Meredith Allard's Blog, page 11

Writing Inspiration: Avoiding Clichés Like the Plague

Photo by Debby Hudson for Unsplash

For someone who loves to write as much as I do, I find writing quite hard. I love that saying from Thomas Mann: “A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.” After all, who else but a writer would spend 20 minutes adding and removing the same comma to see if the sentence is better with or without it?

Writing first drafts has always been particularly difficult for me. While I’m writing my first draft I have this odd desire to pop my eyes out with spoons or pluck my hairs out one by one. Fortunately, I’ve written a number of first drafts while maintaining my eyesight and my hairline. I’m not sure what it is about the first draft that irritates me so. My best guess is that I have such a clear idea about my story when I begin writing but then the first draft I produce looks nothing like that.

The second draft is slightly better. At least now I’m able to shape my sentences into something resembling the story I want to tell. Then, in the third draft, I’m able to find the poetry in the prose. When I find the flow, that’s when the fun of writing begins for me. How do I find the flow? It’s a challenge, one that started many years ago.

In 1999, Oprah Winfrey interviewed Janet Fitch, author of White Oleander, for the Oprah Book Club. Fitch talked about how a writing instructor told her that a “cliché is anything you’ve ever heard before—so never use a description anyone has heard.” As I remember it (it was 1999), Fitch spoke about a time she challenged herself to describe a tree with her own unique phrases. I was already well into fiction writing at that time, and her words struck me as truth. I too came to believe that writers should reach to find their own descriptions and they should never be lazy and allow others to do the work for them.

In a 2006 interview for O Magazine, Fitch explained that when she began writing fiction she had to work on word choices and the music of language. That’s what I wanted too. I wanted to work on word choices and the music of language. I wanted to avoid clichés “like the plague” and create images “as sweet as pie.”

It’s a lesson I still hold close to my heart, and it’s one I try to impress upon my writing students. When I’m molding sentences, I stretch, hands out, fingers pointing there, there where that inchoate image waits, sometimes patiently, sometimes not, for me to probe my vocabulary for the exactly right string of words to illuminate what I see the way I see it. If I’m describing a storm, a small town, a person, an emotion, I need to find a way to describe that storm or that town in a way I’ve never heard before. In their 2006 interview, Oprah mentions to Fitch that such a stretch “seems as if it would be quite difficult.” Fitch responds, “It is. But it means that everything you give the reader is absolutely fresh. We read so that we can be moved by a new way of looking at things.”

I learned a lot from Fitch in 1999, again in 2006, and I continue to learn from her whenever I read one of her novels. Reaching for phrases I’ve never heard before becomes harder with everything I write because while I don’t want to repeat phrases from other writers, I don’t want to repeat phrases from myself either. I’m feeling the weight of that challenge now as I’m completing The Duchess of Idaho. With everything I write, I have to find a new way to describe things, but that’s the part of writing I thrive on—creating poetry in prose. And when I do finally find the right words, that is when I love having written.

If you’d like to lose yourself in the poetry of Janet Fitch’s prose, check out her novels or the short pieces on her blog. The 2006 interview for O Magazine can be found here.

The Writer’s Life: Being Honest About What You Need

Photo by Mark Paton from Unsplash

We’ve all become so geared toward doing more, achieving more, producing more that we forget to be honest with ourselves about what we really need, especially if what we need has changed.

It wasn’t that long ago that productivity was all the rage. Everyone declared themselves an expert on how to get more work done every day. You’re not serious about achieving your dreams if you’re not working every possible minute of every day, they insisted.

Writers have all heard the usual productivity stand-bys: You must write every day! You must write thousands of words at a time! You must publish a book every two to three months! You must write in the genres that sell the most books! You must, you must, you must!

Heavens.

I’m glad to see that the productivity gurus have started to evaporate into the ether, which is exactly where they belong. These days you see posts about setting mini-goals or reasonable goals. That’s more like it. After all, how can some stranger know my life, my responsibilities, my choices, or the out-of-my-control influences I’m dealing with on any given day?

Yes, if we have a dream that we want to achieve then we need to set time aside to work toward that dream. If you want to write a book, then you need to work toward writing that book. But setting small, achievable goals should be our priority. We should not be working all day every day without a minute to spare for anything else. Feeling like we have to maximize the amount of work we get done in a certain amount of time only adds more stress to our already pushed-to-the-limit lives.

And where is there room for the curveballs that life likes to throw at us? We’ve all been dealt many curveballs by COVID. Some of us have been ill, some of us have lost loved ones, and some of us had our jobs taken away or changed.

