Timing is Everything

We’ve all heard the expression “Timing is everything.” You may have the most wonderful idea in the world, but if the world isn’t ready for it, your brilliance will be a bust. We keep hearing historicals are history, vampires have lost their bite, etc. Trying to track trends in publishing proves to be nearly impossible, so I’ve just tried to write what I want to read.

Fortunately, my interests are varied. I’ve dabbled in paranormal, time travel, historical, comedy, contemporary, and even erotica (unconsummated---somehow I can’t get that threesome going, LOL). Some have worked much, much better than others. I’m leaving the shapeshifting werewolves to Tiff, the Immortal hunks to Kris, and the romantic comedy to Ely. I feel most comfortable writing historicals and I’ve done a fair amount of research. I always worry, though, that I haven’t done enough. I’m not an expert on the Corn Laws or Culloden. I’m not sure how sarcenet differs from silk. What kind of carriage should the hero be driving? What court would have settled a child custody case? My last history class was in high school, and we never covered hessians and Hoby boots.

Vixen J.K. Coi posed some history questions last week, and these are a natural expansion. What era do you like to read/write about? How much research do you do, and when do you do it---before you get started or smack in the middle? What’s the most interesting fact you’ve found, either in writing or reading?

I just finished Mirage by Nina Burleigh, an account of Napoleon's invasion of Egypt in 1798. His army was accompanied by 150 savants, men of science and scholarship who faced unimaginable challenges---the plague, drinking leech-infested waters so that the leeches attached themselves inside their throats, sunk boats (with all their equipment on board), sandstorms, and scimitars. To say the expedition was catastrophic is an understatement, even if they did find the Rosetta Stone and found modern archaeology. Most of those who accompanied Napoleon on this trip didn't even know where they were going, but their loyalty to the general and their curiosity propelled them into virtually a new universe.

Fascinating stuff. I can't imagine using the specifics in anything I might write, but now I know why there's so much Egyptian-style furniture in Regency drawing rooms. Those French "brains" took enormous physical risks which were worthy of the best Alpha heroes, even if their luck couldn't have been worse. Most of their discoveries were surrendered to the English, which is why the Rosetta Stone is in the British Museum instead of the Louvre. Napoleon, however, got out of Egypt in plenty of time to cause mischief and enable us to read and write about those military heroes and spies we love so well. Timing is everything!