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
