HOW I WRITE HISTORICAL ROMANCE NOVELS

 

Today my friend, Shirley Skufca Hickman is my guest on my blog. I had the privilege of editing both of her historical romances as well as several of her other books. Welcome, Shirley. I asked her about how she writes historical romance.

 

I’ve written two romance novels, Sarah Darlin’ and The Tangled Web of Love. I like researching the time period, creating the main and minor characters, and developing a plot.

Often twenty pages of research may become a single paragraph in the book. I like to discover historical characters who can interact with my fictional ones.

For my first romance novel, Sarah Darlin’, set in San Francisco during the Gold Rush, I found Tom McGuire, a real person, and used him to hire my fictional characters, Sarah, Patrick, and Katie O’Malley to sing and dance in his Jenny Lind Theater. Much of the action in the book takes place there. When the theater burns down, it triggers a painful memory for Patrick O’Malley.

Sarah O’Malley and Richard Moresby, are attracted to one another, but the O’Malleys left Ireland during the potato famine because of the injustice and cruelty of British landowners. Understandably, they despise the British. Sarah is fascinated by Richard, a British aristocrat, but is torn between her loyalty to the O’Malleys and Richard’s appealing charm.

My second romance novel, The Tangled Web of Love, set in England in 1812, is one of my favorite time periods because its stratified society offers limitations and opportunities.

In researching this time period, I found Richard Wellesley, former Governor General of India. He helps my fictional character, David, sign a lucrative contract with the East India Company, and Elizabeth translates for Wellesley’s French wife.

David Stedfeld, an orphan forced to steal as a child to survive, is now a sea captain and one of the richest men in London. Lady Elizabeth Reneau, the daughter of a duke, was born into wealth and privilege, but after her parents died and their estate sold, she is forced to live with her licentious uncle.

She runs away and waves down David’s coach to ask for a ride to London. She refuses further help and secures a position in London as a seamstress. She borrows a gown to attend a ball, but David accidentally spills wine on it, ruining it. She is dismissed, charged with theft, and sent to Newgate Prison, David fights to free her and offers her a position as his housekeeper. As their mutual attraction grows, Elizabeth knows David desires her, but will he ever love her?

After the research is complete, main characters determined, and a basic plot outlined, minor characters are created. Fortunately, or unfortunately, sometime they tend to stay longer than I intended.

I introduce Brandon Ratliff so Elizabeth has someone to dance with at the duchess’s ball, but he continues to intrude upon her life and competes with David for her attention.

Sean, in Sarah Darlin’, also refused to leave. I used him to illustrate how sailors were fleeced by unscrupulous landladies, but when the O’Malleys meet Sean, wrapped only in a blanket, they can’t leave him in the street, so they take him home, give him clothes, and help him find a job. Soon he becomes Richard’s rival for Sarah’s affections.

I never planned any of this, but Sean became so interesting to some readers, they requested a sequel to find out what happened to him.

Will the O’Malley’s accept Sarah and Richard’s love for one another? Will David and Elizabeth find enduring love despite their social differences?

Of course, they will. My responsibility as a romance writer is to make sure my characters live happily ever after in my books.

 

SHIRLEY SKUFCA HICKMAN grew up in a Colorado coal mining town, during World War II. As an adult, she wrote about the war from a child’s point of view in Don’t Be Give Up.

In 1947, the mine closed, forcing the family to move. Living in three rooms and sleeping in the kitchen with her two older sisters, she wondered if they’d ever have a real home again. Whenever her father made life better for the family, he’d ask: Is Everybody Happy Now? This became the title of her next memoir.

She enjoyed her high school years until her father’s death devastated the family. Without his love and financial support, they might have lost their home. Family is Forever is about their love for one another and how they coped.

Shirley graduated from college and became a teacher. She wrote Fall in Love With An Orange Tree or a Book about a teenager who lived in the shadows because she was in the U.S. illegally.

When parents asked her to recommend a book to help their children, she wrote: School Success: Five Hundred Ways Busy Parents Can Help their Children in School.

She also wrote Sarah Darlin’, a romance novel set in San Francisco during the Gold Rush. Before Sarah and her lover could be together, they must deal with prejudice, a fire, and a terrible secret from Sarah’s past.

