Tags
1820, Colonial Australia, Dunedoo, History, Homestead, Intrigue, love, Mystery, NaNoWriMo, New South Wales, Poems, Reading, Rhymes, Romance, writing
Hello reader, here in sunny Australia it is the 23rd of September. This means that there are only 38 days before NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, or November in the non literary world.
That’s 38 days of reading, researching, plotting, planning, thinking and even dreaming.
Yes, I do dream about my characters. I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night with a scene having played out in a dream. Then the difficult bit is to get it recorded before I lose it.
This year I am planning on something a little different to the style I’ve written before. While still a romance, still a bit of a mystery, those being my favourites, Raven’s Ridge will be a mix if historical and contemporary, mystery and romance. And I can’t wait.
Serendipity seems to play a part in my my writing. A while back, ages really, I found a rhyme about crows, I just liked it so I saved it and forgot about it.
I love the last line in particular and it became the premise for Raven’s Ridge.
In June I wrote a romantic romp that took my characters to a farm out near Dunedoo in central New South Wales. I fell in love the house I’d imagined and my sister, who read each chapter as I wrote it, did too. We both knew another story with the house as the setting had to be written.
Usually when I’m writing, I start with an idea, then build from there. Add characters, add in a mystery a romance and off it goes.
This time, I started with a house. I want to include our colonial history as I love reading and researching the early European settlement of Australia. So what better than to have a Colonial mystery unravelled in a contemporary setting. Perfect.
So for the next few weeks I’ll be scribbling, drawing and reading. I have a pile of books and diaries and letters from the early part of the nineteenth century and have about six weeks to soak up the language, attitudes and history of 1820 Colonial New South Wales. Six week to shape my character’s attitudes, beliefs, likes and hates. Six weeks to learn about organic farming and agriculture. Six weeks to prepare for NaNoWriMo.
So reader, do you like a mystery? Does history fascinate you? I love both and am really looking forward to delving into the secret past of Raven’s Ridge and the Craven family’s hidden troubles. Does it sound like something you’d like to read? I hope so.