tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386077972421065740.post2967523741987013731..comments2024-03-28T06:44:07.361-04:00Comments on Historical Hussies: Guest Susanna Fraser: The History I Left OutDonna Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05807169149057139718noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386077972421065740.post-2240813921293709982010-09-09T20:24:22.507-04:002010-09-09T20:24:22.507-04:00Jumping up and down!!!! Thanks!Jumping up and down!!!! Thanks!Beth Trisselhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13742049964476824594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386077972421065740.post-50363154428341505092010-09-09T19:09:54.022-04:002010-09-09T19:09:54.022-04:00And Beth Trissel wins the gift certificate! Beth,...And Beth Trissel wins the gift certificate! Beth, please email me at susannamfraser AT gmail DOT com and let me know whether you'd prefer Amazon, B&N, or Books on Board for your gift certificate.Susanna Fraserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16149293228696867804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386077972421065740.post-36987207711688183552010-09-09T15:32:06.513-04:002010-09-09T15:32:06.513-04:00Margaret, I think there will be always be fascinat...Margaret, I think there will be always be fascinating things I wish I could include but have to leave out, but the value I see in knowing way more than I'll ever use is that I don't feel tentative about my characters and setting. If I know a dozen good slice-of-life details about soldiers with Wellington's army and only have room for one in my book, somehow I can use the one in a casual, off-the-cuff way that feels more natural than if that single detail is all I know. Something about the sense that there's always more where that came from.<br /><br />Thanks, Laurie! I hope you enjoy it when you get to it, and I wish I had the discipline to read books in the order I buy them.Susanna Fraserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16149293228696867804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386077972421065740.post-42420686448175274762010-09-09T14:05:20.334-04:002010-09-09T14:05:20.334-04:00What a great topic for a blog post! It's fasci...What a great topic for a blog post! It's fascinating to know what an author "left out" and why. I love historicals and sat in on a live chat with Phillipa Gregory today. She basically echos your sentiments (although she didn't reveal what she left out in the Red Queen, lol), and she's a class act to follow. Moving a few dates around is a smart move, imo, especially when you're caught up between your story and "real events" which could compromise the story you're telling. You're on my ereader - I just have to get to you! I went on a shopping binge with Carina (I can't say enough good things about the quality of their books or covers), so I'm trying to read them in the order I bought them. :)Laurie Woodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14068922193439757745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386077972421065740.post-67086762693498316022010-09-09T03:48:17.134-04:002010-09-09T03:48:17.134-04:00Hi Susanna,
That was a very interest blog. Leaving...Hi Susanna,<br />That was a very interest blog. Leaving out 90% of your research is heartbreaking, at least I find it so, but you have to consider your readers who just want to read an historical romance not receive a history lesson.<br /><br />Regards<br /><br />MargaretMargaret Tannerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07123830410502520003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386077972421065740.post-86437655867415251172010-09-09T01:50:57.431-04:002010-09-09T01:50:57.431-04:00Thanks, Dean! I hope you enjoy the book.Thanks, Dean! I hope you enjoy the book.Susanna Fraserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16149293228696867804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386077972421065740.post-30588389765179433762010-09-08T19:29:37.016-04:002010-09-08T19:29:37.016-04:00LK, I've been known to change history...but in...LK, I've been known to change history...but in those manuscripts I change BIG things, make it obvious, and label it alternative history or historical fantasy. And hopefully someday I'll sell those, too.<br /><br />It's something of a pet peeve of mine when characters ignore HUGE things--e.g. I've seen books and manuscripts set in the spring of 1815 that don't say a THING about Napoleon escaping from exile and the Hundred Days and Waterloo and so on. And my response is, "Move it back a few years when it's the same old war that's been going on forever and you can get by with someone without military connections not thinking about it, or move it forward a few years and England is at peace, but May-June of 1815?! You've GOT to mention it."Susanna Fraserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16149293228696867804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386077972421065740.post-33110739357296313042010-09-08T19:27:04.511-04:002010-09-08T19:27:04.511-04:00I will be looking for the book to buy. I love his...I will be looking for the book to buy. I love history and add romance and what a combination.<br />Thank you,DeanYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15630398150065346896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386077972421065740.post-86734750100776507852010-09-08T19:24:34.122-04:002010-09-08T19:24:34.122-04:00Thanks, Elizabeth!
