It is always a pleasure
to welcome multi published author Rosemary Morris to the RNA blog. Rosemary’s
writing life has been most interesting and will show our newer members how an
author’s life is never straightforward.
I
am fortunate. Unlike many people, whose dreams are never fulfilled, my dream of
becoming a
traditionally published historical novelist is a reality.
From
childhood, I enjoyed fictional worlds. (In my imagination, the lime tree at the
end of the road was a princess in disguise, so I curtsied to her every day. Not
surprisingly my ritual led to someone remarking, ‘I pity that strange child’s
mother.’
Since
I began reading at the age of five, I have continued. Past times fascinate me
so I prefer historical fiction and non-fiction.
In
my early twenties, while living in Kenya, I wrote several novels. Delighted
when a mainstream publisher sent me a contract, I signed it and accepted the
advance. Unfortunately, I didn’t know that because a date of publication was
not specified, for various reasons, my historical romance might not be
published. It was not. From then on, my path to holding a paper back that I
wrote in my hand was rocky.
Settled
in England, our nest emptied of five children, my late husband encouraged me to
follow my dream. I wrote without success until, after he left his body when my
books were accepted by a small press that subsequently declared bankruptcy. I
was then published by another small press. Sadly, in spite of five star reviews
on Amazon and Goodreads, my sales were negligible.
My
good fairy appreciated my determination. She waved her magic wand. My previous publisher
agreed to terminate my contracts, after which Books We Love accepted me as a
client.
In
a short space of time, Books We Love have republished most of my backlist and published
my two new novels.
My
romantic novels, rich with historical detail, and in which my heroes and
heroines are too shy to open wide their bedroom doors, are set in the reign of
Queen Anne Stuart, 1706-1714, and the ever popular Regency era.
A
frequent question is: “Where do you get your ideas from?”
“From
the supermarket.” A famous novelist, whose name I can’t remember, replied when
asked the same question.
To answer it, I’ll explain that when I read
non-fiction an idea for a novel germinates. For example, I read that many
noblemen refused to swear oaths of allegiance first to Queen Mary and then to Queen
Anne, while their father, James II, lived. Some of those honourable gentlemen
joined James in France. ‘What,’ I asked myself, ‘would happen to their
children?’ In my novel, Tangled Love, the heroine, daughter of a Jacobite, goes
from riches to rags to riches.
The themes
in my novels are problems which have affected people in the past and continue to.
For example, in The Captain and The Countess, set
in Queen Anne Stuart's reign 1706 - 1714, most women were controlled first by
their fathers and then by their husbands. They were vulnerable, and at risk of
physical and mental abuse. Today, women still suffer from abuse, but are
entitled to legal protection. My readers might not have suffered personally, but
are probably aware of the problem.
I have written
three novels about heroines born during the Regency era on different days of
the week. Sunday’s, Monday’s and Tuesday’s Child are connected by a single
character; and so will the next one in the series, Wednesday’s Child.
While writing a novel, I enjoy research that includes visiting places of historical interest as well as reading historical non-fiction. Although I have eight large bookcases, another one would be welcome. A new addition to my library is the 639 page-long The Tears of The Rajas. Mutiny, Money and Marriage in India 1805 by Ferdinand Mount. I anticipate many happy hours reading about the Low family ‘who ‘survived mutiny, siege, debt and disease everywhere from the heat of Madras to the Afghan snows’ William Dalyrymple’s ‘White Mughals’ inspired my novel Far Beyond Rubies, which Books We Love will publish in the near future. I look forward to being inspired by The Tears of The Rajas.
While writing a novel, I enjoy research that includes visiting places of historical interest as well as reading historical non-fiction. Although I have eight large bookcases, another one would be welcome. A new addition to my library is the 639 page-long The Tears of The Rajas. Mutiny, Money and Marriage in India 1805 by Ferdinand Mount. I anticipate many happy hours reading about the Low family ‘who ‘survived mutiny, siege, debt and disease everywhere from the heat of Madras to the Afghan snows’ William Dalyrymple’s ‘White Mughals’ inspired my novel Far Beyond Rubies, which Books We Love will publish in the near future. I look forward to being inspired by The Tears of The Rajas.
Links:
Set in Queen Anne Stuart’s reign: The Captain
and The Countess. Tangled Love.
Pending Publication: Far Beyond
Rubies.
Set in the Regency era: Sunday’s
Child, Monday’s Child, Tuesday’s Child
Thank you Rosemary and good luck with your future
writing ventures.
If you would like to be interviewed for the RNA
blog please contact the team on elaineeverest@aol.com