In addition to pandemic problems, I had a wonky start to 2022. I discovered that I’m losing whatever was left of my hearing. I’ve never had much hearing in my right ear, and I had a moderate loss in my left ear. Now, the hearing in my right ear has flatlined and my left ear has deteriorated to a moderately severe or severe loss, depending on which tones I could make out during my hearing test. According to my audiologist, “We still have a few tones to work with.” Not the most encouraging words I’ve ever heard from an audiologist. When I saw one of the top ENTs in the Las Vegas area, I asked him what happens when I can’t hear well enough to function in the world. In fact, I’m very nearly at that point now. His answer was a big old shrug. So I shrug at you, sir. I shrug at you.

I mention this not for sympathy’s sake. As my favorite cook Mrs. Patmore said, “Sympathy butters no parsnips.” I’m sharing this as a way of saying that sometimes we need to let go of abstract ideas like “productivity” when such concepts aren’t serving us. Sometimes we need to be kind to ourselves while being honest about what we need.

Is my hearing loss a reason to leave behind my writing and editing? Of course not. But seeing the results of my audiogram, and knowing how I’m struggling to hear someone standing right in front of me, has been a bummer, let me tell you. I had all these plans for the beginning of 2022 that I had to let go of because I wasn’t able to function at that pace at that time. I’m still working on getting myself back on track.

I realized that I needed time to process everything. I put The Duchess of Idaho and Copperfield aside for a few weeks. I went to bed early. I watched a lot of Netflix and played more than my fair share of Gummy Drop. Yes, I spent time feeling sorry for myself, and I think that’s okay as long as we don’t linger in Sorryland too long. If you’re having trouble getting yourself out, seek professional help. Will I need professional help myself? Maybe. At the moment I feel better, but only time will tell. 

I put myself back to work slowly. At first, I gave myself an hour deadline each day and that was enough for a start. Baby steps. I wasn’t worried about how much I got done in that hour. As long as I worked that hour I was fine.

I started piecing together the Winter 2022 edition of Copperfield. I’ve reviewed my manuscript for The Duchess of Idaho to see what still needs doing. I’m writing this blog post when even this would have felt like too much a week ago.

I’m not talking about the work we have to do to pay our bills. That work we struggle through because we have to. I’m talking about all that extra stuff that we as creatives tend to pile on ourselves with our endless to-do lists. Yes, there’s always more we can do to improve ourselves as writers and marketers. But maybe right now my book sales aren’t the most important thing in the world for me.

Productivity is great in theory, but it’s not helpful when real life gets in the way. Not everything can be planned ahead or scheduled. When we have to deal with those unlooked-for curveballs, we need to be honest about what we need. If putting your dreams of bigger book sales aside for a little while is useful, then you have permission to do that. In fact, you don’t need permission. You get to do whatever is right for you at that moment.

And then, when you’re ready, you’ll take baby steps to begin again.

The Writer’s Life: Those Dreaded Supposed Tos

The Las Vegas Strip with a snowy background.

Acceptance plays an important role in creativity. Accepting my life has been an important part of the process as I learn to revel in this creative skin I’m in. However, like everything else that is worthwhile, acceptance is a challenge.

Like so many people, I’ve fallen victim to the supposed tos. I’m supposed to achieve this much and I’m supposed to have that much and I’m supposed to look a certain way. As a writer I’m supposed to do x, y, and z or else how dare I call myself a writer. It has taken years for me to accept that maybe some of those supposed tos don’t fit me and never did. That means accepting myself for who I actually am and not who I’m supposed to be.

I’ve been working hard at letting go of the supposed tos. I’m not there yet, and I’ll probably never be there 100% of the time. We’re only human after all. But I am getting better at recognizing what feels authentic to me and what has been placed inside my psyche simply by living in my particular culture.

One way I’ve started letting go of expectations is through the way I view my hair. I know it sounds crazy, and maybe it even is a little crazy, but my hair signified the first major step I took toward living an authentic life.

I dyed my hair for the last time in May 2020. I used to love going to the hairdressers for a cut and color, and my hair has been every shade of brown, blond, and red. When I was in a more adventurous mood I’d have the hairdresser add slips of purple, and while I was a Ph.D. student my hair was magenta from roots to ends.

At some point along the way, going to the hairdressers became a chore. Instead of looking forward to it as time for myself, I began to dread it as the date for my appointment drew nearer. I was having my hair dyed every four weeks to hide my gray roots, which actually appeared after two weeks but I wasn’t going to the hairdressers twice a month at $150 a pop.

