Historic or Contemporary? Why Not Both?

Depending on who you talk to, I’m either a writer of historic romances, or an author of sexy contemporaries. No, I don’t have a Jekyll/Hyde personality, but sometimes I do feel like I’m using both sides of my brain when I write. I liken it to the Olympics, where the same person competes in various disciplines of the same sport—say downhill skiing, where the object is to go fast and slalom skiing, which calls for precision and accuracy. The basics are the same, but it’s the tricks of each that make them unique and special.

Historical romances for me are like slalom skiing—orderly and analytical. I need to get my facts straight before I begin writing. The Cotillion Ball series takes place in America in the late 1850s and 1860s. Those years were tumultuous times in the country, as the threat of civil war loomed on the horizon. But it wasn’t just the war that happened during that time. Western expansion caused many Americans to move from one coast to the other, gold was discovered in California, railroads and telegraph lines carved pathways across the face of America. What this translates to is plenty to write about, but I’d better make certain my facts are in order. If I have a wagon train going west, it better leave from one of the towns where the trains began, and it better happen in the correct time period.

Fashion is another factor. Do my heroines wear hoop skirts or were they passé? Did women walk by themselves during the day in downtown New York, or did they need an escort at all times? Are the words I’m using too modern? It’s a constant game of checking and double-checking facts. I love to write and read historic romances, but they are difficult, tedious and time consuming to achieve.

By contrast, contemporary romances are just the opposite. They’re the downhill skiing in my eyes. Quick and sometimes verging on out of control. Yes, I still need to fact-check, especially if I’m placing the book in a part of the country I’m not familiar with, or if I’ve got things in the book that I know nothing about—bull riders, motorcycles, lobstermen, tornadoes, jewelry makers, to name a few. But I don’t need to obsess over whether the word was in use in the 19^thcentury, and I can use words that I know didn’t see the light of day until the year 2000 or beyond. It’s liberating to me to be able to write a contemporary, and I can find all kinds of fun things to write about. 

 

I like to change things up after I write a historical and compose a sexy contemporary. But as I write each genre, I’m thinking of the next one, and what I’ll write. So by the time I finish a contemporary, I’m ready to slide back into my world in the 1850s, and can tackle the new story with fresh ideas. Regardless of what the sub-genre is, the basics are still the same. There must be a compelling love story, and the writing has to sparkle. Without those two elements, no one will care what type of writing you do. It’s kind of like skiing. You can sign up for whatever kind of specific discipline you want, but you’d better first know how to ski. 

New Release -- Banking on Temperance (Cotillion Ball Saga Book 3) by Becky Lower

When beautiful Temperance Jones and her mother enter Basil Fitzpatrick’s St. Louis bank, the handsome ladies’ man believes he’ll only be conducting a monetary transaction for the down-on-their-luck Jones family.  But Fate intervenes, and that first meeting becomes so much more to both Temperance and Basil.

 Dying of consumption, Preacher Jones extracts a promise from his daughter Temperance that she will do whatever it takes to get the rest of the large family to Oregon. With the threat of civil war looming, he wants to see his sons safely away from conflict.

With Basil’s help, the Jones family begins to put down roots, and the faraway dream of traveling on to Oregon loses its luster for everyone but Temperance.  She knows she must go on, no matter what—if not for her promise to her father, then to protect her own heart from Basil—for she has loved him since the moment they met.

Is Basil ready for a permanent commitment? To love Temperance would mean taking on the burden of providing for her mother and siblings, as well—a tall order for a man who, up to now, has only looked out for himself. Drawn to the tiny spitfire like a magnet, Basil must decide if he’ll let Temperance travel the Oregon Trail with another man, or will he gladly spend the rest of his life BANKING ON TEMPERANCE?

EXCERPT

     “I may have a solution, at least temporarily.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “My brother-in-law, Joseph, has an old soddy house on his family’s property and he’s willing to let you use it at no cost. It’s very crude and small, and needs some repair, but it will at least provide some shelter for your husband. Would you care to see it?”

     Martha’s eyes filled with tears. “It would be a god-send, however crude. Of course, I want to see it.”

     “All right, then. After the bank closes today, I’ll take you there. Joseph’s family has a horse farm and it so happens several of his stock are in the livery right now. We can borrow one of them and ride out together. There’s no sense in moving the wagon until you make certain you can live there.”

     Basil and Martha strode back to the wagon where the children were standing. Martha stood in front of them as she addressed Basil. “Blessings upon you, sir. Our family is sure fortunate we met you the minute we pulled into town. I’ll see you this afternoon.”

     “For the sake of propriety, it may be best if Temperance joins us, too. I’ll bring an extra horse.”

     The stricken look on Temperance’s face brought a grin to Basil’s. This was going to be fun.