia, and calls the letter treason. Waad is arrested and, because it is a weekend, Osborne is able to call together only his cronies (and not the full militia) to determine Waad's fate. The action is swift. Waad is executed by firing squad. Osborne takes over his estate and management on behalf of his nephew, who is Waad's heir.

This story is true. I only wish I'd been able to find an image of Osborne to see if his countenance shows his personality. His interactions with Elvy are imagined and highly likely, but you'll have to read the book to find out more!

Writing on a theme

Part 5 in the series: How I found the snow path to Dingle Reviewers said a big reason Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code was so successful was that he wrote on a theme no less important than the existence of Jesus himself. It was a question almost universal, and he took it to the next level, whether Jesus actually had children and a bloodline could exist today. Pretty compelling, and writers who target such a theme can easily tap into a large audience.

In my case, I was exploring a story that was unfolding as I researched and studied my topic area. And while themes certainly emerged, my goal was to tell the best story I could. Sharavogue began as a story of revenge and self-actualization, about the obstacles that can confront you on your way to your goals. Ultimately, and I only realized this after I stumbled across a Keats poem that rang home for me, it is about the range of emotion--from violence and hatred to love and mercy--that humans are capable of feeling and expressing.

I think writing on a theme is great if you are really emotionally engaged with that theme. For me, thinking about what my theme would be stifled the creative process. I needed to let the story unfold in its own way, and then refine it through revisions. When it came time to publish, I did feel a bit exposed, that through my writing I had perhaps revealed more of my private self than I wanted to or should.

As Glen C. Strathy writes:

Curiously, some novelists say they don't believe in theme – or at least they don't believe in giving any thought to the matter while writing. They prefer to concentrate on telling a good story rather than delivering a profound message. However, theme cannot be excluded. Every writer has interests, opinions, biases, and attitudes. Some are conscious; some are unconscious. Some you gain from experience and honest reflection, while others you pick up uncritically from others. You cannot avoid your personal “wisdom” creeping into what you write, creating patterns that can be identified as “themes.” via Choosing a Theme for Your Novel.

I believe in writing from the heart. In my case, I was working on the book for several years. If I had not been deeply and emotionally engaged, I don't believe I could have maintained the energy to complete it. I also had enough self doubt without allowing concern over the proper theme to feed the flame. That theme naturally emerges from creative writing is all part of the magic of writing, and what makes it such an interesting process of discovery.

What's your book about?

Part 4 in the series: How I found the snow path to Dingle I never would have guessed that one of the hardest things about writing a book is being able to describe it to someone in a succinct and compelling way. And when the story is set in a period that most people don't know? A nearly impossible nightmare. What was I thinking?

My publisher sent me some questions to help me prepare for a radio interview. Question 2: Summarize your book in one to three sentences. Here's what I came up with:

Sharavogue is a novel set in the turbulent 1650s, in the time of Oliver Cromwell and his brutal domination of Ireland. This is the tale of one girl’s vow of revenge, her journey through the lawless lands of the West Indies as an indentured servant, and her struggle to return to England to confront her sworn enemy and claim her destiny.

It's all true but I'm not sure compelling, and it doesn't quite get at the fun and adventurous aspects of the book. To do this, I really like the book Save the Cat by Blake Snyder. This book is aimed at screen writers but it is a fun, quick read, straight to the point and so helpful. You've got to be able to describe your book (screen play) in one sentence. "It's about a guy/girl who _______" fill in the blank. Simple, right? If only!

One thing I really liked about this book is that I realized I had basically and instinctively followed Blake's advice before I had even read it, in terms of the structure, the conflict, the beginning, middle and end. And I read the chapter on character development over and over again.

But mostly I liked the honesty and clarity about what works, what doesn't, and reminding us that writing is just one aspect of the book business. If you want people to read what you've written, you've got to sell it. Selling books and selling screenplays is a business, so you have to think in terms of what your customers want and care about.

The book's title refers to the idea that if you want readers to care about your main character, he or she can and should have flaws, but must also do something early on to win their hearts. Save the cat! In my case, my character tries to save her village. She fails, but hopefully by the time that happens the readers have already started to care about her and want to know what happens next, so they keep turning the pages.

Honestly, I still struggle with those one to three sentences. I've practiced saying them, described the book to many readers, and still there are times when I get a blank expression in return. Maybe one day I'll write about a time that people can immediately relate to, and I'll work in an irresistible cat.