Conversations 
My dream of becoming a novelist came to fruition after forty years of work and struggle (I’m actually 50 years old, but for the first ten years of my life I wanted to be a spy, like Natasha on Rocky and Bullwinkle), and it has been everything that I imagined it to be…and so much more. There have been ‘moments’ and experiences that I never expected, and yet I count them among the sweetest.
What at first petrified me has proved to be one of my most eagerly anticipated activities…the book club group appearance. From schools, to libraries, to churches, to senior centers, my visits with these fictionally fond factions has brought some of the more fulfilling and stirring conversations I’ve yet encountered. There is something particularly satisfying about being in the midst of truly dedicated readers; it’s like group therapy and we all have the same affliction, love of the written word.
So, fellow literary lovers, in the fertility of my imagination, I have pictured us gathered around a wonderful outdoor fire pit, sparks flying up into a sparkling summer night sky like iridescent birds newly freed from a cage, a sweet glass of wine in our hands as we have a conversation about my book, writing, and stories in general.
My debut novel, THE COURTIER’S SECRET, is dedicated, in part, to my dearest friend of almost thirty years. She gave me her unwavering loyalty and the use of her name, Jeanne Yvette Mas du Bois (can’t get much better than that when naming a heroine for a French historical), but I’m often asked if the character is based on her as well. Her mother is relieved to hear that the answer is no. The Jeanne of my novel is all me. Her inability to keep her mouth shut during circumstances when less is more is definitely mine. Her desire to be more than the limits of her gender dictate, and the frustrations when those desires are repudiated, is also very much mine.
Some of the other characters in my book are based on real people in my life; I have too often encountered the catty women who make Jeanne’s return to court so difficult (thought I won’t name them). I have NOT met any man who has beaten his wife and children.
Discussion-Round One: How often do you feel writers base their characters on real people? Do you think it is done with greater frequency and ease for the ‘evil’ characters?
Readers are often intrigued by an author’s road to publication and mine has been a bit bumpy, a tad curvy, and often uphill, but it is the greatest journey I’ve yet to encounter. Like many writers, I started at a young age, became waylaid by life and the path to ‘earning a living,’ and then finally got down to business. The first novel I ever wrote took me seven years to produce (while giving birth to my two sons, working a part time office job, and writing short fiction, book reviews, and non-fiction articles) and still sits in my hopeful drawer, a medieval fantasy full of hope. My second work, and what would become my first published novel, took nine months of research, nine weeks to write the first draft, six months to find an agent, and four months to find a publisher. HOWEVER (yes, caps) I had to completely rewrite the ending to make the sale and accept a cover I wasn’t crazy about (looks much more romance oriented as opposed to historical, which is more accurate).
Discussion-Round Two: Should artists be willing to sacrifice for their art? And should they hold that art to a principle and be unwilling to compromise its content for the sake of its commercial viability?
Why historical fiction? This is one of the most often posed questions and one that is easily answered. It is not only what I love, it is the sound of my voice. All writers have a voice and finding that voice can be part of their artistic evolution. My first published short stories were actually horror, but I was often rejected in the genre for having ‘too formal a voice’. Then I turned to my other love, the historical, and found it to be a perfect fit for my voice. I adore learning of characters, conflicts, and conditions of earlier eras and am amazed, time and time again, of the parallels that exist with modern day life. How often, I wonder, will humans make the same mistake? How can we learn from them?
As a writer of historical fiction, there is always a fine line between how much historical fact to include—what serves the story—and how much should be included just because it is an astounding event?
Discussion-Round Three: For those who love historical fiction, how much fact is too much; how much is not enough? For lovers of other genres, what is it about those genres that keeps you coming back?
Yes, I know, that’s a lot to talk about, but as I said, such talks have become one of the greatest gifts that have come my way as a writer. Join me in discussing any (or all) of these topics and enter to win a copy of THE COURTIER’S SECRET. Let’s clink our glasses together…to life and the stories written about it!
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Please leave a comment to enter to win THE COURTIER’S SECRET. To read the back cover copy of THE COURTIER’S SECRET and to check out Donna’s bio, please refer to yesterday’s post (cleverly situated just below this one). To learn more about Donna and her books, please visit her website.
Entries accepted until midnight PST.