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A Writer of History

~ by M.K Tod

A Writer of History

Category Archives: Author Entrepreneur

Writing biographical historical fiction

08 Tuesday Oct 2019

Posted by M.K. Tod in Historical Fiction, Writing Process

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American Civil War novels, author Susan Higginbotham, biographical fiction, biographical historical fiction, historical fiction about famous people, Novels about Mary Todd Lincoln, novels set during the American civil war, The First Lady and the Rebel by Susan Higginbotham, writing biographical fiction

I’ve always wanted to tackle biographical fiction but so far, I haven’t taken the plunge. Susan Higginbotham has made this a specialty and today offers insights into the writing of her latest fictionalized biography – The First Lady and the Rebel. 

~~~

Part of the fun of writing (and reading) biographical historical fiction is the supporting cast–those people, some famous and some obscure, whose lives intersect with those of the main characters. While The First Lady and the Rebel is concerned chiefly with the lives of two sisters, Mary Lincoln and Emily Todd Helm, a number of other historical figures make appearances. Some, like Mary’s dressmaker, former slave Elizabeth Keckly, will be familiar to many readers; others will probably be new to most. Here is just a handful of the people you’ll meet in my novel:

  • Major Benjamin F. Ficklin: Kicked out of the storied Virginia Military Institute, he returned to graduate near the bottom of his class. He was one of the founders of the Pony Express and briefly owned Monticello–yes, that Monticello.
  • Princess Agnes Salm-Salm: Born in Vermont (or maybe Quebec) as Agnes Elisabeth Winona Leclerc Joy, she may or may not have gone on the stage during her youth, and probably did not work as a circus rider, but she indisputably turned up in Washington, D.C., in 1861, where she met Felix Constantin Alexander Johann Nepomuk, Prince Salm-Salm, a Prussian nobleman whom she married the following year. Following her husband, an officer in the Union army, into camp, she impressed onlookers with her abilities as a equestrienne, but made a very different impression on Mary Lincoln.
  • Phil: The enslaved manservant of Emily’s husband, Benjamin Hardin Helm,he spent his free years working as a hack driver in Louisville. One of his passengers was Sarah Bernhardt, whose strong perfume forced local police to admit that she had indeed ridden in his carriage.
  • Cranston Laurie: The wife of a civil servant, Mrs. Laurie was a spiritualist who hosted séances at her Georgetown residence. Her guests included Mary Lincoln, who attended on New Year’s Eve, 1862. Mrs. Laurie’s revelations, which included the information that “the cabinet were all the enemies of the President,” fortunately did not interfere with the Emancipation Proclamation, which Abraham Lincoln issued the next day.
  • Thomas Conolly: An Irish MP who dabbled in blockade running, his misadventures earned him a front-row seat to the demise of the Confederacy, which he enlivened by keeping the cocktails flowing at Richmond’s battered Spotswood Hotel.

While none of these characters were so rude as to steal the show from the main characters (as did Jane Dudley, Duchess of Northumberland, who appropriated half of an earlier novel, Her Highness, the Traitor, for herself), each could well carry a novel on his or her own. For the writer of biographical historical fiction, there’s never a shortage of stories to tell–-whether they be of a first lady, a rebel, or even one’s own grandparents.

Many thanks, Susan. I’m sure these characters will enliven your latest novel. And with Mary Todd Lincoln (hello – my name is Mary Tod!) and Emily Todd Helm, it sounds like a perfect one for me! Wishing you lots of success.

The First Lady and the Rebel by Susan Higginbotham ~~ The story of Mary Todd Lincoln and Emily Todd Helm, two sisters on separate sides of history, fighting for the country they believe in against the people they love most.

When the Civil War cracks the country in two, First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln watches from the White House as the blows of a divided nation shake her people and her husband, President Lincoln, to their very core. As the news of wartime enter the Oval Office, Mary waits with bated breath, both for the hopes of a Northern victory as well as in distress of a bloody Southern defeat.

Mary, like many people during this time, have a family that is torn between North and South. her beloved sister Emily is across party lines, fighting for the Confederates, and Mary is at risk of losing both the country she loves and the family she has had to abandon in the tides of this brutal war.

Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Indie Bound

FOR MORE ON READING & WRITING HISTORICAL FICTION  FOLLOW A WRITER OF HISTORY

M.K. Tod writes historical fiction. Her latest novel, TIME AND REGRET was published by Lake Union. Mary’s other novels, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE and UNRAVELLED are available from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and iTunes. She can be contacted on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads or on her website www.mktod.com.

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Interview with author Eugenia West

01 Tuesday Oct 2019

Posted by M.K. Tod in Historical Fiction, Military Stories, Writing Process

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a career as a writer, author Eugenia Lovett West, author interview, historical fiction author interviews, novels set during the Revolutionary war, novels set during the time of George Washington, novels set in 18th century America, Sarah's War by Eugenia Lovett West, the winter of 1777 in Philadelphia, writing later in life

