As authors we all come across challenges when writing our scripts. When you are an author of Historical erotic romances these challenges are no mean feat to overcome.
Historical romances of any genre always presents the task of not only writing a kick arse love story, but also ensuring the numerous historical facts included in the story can withstand the scrutiny of any history buff that turns the pages of your book.
Mistress of Purity, my third release with Red Sage Publishing coming out in August, presented many issues with regards to historical facts for me. Not only was there the historical accuracy regarding the town of Sarina in which the book is set that I had to get right, but also raping every history web page trying to find names of tavern’s (many of which were burnt down and lost in the history pages), and also the types of carriages used in Australia during the late 1800’s.
Passions in the Dust, my fourth release due out in October, was an even bigger hurdle as the story begins back in Plymouth, England before it travels to Bowen, Australia. So I had to try and track down shipping records from the late 1800’s to see if I could find a passenger ship travelling between the two countries at the particular year I wanted to set the story. I was lucky though and with many hours of searching the web and a huge dose of luck, I actually managed to find not only a ship’s name, but also the name of the captain.
Now given that my stories are primarily erotic romances, the accuracy of historical facts may not seem important but because of the country I have chosen to set my stories in I need these accuracies. Australian romances are becoming more and more popular as the years pass but, to many, Australia is still an unimaginable wilderness with a very blank and unknown history other than convicts from the first fleet.
This unfamiliar setting means that as a writer you have to work twice as hard to plant the scenery of the country in the readers mind. You have to describe so much of the townships, and make it as accurate as possible so that it is believable enough for the reader to become engrossed in what they are reading. I also then like adding the extra drama of further scandal, mystery and murder to help move the story along. The challenge here is to try and get inside the mind of the Victorian person, and know what they considered as scandal along with what weapons were available to cause whatever harm was needed.
So why do I torture myself by writing historical erotic romances?
It’s simple really. With each book I write I get transported back in time to a place few were ever told about, and fewer still will ever read about. I hope too that my readers will experience a journey unlike any other each time they read one of my books, and get to sample a piece of Australian history as they delve into the lives of my characters.
The history of Australia is a beautiful and adventurous one, filled with hardships and passions unlike any other.
Mistress of Purity and Passions in the Dust will show you townships of Australia few know to exist, and you will fall in love with the characters from each book as they take you on a passionate journey through their hardships in their still new and most unexplored country.