Interview with Mary Stewart. “I wrote the kind of stories I wanted to read… the setting came first. Then you shove a few people into it and let them get on with it.”
Month: February 2018
I’m being interviewed on MontanaMade TellTale Reviews! (Giveaway)

My First Ever Book!
Want to know more about why I wrote His Forgotten Fiancée and who my favorite character is? Come over to MontanaMade’s TellTale Reviews and check out my interview! I’m giving away a signed copy of His Forgotten Fiancée as well.
Get the words down, then fix it
Whatever you’re writing can be fixed.
Just get the words down. Then fix it.
The English Lieutenant’s Lady is on the list!
Um… no, not the NY Times Bestseller’s list. Better than that. (Sorta.)
The English Lieutenant’s Lady is listed on …
(dramatic pause for suspense)
The Most Anticipated Christian Fiction 2018
It’s on a list on goodreads. All right, it’s at the bottom of the list, but that’s not the point. It’s there. People can see it. There are so many books out there, anything that helps a story become more visible to readers is awesome.
If you’re on goodreads, you could go vote for The English Lieutenant’s Lady.
No guilt. No pressure. Just saying.
Won’t you vote?
Okay, maybe a little guilt. Look at that sweet kitten’s face. Would you disappoint him?
Why I don’t live in a Boston suburb
One detail I put into The English Lieutenant’s Lady was how the city of Portland, Oregon, got its name. It was almost called Boston!
Quote: Neil Gaiman on Writing Your Story
Rant: Don’t feel entitled to get titles wrong
Warning: This is a rant. This is only a rant. If this had been a real blog post, you would have been notified. Please remain calm. It is only a rant.
I just put down a book because I was too irritated to keep reading. This is an author who’s written several books set in 19th century England, and she’s clearly done a lot of research into various subjects. So I cannot understand why she was so careless about getting titles wrong. I mean, she got one woman’s title wrong three different ways in three pages. That falls into “I don’t care” territory.
I know I sound cranky. But that’s only because this subject makes me cranky.
If you write a historical novel, you’re going to have to do some research if you want the reader to believe in your characters. So why not do a little research into titles if a) you’re going to use them and b) you don’t know what people are called and why?
Here’s a shortened version. If you’re a woman, unless you’ve been granted a title in your own right (rare), what your title is depends on who your father was and who your husband is.
Some examples:
- The only way I could have a title like Lady Evelyn Hill is if my father had been a duke, a marquess, or an earl.
- Since my father was not a lord, if I married a lord or a knight my title would never be Lady Evelyn:
- If I married Sir Hugh Grant, my title would be Lady Grant. Never Lady Evelyn Grant.
- If I married Richard Armitage, Lord Awesome, my title would be Lady Awesome. Never Lady Evelyn Awesome.
- If I married Prince Harry (yes, I know, I know, this is just for the purpose of providing an example, work with me here), then my title would be Princess Harry, never Princess Evelyn.
If you ever feel the need to write a historical novel with titles, then please, please go check out this site.