Ha! Got your attention, didn’t I? Why is it that we crave venturing into the forbidden? Like moths to a flame. Or maybe that’s just me. I recently completed the first draft of…gasp…a historical novella. I’d always maintained there were certain sub-genres I would never attempt and historical fiction was one of them.
Oh, who was I kidding? I cannot resist a challenge, which is why I wrote a BDSM/Erotica short story which was another forbidden sub-genre for me. Now, I’ve gone to the last forbidden place…historical fiction. Ironically, the working title is Forbidden Love.
The reason I’d never wanted to travel down the path of historical fiction was that honestly, it was too damn much work. What I found fascinating, as I wove my story fact with fiction, was that I really enjoyed the research. Might I be so bold as to say, I became obsessed with ferreting out every little nuance of the culture and times in 1790 in Antigua.
I’m not sure if I was successful creating a story with authenticity or not…time will tell if it is published and the reaction is kind, but I can honestly say it was not without a great deal of research.
Several resources proved invaluable to me, I found a book on the history of Antigua with a collection of letters written during the exact time of my novella. That was the biggest treasure trove for me. Other sources were harder to find, such as the language and sayings of the time. I did my best and am not sure if the dialogue is too formal, thus making it hard to read, or not. Generally, I have a very colloquial style of writing, so when I say this was really way outside my wheelhouse, I mean it.
There isn’t any quirkiness or other twists in this novella that I’ve generally been known for, but I hope the beauty of the love story and some of the underlying message will still resonate with readers. I can now honestly say I’ve written in every sub-genre out there. Of course, it is still a romash, because that is one signature trait I’ll never lose. Always included in my works is a healthy dose of romance with my: fantasy, sci-fi, paranormal, historical, comedy (yes someone called one of my books a romantic comedy), mystery, dystopian, urban, thriller, drama, young adult, BDSM, erotica, medical and now historical. Granted, I do dance the edges of all of these sub-genres and my works can all have a “light” attached to the end of my claim to write in the sub-genre.
Well, sh&*, I just realized, after searching for fiction sub-genres, I’ve never written a western and this new novella is only tangentially connected to a pirate story. Also, I am not a poet, that would truly be forbidden territory because if I try to pen a poem, the readers will surely forbid me to do another. I suspect that would be the same for a western. Oh well, I’ll just have to accept there are some forbidden lines I’ll never be able to cross!
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Annette Mori 