tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132364668526714411.post7893442364093585534..comments2024-03-26T11:03:45.486+00:00Comments on Let us Talk of Many Things; of Books and Queens and Pirates, of Mystery and Kings...: Where do you get your ideas? Research!Helen Hollickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292983846350273039noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132364668526714411.post-44704655813774777632015-03-12T10:12:49.288+00:002015-03-12T10:12:49.288+00:00:-):-)John Lynchhttp://jlynchblog.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132364668526714411.post-16283489055243598892015-03-12T03:13:50.646+00:002015-03-12T03:13:50.646+00:00I agree, Helen. But I suppose in going against the...I agree, Helen. But I suppose in going against the tides, we run the risk of losing readers. It's a shame. Some of my favourite hf - by writers like Lisa See and Sarah Dunant - are not about the rich. Perhaps focussing on 'ordinary' people in unusual professions is the answer.<br />I wish you all the best with your research and your book, John.Sheila Daltonhttp://www.sheila-anne-dalton.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132364668526714411.post-49724080319643479582015-03-11T16:53:05.891+00:002015-03-11T16:53:05.891+00:00Tell me about it! :-) The weird looks from friends...Tell me about it! :-) The weird looks from friends and relations start,though, when you answer your characters back!Helen Hollickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04292983846350273039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132364668526714411.post-38409622784133225622015-03-11T13:45:05.715+00:002015-03-11T13:45:05.715+00:00Thanks, Sheila. I've had people ask what I can...Thanks, Sheila. I've had people ask what I can possibly know about "ordinary" people from 250 years ago but I find that, if you spend enough time going through the old records -- the poor law notebooks; the parish registers; the court transcripts; the rector's wives' diaries -- then individuals do start to emerge from the shadows and look back at you. They couldn't write or read but they did leave a record.John Lynchhttp://jlynchblog.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132364668526714411.post-29229400337380770622015-03-11T13:41:43.650+00:002015-03-11T13:41:43.650+00:00Thanks, Helen, you're kind to say so. They cer...Thanks, Helen, you're kind to say so. They certainly seem real to me -- but then, they invade the room I write in and talk to me. I sometimes have a problem I imagine most writers will recognise -- when I come out of that room my head is still in the 18th century and I may need to be forcibly dragged back into the present. John Lynchhttp://jlynchblog.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132364668526714411.post-45608529199933275202015-03-11T10:34:16.506+00:002015-03-11T10:34:16.506+00:00Thank you Sheila. It annoys me that it is the publ...Thank you Sheila. It annoys me that it is the publishers who drive the 'HF must be about kings ad queens' band wagon - especially the Tudor Kings and Queens wagon. Thank goodness for Indie I say!Helen Hollickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04292983846350273039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132364668526714411.post-52921666990632996722015-03-11T02:31:24.944+00:002015-03-11T02:31:24.944+00:00I, too, enjoy hf about the non-rich and the non-ro...I, too, enjoy hf about the non-rich and the non-royal. This was an interesting post and your work sounds fascinating, John. Congratulations on being shortlisted.Sheila Daltonhttp://www.sheila-anne-dalton.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132364668526714411.post-72750095912123670352015-03-10T18:54:17.296+00:002015-03-10T18:54:17.296+00:00I think you bring your characters to life admirabl...I think you bring your characters to life admirably John! (and the link is now included above!)Helen Hollickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04292983846350273039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132364668526714411.post-29966502210457857372015-03-10T16:48:21.330+00:002015-03-10T16:48:21.330+00:00Talking about how rooted in real life the characte...Talking about how rooted in real life the characters in <i>A Just and Upright Man</i> are (above), I say, <i>I hope I have brought them to life – the reviews suggest that I have. I’ve said a little more on this subject here.</i> And then I don't provide a link! I'm very sorry -- here it is: http://tinyurl.com/lc6eemtAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com