Hi – my name is Mary Tod. I’ve always enjoyed reading historical fiction but never imagined writing it.
However, while living in Hong Kong with no job and oodles of time, I conceived the idea of researching the lives and times of my grandparents. Little did I know that I would become so fascinated with WWI trench warfare, the battle of Vimy Ridge, Canada’s spy agency in WWII and two new friends, Ann and Edward Jamieson, who bear a vague resemblance to my grandparents. Their story is now titled Unravelled.
In parallel with agent hunting I began a second novel, Lies Told in Silence, set in France during WWI. Continuing to write took my mind off rejection letters and the deafening silence of literary agents in Canada, the US and England. I finished Lies Told in Silence in 2009 and with help from a good friend, found an agent for it.
Presently, I am writing a third novel with the working title of Blind Regret, set in more contemporary times with a mystery embedded in a soldier’s WWI diaries. My muse for this novel is my husband, Ian, who loves a good mystery.
In late March 2012, I began a survey of historical fiction readers which, to my surprise, attracted 805 participants. Survey insights seem to have created great interest amongst writers and readers. The survey has also provided me with ideas on how to shape my stories and how to participate in this lively community.
I have a second blog over at One Writer’s Voice.com which tends to concentrate on the business of writing and being an author-entrepreneur, with occasional diversions to WWI and WWII fiction.
Hi Mary, thanks for your comment on my blog the other day! It’s been a little sparsely updated of late as I’ve been working on my dissertation, which is now thankfully handed in! I was writing about the relationship between academic history and historical fiction, and I found your survey and blog through joining the HNS to gain some insight into the historical fiction side of things. I found the results of your survey (which I filled in) really interesting, especially the gender analysis – unfortunately I wasn’t able to explore this thoroughly within the word limit of my dissertation, but it certainly appealed to my general interests!
Thank you for the link to ‘Letter to My Daughter,’ I really enjoyed reading it. I’m very tempted to find a copy of The Feminine Mystique to add to my to-read pile now! I would love to read any further letters you write.
I wish you all the best with publishing your novels – my sister is a great enthusiast for WW1/WW2 novels, and I’m a great enthusiast for any historical novel!
Great to hear from you. Good luck with the dissertation!
Hi, Thanks for your recent comment on my Vintage blog. Much as I love Vintage I also have a passion for History, especially Historical novels and I love writing. I am a reviewer here in the Uk for the Indie section of HNS (Historical Novel Society) I will certainly be regularly flying by to catch up on your blog