Day: September 24, 2013

The Historical with Romantic Elements

Guest post
by Frances Burke

I love ‘Historicals’, but in recent times this category has become divided into sub-genres, with the emphasis almost totally upon the emotional conflict. The old Historical Novel wasn’t intended to be a Romance, as such, but a novel set in a historical time frame with Romance as one, sometimes major element.

Today the term covers everything from erotica to sweet Regency, with some historical data thrown in. (Apologies to those writers who do their research, although still allowing the love story to overwhelm other aspects.)

I am proposing another, more specific category: “The Historical With Romantic Elements”. It would cover many genres – adventure, thriller, fantasy, paranormal, you name it. It would follow no pattern but the one in the writer’s mind, allowing her to bend rules and take flights of fancy, use any time frame and as many major characters as were consistent with the length of the novel and common sense. And the romantic element might be relatively small, or even relegated to a sub-plot.

A Historical With Romantic Elements (herein to be known as HWRE) would be distinct from Historical Romance and Historical Saga in that it tended to concentrate heavily on research, with the setting detailed and imprinted with colour and texture. Background would be all-important, with bonus points for an unusual setting. Georgian and Tudor times, for instance, are so well documented and used that research almost falls into the lap. With many other periods, it takes hard work to understand the intricacies of politics, wars and social upheavals and to weave these into a story without overloading the reader with detail. Continue reading “The Historical with Romantic Elements”

Book Blogger Spotlight: Random Reviews by Leanne

Leanne Herrera is the blogger behind Random Reviews by Leanne. She is a mother, wife, grandmother, artist and author. Leanne is also an author, currently working on her second book and reworking her first one. She also reviews and beta reads when she can. She says she is a fast reader and generally can go through several books in a day.

Leanne says she always loved reading. “The need to discuss books has always been overpowering to the point that I often nag friends and family to read the books so that we could discuss them. When I started my blog, I wrote about my life and the book I was working on. Then someone asked me to review a book and I realized that I could talk about books and help authors at the same time. I love that I can help and do something I enjoy at the same time!” Continue reading “Book Blogger Spotlight: Random Reviews by Leanne”

Tutorial: Kindle for PC

Not everyone in the world has a Kindle device. Shocking, but true. So how are these sad and deprived people supposed to download your super special discounted promo ebook? Free Kindle Reading Apps. Yes, FREE! No strings attached. I can vouch for Kindle for PC because I have it on my computer, but there are also versions for Mac, tablets, and smartphones. You don’t even have to know what an “app” is to use it.

Every Kindle book page has a teeny tiny link that reads “Available on your PC” or “Available on your Mac” and links to a download page. It takes 2 steps: Click download. Click run. The rest of the installation happens automatically and puts an icon right on your desktop. Continue reading “Tutorial: Kindle for PC”

Indies Unlimited 2014 Writing Stimulus Package and Planner

Yes, that’s right, the 2014 version of the non-award-winning, non-bestselling Writing Stimulus Package and Planner is now available – just in time for you to not buy it! How fabulous is that? If you work really fast at procrastinating, you can miss out on not only next year’s, but this year’s handy publication as well! (Although they will still be available online for purchase forever *cough*.)

Available at Amazon.com and Amazon UK.

Thirteen months of writing prompts – from the creative minds at Indies Unlimited. This 2014 personal planner is loaded with writing holidays, famous author birthdays, events, and inspirations. Get yours today or you won’t know what day it is. Bonus pages in the back help you write your own press release. Don’t forget, if you use the writing prompts each month, at the end of the year you’ll have thirteen short stories you can publish in your own eBook. Writing prompts by Stephen Hise; full color photography by K. S. Brooks.

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