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Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Christina Hollis - Revisiting Romance

The original cover, courtesy Harlequin Books  S.A
I used to write historical fiction for the Harlequin Mills and Boon Masquerade line, under the name  Polly Forrester. That was in the days before everyone was online, so the books were only distributed in the UK and Europe. Since then, life's changed a lot.  Practically everyone's online, so I'm going though my backlist and gradually releasing my original historical romances as ebooks. The first to come out in this form was Lady Rascal, which is set in 1789, during the French Revolution.

I've learned a lot about the process of turning print into ebooks since that first experiment. This spring sees the release of my medieval romance, Jewel Under Siege. Bringing the prose up to date and creating a fresh new look for the cover have kept me busy during the long winter evenings. Like my heroine Elena, I'm really looking forward to seeing the sunshine again!  At the moment, Jewel under Siege is at the exciting stage of artwork and distribution co-ordination. I'll be issuing a newsletter soon to give my subscribers a sneak, pre-production peek at the new cover. It's been designed especially for the ebook by artist Samantha Groom, who also works with writers like Jean Bull. If you'd like to be one of the first to be in on the secret, you can subscribe by clicking on the envelope symbol here: http://bit.ly/1eKihHg

In the meantime, you can find out more about my first historical ebook, Lady Rascal here (if you're in the US) or here (if you're in the UK).

What do you like best about historical fiction? Is it the idea of familiar passions experienced in different cultures? Or is it the tight breeches and galloping horses? Leave your comment for the chance to win a signed book from my backlist, in a draw to be made on 17th January.



Christina Hollis writes both contemporary and historical fiction - when she isn't cooking, gardening or beekeeping. You can catch up with her at http://www.christinahollis.blogspot.co.uk, on Twitter and Facebook, and see a full list of her published books at http://www.christinahollis.com

9 comments:

Laurie G said...

I've always loved learning about our past. Books take me back to a different era. I learn about different events, different cultures. It's fun seeing the era via the character's eyes and actions.

Jo's Daughter said...

I like that feeling of escape from busy hectic, mobile phones everywhere daily life. In a historic novel the H/H have all the time in the world to talk, get to know each other & slowly fall in love. No TV, internet or facebook status to update. Just a church wedding with family and friends... I think it's all very romantic because the lack of hygiene, cold & other unpleasant things are not mentioned in my favorite books. I know it's not realistic & yet I find it magical :) The clothes, the balls, the dashing gentlemen & the adventures... It's all wonderful.

Christina Hollis said...

Hi Laurie, thanks for commenting. You're right - historical novels pull readers right into the action. I remember reading Jean Plaidy's "The Sun in Splendour" as a teenager and loving every page, although the Plantagenets had all merged into one during school history lessons.

Christina Hollis said...

Hi Jo's Daughter - I know exactly what you mean. It's amazing how fast technology has overtaken us all. The hustle and bustle of today makes the quality of life in pre-industrial days seem so much richer and more romantic, despite the restless politics and lack of luxuries like decent lighting and hot and cold running water. Thanks for taking the time to comment!

Di said...

I've learned a lot about historical events thru reading historical romance - since I never had European or World history in school many have been particularly educational. This is great that authors can get their early books out again - and I love medievals!

Christina Hollis said...

Hi Di, thanks for commenting. It's such a shame that schools don't do more to teach history - seeing how people coped in a very different times is fascinating, and shows how resilient and ingenious human beings can be. The power of love echoes down the centuries too, despite arranged marriages, blood feuds and the rest!

Mary Preston said...

I love everything about Historical Fiction. We didn't just arrive at this point in time. It's fascinating to read about what came before & note how things have changed.

Christina Hollis said...

Thanks for commenting, Mary - it's also fascinating to see how the same personality types and problems occur throughout history, and how each age finds the answer to similar questions posed by love, jealousy and loss.

Christina Hollis said...

Thank you to everyone who's read and commented on my blog. I've just put all the names into a draw and the winner of the signed book from my backlist is - Di! Congratulations, Di, and if you'd like to email your snail-mail address to me at christinahollis@hotmail(dot)co(dot)uk, I'll get your prize into the post for you as soon as possible.