Laura Freeman's Blog, page 3

Minor characters can have backstories

A backstory can serve different purposes. It can establish a secret relationship, a reason the character acts a particular way, give information about what has happened before the beginning of the story, or explain why a minor character is in an unusual situation. For those who have read the story, this will help explain the motive in more detail and for those who haven’t read the story, it may cause you to pick up the book.

“Impending Love and Capture” is a historical romance novel available at http://goo.gl/B7lKMs  and other distributors in print and ebook format. Follow me on Amazon.

This story begins on July 2, 1863 as Jessica Beecher arrives in Gettysburg with supplies and to tell her beau, Edward Herbruck, she can’t marry him. She meets Morgan Mackinnon, a major in the Confederacy, who kidnaps her because his younger half-sister, Tootie, has been shot in the cemetery. What is Tootie doing there? Later in the story she confides the events to Jess.

Morgan’s father owned a store in Richmond, Virginia. Blake Ellsworth’s father owned a hotel nearby. These two men are fighting on opposite sides of the Civil War but were best friends growing up. While at West Point Morgan’s father was robbed and shot in his store. When he joins the Confederate Army, Morgan arranges for the profits of the store to go to his stepmother, Faye, and Tootie, but when Faye marries, her new husband, Lyle, takes over the store while Morgan is away fighting. He rapes Tootie who tells her mother. Faye doesn’t believe her, and she heads for Morgan’s camp. She disguises herself as a boy and becomes his aide while he tries to find someone to take care of her.

Normally, the heroine is never raped, but Tootie is a minor character, and her rape vilifies not only her stepfather but mother who doesn’t believe her. They will get their punishment later. If a story contains a traumatic event like a rape or murder, justify it by having a strong impact from the event. Tootie doesn’t believe any man will marry her because of the rape, but when she tells the man who proposes what happens, he supports her, putting the blame where it belongs.

Even though Tootie started out as a small supporting character, she grows and reappears in later books. When a character takes on a life of her own, don’t hide her away. Use her. A backstory gives events in the book more emphasis. When Blake is reunited with Morgan, their childhood friendship makes the meeting more powerful as both are grateful to have survived the war.

Blurb: When Jessica Beecher stops to help a wounded soldier on the Gettysburg battlefield, Confederate Major Morgan Mackinnon enlists her skills to nurse his sister. Unable to escape, she waits for Union forces to attack the retreating Confederate Army. But the delay forces Jess to look beyond the gray uniform to the man who has captured her heart.

Morgan can’t let Jess leave when she overhears Lee’s army is retreating during the night. She’s a dangerous woman and not because of the knife she pressed against his throat or the revolver hidden beneath her skirt. The battlefield angel has a face no man can forget, especially when facing death. #ReadRomace #romancenovels #CivilWar #Gettysburg #Lee #Grant #wrpbks

The heroine doesn’t need to wait for love

A heroine doesn’t need to be sitting around waiting for her prince. A backstory can serve different purposes. It can establish a secret relationship, a reason the character acts a particular way, or it can summarize action that has occurred before the story begins. For a romance, the story usually begins when the hero and heroine meet, but what were they doing before that moment? In “Impending Love and Lies,” both the hero and heroine have backstories which are revealed later in the story. Instead of a flashback like the one in “Casablanca” the characters either show or tell portions of their stories.

Historical romance novel “Impending Love and Lies” is available at http://goo.gl/B7lKMs and other distributors in print and ebook format.

Colleen’s backstory is typical for a young woman. She has been courted for several months and expects a proposal of marriage any day from Simon Blackwater. Instead, she reads that he is engaged to a socialite, Margaret Radcliffe, he met on a trip to New York. Anyone who has read “Gone With The Wind” will recognize this situation. Scarlett expected Ashley Wilkes to propose to her but learns he is announcing his engagement to Melanie Wilkes. Like Scarlett, Colleen confronts Simon in the parlor of her grandmother’s inn. He admits the engagement and asks her to be his mistress. She throws him out. Like Rhett, our hero, Blake Ellsworth, is resting in a sofa and overhears the entire exchange.