Yes, my decision to let my hair go natural (read: gray) was lockdown-inspired since for a while hairdressers were closed and when they opened I didn’t feel particularly safe going back quite yet. I tried dyeing my hair at home and hated everything about the process. I hated the stink, the mess, the stained clothing and towels. I hated that no matter how hard I tried I always missed a strip somewhere obvious near the front of my head. Since I was working at home, I let my gray roots grow longer than I normally would.

One day I discovered groups on Facebook and Instagram of women of all ages who had had enough of traditional beauty standards so they let their natural gray hair show. A number of these women documented their transition from dyed hair to gray hair by taking photographs every month and sharing their progress. I didn’t realize that natural gray hair was a movement, and that discovery triggered an “Aha!” moment. I saw it as a quiet act of defiance. When dyeing my hair was fun, it was fine. But it was no longer fun so why was I still doing it? I was deeply inspired by these women. It takes courage to go against the norm, and the norm in my culture says that women should try to look as young as possible for as long as possible.

Who decided that men can go gray and women can’t? Who says that gray is distinguished on men but women look like their husband’s mothers if they let their gray show? As the Silver Sisters say, gray is just a color, and though we associate gray with age, there are a lot of younger women with naturally gray hair and they look fabulous. I was trapped on the hamster wheel of dyeing every four weeks because I believed that to show my real hair would be “letting myself go.”

No, I decided. Just no. I’m 52 years old, gray is just a color, and my hair is largely gray. I’m going to get off that hamster wheel and let my hair do its thing.

Count me in, Silver Sisters!

As you can tell from the selfie above, my hair is all gray in the front and on the sides. One of these days I’ll have more length cut off and then hopefully most of the faded red dye will be gone. I decided to go cold turkey and just let my hair grow out at its own pace because that was easier for me. I worked at home for a year and a half so I was tucked safely away in my house through the worst of the regrowth. Trust me, growing your hair out naturally, especially if it’s on the longer side, can get pretty funky at times. I’m a year and a half past my last dye and I still have a way to go.

I’m not saying that everyone should let their hair go natural. For me, letting go of my fear of exposed roots was an important lesson in acceptance. We all have our own lessons we have to learn. Each in our own time.

On the surface, gray hair and creativity may not seem to be connected. You can dye your hair and still be creative! But for me, letting go of my perceptions of what my hair was supposed to look like falls in line with who I’m trying to become as an artist. As a writer, I don’t want to be held back by supposed tos. Writing is my art. It’s how I express myself in this crazy world of ours. And if I can let go of the supposed tos for my hair, and I know how liberating it can be, it becomes easier to let go of the supposed tos for my art. It’s easier for me to write what is in my heart because I’m not held back by other people’s perceptions of what I’m supposed to be doing.

As I’m working toward living an authentic writer’s life, learning to let go of the supposed tos, as both a human being and a creative person, is a very good thing.

The Writer’s Life: What Exactly is a Writer’s Life?

I’m not sure that being a writer or living a writer’s life are necessarily the same thing. We can be writers without pining for a writer’s life. And please note that while I’m talking about writing, you can fill in the blank with any artistic endeavor.

I should begin by saying what I think a writer’s life isn’t. A writer’s life doesn’t mean you have to write all day. It doesn’t mean you have to write every day. It certainly doesn’t mean you have to make your living writing.

So what, then, is a writer’s life?

A writer’s life is making a commitment to putting words on paper, whether by hand or on a keyboard. It means staying in close contact with the storyteller inside you. It means being attuned to the inspiration all around you. It means rediscovering your inner child—the one who loved to play make-believe, dress in costumes, and create new worlds under homemade tents. It means remembering the activities you loved when you were younger and probably still do deep down somewhere.

A writer’s life means freely admitting our love of language and rhythm and meaning. A writer’s life is born from a love of words, first words found in other people’s short stories and books and later our own words in our own short stories and books. A writer’s life means seeking beauty in the mundane. For some of us, writing is our calling, so living a writer’s life means discovering that calling and staying true to it despite the myriad of challenges. A writer’s life means being creative, sharing the truest part of yourself, and letting your soul roam free. For many of us, myself included, writing is a way to say things we can’t say any other way.

Really what I’m talking about is authentic living, which means living in a way that’s true to who you are deep down inside. If you’re a writer, it means living in a way that honors the writer in you.

There’s a wonderful post about authentic living on postivepsychology.com. Here’s some of what they say about engaging in authentic living:

“Listen to your inner voice rather than losing it in the noise of others’. Make it an ongoing process to listen to your hopes, dreams, and fears.

