Historical Novel Society Australasia

Friday, May 5, 2017

Interview with Julianne Miles-Brown

From an early age storytelling encompassed Julianne Miles-Brown’s life, writing stories about ghosts and mysteries in an eerie house in the Blue Mountains in which she lived some of her childhood. Julianne writes historical stories of fiction and non-fiction for both adults and children. She also loves to write picture books and the creative format of text and illustrations.With a degree in Creative Writing, she became more involved in literature, by taking over the role of Director of the Writers’ Unleashed festival in the Sutherland Shire in Sydney. Julianne enjoys the challenges it presents, and meeting and networking with the various authors and publishers in the writing industry. Between her writing you’ll find her running or walking in the national park or beach and spending time with her husband and two boys.

You can connect with Julianne on Twitter, Facebook or via her websites Julianne Miles-Brown and History Storyteller.

What is the inspiration for your current book?

In my current book Misadventure I wanted to lift the barriers that can stop us from attempting our goals, from others and within ourselves. I also wanted to show the differences and the similarities that we all possess.

Is there a particular theme you are exploring in this book?

The theme of division and how it influences and guides us is the main one. In 18th century Europe, class, sex, religion, race and also the place you were from, influenced them to a huge degree.

I wanted to blend the idea of what constitutes the different classes and heritage of my characters, which was so divided. By blend I mean to have the characters in a different place in which to survive (from a shipwreck). This was to illustrate that no matter what our heritage or social status that it all depends on what’s inside of us that’s important as to who we really are.

Which period of history particularly interests you? Why?

There is no specific period of history that I can pinpoint. Mainly I would lean towards Australian history, as I have more knowledge in relation to our country. All places and time of history gives such fodder to learn from.

What resources do you use to research your book?

Museums – Maritime Museum, Vaughan Evans Library and Mitchell library.
Artefacts and a variety of non-fictional books, both historical and books printed from the particular time in history. Films about this period, such as The Colony, (SBS series) and The Secret River (ABC mini series).
Diaries/logs from that period of time.
First hand experience. We cannot go back in a time machine but we can experience their life the way they did. I spent an overnight stay on the HMB Endeavour in Sydney Harbour, sleeping in a hammock and having dinner/breakfast on board. A great experience.

What is more important to you: historical authenticity or accuracy?

Historical authenticity. When writing historical fictional I try to have an accuracy of details but I’m not an expert in all fields. There are some details that I would like to research even further.

Which character in your current book is your favourite? Why?

The main character Lavinia. She is born into privilege of the middle class and can be annoying at the start. She needs to overcome her own prejudices to accept all the people around her and who they are. By the conclusion of the novel she has changed and realises that her viewpoint and desires are not the same.

Are you a ‘plotter’ or a ‘pantser’? How long does it generally take you to write a book?

A pantser. For Misadventure I wrote chapter by chapter but with a flow of ideas. Sometimes I would write a section that may have been at the end, or middle of the novel. I need to let the characters and the plot travel on their own journey.

This is my first novel – took around 10 years (this included many intermissions, such as finishing my degree and my 2 beautiful young sons coming along.)

Which authors have influenced you?

Kate Morton, Michael Crichton, Kate Forsyth, Gabrielle Lord, John Boyne, Emily Bronte, Elizabeth Kostova, Kate Grenville, Anthony Doerr, David Malouf, Hannah Kent. Growing up, all the girls’ mystery books such as Nancy Drew and later Agatha Christie and G K Chesterton. Specific books that I love: Remembering Babylon, by David Malouf and All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr.

What advice would you give an aspiring author?

Keep writing, even when motivation or direction appears unclear. The book The Artists Way by Julia Cameron, is great for removing blockages and to write morning notes. Keep the fire alight, take notes, keep writing and also talk to other writers.

Tell us about your next book or work in progress.

I intend to write a novel that explores fears and how they can develop and the reaction to fear. I’m in the process of brainstorming the different historical times. I also hope to explore the thylacine’s extinction in perhaps a novella or short story.