I first encountered Eugenia Lovett West when her most recent novel – Sarah’s War – was released. As someone who began writing after a thirty-year career in business, I was fascinated to learn that Eugenia West is well into her nineties. She says that her goal is to keep on waking up every morning with the urge to create. Amen to that!

What was the inspiration for writing your first novel, The Ancestors Cry Out? 

Thanks so much for inviting me to be on your blog, What was my inspiration for writing my first novel, The Ancestor’s Cry Out? I fell in love with the island of Jamaica when visiting family there—and this was in the 1960’s before it became a popular resort. Women still walked along the road with baskets on heads and there were few cars. The beauty of sea and sky was dramatic, the people were warm and friendly. As well, there was great contrast between the shore and the higher elevation. A trip into the hills and a visit to a sugar plantation introduced me to a wilder landscape and sense of a strong sub-culture, sometimes voodoo. I read a number of journals written by wives of British governors with tales of uprisings and tragedy. The combination of beauty and the undercurrents of danger led me to invent a cast of characters and to send a young woman from Boston on a mission to find a lost inheritance.

What keeps you writing?

I believe strongly in the value of escape reading. For me, it started when I had little children and nap time was a chance to read and regain sanity. These days, the need for escape reading may be stronger than ever, and my aim is to give readers total immersion into another world. I come from a long line of preachers and teachers and I may have inherited a love of playing with words.  As well, the euphoria when a manuscript is accepted does overcome the pain of rejection. And—at age 96, it’s a gift to wake up in the morning with the urge to create.

Do you begin with plot or character?

For writing history, I’m apt to begin with plot. Sarah’s War evolved after reading about the winter of 1777 in Philadelphia, the contrast between General Washington’s disintegrating militia at Valley Forge, the sickness, the bleeding feet in the snow. Now picture British officers living the high life in winter quarters in Philadelphia. There were weekly balls at Mr. Smith’s City Tavern, sports, musicales. This culminated in a farewell party for General Sir William Howe modeled after an old fashioned jousting tournament and ending with a grand ball and fireworks costing thousands of pounds. An extravaganza—nothing like this had ever happened in the colonies. The contrast led me to start years of research. I spent four days reliving the Battle at the Brandywine River. I knew where every regiment in both armies was standing, and how the British general, Lord Cornwallis, made a fearful mistake by allowing his troops fall out for a leisurely lunch, giving Washington’s men a chance to avoid a trap and escape. The first version of Sarah’s War was far longer, with three main characters.  In the end, to make the story move faster, I concentrated on one character, Sarah. It caused me great pain to cut out many pages of careful research, but I tried hard to maintain a sense of what it was like to live in that dangerous time. Loyalists and fence sitters outnumbered patriots. The streets were filled with informers and spies. There was no structure of governance, just thirteen states each with their own demands. We owe a great deal to those first patriots who might well have been hung if the war for independence was lost.

You’ve written novels since the 1970s. What changes to the industry do you think are most significant?

My sense is that changes in the last few decades are giving writers far more opportunities to see their manuscripts become books that you can hold in your hand. When I started writing novels, it was almost essential to have an agent with connections to editors. The alternative was expensive vanity publishing. Now many books are self-published and profitable. There are more small presses, and there’s also a new game in town—hybrid publishing. The author pays up front and the hybrid publisher produces a presentable book—cover, ISBN, links to distributers etc.  Depending on the success of the print run, the author gets a high percentage of earnings. There have been other major changes. I used to work on an electric typewriter and mistakes had to be covered with white ink. Then came computers. Unlike children who seem to be born hardwired with technical skills, my generation struggled with the learning process—I still treat my computer with wary respect. In fact, when I started writing there was no internet and no social media like Facebook and Instagram and Twitter, giving writers the chance to build up lists of fans and followers.

What lessons have you learned from your long career writing fiction?

The answer is many—and often the hard way through trial and error. Readers and writers are starting off on a journey together. It’s up to the writer to create a bond—and that bond must be created as soon as possible. I learned that it takes many hours and many thousands of words to find one’s “voice” or particular style—my theory is that writing is 10% talent and 90% applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair. I discovered that I don’t have a gift for clever metaphors, but I do have an ear for dialogue that can move a story along without lengthy descriptions. It helped that when my youngest child was in school all day, I became a freelance reporter for a number of weeklies in New Jersey. Journalism teaches one to check facts and to cut down on adverbs and adjectives that detract from strong writing. Feeling important, I rushed around with my Nikkon camera covering everything from sewage disposal meetings to national conventions. Then, instead of 300 words, why not 300 pages? My first novel was sheer trash, but the second, The Ancestors Cry Out, was picked up by Doubleday. I learned that, for me, suspense is essential. I want the reader to be compelled to turn the page.

