Love Inspired Historicals discussion
Where would You Like to see a Historical Romance set?
Cheryl St.John wrote: "Sherri wrote: "Nebraska Events: The -Trans Missouri expo was sort of a 'world's fair' set in 1898.
This might be fun, Sherri. We should brainstorm something."
You know I love to brainstorm!
Deborah wrote: "Angela Lynn wrote: "I would love to read one set on Prince Edward Island. I loved the Anne of Green Gables books. "Me, too, Angela! My grandmother started me on them. She was a skinny redhead l..."
I love that picture. Thank you for sharing
Ausjenny wrote: "Lyn wrote: "Tell me more about the FL African American fort!"I read a book this year Warring spirits which is about this. In Florida there was a place called Negro Fort where slaves could have fr..."
I am going to look for this book, it sounds like one I would like
Patty I am thinking for Savannah one to do with the colonial days and pirates on the river, there is a resturant downtown that is noted to have had tunnels to river and piracy in early days called "The Pirate's House". lot of older homes built on squares in downtown area and I can see the women of the period walking in the parks esp forsyth Park...
Mod
In a heartbeat, Cheryl - and double fast if you wrote it! I've always loved Zorro.
Mod
And Cheryl, Spanish CA--what a rich period. Thanks.:-)
Deborah wrote: "Cheryl wrote: "I'm thinking the Zorro California. Have any of you read a romance set there? It's something I've always wanted to tackle (be..."In a heartbeat, Cheryl - and double fast if you wrot..."
Thanks, Deb. It's just I've never seen a romance set there.
I just emerged from deep deadline lurk...so glad to be finished and rejoining the real world! Every once in a while I toy with the idea of doing a book set in China in the 1920s. I did my senior thesis at Berkeley on this era. Fascinating! I'm picturing a lady missionary and a jaded adventurer :)
Victoria Bylin wrote: "I just emerged from deep deadline lurk...so glad to be finished and rejoining the real world! Every once in a while I toy with the idea of doing a book set in China in the 1920s. I did my senior..."
Oh, yes! Very "Good Earthish." Have you seen the Painted Veil? Wonderful atmosphere from that era. I loved the original short story by William S. Maugham that it was based one. Wonderfully evocative era. And how perfect for LIH to have a missionary there.
I even love those 1940s and 1950s movies set in China, even Blood Alley.
Patty wrote: "Dorothy, I have to tell you--I let my neighbor in Michigan borrow those two books and didn't get them back before we moved back to Georgia three years ago. But I loved those books so much, I hunted..."Wow, Patty! Thank you for telling me that, it's so encouraging! And with my deadline for this book comuing up next Friday I can use all the encouragment I can get. I'm sure you know how that is. : )
Back to work, 9K words to go...
Lynsay wrote: "Dorothy, I'll have to look for them then."Just dropped in again and saw this and thought you might like the titles- Beauty for Ashes and Joy for Mourning. I hope you enjoy them!
Angela Lynn wrote: "Ausjenny wrote: "Lyn wrote: "Tell me more about the FL African American fort!"I read a book this year Warring spirits which is about this. In Florida there was a place called Negro Fort where sla..."
Warring Spirits this is the book Angela Lynn
Paula-O wrote: "Patty I am thinking for Savannah one to do with the colonial days and pirates on the river, there is a resturant downtown that is noted to have had tunnels to river and piracy in early days called ..."Oh I love pirates.
Deborah wrote: "Cheryl wrote: "I'm thinking the Zorro California. Have any of you read a romance set there? It's something I've always wanted to tackle (be..."In a heartbeat, Cheryl - and double fast if you wrot..."
Was Zorro real? or was he fiction?
Victoria Bylin wrote: "I just emerged from deep deadline lurk...so glad to be finished and rejoining the real world! Every once in a while I toy with the idea of doing a book set in China in the 1920s. I did my senior..."
That would be cool. A lady from church who passed away a couple of years ago had parents who were missionaries in China. she didn't really see them as she was brought up in Australia by Aunts.
Oh on the China side didn't Eric Liddell(sp) Olympic runner go there as a missionary then got captured by the Japanese.
Ausjenny wrote: "Janet I was going to say Australia but then I do alot. We have some really good historicals coming out here by local authors. We also have a new publisher who wants to do some books like the LI ran..."Oh, that sounds good. Keep us posted!
