RANSOME’S QUEST–Final Giveaway
For this last giveaway of the month, it’s quite simple . . . just answer today’s question (by 10 p.m. Sunday):
Why do you want to read Ransome’s Quest?
Thursday Thought Provoker
LOVE REMAINS on sale for $1.99 until Wednesday!
Just in case you haven’t seen the announcement at the top of the page yet, Love Remains is on sale for $1.99 for Kindle until this Wednesday!
(If you don’t have a Kindle device, you can download Amazon’s free Kindle for PC or Kindle for Mac software and read it on your computer!)
Click on the book cover to go to the page on Amazon (in a new window/tab) to purchase.
Please pass the word!
RANSOME’S QUEST–Inspirations
Don’t forget your comments—but only comments related to today’s post!!!—earn you entries in the drawing for one of two signed copies of Ransome’s Quest. (So no “please enter me!” types of posts. Please make your comment relevant to what’s being discussed today. Also, please do not put your e-mail address in your comment. Just make sure it’s correct when you sign in to post your comment.)
It’s no secret that I’ve been quite inspired by the actors I’ve “cast” in the roles in The Ransome Trilogy (seen here, here, and here). But there have been some other sources of inspiration either from the very beginning or which I’ve turned to throughout the years I’ve been writing this series to learn more about the era or costumes or settings and so on.
Books
The most obvious, of course, is Jane Austen’s Persuasion. I read it for the first time when I was the same age as Anne Eliot, twenty-seven years old, so maybe that’s why it became my favorite Austen novel. It could also have something to do with the fact that Frederick Wentworth is the most well-rounded hero in Austen’s works—she gives us more insight into his character and his inner workings than any of her other heroes. Actually, all of Jane Austen’s books were quite helpful, especially listening to them in audio format, in getting the style and cadence of the language right.
Master & Commander by Patrick O’Brian. I’ve never read it all the way through—but I have read enough to get a good sense of the setting and lifestyle aboard a Royal Navy ship, as described by O’Brian. And because his books are so well researched and so popular, there is a huge amount of supplementary material available explaining everything in his books—and those are the books I relied on when researching Alexandra, Audacious, and Vengeance.
Lieutenant Hornblower by C. S. Forester, as explained here.
And, of course, there were my research books.
Movies
Hornblower: Mutiny, Retribution, Loyalty, Duty. Because these four made-for-TV movies are what made me fall in love with Paul McGann. And you can see why those movies and Paul McGann are important to The Ransome Trilogy here.
Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World. Because the detail in this theatrical film is amazing, from the battle scenes to the crew movements/duties to the costumes.
Captain Blood. Because who doesn’t love Errol Flynn as a pirate???
Pirates of the Caribbean. Um, hello—I wrote a book with pirates in it!
Persuasion 1995. Could have something to do with the fact that the 1995 film version of Persuasion is my favorite of all of the Jane Austen novel film adaptations.
St. Ives. Because it starred Anna Friel, the template for Julia Witherington, in a story set during the Napoleonic war, which meant I got to see her in period costume. And it’s where my favorite images (screen captures) of her came from, which I referred to often as I was writing her scenes.
Thursday Thought Provoker
Writer’s Window: Shannon Taylor Vannatter
Joining us today for Writer’s Window is romance author Shannon Taylor Vannatter.
One lucky commenter* will win a signed copy of Shannon’s contemporary romance novel, White Pearls. Deadline for leaving a comment to enter the drawing is Friday. To enter the drawing, you must answer the question posed by Shannon at the end of the interview. Only one comment per person will count toward the drawing. Please do not include your e-mail address in the body of your comment—just make sure it’s correct when you sign in to leave your comment. The winning name will be drawn next weekend and the winner will be notified via e-mail.
*U.S. residents only, void where prohibited. If you win the drawing, you will be ineligible for the next three drawings, though hopefully you will still come back and join in the discussion.
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Shell doesn’t have a good reputation. . . . But no matter what everyone in Rose Bud, Arkansas, thinks of her, she’s back in town with a job to do. She’ll stick it out and make the best of things. But why does Ryler have to be the landscaper on this project? She was just getting her heart under control. Ryler has his own reasons for being in Rose Bud, and they don’t include Shell. Spying on his birth family was going to be hard enough. He doesn’t have time to worry about a woman who dumped him. . .even if his heart says otherwise.
