I’m taking a little break today, thanks to our guest, Allegra Gray, whose debut Regency Historical, Nothing But Scandal, is now in bookstores. So, Welcome, Allegra!
Diane
Thank you to the ladies of Risky Regencies for inviting me as a guest blogger! As a new author, I’m having tremendous fun meeting people online–there is such a thriving community of readers and writers out there!
It might amaze some people to know that, even though I write books set in historical times (primarily Regency England) I never found history classes in school to be that interesting. Dry facts about what happened, dates of battles, who was president…none of it stuck in my head.
Except, that is, the vast quantities of history I discovered through reading fiction, watching historical movies, playing classical music, or traveling to historic sites in
Which brings me to writing romance. I’ve always loved stories, and it turns out that even if history class wasn’t that great, there was something magical about being swept back in time by a great story. The way a story does that is through carefully researched details, of course, but what really makes it captivating is keeping those details out of the way and letting the characters shine.
In some of my writers’ groups, we are constantly striving to have perfect historical detail…to the point where we research some things that, were we to include them, readers wouldn’t believe! (Truth is, after all, stranger than fiction). And sure, for those of us who become an expert in a topic, it can be frustrating to see that some authors portray that topic with a little less accuracy. I’m sure that for every one topic I am an expert in, there are ten or twenty that I’m not…but then, I’m not trying to recreate Regency England, only to get close enough to use its rich flavor as the base setting for my story.
As I research certain things (how long did it take to travel from
I’ll end with a question: what was one of the coolest things about history you first got interested in by reading fiction?
Best wishes,
Allegra
P.S. If you’d like to leave a comment (or answer the question above), I’ll enter your name into a drawing and then tomorrow, pick a name and that person will receive a signed copy of “Nothing But Scandal.”
Allegra Gray is a former military officer–turned English professor–turned homeland defense analyst. One thing she has always been, though, is a storyteller. She wrote her first book at the age of 5 (it has yet to be published).
Allegra began her publishing career while teaching in the English department of the U.S. Air Force Academy, but soon discovered that non-fiction, academic work was not enough to satisfy her creative drive.
She turned to fiction, and launched her career as a novelist with the release of a historical romance, “Nothing But Scandal,” from Kensington Publishing in July 2009.
Allegra lives in
Check out her website at www.allegragray.com
Hi 🙂
I was introduced to Historical genre by Dorothy Dunnett. I learned how intelligent the nobles of the 1500s were, speaking many different languages, and also how different English was back then. Still readable but with much puzzling out, like: “Dyscyt disceyeth, and shal be disceyved” or “Without pitie, hangèd to be, and waver with the wind.”
🙂
Thanks for sharing,
love and best wishes,
twitter: @RKCharron
xoxo
There are so many things about history that fascinate me that it’s hard to pick one!! However, what springs to mind first of all is smuggling… I first read about it in Georgette Heyer’s The Talisman Ring, and found it so interesting that I read a couple of books about smuggling and made one of my heroines a smuggler.
Welcome, Allegra! And thank you so much for blogging on “my day” and saving me the task of trying to be interesting…
I first began to love history through novels. The very first one I can remember was “I Was There With Ethan Allen And The Green Mountain Boys.” I can’t even find a citation anywhere about this book, but when I read it as a child I remember feeling like I was a part of history.
In my writing life, I knew when I discovered Heyer and Regency Romance, I’d found the piece of history I wanted to write about.
Wow, you sure have a lot of interesting turns in careers there, wow! 🙂
My introduction to historical fiction — I was going to put the second romance author I ever read, Lisa Kleypas, because after the first three romances I read, Sandra Brown so contemporary, I was simply browsing the college bookstore and picked up Lady Sophia’s Lover and saw, hey, there are some that take place in England and not today. So I tried it.
But actually, I realized I had a couple before that – I have this little thing the Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Hatshepsut; I happen to think she’s way better than Cleopatra. LOL Anyway, when looking for books on her (oh so few, I might add), I did come across two fictional accounts with her. One was from childhood to death, the other a bit later to start with, forget exactly when. But until right now, I actually have never thought of those in the historical fiction category. I’m such a dunce. LOL
I forget what the question about learning something from historical fiction was exactly, but my first thought was Elgin marbles. First encountered those in Regencies, and took me forever to realize what they were. LOL I actually thought they were marbles, small round objects. Then it finally occurred to be, ah, marble Ancient Greek statues. Makes vastly more sense. 😉 But as a whole too, I learned what the Regency period was from reading them. Never heard of it before ever.
Lois
Because I was an English major in college I took a lot of history classes. I read a lot of books on Elizabeth I. What an interesting woman and what a legacy after a father like Henry XVIII. I have been reading Ariana Franklin’s series Mistress of the Art of Death and seeing Henry II in a whole new light.
Hi Allegra,
Congrats on your debut book. I’ll certainly pick it up because I love reading about the Regency Era. I wasn’t too happy with History in school either but in my twenties I started watching history shows and reading about history. I love anything about history. But my first interest was the Castles of Scotland. I also “love” reading about Scottish Highlanders and any history put in.
Carol L.
Lucky4750@aol.com
Hi Allegra. Congratulations on the release of Nothing But Scandal. I have always been a history buff. I find the lives of the queens and kings fascinating.
Hi Allegra! I fell in love with historical fiction when I happened to pick up a book by Laurie McBain called Chance the Winds of Fortune! She wrote in the regency period as well. Can’t believe I remember both her name and the title of one of her books all these years later – I guess that shows what an impact it made on me! LOL. Unfortunately, she seems to have disappeared from writing! But fortunately there are a lot of talented new writers to take her place. Best of luck with your fantastic debut!