I'd love to see books set around the Underground Railroad too. I remember reading Lois Walfrid Johnson's children's Riverboat Adventures series which was set during that time & found it very interesting. Also I enjoyed her Northwoods children's series which covered the Swedish & Norwegian Immigrants. I'd love to read more stories set around them.I would love to read more about the Railroad at the time it was built, & have also enjoyed stories set around the "Harvey Girls" - would love to read more.
I love the prairie stories (Thanks to Laura Ingalls Wilder).
For other countries:
England (Regency & Victorian), Scotland (Highlands) Wales (Welsh miners, at start of Industrial Revolution) & Ireland.
Canada (Rockies & the RCMP - I too love the Mounties! I also love P.E.I thanks to Anne of Green Gables - would love to see more set there.
Switzerland (The Alps - I fell in love with those, thanks to Heidi)
Australia (Particularly the Outback stories with the sheep farming) & New Zealand.
I do agree though that if you're doing a different country you need to research it well to get the culture right. I've read books set here in England that I've not been able to tell it was written by an American - a job well done. I've also read one set in the Regency era that was littered with Americanisms...we don't phrase things the same way now & we certainly didn't then - it did spoil for me what was a good story.
Oh, & a story that might make you smile - Years ago when I was reading Nancy Drew she was investigating someone. As he answered a question she thought "Now that was odd." I went back over the conversation several times & I could NOT work out what was so odd. I gave up & carried on reading. Well, at the end of the book when she's figured it all out she says to the guy that it was a phrase he used that gave him away because it was British & by using it he gave away his British roots. Well no wonder I couldn't figure out what was so odd - it was very ordinary for me!
Cheryl wrote: "Victoria Bylin wrote: "I just emerged from deep deadline lurk...so glad to be finished and rejoining the real world! Every once in a while I toy with the idea of doing a book set in China in the..."
Hi Cheryl,
I haven't seen "Painted Veil." I bet I'd love it...Ditto to those old movies set in China. Such a fascinating difference in cultures . . .
Ausjenny wrote: "Victoria Bylin wrote: "I just emerged from deep deadline lurk...so glad to be finished and rejoining the real world! Every once in a while I toy with the idea of doing a book set in China in the..."
It's such an interesting place, China that is. Australia, too! Such a colorful history, and all that conflict!
I really like all these different ideas everyone has shared. I too enjoyed the Little House series. I read it because that's who my mom named me for. Although it was because she watched the series on TV. I also like the idea of war brides. One of the ladies at my church was an English war bride. She still has an English accent and is so sweet. If you are a member of the church you will get a homemade bread from her on your birthday. It's something I look forward to every year.
I almost always like historicals set in Scotland, but I'd also like to see one set in Eastern Europe -- Russia, the Ukraine, Hungary. I think the story could have a lot of intrigue.
So many great ideas! I live in Kansas, and I enjoy reading about the frontier and way of life in the early 1900's.
Mod
Oh, you must get hold of a copy, Vicki! It has great re-watch value. The scenery and cinematography is amazing. Loved Diane Rigg as the world-weary Mother Superior. Cheryl, I'll have to find the short story and read it.
AusJenny, I'm pretty sure Zorro was fictional in the tradition of Robin Hood and the Scarlet Pimpernel. I enjoyed all the historical background in the films and television.
thanks Deborah, I love the Scarlet Pimpernel. Love the way he was portrayed as a typical aristocrat but was actually a very intelligent man who did care about something.
Mod
Ah Sir Percy Blakeney! Loved the romance between him and his wife - such a lot of great conflict on so many levels. I must reread that.
Deborah wrote: "Ausjenny wrote: "thanks Deborah, I love the Scarlet Pimpernel. Love the way he was portrayed as a typical aristocrat but was actually a very intelligent man who did care about something."Ah Sir P..."
Oh, yes! Great story, great romance. What a hero! Loved the original 1930s movie with Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon. She was so beautiful. But a remake in the 70's or 80's was awfully good, too.
Deborah wrote: "Victoria Bylin wrote: "I haven't seen "Painted Veil." I bet I'd love it...Oh, you must get hold of a copy, Vicki! It has great re-watch value. The scenery and cinematography is amazing. Loved Di..."
