I've been
getting a lot of questions lately about my writing process. Do I know my story
when I begin to write? (Somewhat) Are
the characters based on real people? (Sometimes) How do you know all that
"stuff?" (Research)
Those are
the easy answers. Of course, writing, like life, is far more complex and so
much more interesting and fun than those one-word answers. So, I thought I'd
share a few insights to my approach to historical romance over the next little
while.
LOVE DENIED
is set in rural England during the Regency era—1812 to be more precise. I love
looking at old houses near and far, so it was no hardship to root around in
books and the internet looking for inspiration for my setting. When I came
across Willey Park in an old book, I knew instantly that I had found the
perfect place to land my story.
It has the
majestic structural opulence of the new architecture of the times married with
the sweeping grandeur of old-world bucolic land holdings. The story is founded
on old-world values clashing with new-world ideals, so this combination was
exactly what I needed.
Now, I
write fiction, so of course I could not use Willey Park, but its inspiration
breathed life into my own world. My characters roam Woodfield Park, an imposing
manse and property that was built long before Willey Park, which only began
construction in 1813. However, Woodfield Park does include an addition that
happens to be designed and built by the same master architect who built Willey
Park, the talented Lewis Wyatt. In my far-too-fertile imagination, I like to think
that Wyatt practiced the Neo-classical style on Woodfield Park before moving on
to Shropshire to build Willey Park.