Welcome, Shannon!
What do you like best about being a writer?
- I love creating the characters, their back story, and getting to know them and I love hearing from readers.
What do you like least about being a writer?
- Tying up a series and having to leave those characters behind.
Pop, Soda, or Coke? What do you call it, and what’s your favorite variety?
- Coke Zero. And where I live, it’s all called Coke. I rarely drink it though. I’m a sweet tea kind of gal.
What’s your favorite dessert?
- Turtle flavored anything—candies, pie, cheesecake, ice cream. I love the combination of chocolate, caramel, and pecans.
What’s the most fun/interesting/crazy/scary/unique hands-on research you’ve done for a book?
- Watching the movie 8 Seconds. Bull riding makes me really nervous and I can totally relate to my heroine in the rodeo series I’m working on now. I remember when bull rider Lane Frost died, but never watched the movie. Once I started my new series, I decided to because I thought it might give me inside info and help me relate to my heroine’s worry about her man. I didn’t know it actually re-enacted the scene where Lane Frost died. Luckily, I was home alone. I wailed. It was so sad because I knew it really happened. In the movie, it showed his parents and wife witnessing his death. I was glad to learn through further research, that they weren’t there.
What’s your favorite movie from childhood?
- Herbie the Love Bug
If you were to write a novel about what your life would have been like if you’d become what you wanted to be at eight years old, what kind of character would the story be about?
- A girl who works at Six Flags Over Georgia, wearing rollers skates and sweeping the park, who falls in love with and marries Prince Charming.
What makes you happy?
- Being with my husband and son.
What makes you nervous?
- Bull riding. I also went to the Fort Worth Stockyards for research. I cringed through the whole event.
What’s your biggest dream for the future?
- Being on the bestseller list.
Tell us about your newest release and what you’re working on now.
- White Pearls is the final book in my Romance, Arkansas series. The hero and heroine are unsaved and have had a promiscuous past, with others and together. They’re forced to work together and a series of events begins to awaken their faith. The book wraps up all the loose threads from the previous two in the series. I was kind of sad to finish the series.
I’m currently working on Book 2 in my Texas rodeo series.
Where can people find out more about you/connect with you online?
- Website: shannonvannatter.com
Blog: shannonvannatter.com/blog
Group Blog: inkspirationalmessages.com
Twitter: @stvauthor
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/shannontaylorvannatter
Now it’s your turn to ask the question. What question do you want to ask the commenters to answer?
- I’m an avid animal lover, so I’d like to hear about pets. What kind, what breed, and cute habits.
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Central Arkansas author Shannon Taylor Vannatter is a stay-at-home mom/pastor’s wife.
Her three-book debut series of contemporary inspirational romances with Heartsong Presents are set in Romance and Rose Bud, Arkansas. Heartsong titles ship to an 11,000 member book club before releasing in stores. Vannatter’s titles: White Roses, White Doves, and White Pearls are available at http://www.heartsongpresents.com. White Roses won the 2011 Inspirational Readers Choice Award in the short contemporary category. The 18th Annual Heartsong Awards named Vannatter #3 Favorite New Author, White Roses #1 Favorite Contemporary Novel, and White Doves #8 Favorite Contemporary Novel. The Democrat-Gazette newspaper, Three Rivers Edition, named Vannatter one of 20 to Watch in 2011.
Her next series is set around Texas rodeos. The first book will release to the Heartsong book club in October.
RQ Winners 7/15/11
Congratulations to
Gina Arnold
and
Debbie Mitchell
whose names were drawn as winners of signed copies of Ransome’s Quest from the comments on the 7/15/11 blog post. More winners will be chosen from comments on this coming Friday’s blog post, so be sure to come by, find out more about RQ, and leave a comment to enter the drawing.
Reminder: Only comments on the FRIDAY blog post will be entered in the drawing. Comments must be posted before 10 p.m. on Sunday to be included in the drawing.
RANSOME’S QUEST—The Settings
Don’t forget your comments—but only comments related to today’s post!!!—earn you entries in the drawing for one of two signed copies of Ransome’s Quest. (So no “please enter me!” types of posts. Please make your comment relevant to what’s being discussed today. Also, please do not put your e-mail address in your comment. Just make sure it’s correct when you sign in to post your comment.)