Blake owns several hotels which he has inherited from his father. He sold the one in Tennessee under suspicious circumstances since the Confederate Army was leaving and gold went missing. He was being set up by Clyde and Buck Cassell who hope to steal the gold from him once he passes Union lines. He avoids them by boarding the canal boat owned by Colleen’s grandfather. Blake is shot by the Cassell brothers and Colleen keeps him alive until her father, Dr. Sterling Beecher, can remove the bullet. Blake wants to join the Union Army but now must wait until his collarbone is healed. While Colleen nurses her broken heart, he travels to New York to confront his stepmother, Nancy, and stepsister, Valerie Ferguson, about their spending habits. Valerie is best friends with Margaret Radcliffe and the reader should know they will cause trouble for Colleen, who travels with her sister, Jessica, to Washington to help their sister, Jem, who is expecting a baby. Blake’s personal life and goal to have his stepfamily taken care of so he can join the army makes him avoid Colleen as far as matrimony. He does not want to marry her and leave her a widow, which keeps them apart even as they fall in love. In a love story, you need a reason to keep the couple apart until the end. A backstory helps with that delay.

Blurb: The scruffy-looking passenger turns out to be more trouble than Colleen “Cole” Beecher bargained for, especially since Blake becomes her patient. After a suitor spurs her to marry a rich socialite, she travels to Washington City and throws herself into work to help the Union cause. When Blake offers her a job at his hotel, she takes it for the money, but her heart desires more.

When hotel owner Blake Ellsworth boards a canal boat to escape the Cassell brothers, he meets a headstrong beauty who saves his life when he is shot. Despite his attraction to her, Blake is determined to join the Union army once his shoulder heals. Fearing he may make Cole a widow, Blake won’t propose marriage, but eight weeks is a long time to spend with a woman who stirs more than his imagination.

#CivilWar #historic #romance #Antietam #canal #wrpbks

Give the hero a secret in his backstory

A backstory can serve different purposes. One would be to establish a secret relationship such as in my first novel but in “Impending Love and Death” I needed to explain the strange behavior of the hero, Logan Pierce. I don’t reveal the reason until much later in the story but for those who have read the story, this will help explain the motive in more detail and for those who haven’t read the story, it may cause you to pick up the book.

Historical romance novel “Impending Love and Death” is available at http://goo.gl/B7lKMs and other distributors in print and ebook format.

Logan is from a political family that has worked for senator and governor, Salmon Chase. Logan begins working for him when he serves as governor of Ohio and then travels to Washington when he is elected as a senator. Abraham Lincoln chooses Chase to serve in his cabinet as Secretary of the Treasury. Logan is sent to visit a list of men to gain support for making western Virginia into a new state, and visits Tyler Montgomery, who is from western Virginia and is now practicing law in Ohio. He meets the heroine, Jennifer “Jem” Collins, a newlywed and younger sister to Cory Beecher who married Tyler in the first book. Logan refuses to help her travel to Washington and search for news of her missing husband, Ben, after the battle of Bull Run in 1861, but it’s not for the reason he gives.

In the backstory, Logan’s older brother, Derek, was secretary to Salmon Chase when he served as a senator before he was elected governor. As was the custom, secretaries and clerks would escort the wives of politicians to social events they could not attend. Derek began escorting Hannah Smith, the young wife of Lewis Smith, who had several mistresses and did not love his wife. Derek and Hannah fell in love and began a secret affair. When Hannah became pregnant, they planned to run off, but Lewis goes to the home and discovers them in bed. He shoots Logan who throws himself in front of Hannah to protect her. Although it was cold-blooded murder, Lewis was able to avoid serving any time because he claims he was protecting the sanctity of his home. Even Logan does not know that Smith intended to kill Hannah and their unborn child as well as Derek until she tells him.

When Logan follows Chase to Washington, he hears the gossip once more and knows that any woman he associates with will be part of a scandal. This is the real reason he does not agree initially to help Jem. In addition, Hannah is ill and dying and asks Logan to take care of his niece, Deidre, 6. This adds another layer to a hero’s character. Gone are the days when the hero was strong and silent. He needs to have a strong backstory.

“Impending Love and Death takes place in 1861 with Jem going by train from Ohio to Washington City and then searching the prison in Richmond for answers. Logan must confront his family shame and risk his life to find happiness.