Know yourself, what you are good at, what you are prepared to do, and what you are not. Face up to the truths of who you are. Honesty is not always pleasant, but it has the potential to free you.

Own yourself and your truths. Don’t let others push you into their way of thinking, but also don’t stick to views when you are proved wrong or they no longer work for you. Take responsibility for your choices.

Be yourself; be honest and transparent in your dealings. People like and are drawn to those they perceive as sincere and genuine and distrust those who are not.”

Easier said than done, right? Living an authentic life, which for me means living a writer’s life, is a challenge, yes, but it’s one I’m ready for.

I’ve always been a writer. Check that. I’ve always been a reader. I first thought of myself as a writer in the sixth grade (age 11) when I was asked to write our class graduation play. I don’t think I was asked because the teacher thought I was such a good writer; I’m sure it had more to do with my neat handwriting. However, from that day on I’ve thought of myself as a writer.

Even though I’ve thought of myself as a writer for more than 40 years now, I haven’t always pursued a writer’s life. As much as my initial yearning to write felt like a calling, over the years it became a chore, something I did because I thought I had to or I would cease to exist. Part of the problem was my own expectations. I had a narrow vision of what writing success looked like and I had comparisonitis up the wazoo. After a few bestselling novels, the worries only increased. What about more book sales? What about more marketing? What on earth is Bookstagram and is that even a real thing?

In moments of contemplation brought on by COVID and other ordeals, I realized that I had lost the joy of writing. I had forgotten how much fun it is to write a story for the story’s sake. I mourned the loss of that joy and I wondered how I could get it back. Because, really, what is the point of writing if you don’t enjoy it? There are so many other ways to spend your time or make a living. I wrote this post about how I had nearly given up writing for good.

I’m in the process of reclaiming that joy by making a conscious attempt to seek it. If you’ve read Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg then you’re familiar with the concept of Beginner’s Mind. Here’s a wonderful definition of Beginner’s Mind from Leo Babauta from Zen Habits:

“It’s dropping our expectations and preconceived ideas about something, and seeing things with an open mind, fresh eyes, just like a beginner. If you’ve ever learned something new, you can remember what that’s like: you’re probably confused, because you don’t know how to do whatever you’re learning, but you’re also looking at everything as if it’s brand new, perhaps with curiosity and wonder.”

That’s it exactly. I had lost my curiosity and wonder about writing.

One of the ways I’ve been dealing with my lost curiosity and wonder is by consciously pursuing a writer’s life. A writer’s life takes work, though. It requires persistence. I have to take time every day to look for things that bring me joy, including writing. It means practicing gratitude, which I’ve been particularly terrible at lately. The myriad of problems we’re dealing with, while not unprecedented in history, are unprecedented to us. As humans, we have an innate fear of the unknown, and we’ve been living in a constant state of unknowns for two years.

These days I’ve settled into a mild null with the acceptance that things are in constant flux and they will be for some time. That concession has opened enough headspace that I could begin looking honestly at my writing and my life and I wasn’t entirely happy with what I saw.

Something had to give, and the easiest thing for me to change was my outlook. I made the decision to live deliberately. As Thoreau said,

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life…”

For me, living deliberately includes making a special place in my heart for writing. Not writing because I have to. Writing because I want to. Because it is an authentic part of who I am. Because it brings me joy. And yes, that includes the physical act of writing—sitting my bottom into the chair and dancing my fingers across the keyboard, typing out words that become sentences that in time become stories.

When everything else in my life fails me, even in the depth of the darkest days of a pandemic we are not yet through, writing saves me. Even the healing that has come from writing this post, which has been on my mind for some time, is palpable.

Whether you love to write, or if you have some other creative endeavor that lights you up from the inside out, your time may feel much fuller when you make a deliberate attempt to include the magic of creativity into your daily life. Living deliberately means different things to different people. What does it mean to you?

Writing is how I suck the marrow out of life. I only recently discovered that it has to be writing spurred by joy. By making the decision to live deliberately, authentically, I’ve started to find that joy again. 

Welcome to 2022 and Some Changes to the Blog

Welcome to 2022!

First, I wanted to let you know that I’ll be speaking at The History Quill’s Virtual Convention 2022 for Writers of Historical Fiction. The convention runs online from February 2 through February 6, 2022. There’s a great line-up of speakers and a different theme each day. I’ll be speaking on writing and publishing short historical fiction on February 5, 2022. Interested? Sign up here: https://thehistoryquill.com/the-history-quill-writers…/… Please note that this is an affiliate link, so I may receive a small percentage of the sales. I hope you can join me!