I don’t have tons of images to share this week—mostly because unlike the settings in England and aboard the ships, the places where the action takes place in Ransome’s Quest existed vividly inside my imagination. Now, I have gone out and found images that are reminiscent of how I pictured things. . .but some of it will just have to be up to your imagination.
Tierra Dulce
The Witherington sugar plantation in Saint Cathrine’s Parish, Jamaica. It’s a low-slung, enormous white house with deep porches all the way around. Something like this:
Sugar Mill
The pirate ship Vengeance
Salvador’s ship, Vengeance, is a frigate—a much smaller ship than the seventy-four-gun Man-o’-War Alexandra:
Fort Charles, Port Royal
When I happened to mention to someone that in Ransome’s Crossing, when they come into Kingston Harbor, they report to Fort Charles at Port Royal, this person very tactfully reminded me that Port Royal was destroyed by an earthquake in 1692. However, the fort, built in 1650 (originally named Fort Cromwell, but renamed Fort Charles when Charles II regained the throne) and land surrounding it wasn’t completely destroyed. The fort remained the key defense of Kingston Harbor for more than a hundred years after the earthquake. In fact, Horatio Nelson—yes, that Horatio Nelson—was assigned to Fort Charles at age nineteen in 1777. Two years later, he was promoted to commander of Fort Charles. The fort is the oldest surviving structure in Port Royal today. (Click here to learn more and see more pictures of Port Royal and Fort Charles.)
The Other Settings in Ransome’s Quest
Rather than give any spoilers, click on the image below to see some of the images I collected that inspired the seafaring part of Ransome’s Quest:
Thursday Thought Provoker
Research is not writing . . . but it sure can help!
I mentioned to my friend Ruth in a Facebook conversation yesterday that it’s been a while since I’ve been able to muster enthusiasm for much of anything. And as soon as I wrote it, I realized just how true it was. So, instead of sitting around not feeling like doing anything—and yet feeling like I should be doing something—as I’ve been doing quite a lot in the past few months (pretty much ever since I got back from spending the winter with my parents in Arkansas, when I broke my ankle), I realized that the best medicine for apathy was a path—something to do, something with which to occupy my mind.
Several of you may have seen that I posted on FB the other day that I woke up with not one, not two, but three distinct ideas for scenes for the new historical romance I’m supposed to be writing right now. And even though I’ve jotted those ideas down (so I wouldn’t forget them, naturally), I still haven’t sat down and started writing those scenes yet.
I could have done that today. But when I sat there, looking at the blank page on the computer, I froze. Nothing would come.
But I wasn’t going to allow myself to just walk away from it. My goal is to have the first draft finished by the end of September . . . and time is quickly making a fool of me. So if I couldn’t write, I at least needed to spend time in my story world. So I spent the day doing research—specifically finding and organizing images of costumes and of the Great Exhibition.
This series is set in 1851—the fashion era between Romantic (huge puffy sleeves, waistband at the natural—corseted—waist, fuller skirts) and Hoop Skirts, and one I wasn’t overly familiar with except for watching a couple of movies set during the era (Bleak House and everyone’s favorite North and South). And since the heroine of the second book in the series is a seamstress, it’s only natural that I should become as much of an expert in the fashion and style of the era as possible. (Click on the image below to see my 1851 Fashions set on Flickr.)
A little more than a year ago, when I first wrote the proposal for this series, I did hours and hours of research on Prince Albert’s Great Exhibition, the historical event that ties the three books together. I’d already pulled some images—for the purpose of studying them and learning details I needed to know for building the stories I’m pitching. Today, I just wanted to gather as many images of the Exhibition as I could, which you can see by clicking on the image below.
Now, while I still haven’t increased my word count any, I have increased my knowledge and understanding of the culture and the style and the mindset of the people who lived during that time—which, in turn, is giving me ideas and will help me go deeper with my characters and stories.
Writers: Do you like/loathe research? What are you working on now that’s making you hit the books/web? How do you incorporate your research in your writing?
Readers: Do you like to know the details behind the research that goes into the books you read? Have you ever read something that’s inspired you to research a previously unknown topic/historical era/person?
KayeDacus.com 