Blurb: Politician Logan Pierce visits Darrow Falls, Ohio, to enlist support for the Union cause. There, he meets the beautiful and strong-willed Jem Collins and insists she remain at home for news of her husband, Ben, after the Battle of Bull Run, but she ignores his advice. Jem knows something is wrong when Ben doesn’t send word he has survived the first major battle of the Civil War.

Jem travels to Washington City with Logan to search for news of Ben and uses her nursing skills to care for the wounded. When Logan kisses her, she resolves to remain faithful to her vows of marriage, but can she? Hearing news Ben may be a prisoner, she leaves the federal capital for Richmond but doesn’t return. Can Logan wait, fearing for her fate, or does he risk capture and hanging as a spy by following into enemy territory? #CivilWar #BullRun #romance #mystery #Richmond #wrpbks

Revealing backstory a little at a time

Writers create backstories for many of their characters. It’s one way for them to know the person they’ve created and how they will act and react in a certain way. Some can be detailed, but the author may reveal only a small portion to the reader. In “Impending Love and War,” the character of Olivia Montgomery impacts the hero’s life, but only small parts are revealed by him.

“Impending Love and War” is a historical romance novel available at http://goo.gl/B7lKMs  and other distributors in print and ebook format.

Olivia was the daughter of a plantation owner who falls in love with a slave. When she becomes pregnant, she escapes with her slave maid who pretends to be the mother of her son Noah. Olivia marries Grayson Montgomery who fathers Tyler Montgomery, our hero, unaware that Noah is also her son. When he loses his job, he sells her maid and plans to sell Noah, but Olivia confronts him with the truth. He beats her severely and leaves to fetch the sheriff. The boys return home, help her, and escape to western Virginia where she leaves the boys with a Quaker couple, James and Sarah Yoder, and opens up a brothel on the other side of the river for the miners in town. James and Sarah keep Olivia’s relationship to the boys a secret from the townsfolks. When rich plantation owner Cyrus Vandal falls in love with Olivia, he wants to marry her, and she tells him about her son, Tyler, but not Noah having learned her lesson from Grayson. Cyrus has a son the same age, Edward Vandal, who beats Tyler up because he doesn’t want a brother. Noah comes to his rescue, and Olivia calls off the wedding, but Edward makes sure everyone knows Tyler’s mother is a whore. She sends Tyler off to school and college, and he becomes a lawyer. Noah becomes a blacksmith and falls in love with Tess, who is owned by Cyrus, who is also her father. They are married in the Quaker church, but Tess remains a slave. Edward marries Regina Johnston, the daughter of a miner, who lived with the Yoders after she was lost while working in the mines. She’s terrified of the dark. It’s a big social improvement when Regina marries Edward, and she uses Tyler, who is visiting for the summer, to make Edward jealous. This long-standing rivalry becomes a part of the novel’s story. When Reggie’s baby son dies, she can’t stand to have Tess around, who has a baby son. She sends her away to Canada, but Edward finds out and goes after her with chasers, Clyde and Buck Cassell. Noah goes north to find his wife and son. When Edward accuses Noah of being a runaway, Tyler heads for Ohio to get him out of jail. When he arrives, Noah has been released but left a cryptic message for Tyler. He follows the message to the home of Adelaide Thomas where he encounters Courtney Beecher at the start of the story of “Impending Love and War.”

Although backstories can be important and detailed, they can weigh a story down if dropped in at the beginning. The details I’ve shared are revealed a little bit at a time throughout the story. The next time you read “Impending Love and War” look for the references.

Blurb: Cory Beecher didn’t mean to shoot handsome Tyler Montgomery and only kisses him so he doesn’t find the runaway slave in the barn.  Abolitionists never considered marrying slave owners, but her world explodes with new found desire when her lips touch his.  Can she go through with her carefully crafted plans to marry math instructor Douglas Raymond when her heart longs for another? 

Tyler Montgomery needs to find the runaway slaves before his rival Edward Vandal captures them.  Although he doesn’t want to involve the fiery and beautiful Miss Beecher, once she kisses him, all his plans unravel.   As his rival closes in on the quarry, he hesitates to leave, knowing she’s marrying the wrong man.  But what does an unemployed lawyer with questionable parentage have to offer the woman he loves? #romance #historical #Antebellum #slavery

Tragedy turned into hope

The story was inspired by “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. In it a miser Scrooge is visited by four ghosts: his partner with a warning and the ghosts from Christmas, past, present and future. He learns a valuable lesson that changes his life.