Good luck with Misadventure, Julianne. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us. And Writers' Unleashed looks wonderful. Please add 19th August to your diaries!

Julianne Miles-Brown will be appearing at our free Sydney Meet the Author satellite event on 29 May 2017 at Sutherland Library, 30-36 Belmont St, Sutherland from 6.30-8.30 pm with Isolde Martyn, Elisabeth Storrs and Debbie Robson discussing 'Follow that Horse! All you ever wanted to know about researching, writing and publishing historical fiction.' The event is free but bookings are essential via Event Brite. More details are available at the HNSA website.

HNSA 2017 Conference

This celebration of the historical fiction genre will showcase over 60 speakers discussing inspiration, writing craft, research, publishing pathways and personal histories in our weekend programme. Among the many acclaimed historical novelists participating are Kerry Greenwood, Kate Forsyth, Deborah Challinor, Lucy Treloar, Sophie Masson, Sulari Gentill, Robert Gott and Arnold Zable. The HNSA’s speakers’ list is available on the HNSA website.

In addition to the two stream weekend programme, there will be ten craft based super sessions and two research masterclasses. You won’t want to miss our interactive sessions on armour and historical costumes either! Manuscript assessments will be conducted by industry experts, Alison Arnold and Irina Dunn. Our free extended academic programme is open for general admission but bookings are essential.

Our First Pages Pitch Contest offers an opportunity for submissions to be read aloud to a panel of publishers. And we are delighted to announce the introduction of our inaugural HNSA Short Story Contest with a $500 prize!

Visit our website to purchaseyour tickets now!

Subscribe to our newsletter for interviews, reviews and news.

Learn about our sponsorship opportunities.

Let’s make a noise about historical fiction!

Monday, May 1, 2017

Interview with Pamela Hart

We are honoured to welcome Pamela Hart to the blog today. Pamela is an award-winning author of historical novels. Her most recent novel is A Letter from Italy, set in 1917, which tells the story of a pioneering woman war correspondent. Her first novel, The Soldier’s Wife, was based on her grandfather’s experience of being wounded at Gallipoli and his life after he returned to Australia.

Writing as Pamela Freeman, she is well-known as a children’s writer; and won the NSW Premier’s History Prize for The Black Dress: Mary MacKillop’s Early Years. Pamela also writes epic fantasy for adults, and her fantasy series, The Castings Trilogy, is published worldwide by Hachette.

Pamela’s awards include two Aurealis Awards, the Wilderness Society’s Environment Award, and the ASO Librarian’s Choice award for her most recent children’s book, Desert Lake. She has been shortlisted for Book of the Year, the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards, and the Koala Awards. Pamela has a Doctor of Creative Arts degree from UTS, and is the director of creative writing at the Australian Writers’ Centre.

You can connect with Pamela through Facebook, Twitter and her website. And you can subscribe to her newsletter here.

What is the inspiration for your current book?

Louise Mack was the first woman war correspondent who went to the front lines – and she was an Australian! She became the editor of the Sydney Morning Herald Women’s Pages, and I discovered her astonishingly feminist editorials when I was researching The Soldier’s Wife. She inspired my character Rebecca Quinn, in A Letter from Italy, a journalist who is trying to get off the Women’s Pages and report ‘real’ news.

Is there a particular theme you are exploring in this book?

I guess it’s about surmounting the obstacles that the world puts in your way – both my main characters have to overcome prejudices and barriers to achieving their professional aims (and a big barrier to achieving the wishes of their hearts, as well).

Which period of history particularly interests you? Why?

I’m fascinated by all history, but I’m writing mostly about 1910 to 1930 – I started by writing a book based on family history, but every time I research one book I find so many more stories I want to write, so I guess I’ll be writing about this period for a while! It was a time when huge world events catastrophically intervened in ordinary people’s lives. WWI was an unprecedented event – the first truly world event – and its effects were felt for decades after.

