Greetings from Caroline Warfield’s island, er, writing cave in the urban wilds of Eastern Pennsylvania. The sun is pouring through the nine windows that surround my desk and birds are swarming the feeders. It is, however, still very nippy out mornings, so I’m happy to be inside.
How shall I tell you about my writing? Perhaps I should begin with my reading. History has been my hobby horse almost from the time I learned to translate letters into stories in my head. Johnny Tremain, A Light in the Forest, and Elswyth Thane’s books among others filled my head. I still like children and YA historical fiction; Avi and Laurie Halse Anderson are among my favorite authors. Frontier adventure was my particular love, but Robert Louis Stevenson and Scottish heroes crept in.
As a teen I discovered Thomas B. Costain, Dumas, Walter Scott, and Mark Twain. The only Dickens that sang to me was A Tale of Two Cities, and I also loved Scaramouche and The Scarlet Pimpernel. Then there were other swashbucklers (Prisoner of Zenda) and the Bible epics (Quo Vadis in particular—I have a lovely edition on my shelf). I developed a particular liking for books that require a family tree or at least a character list at the front and maps.
What of romance? Between thirteen and sixteen I read Jane Eyre, The Game of Kings, and Gone with the Wind in that order. In some ways The Game of Kings remains one of my all-time favorite books. As an author I admire Dame Dorothy Dunnett’s ability grab a reader by the throat and pull her into a scene. I can open one of her books on any page and be transported.
College and beyond? Shogun, Hawaii, and some classics of Japanese and Chinese literature followed, but my life quickly got complicated and my attention span short. Kathleen Woodiwiss drew me into historical romance (Sorry folks but I never did like Rosemary Rogers), and I quickly developed a fondness for the shorter Signet and Zebra regency novels. I called them bathtub books, because a mom with small children could hide in the bathroom and finish one in the course of a bubble bath.
As a writer I made several false starts, from fan fiction when very young (Bonanza anyone?) to a few abortive attempts to outline very long, very complex, historical sagas. History. Always history both real and imagined. When I finally decided to get serious, I decided to try writing a regency novel. How hard can it be? Answer: VERY hard. It took me ten years to finish one, but finish I did. My big turning point was a decision to send it to Harlequin’s critique service for a small fee. What I got back was a lengthy and encouraging analysis. I promptly put that book away and started the next. “Next” turned out to be Dangerous Works my story of a spinster determined to translate the works of ancient Greek women and the man from her past, the only person that ever encouraged her to use the brains God gave her. I never looked back.
Here I sit writing stories set in the regency and early Victorian eras. They are family-centered stories so sequels often involve moving forward a generation, hence the move into the early Victorian era. See my Children of Empire series for an example. I’m beginning to need that family tree chart!
The other great influence on my writing is travel. More than once I’ve come home from a trip with a story in my head. Lady Charlotte’s Christmas Vigil is set in Venice. My newest release is another example. I visited Orkney in the summer of 2017. The following spring we flew to New Zealand, and I wrote Music on the Waters, a regency romance set in Orkney on that long flight and the one back.
Oh, and that first book, the one I put aside? I later reformatted it as a novella. It became A Dangerous Nativity which is **FREE** from a variety of retailers.
About Music on the Waters: Sir Alexander Bradshaw, solid Scots merchant, needs a wife to manage his unruly sons, cope with his sullen daughter, and warm his bed. The Kirkwall organist, Ann Dunwood, has passion that enthralls him when she is lost in her music, but she folds into a demure little mouse when others are around. He is determined to reignite that passion and fill his home—and his heart—with her music.
BuyLink https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086SGRWSG/
About Caroline Warfield: Traveler, poet, librarian, technology manager—award winning author Caroline Warfield has been many things (even a nun), but above all a romantic. She believes she is now in at least her third act. She works in an office surrounded by windows where she lets her characters lead her to adventures in England and the far-flung corners of the British Empire while she nudges them to explore the riskiest territory of all, the human heart.
Find Caroline On-Line:
Website http://www.carolinewarfield.com/
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Good Reads http://bit.ly/1C5blTm
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Twitter https://twitter.com/CaroWarfield
Email warfieldcaro@gmail.com
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BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/authors/caroline-warfield
You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCycyfKdNnZlueqo8MlgWyWQ
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