In this book the power of ghosts to communicate with the living is taken from Dickens.

“Tackling Molasses Crinkles” is a supernatural romance novella available at http://goo.gl/B7lKMs and other distributors in ebook format and in an anthology print “A Hint of Vanilla” with three other supernatural holiday stories.

This book came out of the tragedy of Sandy Hook where first graders were killed in their classrooms. I wrote a column about how parents had purchased presents for their children, but they would never be opened. But the presents represented lives that would never reach their full potential. What if one of these children would have discovered a cure for cancer or written beautiful music or been a doctor who saved lives? No one would ever know what could have been.

The holiday story is filled with hope as two strangers meet on Christmas Eve and discover secrets from their past.

Blurb: While delivering freshly baked cookies to her elderly neighbor, Crystal sees a shady stranger inside the house and sneaks to the back door to determine if he’s friend or foe.

Nick catches sight of a suspicious person outside and thinks it’s a porch pirate looking for Christmas packages. He drives the thief to the ground with a football tackle. Only his victim is his hostess’s neighbor, stunned by the force of the impact and furious about her broken cookies.

After this cute-meet gone wrong, can these two adversaries find common ground and discover the tragic secrets that have brought them together?

#romance #supernatural #holidays #ghosts #wrpbks

Finding motives for your villains

“Raining Tears” is a crime mystery novel available at http://goo.gl/B7lKMs and other distributors in print and ebook format.

Have you ever read a book and hated the motive or logic and wanted to write something better? That was one of the motivations for this book. I have written two points of view in historic romances with the hero and heroine sharing their thoughts, but this book has four points of view. One is from the villain, Claire. Most mysteries don’t get into the head of the bad guy, but I enjoyed writing her. Another point of view is from Detective Sydney Harrison as she investigates her first major case. Beth is a police officer who kills an innocent man and has to deal with the guilt while Vivien is the young wife of the victim and deals with grief and anger.

It isn’t a who dunnit. The reader knows who killed Jack Lawson in the first chapter. It’s about how Sydney looks for the woman responsible and Claire avoids getting caught. Beth and Vivien share how the incident impacts their lives. It dissects the emotions brought to the surface when a loved one dies.

“It isn’t time that heals, it’s what you do during that time” was inspired by a woman who lost her son in the Iraq war. She spent years raising funds for veterans and helping those who returned home. I know another woman who had breast cancer and raised money for research. They lived those words.

This is a book about forgiveness for those who have good hearts but make a mistake. The villain does not get a free pass. She is contrasted against those who are genuinely sorry for what they have done. In the end justice is served.

To help research the story, I had attended a Citizens Police Academy and visited the local police departments. Each one is different, and in this story, I created my own department to fit my needs but based it on real police forces.

Authors say write what you know. I worked in a hospital, including the ER. I knew of patients who came into the ER for pain medicine. One didn’t even wait to leave the building. He was on the phone selling the pills minutes after being discharged. I also knew people who overdosed and covered stories about the opioid epidemic in Ohio. I hope this story starts a conversation about the abuse.

Blurb: Detective Sydney Harrison thought the police shooting of an armed robber was cut and dry, but when the facts don’t add up, she finds herself in a cat-and-mouse game with a drug-addicted woman willing to sacrifice the lives of others to feel normal.

Claire’s life spiraled out of control when a grab and dash for a purse turned into a chance meeting with a stranger in a dark alley. His death wasn’t her fault, but the police are searching for her. Before running she needs to tie up loose ends even if it means another person has to die.

#murder #crime #detective #drugs #wrpbks

Life on a paddlewheel

When I studied history in high school and college, the emphasis was on what happened more than why it happened. In my historical romance novels, I try to look at history from the characters’ perspectives and show the impact on them.

“Impending Love and Promise” is a historical romance novel available at http://goo.gl/B7lKMs and other distributors in print and ebook format.

I wanted to use a paddlewheel steamboat in my story and build a world around that setting. I searched a lot of different models before I found the one I liked best. I also downloaded pictures and drawings so I would know where my characters moved in the story. Some writers can picture everything in their head, but I like to have drawings of homes, ships, and costumes. I take a lot of photos at Civil War reenactments not just for the battles but for the dresses worn by the women. I also take photos of household items, farm equipment, and anything that will lend authenticity to my story. A simple detail can raise a generic story to a truly historic encounter.