Do you all read Rita winning Victorian historical writer Sherry Thomas? She said she came out of the theatre after watching THE PAINTED VEIL and decided to use that plot for her own book -- with a more romantic ending. I don't want to spoil it any further. But I thought that was interesting. I can't remember if that's one of her Rita-winning books or not. She's a fabulous author.
Victoria Bylin wrote: "I just emerged from deep deadline lurk...so glad to be finished and rejoining the real world! Every once in a while I toy with the idea of doing a book set in China in the 1920s. I did my senior..."Oh, and I was going to comment. . . You went to Berkley? I wonder how many romance writers did, then I remembered Candice Hern did. Any others?
Deborah wrote: "Victoria Bylin wrote: "I haven't seen "Painted Veil." I bet I'd love it...Oh, you must get hold of a copy, Vicki! It has great re-watch value. The scenery and cinematography is amazing. Loved Di..."
I love that term "re-watch value." I could watch that film all over again just to see the evocative scenery. It was a feast.
Cheryl wrote: "Deborah wrote: "Ausjenny wrote: "thanks Deborah, I love the Scarlet Pimpernel. Love the way he was portrayed as a typical aristocrat but was actually a very intelligent man who did care about somet..."I loved the remake with Anthony Andrews and Jane Seymour and also the mini series with Richard E Grant.
I love the line Sink me.
Cheryl wrote: "Victoria Bylin wrote: "I just emerged from deep deadline lurk...so glad to be finished and rejoining the real world! Every once in a while I toy with the idea of doing a book set in China in the..."
I'm always amazed at the diverse backgrounds of romance writers--everything from pilots to nurses to doctors to executives, attorneys, and--maybe most demanding of all--stay-at-home moms!
Cheryl wrote: "Oh, yes! Wasn't Jane Seymour lovely?"Yes it was a really good film wish I had a copy, That and Hornblower.
I was thinking the Salem witch trial times may be interesting. The only book I have read set in this time was one Gilbert Morris's books from The House of Winslow series. He had the characters arrested and they were released but showing how easy it was to be arrested when they were innocent.
Wow, so many ideas! This is all really interesting. :-) I like the Zorro California idea. Actually, there are a lot of good ideas! Patty talked about finding little known historical details and writing novels about those. I write that way, too. I like uncovering some otherwise unknown event and running with it.Right now, I'm looking into smuggling along the English Channel around the turn of the nineteenth century. Should be fun. No, let me rephrase that. It IS fun. I'm also terribly curious about the smuggling through the Great Lakes region and upstate New York during the Revolutionary War and War of 1812. Did you know that the British army in Canada may well have starved without the food that New York farmers smuggled across the river and sold to them?
Naomi I just learnt something didn't know about the smuggling of food into Canada. It got me thinking the French/english issues In Canada where alot of French Canadians were relocated to Louisiana would be interesting. I know Janette Oke and Davis Bunn wrote a series set there but LIH would be interesting. Canada has a rich history that is also not well known. We tend to know about the Mounties and Prince Edward Island but we dont learn alot of the rest of the country.
I loved Linda Fords books set in the depression in Alberta.
Naomi started your book and loving it.
So glad you're enjoying my story, Jenny. :-) For some reason I find myself fascinated by the historical aspect of international relations. Now before everyone falls asleep with that explanation, think about it for a minute. We all know (or all of us US residents know) about the situations that prompted the Revolutionary War and Civil War. What about the War of 1812? The War with Mexico? Were these wars even liked by the majority of the population? You'd find very different opinions of the war of 1812 depending on whether you're looking at NYC or upstate NY. Or look at England. Colonists were so fed up with unfair tea taxes that they dumped a ship full of tea into the Boston Harbor. Did you know that in England, so much tea was being smuggled in illegally that historians estimate only 25% of tea purchased in London had reach the country legally?
There's lots of interesting stuff when you start looking at how countries dealt with such problems, and a lot of opportunity to stick a hero and heroine in the middle of those messes.
Naomi I knew nothing about the war of 1812 till I read Mary Lu Tyndall's books set there. Don't know anything about the war of Mexico. I learnt that snuff was cocaine or a form of drug and that was one reason England had such a huge hold on the world.
