Cathie Dunn writes...

I guess the feeling never changes. Nerves are frayed, all kinds of thoughts run through your mind, and your nails never grow long enough to shine with a bright coat of varnish as they're kept bitten to the core. Yes, it's the feverish anticipation for a response from a publisher. I must admit that I've only submitted one query with a partial in all my years of writing. Yet here I am, checking my personal email several times a day for news. Any news. Hopefully good news! This sub left my mailbox 15 weeks ago. Now I'm kindly informed by a helpful, successful writer that the cut off time for tentative enquiries as to your ms's whereabouts is 20 weeks! Ouch! My, how much does that test anyone's patience?! LOL I hope to submit a query for Doubtful Allegiance once I'm closer to the end. This is likely to be by June. No point submitting it earlier, as my daily working life might interfere too much to allow me to devote enough time to guide it to a fantastic ending....

After several years of playing around with historical WIPs (at home and in writing courses), I finally completed and submitted a ms in the winter. Of course, the subbed version varied much from the first drafts; even the storyline took a different turn than originally intended. But it all worked in its favour. As it's been 14 weeks since I submitted, I'm going to wait another two before I send a query email. I just want to know what's going to happen with it. Yes, patience is not one of my strong points, I'm afraid... Since January, I've been working on re-editing an older WIP which is 2/3 completed. Thankfully, my eagle-eyed crit girls seem to like it so I hope to move forward quickly with it and get it finished by the summer when my daily workload's going to explode for three months. But during a recent trip to the continent, I travelled with a group of three old friends by car to Austria. On the journey back after a couple of fun, but a bit hectic days, we a...

Dare we hope? Barely 10 days ago we had a sudden freeze with several inches of snow, and Easter was a complete washout. Not that I had a chance to notice, having to work Good Friday and Easter Monday. But it was a shame for friends who wanted to go camping. Soggy fields and mudbaths are not the signs of a good weekend away. But finally the tide appears to have turned. The last few days turned milder. And it stayed dry! I know! I could scarcely believe it either. :-) Today has begun sunny, with a few fluffy clouds scattered across the sky. So far so good. Time to get the washing on, to hang outside. And this lovely spell is said to continue. So DH and I will spend some time in our garden. Last year, we did this a few weeks earlier but our long, cold winter made my poor plants shiver. And a couple even died. I think today will be the day to visit the garden centre, and to fill our small square outside with colour. There's nothing more uplifting than a garden in bloom, full of sunshin...

Writing believable historical fiction requires at least some idea of the customs, politics and way of life of the period you choose to write about. The importance of such knowledge varies, depending on genre and storyline, but getting the basics right is vital for your credibility as a writer. In general historical fiction, where the politics of the day might interfere with the MC's life, it is crucial to get your facts right. And there are no excuses! Nowadays, it's fairly easy to read up about kings and queens, political parties and the differences in roles between nobility, gentry and the working classes. There are huge resources available online, that even just a decade ago seemed unobtainable. And, of course, there's always the fat volume of a history book to browse in and take notes. Most libraries can get you copies of the most relevant tomes. Without turning your story into such a history book, you would want your characters to be as close to the real thing as you c...

So, to start this blog off in style, I've posted a small excerpt of my current WIP, A Doubtful Allegiance. Set in 1140s England, in the middle of a civil war, allegiances change like the wind. So who can my heroine trust? This ms is 2/3 completed but after a break of around two years, I've just returned to edit it from chapter one, and of course to complete it. I've just posted my chapter four to my crit group, a wonderful bunch of girls who always spot the slightest misstep. Their eagle eyes help me alot. But in order to move on with the story, I have to re-visit Normandy. Alas, only in the world of the internet. Not on my list of places to travel to this year. Best get on with it. The county of Perche awaits!

Oh, it's such fun - creating lives of people in days long gone. The adventure. The dangers. The possibilities. I love bringing the past to life and intend to showcase some of my writing on this new blog. The Highlands of Scotland. England under the yoke of a civil war. Normandy under the rule of a family descended from the Devil. Oooh! Please be patient while I set it all up. More to follow soon! Hugs, Cathie