I knew this was the last book in the series and brought back three characters from previous books who served in the Confederacy but helped the Beecher sisters. Using a character from another story is like visiting an old friend. You know their personality, but they are in a different situation. Roe had a lot of demons to deal with because of the war. Jules describes him as a broken doll. His mental illness is reflected in the tormented villain, Clyde, who is driven by guilt and kills those who get in his way of finding peace.

Although I don’t delve deeply into mental illness, Clyde is tormented by his past and the abandonment of his brother. I didn’t want to make any excuses for them. They were violent men who began as chasers in “Impending Love and War” and stole Confederate gold in “Impending Love and Lies.” I enjoy writing villains and their ultimate judgement.

Blurb: The Civil War is over, but a chance encounter between Jules Beecher and a man from her past turns a simple trip to find her orphaned cousins into a deadly journey. Determined to keep a promise to her father, she puts her life at risk but finds a reluctant hero in Dr. Roe Greystone. Can Jules heal the “broken doll” of the battlefield, or will the past destroy any future?  

Roe abandoned the profession of medicine, exhausted from the suffering and butchering of the Civil War. Co-owner of a sternwheeler, Roe knew Jules was trouble the moment the kindhearted innocent boarded the Jenny Lee. He is determined to protect Jules from a madman, but will this Romeo risk all to rescue his Juliet?

#historic #romance #thriller #wrpbks

Witnessing Abraham Lincoln’s assassination

When I studied history in high school and college, the emphasis was on what happened more than why it happened. In my historical romance novels, I try to look at history from the characters’ perspectives and show the impact on them.

“Impending Love and Madness” is a historical romance novel available at http://goo.gl/B7lKMs and other distributors in print and ebook format.

Time travel introduces readers to special events in the past. What if I was there? What would I have done? In “Impending Love and Madness” Cass Beecher and Zach Ravenswood attend a play at Ford’s Theater and are witnesses to Lincoln’s assassination. I tried to place myself in their shoes and relate the events the way they would have experienced then. That means they did not know the details behind the scenes like the full extent of Booth’s plans.

Some time travel stories have a modern character going into the past but there are rules that they must follow. One is that they can not change events and alter history. If they disturb the timeline, they must try to correct it. I haven’t written a true time travel story, but I think one is in my future.  

When writing historical stories, remember those who lived the experiences did not have all the information and could come to the wrong conclusions or mix up facts with rumors. I had to transition from the assassination to the end of the war and the problems facing Zach at home. One of the ways was through a fortune teller. The occult was popular because many people wanted to know what had happened to a loved one during the war. Although there were many cons, my fortune teller warns Zach and the others of trouble, which comes true.

In this book a former bad guy finds redemption by helping the hero and heroine battle a man trying to ruin Zach financially. A secret is revealed, which is always fun, and former enemies become friends.   

Blurb: Cass Beecher hopes Sergeant Zach Ravenswood will fall in love with her on an outing to Ford’s Theater, only to have their world turned upside down with President Lincoln’s assassination. Her romantic plans continue to be thwarted by family, friends, and a mysterious stranger. Can she save the man she loves from the enemies that plot to ruin him?

Zach thought with the war over, he could turn his attention to wooing the lovely Cassandra, but a fortune teller’s dire predictions begin to come true when a fire disfigures him, a nun poisons him, his uncle steals his inheritance, and he’s shot. Is he going mad or is everything not as it appears?

#AbrahamLincoln #CivilWar #Historical #Romance #supernatural #fortuneteller

What happened at Gettysburg?

When I studied history in high school and college, the emphasis was on what happened more than why it happened. In my historical romance novels, I try to look at history from the characters’ perspectives and show the impact on them.

As a child, our family visited the battlefield of Gettysburg. I didn’t understand most of what happened but remembered the wide field between the Confederate and Union lines where Pickett and others made their charge.

Story ideas can begin with questions, and I always wondered what happened after the battle. What did the soldiers do after the battle?

What would have happened if the Union had attacked the Confederate lines July 4? And who would have won if the Union confronted the Confederate forces at the Potomac River instead of waiting one more day and allowing them to escape? Outcomes in history can pivot on a single decision.