I’m making some changes to my professional life this year, which I’ll talk more about in a later blog. While my professional life is morphing, so is this blog. Readers of this blog are a wonderful collection of writers, readers, fans of my books, and online friends. While I’m happy with what I’ve created here, I’ve been feeling like the blog needed a new direction, even if I wasn’t quite sure what that direction should be.

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want for the rest of my life. I’m 52 now, and while I’m not old by any stretch, I’m not getting any younger. In Brendan Carr’s wonderful interview with acclaimed author Steven Pressfield (found in the Summer 2021 edition of Copperfield Review Quarterly), Pressfield talks about how, when you’re writing a story, you have to decide what your story is about, and then you have to decide what your story is really about.

It’s the same for our personal lives. What do we want, and then what do we really want. I’ve been struggling with what I really want for a while now, and though I don’t have any definite answers, at least now I can formulate the questions in a way that might resonate with others.

Like many people, I’ve become more introspective as a result of the pandemic, though I suppose most writers are introspective by nature. I hope my ideas will be helpful to anyone who wishes to live a simple, creative life in this crazy world of ours.

Starting next week, my posts will have labels so readers can see the topic at a glance. Here are the seven labels and the themes that go with them.

The Writer’s Life. First, we make a decision to live a writer’s life. Then, we have to define what it means to live a writer’s life. We also have to learn how to stay positive on the long and winding road of writing, whether we write for publication or personal satisfaction. Most of my posts will fall under this category, and it mainly covers the particular satisfaction that comes with following our heart’s joy into writing or any other creative endeavor.Writing Inspiration. This is where you can find writing tips and tricks. Where do we find ideas for our writing? What are some things I’ve learned about writing over the years? How do we keep going on those days when we’d rather pop our own eyes out with spoons than write another word? Who has been there before us and who can we learn from? Finding ways to make writing fun again is so important, and finding motivation is something I’ve been struggling with myself lately. You know that old saying—you teach what you need to learn. If we lose the joy of writing, then there’s no reason to write.Refilling the Creative Well.  Anyone who has read Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way knows that keeping our artistic selves well-fed is important. We need ideas, imagination, and creativity or else there’s nowhere to write from. I’ll focus on activities such as journaling, art journaling, coloring, crafting, watching movies, documentaries, and TV, reading, walking, and taking artist’s dates, as Cameron suggests. This is the fun part about being a writer!Simple Living. How do we keep out the noise so we can focus on what is truly important to us? I’ll share some tips and tricks I’ve learned over the years for staying balanced. I’m not a balanced person, by the way. I’m simply more balanced than I used to be. I’ll share ways I keep my life simple through baking, cooking, walking, yoga, mediating, praying, journaling, and reading. While this may not seem immediately connected to a writer’s life, a simpler life helps us to stay balanced. When we’re balanced, our creativity thrives.Reading Inspiration. I used to call this “What I’m Reading.” I’ll still be sharing the best of what I’m reading, books I’m using for research, and books that have inspired me either as a writer or in my personal life. As Stephen King says in On Writing, “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”The Wannabe Historian.  Some of the most popular posts on this blog are my research posts, particularly those about life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during the Salem Witch Trials. I’ll continue to share my research since friends here seem to enjoy that. I’ll also indulge a bit in my love for authentic historical recipes. As many of you have heard me say before, I missed my calling in this life. I should have been a food historian!Book News.  Of course, I’ll always share news about my latest books. I’ll share new release dates and any other important information. If you’d like more specific books news or access to special promotions or giveaways, you can follow my monthly newsletter. If you’d just like new book announcements from me you can follow me on BookBub. In case you’re wondering, I’ll have two releases in 2022—The Duchess of Idaho, Book Five of the Loving Husband Series, and then a surprise addition to the Loving Husband universe, a novella featuring James and Sarah. More on that soon.

I’m so inspired by this new direction for my blog that I’ve mapped out weekly posts for the next three months. No joke!

Thank you as always for joining me.

~Meredith

My Favorite Christmas at Hembry Castle Posts (And Happy Holidays!)

I’m going to be taking December off in order to focus on the final stretch of finishing The Duchess of Idaho. Whenever I’m deep in writing mode, as I am now with DOI, it’s hard to participate in real life because my head is so firmly caught in the world of whatever story I’m telling. Reality can really get in the way when I’m writing a novel. Luckily, it’s the holiday season so I’ll have a lot of time to concentrate on the Wentworths!