I became interesated in the social history of different time periods from reading romance )ettiquite and food) from reading romance. The PBS series 1900 centry house (English famoily whetted it. It’s available at many public libraries on DVD or VHS
Hi RKCharron,
As a former lit teacher I specialized in medieval and early Renaissance, so what you say about the 1500s is interesting to me. I find it amazing that in some areas the people back then were far more educated than we give them credit for (speaking several languages, like you say) but in other areas were ruled by superstitions and old wives’ tales.
Allegra
Hi Barbara,
Thanks for dropping by! Smuggling is a cool topic…I’ve never read The Talisman Ring, but may have to check it out!
Allegra
Hi Diane,
No problem! I’m happy to have the opportunity to post here…it’s such a fun site. 🙂
Allegra
Hi Lois!
Thanks for your comment. I didn’t know about the Regency period until reading romance either…and you’re right, if I saw the term “Elgin marbles” out of context, I’d have NO idea!
Allegra
Hi Sandy,
The Mistress of the Art of Death series sounds interesting…what’s it about?
Allegra
Hi Carol,
Yes, old castles are the best! I think it’s what the romantics or gothics would call the “allure of decayed grandeur”…your imagination can’t help but wonder what the castle was like in its heyday.
I’m just starting work on a book featuring a highlander. 🙂 It’s a new area for me, but something about the heroine was just screaming for it (or, rather, him)!
Allegra
What started me to reading historical was Gone With the Wind. I loved reading about the Civil Wars and I still love books set in this time period. Historicals are my favorite read. Thanks for sharing with us today.
lead[at]hotsheet[dot]com
Arianna Franklin’s Mistress of the Art of Death books are about a woman in the late Medieval period who comes from Salerno to England to work for Henry II. She has been trained in what today we would call an autopsy, although clearly she has significantly fewer tools at her disposal back then. Franklin does a great job of setting the period.
I first became interested in history through stories, both fact-based and fictional. I grew up in Arizona, so traveled to Mexico several times as a child and teenager. I still have a vivid memory of going to Chapultepec Palace in Mexico City and walking through a narrow opening somewhere in the palace — all I could think of was that the space was so narrow that Maximilian and Carlotta (named after her father’s first wife, Princess Charlotte of England, for Regency fans) must have walked in the exact same space. It was a thrill to think of such a direct connection between doomed 19th C rulers and a 20th C American teenager. And I was lucky enough to have wonderful teachers who made the intersections of science, technology, economics, philosophy, and people (i.e. History) come alive.
To Ms. Gray: Do you still teach at the Air Force Academy? Just wonder how you go about telling cadets about your other career. I’ve a son who was in the military, and much as I love my reading and my son, historical romance is not what first comes to mind when I think of him and his cohorts.
Hi Allegra, hope you’re enjoying your Risky For A Day experience! Ooh, Susan, I love Ariana Franklin’s books too–brilliantly written, and such a strong sense of time and place. I can’t remember what drew me to historical fiction but I’m sure it had its origins in reading dirty bits in books while I was babysitting.
Sounds interesting Allegra.
I don’t remember the book but it had some recipes that people used to make way back; it was very interesting how they described the quantity of each item.
I’ve been told that Arianna Franklin is a pseudonym for Diana Norman, who writes really wonderful historical novels. They’re often quite dark and gritty, but they bring the past to extraordinarily vivid life.
Great interview Allegra. Like that name too. Although I also write historical romances in the Georgian/Regency period, love of history began with WWI and reading the British poets fighting in the Great War. Best of luck with your book!
Hi Crystal, Robin, and JCP, thanks for stopping by! Guess I shouldn’t be surprised on a Regencies blog that so many of us are drawn to things like castles, royal history, etc. 🙂
Allegra
Hi Virginia,
Thanks for dropping by! I admit, the American Civil War is one of my weakest points when it comes to history…but maybe someday a great story will change that!
Allegra
Hi Susan,
Thanks for the explanation about the Mistress of the Art of Death series…it sounds very interesting.
To answer your question, I no longer teach at the Air Force Academy, but I DO still work in defense, with 100% current or former military members (mostly men). They’re some of my best supporters! Even if they aren’t romance readers, most of them think it’s cool to know a published author, and they have wives, mothers, girlfriends, etc. who ARE romance readers! I am 100% proud of both my careers and open about what I do, and I think this helps…so far I’ve rarely encountered the “snarky” attitudes that some people fear. I think if you speak about what you do with intelligence, pride, and enthusiasm, that attitude is contagious, and it helps shape the perception of others who may not know much about romance or the people that write it 🙂
Allegra
Hi Janet, Jane, Robyn, and Kit, thanks for your comments!
Allegra
I learned to enjoy history through reading novels that were set in different time periods. When I was younger I had no interest in history but give me a good story and then I enjoy visiting that time period.
I’m a bit late, but I wanted to say hello, Allegra! As an Air Force brat I appreciate your former career. In fact my travels as an Air Force brat took me to England and it was there I fell in love with all things history and especially all things British history! Once I read my first Jane Austen and definitely after my first Georgette Heyer I was hooked!
I think visits to places like Chatsworth and then seeing the Elgin Marbles in the British Museum inspired me to read everything I could about those places and my love of history took off from there.
Congrats on your debut! I can’t wait to read it!
Hi, Allegra,
I enjoyed your post, and thank you for the topic.
I loved history, even with the boring textbooks! I had a fabulous teacher in 10th grade, and he made it come alive.
Regarding fiction writers, I adore Tina St. John and Jane Feather, a master at period vocab and sensuality, and Madeline Hunter enlightened me about forgeries and orgies – too hot!
Early Denver comes alive in Pam Nowak’s novels, one about a funeral director and a suffragette.
As with all of us, I’m sure, my own novels taught me the most, LOL. Happy writing!