Questions lead to answers, and I provide what I found in “Impending Love and Capture” when Jess goes to Gettysburg with supplies July 2, 1863 and is captured by Confederate Major Morgan Mackinnon. His sister is shot, and he needs Jess to take care of her as he joins the long wagon train of wounded heading to the Virginia border.

I followed Morgan through the rest of the war, and his regiment surrenders at Appomattox where they receive a pardon. I am amazed at how minor details impact a story. Because Morgan received a pardon, he could return to Washington City and Jess, which provided the happy ending a romance requires.

The story deals with family on both sides and has several subplots. In this series, I take characters from earlier books and introduce them in a later story. Sid was wounded at Antietam and helps run the hotel where Morgan is disguised as a Union sergeant in order to recover from his severe wounds. It increases the tension because Sid would not hesitate to have Morgan arrested as a spy.  

“Impending Love and Capture” is a historical romance novel available at http://goo.gl/B7lKMs and other distributors in print and ebook format.

When Jessica Beecher stops to help a wounded soldier on the Gettysburg battlefield, Confederate Major Morgan Mackinnon enlists her skills to nurse his sister. Unable to escape, she waits for Union forces to attack the retreating Confederate Army. But the delay forces Jess to look beyond the gray uniform to the man who has captured her heart.

Morgan can’t let Jess leave when she overhears Lee’s army is retreating during the night. She’s a dangerous woman and not because of the knife she pressed against his throat or the revolver hidden beneath her skirt. The battlefield angel has a face no man can forget, especially when facing death.

#ReadRomace #romancenovels #CivilWar #AppomattoxCourthouse #Lee #Grant

Life on a canal boat

When I studied history in high school and college, the emphasis was on what happened more than why it happened. In my historical romance novels, I try to look at history from the characters’ perspectives and show the impact on them.

Living near the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, I walked the miles of towpaths along the old canal where boats moved freight and passengers between Cleveland and Akron. I wanted to learn more and included the information in my novel “Impending Love and Lies.”

Research can be an adventure. I found an old compilation of information about the canal at the Akron Public Library in their historical department, and it provided information on the locks, businesses, and history of building the locks. I also asked questions of park rangers and could see a working lock at the Canal Exploration Center in Valley View, Ohio. A writer needs to feel comfortable about the topic they write about so keep researching until all your resources have been exhausted.

My brother built a model of a canal boat for me which helps visualize the action when Blake is shot while a passenger on the “Irish Rose.” I also used the canal and the family canal boat in “Impending Love and War.” Why waste all that research? I’m working on a mystery where a body is found in the canal called “Tangling a Web of Deceit.”

“Impending Love and Lies” takes place in 1862 with Colleen Beecher traveling on the canals of Ohio, heading to Washington City, and providing medical care at the battlefield of Antietam. Clara Barton received permission to go to the battlefield, and I have my characters join her group of wagons. I couldn’t find if any female nurses went so I had my characters disguise themselves as male nurses to avoid any error. Sometimes you have to take your best option to keep the history as accurate as possible.

I visited the battlefield of Antietam several times. On the first visit corn was standing tall in the field where the Ohio 7th infantry fought by marching through the stalks. Many of them died in the cornfields, which was the bloodiest day of the war. One of my characters is among the casualties, and his death impacts the others in the story. If someone dies, make it count.

“Impending Love and Lies” is a historical romance novel available at http://goo.gl/B7lKMs and other distributors in print and ebook format.

The scruffy-looking passenger turns out to be more trouble than Colleen “Cole” Beecher bargained for, especially since Blake becomes her patient. After a suitor spurs her to marry a rich socialite, she travels to Washington City and throws herself into work to help the Union cause. When Blake offers her a job at his hotel, she takes it for the money, but her heart desires more.

When hotel owner Blake Ellsworth boards a canal boat to escape the Cassell brothers, he meets a headstrong beauty who saves his life when he is shot. Despite his attraction to her, Blake is determined to join the Union army once his shoulder heals. Fearing he may make Cole a widow, Blake won’t propose marriage, but eight weeks is a long time to spend with a woman who stirs more than his imagination.

#CivilWar #historic #romance #Antietam