I wanted to finish 2021 by sharing some of my favorite Christmas at Hembry Castle posts from last year. My personal favorite is the one about the recipes from Mrs. Beeton. I’ve tried the Syllabub and it’s delicious, so if you’re looking to have some authentic Victorian flavors at your holiday table, give one of those recipes a try.

If you’re looking for some lighthearted holiday reading set in a Victorian country house a la Downton Abbey, I hope you’ll enjoy Christmas at Hembry Castle. It’s on sale for 99 cents through 12/31/21.

It’s Hanukkah this week, so I’m busy cooking. I wish you the happiest of holiday seasons and a wonderful new year. I for one am making some changes in the coming year, and I hope that 2022 is whatever you wish it to be.

See you in January!

Christmas at Hembry Castle is on a Virtual Book Tour!

Mrs. Beeton’s Recipes for a Perfectly Proper Christmas

Victorian Christmas Tradition s

An Excerpt: Christmas at Hembry Castle

Whether you celebrate Christmas or Hannukah (or both like we do), Poppy sends you happy holiday wishes.

FAQ—The Duchess of Idaho Edition

I’ve been promising this FAQ to my newsletter friends for a couple of months now, so let’s do this!

1. Are James and Sarah in the new book?

Of course! What would a Loving Husband story be without James and Sarah? The main focus this time, though, is on Grace, their daughter. No one familiar with the Wentworths’ story would be surprised that Grace is touched by a magic all her own.

2. Which of my other favorite Loving Husband friends are there?

Olivia, everyone’s favorite motherly witch, takes center stage (as she usually does—good old Olivia). Some other favorites are not in DOI, such as Jennifer, Chandresh, Timothy, John, and Geoffrey, but never fear. They’ll make appearances in upcoming Loving Husband books. We’ll meet some new friends too, including Annabelle Emerson Alexander—Sarah’s mother. Trust me, she’s not anything like you would expect Sarah’s mother to be. There’s also a new cast of characters in those who travel the Oregon Trail.

3. What is the correct order to read the first four books?

If it were up to me, I’d suggest reading the books in this order:

Her Dear & Loving HusbandHer Loving Husband’s CurseHer Loving Husband’s ReturnDown Salem Way

Having said this, many readers start with Down Salem Way, then read the other three, and they are perfectly happy doing so. Down Salem Way is the prequel to Her Dear & Loving Husband, but Down Salem Way was written as a stand-alone. I do think you’ll get more out of it if you read HDLH and DSW together. But many readers loved Down Salem Way and that prompted them to read the other books in the series. Of course, there have been readers who started with Down Salem Way and thought they should have started with HDLH, but I think that’s more because they saw that DSW wasn’t Book One and some readers simply prefer to start a series with Book One.

Keep in mind that this list doesn’t include the three books in the Grace Trilogy, as I call it, with The Duchess of Idaho being the first book of the new trilogy, and the two upcoming novellas. I’ll share another reading order after those are released.

4. Did you know that The Duchess of Idaho is the name of a movie?

As a matter of fact, I did. The film is called Duchess of Idaho. I added the The to differentiate the novel slightly from the movie. Not only did I know about the film, but that’s where the title came from. I’ll have more to say about where the title when it’s closer to the release of DOI.

5. Did you know that Idaho wasn’t a state during the time of the Oregon Trail?

This is why I love my readers. Not only are they super nice, but they’re also super smart! Yes, I do know that Idaho didn’t become a state until 1890. As a matter of fact, I lived in Boise, Idaho for a year between 2002 and 2003. The novel takes place on the Oregon Trail in 1850. At that time, the state we know today as Idaho was part of the Oregon Territory. Those of you who are LH readers know that it’s hard to talk about any of the books without giving too much away. Spoilers! All I can say for now is that the title will make sense when you read it.

6. When will The Duchess of Idaho be released?

Gosh, if I had a dollar for every time I was asked this question! I mean that in the very best of ways because I’m so happy that readers are excited about the new book.

If you’ve been following me for any amount of time, you know that I’m terrible at guessing when books will be finished. Over the years, I’ve learned to accept that books take as long as they take regardless of when I think they should be done. I had hoped to have DOI out Autumn 2021 (which is now) but obviously that didn’t happen.

I’m cautiously optimistic that a late February/early March 2022 release is in the cards for DOI. There will be a second Loving Husband story, a novella, out later in 2022. That I feel confident saying, but then again the muses may have other ideas. I’ll have more to say about the novella after DOI is published.

7. Is The Duchess of Idaho like the Loving Husband Trilogy with past and present storylines?

Yes! There is a past and present storyline in DOI, just like the first three James and Sarah books. This time, as I mentioned earlier, the past storyline revolves around the Oregon Trail.