Interesting. I've read some of Mary Lu Tyndall's War of 1812 stories, but not all. I'm told that the War of 1812 isn't even taught in English schools. Guess the Brits don't like thinking about the fact they actually lost a naval battle or two. Then again, the Americans never would have won that war, had the English navy not been exhausted from fighting France for 20 years. See how it all ties together?
Naomi wrote: "Wow, so many ideas! This is all really interesting. :-) I like the Zorro California idea. Actually, there are a lot of good ideas! Patty talked about finding little known historical details and wri..."Oh I think the smuggling in the English Channel idea great. I've read a lot of fiction set there (mostly children's when I was a child) & found it fascinating. Would love to read a Christian story set there. We have lots of caves on our Cornwall/Devonshire coast which were used by the smugglers then.
I did not know that the British Army would have starved if it hadn't been for the NY farmers. Sounds like another great plot for a story.
Naomi wrote: "Interesting. I've read some of Mary Lu Tyndall's War of 1812 stories, but not all. I'm told that the War of 1812 isn't even taught in English schools. Guess the Brits don't like thinking about the ..."You're right, I never learnt about the 1812 War at school. I learnt about WW2 - in particular the Battle of Britain, especially as my town had a lot of children leave as evacuees, so a lot is done on that; A bit about the Spanish Armada; The Crimean War - the army didn't do so well but Florence Nightingale & her reforms for nursing did; & the Boer War - we didn't come off so well in that one either!
Wendy wrote: "Naomi wrote: "Wow, so many ideas! This is all really interesting. :-) I like the Zorro California idea. Actually, there are a lot of good ideas! Patty talked about finding little known historical d..."Wow, Wendy! How fun to get to explore all those old smuggler haunts. :-) The novel I'm working on is actually set in France, not England, but deals with the smuggling between Calais and the Dover area, so eastern Kent. I've toyed with doing a second smuggling novel, but I think my publisher would say my second idea (set in England) would be too similar to the first idea set in France.
Wendy wrote: "Naomi wrote: "Interesting. I've read some of Mary Lu Tyndall's War of 1812 stories, but not all. I'm told that the War of 1812 isn't even taught in English schools. Guess the Brits don't like think..."Oh Wendy, too funny about not learning of the War of 1812! I'd heard that from another author who writes British set fiction, but I hadn't verified it until now. :-)
If it's any consolation, the US schools don't go into too much detail about the War of 1812, but we do teach it. I think more than anything, the absence of the War of 1812 in the British schools shows how insignificant a conflict it was to them. Their main enemy was France, and France was a lot closer to them. A few naval battles that took place on the other side of the ocean probably weren't terribly important to most British citizens.
Yes, we didn't get on too well with France. The Battles of Waterloo & Trafalger are well known as are The Duke of Wellington & Lord Admiral Nelson. Nelson's Column in Tralgar Square is well known & visited.
Wendy wrote: "Yes, we didn't get on too well with France. The Battles of Waterloo & Trafalger are well known as are The Duke of Wellington & Lord Admiral Nelson. Nelson's Column in Tralgar Square is well known &..."That, my dear Wendy, is a vast understatement. :-)
Mod
Naomi wrote: "Wendy wrote: "Naomi wrote: "Interesting. I've read some of Mary Lu Tyndall's War of 1812 stories, but not all. I'm told that the War of 1812 isn't even taught in English schools. Guess the Brits do..."I never did history in high school, (we got branded the smarter students the not so bright and slow) I was the not so bright. which meant we didn't do things like history, geography, the higher mathes etc. We did do humanities which touches on some areas of history and geography but not alot. In Primary school we learnt more Australian history I could draw a map of South Australia free hand quite well. We did learn some about the WW1 and WW2. Didn't really learn anything about American history. They band the students now. I would have loved to study history. Always was interested.
I have learnt alot about American history from books.
That's so sad, Jenny. I'm sorry you didn't have more of an opportunity to study history.
Love Inspired Historicals
Books mentioned in this topic
Her Inheritance Forever (other topics)The Desires of Her Heart (other topics)
Her Abundant Joy (other topics)
Warring Spirits (other topics)
Maybe I should consider downloading them on my Nook. . .~grin~