Our foray into the realm of historically-accurate romance-fiction has somehow materialized into a series; we completed the first novel and put it up on our website
for sale.
I must admit it was a good deal more work than the other novels thus far, simply because we wanted it as close as possible to actual events. In spite of the extra effort, it was visually stimulating to look at the old ship manifests and shipping line brochures; the photographs of immigrants especially were inspiring. With my other books I had to make everything up out of my head, so, by contrast, it was far easier to imagine the scenes with this book, before writing them. The ships were real, the 1908 earthquake was real; the story of The Cedric diverting south as far as the Azors to skirt a huge storm came from an actual entry in an old sailor's journal.
All hail the fantastic researchers gold mine laying in wait on the Internet.
This book was not quite as 'upbeat' as my previous novels, simply because the story time-frame (1909) was a rather hard time for most folk of the poorer genres. Death, hunger and unfair practices were frequent, though interspersed with small joys, weddings and children.
Though I am yet partial to my first book Draw Me a PIcture, but I find myself re-reading this latest novel with real enjoyment; I also caught myelf looking forward to reading the sequel. LOL... I have to write it first.
As per usual. we placed three free chapters up on FictionPress for review. The title: On the Way to America. If you feel like it, peruse the chapters and write a judicious review. I've reciveed comments of all kinds, mostly of a positive nature, so feel free to be scathing, if you so choose. All of it helps hone my writing ability. (I tell myself this often, though not out loud. Disturbs the others writers nearby in the coffeeshop.)
We'll begin the sequel next week; it will likely show as many aspects of early immigrant life in 1900s America as we can fit in. While all my books end happily, the joys are hard-won in this series and replete with more fact than fiction.
Cheers,
Meredith Greene
Belator Books
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