In 2020, she published Rocky Road is More Than a Candy Bar about her courtship with her husband, Joe. Another moving memoir from this author.

Her greatest joys are her son, his wife, and their two boys.

For more information, contact the author at hickman@ocsnet.net

My Love Affair with Poetry

 

My first book was a cloth book of Mother Goose Rhymes. I literally wore it out. Of course, by then I had memorized all of them, so the fact that the words were obliterated made no difference. Even though it was worn out, Mom saved it. (My mother was not a saver. She threw out or gave away a LOT of our childhood items.)

Another favorite was The Little Golden Book of Poetry. My aunt and uncle gave it to me for Christmas the year I was one.

This one had wonderful, colorful illustrations. I memorized it as well. One of my favorites was Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Swing.” Whenever I went high on one, I thought of this poem. Another was “Hiding” by Dorothy Aldis. Of course, mine is much worse for the wear.

Some of the damage to this one was caused by my younger brother. I was always careful with my books, but Ron was not. Still, Mom kept this one, too.

As I got older, some of my favorite poets were Robert Frost, e.e. cummings, and Maya Angelou. I discovered I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings in high school, and it became another favorite.

We were required to memorize the prologue to The Canterbury Tales in old English for my freshman English class. I can still recite it. (At a critique group meeting, another gal—who was probably in her eighties at the time—and I recited it together! Kindred souls.)

When I compiled our anthology, Seasons of Love, I decided to write an introductory poem for each of the four novellas.

Here they are.

Spring’s Fling

by Sherry Derr-Wille

Spring

 

Sing in the spring:

The song of new life,

The song of hope,

The song of new love;

Raise your voice and celebrate

The wonder of renewal

 

Summer’s Challenge
by Luanna Rugh

Summer

 

Dance through the summer;

Frolic in the meadow;

Twirl in the sunshine;

Caper among the wildflowers;

Gambol in childlike freedom;

Whirl in nature’s glory.

 

Autumn’s Blessing
by Christie Shary

Autumn

 

Let go in autumn

Of the past,

Of things which weigh you down,

Of hurts and burdens

Leave behind all sadness

To embrace the new.

 

Winter’s Song
by Lorna Collins

Winter

 

Linger in winter;

Await the rainbow behind the cloud;

Hope for what is to come;

Anticipate the green shoots beneath the snow;

Remain still in the knowledge

That life, ’though hidden, is stirring.

 

These are just simple verses, but they set the stage for each novella. If they have made you curious about the actual stories in the book, it’s available in ebook and paperback on Amazon (https://tinyurl.com/3e2j8w3k) and through our website (www.lornalarry.com).

Do you love poetry, too? Tell me about it.

Discovering Dana Point

 I doing research for our book, The Memory Keeper, I found photos of a statue called “The Hide Drogher.” Drogher is a word for the slow, clumsy coastal ships, which stopped in Dana Point to trade foreign-made goods for hides. The statue shows a sailor tossing a hide. I remembered seeing the statue many years ago, but when we were doing our research, I couldn’t find it.

I looked it up and discovered it was on the top of the bluff along the Bluff Top Trail. It used to be visible from the road along the bluff, but now, large homes have been built there.

 Today, after a stop at the post office, we were on Amber Lantern. I asked Larry if we could stop and take a walk on the trail.

The view was gorgeous from the gazebo-structure at the end of the road.

To call this a “trail” is a real misnomer. It is a concrete path with series of stairs, all with handrails.

Not far along the trail, we saw the arches from the 1930 construction of the original Dana Point Hotel, which was never completed because of the stock market crash and the Great Depression.

A plaque describes the wall and the circumstances.

Not far beyond the arches, we spotted the statue. It is now enclosed in a wall of concrete. (It used to stand alone on top of the bluff.)

The plaque describes the statue.

On the way back, we were able to see the old trail, which used to zigzag down the cliff to the beach below. Larry remembers hiking up the trail in the 1960s. Of course, much of the old trail has been washed out over the years.

The trail was lined with rock walls, some of which can be spotted below the new trail.

 

We took some photos with Larry’s phone, but they didn’t come out well. So, we went back and retraced our steps later on. Two hikes in one day! What a gorgeous time to enjoy our hometown!

Now that we know where the statue is, we may visit it more often.

 Are there places in your hometown you haven’t explored? So glad we discovered this one!