As long time readers of this blog may recall, my first
published book for Harlequin Historical was a Roman set historical The
Gladiator’s Honor. It was the first time Harlequin (or indeed any major
publisher) had published a romance set in that. I now write other ears, mainly
Vikings, but Harlequin has a few intrepid authors who have taken up the baton
and started writing in that era. First Greta Gilbert and now Jenni Fletcher.
I asked Jenni to explain about how she came to write her
book, The Warrior’s Bride Prize. She also kindly allowed me to read it. A happy
evening of reading ensued and if you love historical romances which really
capture the time period and make you feel like you are there, read Jenni’s
latest.
You can read the first chapter for free at overdrive.com
If you are more interested in other time periods, Jenni
writes Victorian and Medieval for HH as well. You can learn more about Jenni by
visiting her website. www.jennifletcher.com
Here is what Jenni wrote about how she got the idea:
The idea for my new book The
Warrior's Bride Prize first came to me in the heart of Wordsworth country,
wandering around the ruins of a Roman fort on the outskirts of Ambleside in the
Lake District. Honestly, it would have been hard not to feel inspired,
standing on the shores of Lake Windermere in the autumn sunshine, surrounded by
so much history and breathtaking scenery, although at the time I was busy with
a Victorian story. Nonetheless, I allowed myself to get distracted briefly, imagining
a tale about an aristocratic Roman lady travelling to the edge of the Empire
and meeting a Pictish warrior.
At the time, however,
I wasn't ready. So I went home and wrote two other books, but the idea of a
Roman-set romance never completely left me. Over time, the particulars of the
story changed. I watched King Arthur with Keira Knightley and my heroine
turned from an aristocrat into the daughter of a Caledonian former slave, while
my hero changed allegiance completely and became Roman. The action shifted
inland too, staying on Hadrian's Wall, but moving closer to Corbridge and
Chesters Roman fort, where the second half of the story is set.
What really
inspired me to start writing, however, was a visit to the Eboracum Festival in
York in 2017. I loved the enthusiasm of the re-enactors (one of whom turned out
to be my son's ukelele teacher) as well as meeting lots of Roman authors, all
of whom were so inspired by their subject.So I started to write, but after a
while I got bogged down in detail. There was so much research to do, not least
in terms of military history, which was more complex than I'd imagined.
Eventually I had a rough draft, but something wasn't quite right. I couldn't
put my finger on the problem exactly, but I knew it had something to do with
the atmosphere. I could see my book, but I couldn't feel it.
For me, geography is
integral to a story (I often think of locations before characters) but for this
book that statement was truer than ever. My husband suggested we take a trip
north to Hadrian's Wall and once we reached it, everything fell into place. I
stood on the edge of the wall, which was even more impressive than I'd
remembered from school trips, and imagined how it might have looked almost two
thousand years ago. That was when my characters - Livia and Marius - really
made sense to me. I wrote another draft and I was finally happy. Which meant
that they could have their happy-ever-after too!
So that's how this
story happened. It was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever written, but in
retrospect (now the difficult part is over) that makes it extra special to me.
It's my small contribution to the Roman genre and I hope you enjoy it too.
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