Regan Walker's Blog: Regan's Author Blog, page 25

The Scottish Witch trials!

Today on my blog, author of Scottish historical romance, Carmen Caine, is talking about the Scottish witch trials--a fascinating story from Scotland's history.

Come on by and comment to win one of 4 copies of her wonderful 5-star stories! See the post HERE.

Best Scottish Historical Romances--the list!

As Geddes MacGregor once said, “No one in Scotland can escape from the past. It is everywhere, haunting like a ghost."

Scotland’s past is the subject of my Best Scottish Historical Romances list, just posted on my Regans' Romance Reviews blog, love stories set in Scotland, some in that magical part of Scotland called the Highlands. Others may just feature a Scots hero or a winsome Scots heroine. All are rated 5, 4 ½ or 4 stars. You can see the list HERE.

The challenge of setting a story on a ship!

I love the sea and the ships that sail upon it. I also love a good pirate story. So, when I decided to set Wind Raven, the third book in my Agents of the Crown trilogy, a pirate Regency, on a schooner (well, among other places), it seemed like a grand adventure.

I had no idea.

Since I’m committed to making my stories historically accurate, I dove into all the ship terminology, pouring over my new 4-inch thick Sailor’s Word Book until late at night. But I realized just having the vocabulary was not enough. I wanted to be able to describe a storm at sea as huge waves crashed onto the deck and a battle that had shot bringing the sails down around the characters. And get all the ship parts right while doing it. So, I did gobs of research and studied diagrams of schooners and sail configurations until I was seeing them in my dreams.

But even that was not enough. I had to get the feel of the ship. I decided it was essential to take a ride on an actual schooner. See MORE.

April 29th, 2014

Sometimes when I talk to fellow readers of historical romance, or even authors, and I mention a name from the past, an author who helped shape the genre, like Kathleen Woodiwiss or Rosemary Rogers, I get a blank stare in return. It occurred to me that as lovers of a genre it might be helpful to read some of the classics to see where we’ve come from and to enjoy the greats who have contributed so much to the craft.

I’m not going as far back as Ivanhoe or Jane Eyre. I’m not even reaching back to the seminal novels of Georgette Heyer in the early 20th century. Except for two novels of note in earlier decades, I’m starting in the 1970s when the bedroom door was flung open never to close again. And while I may not have included your favorite author, by reading the romances on this list, you’ll have a good idea of our beginnings and what so many wonderful authors have done for the genre. Think of it as an education in modern historical romance.

So, here’s the list of the historical romances I recommend you read. See more.

Writing a Regency set on the High Seas!

A Regency romance that is also a pirate tale? Set on a schooner and in exotic ports of call? Oh yes, that’s just what Wind Raven is.

A year in the making, it tells of an English ship captain who is ordered into the Caribbean by the Prince Regent to spy on a pirate whose been attacking British merchant ships. Captain Jean Nicholas Powell, named after his grandfather Jean Donet, a noble born French pirate, has been a privateer for England and is now sailing for Powell and Sons, the wealthy family shipping business. The last thing he needs is an assignment from Prinny to track down some pirate, especially when he is forced to take as a passenger an American hoyden who thinks she can crew with his men.

How does one go about writing such a tale? Well, wanting to make my story historically accurate, I first I had to get all the ship stuff right. Hundreds of hours of research went into the study of schooners, their sail configurations, how one moved about on them and what happened to them when huge waves crashed onto the deck or a battle had shot bringing the sails down around the crew. It was not enough that I read books, The Sailor’s Word Book, and studied diagrams until I was dreaming about them. Oh, no. I had to experience it for myself. SEE MORE

Schooners of the Regency Period

My latest novel, Wind Raven, is a seafaring pirate Regency, much of which is set on a schooner in 1817. To set my scenes accurately, especially those in a storm, I had to know much about schooners of the period and their crews.

The Ship Though it can vary in size, generally a schooner is a smaller ship with only two or three decks and two or more masts (most often two) rigged with fore-and-aft sails. As their name indicates, schooners have the ability to glide across the water with superior speed. In Wind Raven the ship is a “topsail schooner,” meaning that the schooner has a square topsail on the foremast.

The schooner’s sails run the length of the deck, enabling it to catch the wind at a closer angle and their placement allows greater maneuverability. The ship can thus move closer to the wind, almost directly into the wind, giving it power and speed. The origins of the design are unknown but hulls conforming to the concept were, by the late 18th century, popular both in Britain and America.

Initially built for trade around the coasts, larger ones could take on longer voyages. And such was the ship my hero, Capt. Jean Nicholas Powell captains. See more HERE.
The schooner’s sails run the length of the deck, enabling it to catch the wind at a closer angle and their placement allows greater maneuverability. The ship can thus move closer to the wind, almost directly into the wind, giving it power and speed. The origins of the design are unknown but hulls conforming to the concept were, by the late 18th century, popular both in Britain and America.

Initially built for trade around the coasts, larger ones could take on longer voyages. - See more at: http://www.blueroseromance.com/2014/0...

Historical Romance Author Madeline Hunter talks about how historical romance has changed...

Madeline Hunter is a NY Times and USA Today bestselling author. Her first novel, By Possession, was published in 2000. Since then she has had 24 historical romances published. A two-time RITA winner, her books have been translated into thirteen languages.

Hear what she has to say about how historical romance has changed--she's my guest on Regan's Romance Reviews today!

And comment to win one of her books! See the post HERE.

The Reading Cafe Review of Wind Raven & Giveaway!

The Reading Cafe LOVES Wind Raven!! This is from their review:

"Regan Walker has once again written a story that grabbed me from the beginning and did not let go. You will absolutely fall in love with Tara McConnell. She is fearless, loyal and, oh yeah, an awesome crew member! And, once she and Nick are drawn to each other, the chemistry is off the charts. He is my absolute favorite hero that Regan has written to date. And, that is saying A LOT. I’ve said of her stories before that she beautifully entwines fiction with history, but I don’t think until now that I’ve given her enough credit for her world building. You can absolutely hear the roar of the ocean waves and smell the sea as you read this book. Her descriptions are spot on without being over the top. That, in my humble opinion, is another characteristic of a great author. This book will have you on the edge of your seat at times, and tearing up at others."

Come on by and see the post HERE and comment to win one of my books!

How Much Research for Historical Romance?

I have been asked many times how much research I do—how much I believe is necessary—for historical romance. I suppose the answer depends on whether you want to write a “wallpaper” historical romance, one that is generally set in an era with a few nods to what the clothes and setting look like, or a romance that genuinely reflects the history and people of the time, and is correct in historical details.

Since I write stories reflecting actual history, where the history itself is a character, I must do a lot of work to get it right. It takes hundreds of hours for each novel, especially if I’m starting from scratch in a particular era. To read more, see HERE.

The Ship's Cat!

What’s a ship without a ship’s cat, right? So, of course, my latest Regency WIND RAVEN, a pirate adventure set on a schooner in 1817, had to have a cat. And it had to be a special cat.

It probably seems fundamental that a cat could be, and was, a valued member of the crew, particularly for ridding a ship of mice and rats. Cats being cats, there were probably ship's cats that were aloof and half-feral, and then there were other ship's cats that were social lap-cats. The cat in WIND RAVEN is somewhere in between. Named “Dutch Sam’ for the English boxer Samuel Elias, who died the year before my story begins, and who was known as having the deadliest fists of any boxer in London, my ship’s cat has two huge white paws (with extra toes, don’t you know!). The crew of the Wind Raven thought it a fitting tribute to name their unusual after the boxer they revered.

Did you know that sailors believed that cats had an influence on the weather? See MORE .