You’ve written both historical fiction and contemporary. What appeals to you about each genre?

As a story teller, not a bone fide historian, I owe a great deal to non-fiction writers like McCullough and Ellis and Philbrick. History can be flexible, accounts handed down are subject to change. For example, Malcolm Gladwell writes that it wasn’t Boston patriots dressed as Indians that boarded ships and threw tea overboard. It was tea smugglers, concerned that imported tea would eat into their profits. Historical fiction demands that you balance facts and imagination. Great care must be taken when introducing actual figures like George Washington and Alexander Hamilton. On the other hand, for mysteries, there are rules to follow like planting red herrings, valid clues, surprise endings. The villain is always caught and justice must triumph. Mysteries come in many shapes and sizes, but for me a husband killing his wife in a bathtub is not an option. Mine have global sub-plots like advanced weaponry, illegal viruses, and cybercrime. To sum up, I think there is a special dimension to writing history because both reader and writer gain insights from expanding our knowledge of the past and of the people who changed the world. It’s a never ending source of interest.

Many thanks for sharing your perspective, Eugenia. Readers will be fascinated with your experience and inspired by your career.

Sarah’s War by Eugenia Lovett West ~~ 1777 is a pivotal year in the United States. The Revolutionary War has long since begun, with no end in sight. George Washington and his untrained militia struggle to survive. The thirteen states are torn apart by politics. Amidst all this chaos, Sarah Champion—a beautiful young Patriot and parson’s daughter whose twin brother was killed in the Battle of Long Island—is sent from rural Connecticut to live with a rich Loyalist aunt in Philadelphia. There, she is plunged into a world of intrigue and treachery. She spies on British officers enjoying festivities in winter quarters. She goes to Valley Forge with information about a plot to kill Washington.

As the war drags on, Sarah digs deep for the strength, courage, and wits to overcome the numerous deadly threats she faces, driven on by her determination to realize one dream: being part of the efforts to form a new and independent country.

FOR MORE ON READING & WRITING HISTORICAL FICTION  FOLLOW A WRITER OF HISTORY

M.K. Tod writes historical fiction. Her latest novel, TIME AND REGRET was published by Lake Union. Mary’s other novels, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE and UNRAVELLED are available from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and iTunes. She can be contacted on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads or on her website www.mktod.com.

 

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10 thoughts on writing a contemporary novel

03 Tuesday Sep 2019

Posted by M.K. Tod in writing historical fiction, Writing Process

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Author M.K. Tod, differences between contemporary and historical fiction, novels by M.K. Tod, writing contemporary fiction

Writing historical fiction has been my ‘thing’ since 2006 when I first began a novel based on the lives of my grandparents. I was so enchanted by the challenge of writing and the research required that I’ve now written four more historical novels. Three are published, one is on submission, and the fifth is in limbo while I decide whether to scrap it or do a significant rewrite.

Novel six – working title You Don’t Know Me – is contemporary. The process of writing it has had its own enchantment. What have I learned?

  • the requirement to transport a reader is time and place becomes a requirement to focus on place. In my case this has involved Boston, New York, a lake house, and the dunes along the Atlantic coast near Plymouth MA.
  • dialogue is easier to write
  • getting into the mindset of a character is easier
  • there’s an opportunity to incorporate some of the political, economic, and social happenings of today. For example, I might be reading the newspaper and see something that becomes relevant to one of my characters.
  • research is still involved, but for this novel it has involved researching the world of journalism and the world of political campaigns
  • there is no need to research the intricacies of long ago fashion, the complexities of transportation, the challenges of food preparation, medical practices and so on
  • you don’t need to constantly check for anachronisms – such as when did espresso become commonplace or when was photography invented
  • a timeline of historical events isn’t required
  • it’s much easier to find photos to help you visualize a setting or situation (the featured photo is  of Harvard Yard)
  • and . . . you can complete a first draft much more quickly

I began writing this novel in late February and finished the first draft today – six and a half months. That’s a record for me!

By the way, superb writing and a focus on story remain essential.

PS … I’m not abandoning historical fiction! Ideas are brewing as we speak.

FOR MORE ON READING & WRITING HISTORICAL FICTION  FOLLOW A WRITER OF HISTORY

M.K. Tod writes historical fiction. Her latest novel, TIME AND REGRET was published by Lake Union. Mary’s other novels, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE and UNRAVELLED are available from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and iTunes. She can be contacted on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads or on her website www.mktod.com.

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