Image by Mystic Art Design from Pixabay

As an author, my genre is Historical Romantic Fiction, specifically Pride & Prejudice variations. As I’ve said in previous posts, I went through a steep learning curve, which is only now levelling off, to a certain degree.

I confess to suffering some envy regarding my brother Jann’s apparent ease when it comes to crafting stories. Of course, he’s been writing professionally for more than a decade, while I six years under my belt. Unfortunately, cancer and its lingering effects cost me and it’s a daily struggle to write more than a few thousand words in a twenty-four period.

Other than that, writing these types of stories have their own difficulties, to which Jann can attest. Unlike contemporary romance, accuracy is essential to the success of anyone writing these type of stories, especially when it comes to Jane Austen style fiction. Janeites know the era, they are well versed in dress, class distinction, the role of servants, types of transportation, and just about any situation an author might explore in a novel. I have been taken to task more than once for introducing something that wasn’t in wide usage, or even invented when my story takes place.

Image by zamiro from Pixabay

I once had the temerity to include a train in a story, which did not sit well with readers, who laughed or derided me for not doing my proper due diligence. Because the matter was raised in the reviews, I couldn’t defend myself and point out that trains were, indeed, used in the early nineteenth century to haul ore out of coal mines, which was where I had placed mine.

That’s not to say I don’t make any mistakes. I have two maps, courtesy of Jann. The first is England, with the counties and P & P locations identified. The other is a closer look at the main areas where the story takes place. He gave it to me to help the the structure of my stories. Unlike today, a journey from Longbourn to Pemberley took closer to a week than a few hours.

When I am writing a story, I spend a lot of time in research. The last thing I need is to fill my books with anachronisms. I detest inaccuracy in anything and putting something like a telephone, to use an extreme example, into regency historical fiction begs for bad reviews, which discourage new readers.

Writing is a career I never aspired to. If not for the encouragement of Jann and my younger sister, I would never have attempted such an undertaking. The process of crafting a story and taking it from a vague idea to publishing is a lot of things, from enervating to exhilarating, often within the same day or hour but, having traveled this highway, I wouldn’t change it for anything.