8. Are you mentioning COVID in the present storyline?

One lovely reader in Michigan asked me this last month. My answer is no. I read and write fiction to escape reality, so to write about the current pandemic would place me more firmly in reality than I care to be at the moment. I know that some writers are using COVID storylines in their books, and that is a perfectly legitimate choice. I made the decision to continue with the Loving Husband universe as the fantasy world that it has always been.

9. How many books will there be in total in the series?

This is a great question that I don’t actually have an answer to. There is the original trilogy, Down Salem Way, and the three Grace books—so far that’s seven. There are two definite novellas on the horizon.

Longtime Loving Husband fans know that I only intended for the series to be a trilogy. I was so certain the story was done after Her Loving Husband’s Return. Fans had other ideas. I kept writing more James and Sarah stories because readers wanted them. Lately, I’ve found a few angles that will allow me to continue the story in ways I had never imagined when I first published Her Dear & Loving Husband. Some of those angles were directly inspired by readers. So thank you!

I love hearing from readers, and I love answering reader questions. If you have a question that isn’t addressed above, you can use the Contact form at the top of this page. Your question may appear in a future edition of Frequently Asked Questions!

To my American friends, Happy Thanksgiving. I’m thankful for all of my wonderful readers from all over the world who have supported James, Sarah, Grace, Olivia, and me over the past decade.

Down Salem Way Wins the B.R.A.G. Medallion

In some exciting Wentworth-related news, Down Salem Way, a novel of the Salem Witch Trials, has won the B.R.A.G. Medallion.

I’m so glad that readers have connected to the story of how James and Elizabeth Wentworth fell in love. I knew I was taking a chance with writing the prequel to the Loving Husband Trilogy in a completely different style than the first three books, but I’m never one to shy away from a challenge so I went with it.

The first three books in the Loving Husband Series are written from third-person point of through either James or Sarah’s eyes. Also, the first three books have dual timelines in the past and the present. Down Salem Way is strictly historical fiction since it only has one timeline during the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. It’s also told in first-person by James.

I had intended to write Down Salem Way in the same style as the first three books. I wrote a couple of drafts of the story with the dual timeline but it just wasn’t working. Once I realized that James needed to share his thoughts as the madness of the witch hunts spins out of control around him, I decided that this would be his diary from that time. I’m so glad James had his chance to share his side of the story. For Loving Husband Series fans, the eternal love between James and his wife makes more sense with this back story. We understand now why their love spans time.

If you haven’t read the other Loving Husband books but you’d like to read Down Salem Way, go right ahead. Even though Down Salem Way is the prequel to Her Dear & Loving Husband, I wrote it as a stand-alone so you don’t need to read the other books to understand it. Readers have told me that they hadn’t read any of the other books in the series before they started with Down Salem Way and they had no trouble following the story. It makes my heart sing when a reader tells me that they read Down Salem Way and now they want to read the other three books.

In fact, the only book in the Loving Husband Series that doesn’t work as a stand-alone is Her Loving Husband’s Curse. I do think you need to read Her Dear & Loving Husband first to get the most out of that story.

The Duchess of Idaho, Book Five of the Loving Husband Series, is also being written as a stand-alone, so if you’re interested in the Oregon Trail with a little time travel on the side, you can jump right into the story without reading the other books. Of course, if like other readers you decide you’d like to read the rest of the series, you’d make me very happy indeed. I’ve had a few more questions about the publication date for The Duchess of Idaho. No official publication date yet, but early 2022 is a good guess.

Yes, there will be more Loving Husband books after DOI. Grace’s story will be a trilogy, and I have a few other tricks up my sleeve for the Wentworths. I’m so excited to be bringing Grace’s story to life. I think her adventures are just as fascinating as her parents, and I hope readers will think so too.

Thank you to the Book Readers Appreciation Group for adding Down Salem Way to their list of medallion winners. And thank you to the Loving Husband Series fans who have supported James and Sarah through the years.

Christmas at Hembry Castle is on a Virtual Book Tour!

With the holiday season upon us, it seemed like a great time to celebrate Christmas at Hembry Castle along with my favorite upstairs/downstairs friends from the Hembry Castle world. I love historical novelist Mary Ressenor’s reaction to Christmas at Hembry Castle: “I laughed out loud at the antics of Edward, Daphne, Frederick, and the others. If you love Dickens’ A Christmas Carol you’re in for a real treat.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.

If you loved the first book in the series, When It Rained at Hembry Castle, you’ll love this Victorian holiday novella. If you haven’t read When It Rained at Hembry Castle, that’s okay too since Christmas at Hembry Castle was written as a stand-alone. You can follow the story just fine without having read the first book.