catslady, I'm finding that...Thanks, Elizabeth!<br /><br />catslady, I'm finding that it's a balancing act that changes from story to story. This one turned on actual events more than any other I've written so far, but I always try to find a way to make it clear that we're in, say, 1809 rather than 1819, and CERTAINLY rather than 1889.<br /><br />Beth, I've had CPs chide me both for showing too much of my research and for not explaining *enough* about why a character was acting differently than a 21st century man or woman would. E.g. one CP looked at my Sergeant's Lady heroine's unhappy first marriage and say, "Why doesn't she just divorce him?" So I had to try to find a way to explain how early 19th century divorce law worked from within the character's POV without having them think too much about something they would've taken for granted. Which is probably a blog post in itself...Susanna Fraserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16149293228696867804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386077972421065740.post-23177078101775280462010-09-08T19:19:17.738-04:002010-09-08T19:19:17.738-04:00Hi Linda and Susanna,
I enjoyed your post and am ...Hi Linda and Susanna,<br /><br />I enjoyed your post and am glad to see you move the story date rather than play with facts. The speed of letter travel is minor. The assassination is major, as you said, and I don't like historical fiction to change history. My daughter and I were actually talking about this yesterday. If it's historical, make it follow actual events and move your story around it. She disagrees that it matters, but I'm more a history freak. ;-)<br /><br />I'm more concerned about keeping it "right" than about what's in or out.LK Hunsakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10706929624587891992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386077972421065740.post-33294830773624958002010-09-08T17:08:50.456-04:002010-09-08T17:08:50.456-04:00Fabulous subject and one all of us historical roma...Fabulous subject and one all of us historical romance authors struggle with. I loved all the history you shared that wasn't in your novel, and I like the sound of that too, BTW! Thanks so much.<br />I learned after many smack downs over the years that I will use only a smattering of my copious research. I could happily undertake more from historical authors but then I'm all over documentaries. :)Beth Trisselhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13742049964476824594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386077972421065740.post-284366366129418872010-09-08T16:14:22.088-04:002010-09-08T16:14:22.088-04:00It sounds like you are balancing it just right. I ...It sounds like you are balancing it just right. I love to hear the history but only if it applies. I'd much rather something not be included if the dates and timing would be off.catsladyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06375770995988927860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386077972421065740.post-18913429858744460872010-09-08T15:54:42.994-04:002010-09-08T15:54:42.994-04:00I think that the books sounds awesome. I think the...I think that the books sounds awesome. I think the things that you left out are the things that people would avoid. Sounds awesome!Elizabeth Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04421529373495765794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386077972421065740.post-70223082985343889432010-09-08T13:32:01.483-04:002010-09-08T13:32:01.483-04:00Thanks for having me here today!
Character comes ...Thanks for having me here today!<br /><br />Character comes first for me, as a writer and a reader--but IMHO a good character in <i>historical</i> fiction needs to be grounded in his/her place in time, and that includes thinking about the events, big and small, that shaped their world.<br /><br />Debra, I'm extremely pleased with my cover, and Carina is doing a great job with cover art in general.<br /><br />Valerie, at least for now my book is only available on virtual shelves, but you don't have to have a dedicated e-reader like a Kindle or Nook to read it. Amazon and Barnes & Noble both have free apps you can download for a computer or smartphone, so you can find out if e-books are for you for no more than the cost of a book. :-)Susanna Fraserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16149293228696867804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386077972421065740.post-52579832695466901792010-09-08T11:01:04.029-04:002010-09-08T11:01:04.029-04:00Knowing how well you respect the history and how y...Knowing how well you respect the history and how you plan on using it and not using it makes me want to read your book. Of course, the story is what counts first, but I don't believe a good story can be written without the author being aware of the history and the tenor of the times to make it real. Thank you, and I will be looking for your book on the shelves.Valerie L.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386077972421065740.post-13556424262284257922010-09-08T10:24:32.201-04:002010-09-08T10:24:32.201-04:00First of all, your cover is gorgeous! And I love t...First of all, your cover is gorgeous! And I love the premise. I think when the history can be included to advance the story and the plot, put it in there! But readers want a feel for the time and the clothes. They want to feel as if they are on the journey with the hero and heroine. Using the history to bring out the emotions of the characters is what makes a historical breathtakingly wonderful. Great post, Susanna and congrats on your book!Debra Glasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11569641430632477351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386077972421065740.post-13860959257659050442010-09-08T09:19:05.084-04:002010-09-08T09:19:05.084-04:00That's really interesting, Susanna, and I resp...That's really interesting, Susanna, and I respect your reasons for both including and laving out what you put in and left out of your novel.Lindsay Townsendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11513558547686982857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8386077972421065740.post-26384021694343451172010-09-08T06:55:54.304-04:002010-09-08T06:55:54.304-04:00Hey, May 10, nice day. That's my birthday. *g*...Hey, May 10, nice day. That's my birthday. *g* Seriously, though, that 90% of the research you left out provides the context of the story. I like some accounting of current events, and the story has to fit the time. Otherwise we're talking costume drama, and I don't like that type of historicalLinda Banchehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18143074276306710646noreply@blogger.com