I wish there were someone around to kick me when I start projects like this. I always say I don’t like writing historicals. But the truth is that I just don’t like the concept of writing them. It takes too long to do the research and I like things to move fast. When you’re writing a historical you have to stop and triple check facts, and sometimes you even have to cross reference to find out if there are discrepancies. The problem is that once I’m really into the story I can’t help but love it.
A Young Widow’s Promise, which is a civil war romance, took me years to write. One reason I didn’t release it was because I loved it so much I didn’t want to let go of it. Only those who have suffered public reviews can understand this. And with this book I was checking facts right down to the wire until the day it was released. Another reason why I’m not fond of doing this research is that I can’t help but question how they know the information is true or not. No one nowadays was around in the year 1860, so how can anyone really be certain something did or didn’t happen. I know there are strong arguments against what I just said. But I still can’t help wondering. And there have been times when I’ve taken historical facts and written about them even though I questioned them silently. The best you can do is trust someone with more knowledge about history. The least you can do is try to get it right given the information available to you at the time.
I swore when I finished A Young Widow’s Promise I wouldn’t do another historical for at least two more years. But like A Young Widow’s Promise, the story I’ve been working on for the past two weeks is something I’ve always wanted to write and the timing right now is perfect. I’m between Virgin Billionaire books. I just submitted a book that will be published under one of my pen names. And this particular topic I’m writing about is something I’ve always wanted to write about. But more than that, it’s a m/m historical and extremely sexy. This time, unlike with A Young Widow’s Promise, I’m targeting my usual audience.
But I do swear this is my last historical for the next two years. I’d like to focus my short stories more on westerns for the next year. I enjoy writing them and reading them. I see a lot out there, but the ones I’ve read just don’t seem very sexy to me. And if I get the urge to write another historical anytime soon, I’m coming back to this post and reading my own words.
I wish I could post more about the subject of the historical I’m working on. It’s just too soon to talk about it right now. I will post more in the coming weeks. I’m hoping to have it submitted to the publisher by early next week. And then we’ll probably take another few weeks of editing. It should be out by late February, which if I’m counting the days right, will be perfect timing.