I wrote Christmas at Hembry Castle last year when we were all in need of some lighthearted fun and some cheering up. While things are different this year, I think we could still use some cheering up. That’s really the reason why I love writing the Hembry books–they make me laugh, and I hope they make you laugh too.

Once again, the book tour is hosted by the fabulous Coffee Pot Book Club and it runs from November 4 through December 10, 2021. You can see our stops below. I hope you’ll join me on this virtual book tour. I’m looking forward to seeing you!

The Challenges of Writing a Time-Travel Story

Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash

I have a tendency to come up with story ideas a lot faster than I write them. I mean a lot faster. Fans of When It Rained at Hembry Castle know that I came up with the idea for that book 20 years before I wrote it. Discovering Downton Abbey helped me finally settle down to write my sweet Victorian romance because the upstairs/downstairs element of the show gave me an angle through which to tell the tale.

I came up with the idea for The Duchess of Idaho nearly 20 years ago as well. I lived in Idaho from 2002-2003, and during my time there I learned about the Lewis and Clark expedition and the Oregon Trail, which conveniently went through what would later (in 1890) become the state of Idaho. I decided in 2003 that I would like to write a novel about the Oregon Trail, even if I wasn’t sure what that story might look like.

I came up with the general premise of the novel a few years after I discovered Outlander through advertisements for the television show. I guess I had been living under a rock because I hadn’t heard of the books until then. I found the idea of writing a time travel story intriguing, but again the story was placed on the back burner while I finished my Ph.D. and a few other books I wanted to write.

I’m not sure when the idea to connect my Oregon Trail tale to the Loving Husband Series first took hold. Grace Wentworth is the daughter of James and Sarah Wentworth, and The Duchess of Idaho is largely her story (never fear—James and Sarah play an important part). The Loving Husband Series is both historical and paranormal, and if vampires and werewolves can walk the earth, why can’t there be time travel too? The Loving Husband world is filled with magic, so the time-travel element fits right in.

I had never considered the specific challenges of writing a time-travel story. Now that the current draft of The Duchess of Idaho is nearly done, I can see that writing such a story isn’t as easy as it appears at first glance. It’s not just that characters go backward or forward in time—they are bringing their sensibilities with them.

I’ve seen time-travel characters—with different beliefs than the society they have traveled to—handled well and not so well. Diana Gabaldon, author of the Outlander series, does a wonderful job handling Claire’s different sensibilities from those she encounters in the 18th century. I’ve read a few time-travel stories where the author ignores the fact that the traveling characters would have a different outlook than those around them. I read one time-travel novel where the author stopped the story to rant about how much better we are today than people in the past.

How do you acknowledge the time-traveling character’s differing views from those around them while keeping your story interesting? How much time and attention do you give to the differences in opinion?

There isn’t one answer to those questions, and authors have to decide for themselves how they’re going to deal with the problems that might arise from an interesting combination of social mores.

The primary purpose of a novel is to entertain. As authors, we need to keep the story moving. So then what is the right amount of acknowledgment of the differences between then and now? As with anything else to do with writing, or food, or life, everything in moderation.

I don’t want to spend too much story time focused on how my time-traveling character has different opinions because I want readers to feel as though they’ve traveled back in time. Readers don’t need constant reminders of the differences between then and now because they are reading now. They know what our current views are. Yet I’m not comfortable ignoring the differences either. It’s important to acknowledge those differences while keeping the plot moving. Twice, the time-traveling character gets in trouble for views that aren’t the same as the others traveling the Oregon Trail, which makes the differences part of the story. For my fish out of water character, every moment means a decision about the best way to handle their odd situation. The point is to stay alive during a strenuous, dangerous journey across the continent in 1850. The Oregon Trail was hard enough without the added pressure of being from a time two centuries in the future.

One of the challenges of writing historical fiction is allowing characters to act in a way that is truthful to their time. Author Diana Gabaldon said (and I’m paraphrasing here) that historical novelists are afraid to write about the truth of the past because that truth often doesn’t fit with our current way of thinking. But if we’re going to write historical fiction then we must be honest about people during the time we’re writing about.

It’s a lot easier said than done, I know, but if we’re not going to be true to the experience of living at that time, why write historical fiction? Add into the mix a character who thinks differently because they’re from another time and suddenly everything becomes that much more complicated.

It’s a good complicated, though. One of the things I love about writing fiction is being challenged, and writing my first time-travel story is providing a unique set of challenges.