What resources do you use to research your book?

My main resource is Trove, the National Library’s online digitised newspapers in particular. I also subscribe to overseas newspaper archives, as reading the newspapers of the day is the best way to get into the heads of those living at the time (also, the ads tell you how much everything cost!). Of course, I also use books, maps and, very importantly, historical photographs.

What is more important to you: historical authenticity or accuracy?

I’m not sure I see a conflict between the two. Surely if you’re accurate you’re also authentic? If you mean, ‘are the facts more important than the feel of the story?’, then I would come down on the side of the facts when changing those facts would mislead your readers. This is particularly important when dealing with crucial events. I’d never change the date of a battle, for example. But I might shift what month a book was published in so that my character could read it at a particular point in her life.

Which character in your current book is your favourite? Why?

Nonna Rosa – because I had so much fun writing her! She is my main male character’s grandmother, and is not at all like the grandmother he would like to have. It’s always fun writing an older person with a bit of a past…

Are you a ‘plotter’ or a ‘pantser’? How long does it generally take you to write a book?

I’m a book-a-year author for Hachette, so the actual writing takes me a year, but I am often thinking about books several years in advance. Last week I got the idea for the book after the book after next! I find that having that lead time to ‘cook’ the idea makes for a much better book. As for plotting or pantsing – it changes with each book. Generally, though, by the time I’m 1/3 into it, I know roughly where I’m going.

Which authors have influenced you?

Oh, so many! In historical fiction, Georgette Heyer, Mary Renault, Mary Stewart, Kate Forsyth. In other genres… Dorothy L Sayers, Tolkien, Zenna Henderson… too many to count!

What advice would you give an aspiring author?

The difference between a professional writer and an amateur is the number of draft you’re prepared to do, and how ruthless you are prepared to be with your work. In other words, draft and redraft, and listen to criticism. Always be prepared to throw away the work you’ve done if it’s no good, no matter how hard you’ve worked on it.

Tell us about your next book or work in progress.

My next book is Lanterns on the Nile, a book which takes my main character, Evelyn Northey, all the way through WWI, from the declaration of war to Armistice Day – and most of that time is spent in Cairo, as a nurse looking after, first, the wounded from Gallipoli and, later, those from the Sinai and Palestine campaigns.

Rebecca Quinn comes to Italy in 1917 with her husband Jack, both foreign correspondents reporting on the Royal Australian Navy's fight against German U-boats in the Adriatic Sea. Rebecca wants to use this opportunity to break out of the Women's Pages and prove that women can equal male journalists in resolve and ability.

While Jack pursues a story behind enemy lines, Rebecca works with Italian-American photographer Alessandro Panucci, fighting against prejudice in a man's world of naval warfare and cutthroat journalism. But Jack, it turns out, isn't as supportive of her career as she had thought, and Sandro is far too attractive for her peace of mind...

From Brindisi to Venice, Rebecca struggles with her own heart as well as with the chauvinism of her time, while Sandro tries hard to remember that marriage is a sacred vow which must be respected...

You can buy Pamela’s books from various outlets via her website.

A Letter from Italy

The War Bride

The Soldier’s Wife

Thanks for sharing your journey, Pamela. We look forward to Lanterns on the Nile.

HNSA 2017 Conference

The HNSA 2017 Conference in Melbourne is being held on 8-10 September 2017. Pamela Hart will be appearing in the following panel in Session Four on Sunday 10 September at 12.30-1.30 pm.

Authenticity or Truth? Does the history in an historical novel need to be accurate?

History forms the basis of an historical novel but is the book less valid if the author ‘bends’ history to fit the plot? Should facts be strictly followed or merely form the backbone of a novel? Is accuracy rather than authenticity the standard to which historical novelists must be held? Ngahuia te Awekotuku teases out the answers to these questions and ponders whether history is ever truthful with Greg Johnston, Kathryn Gauci, Tim Griffiths and Pamela Hart.

Early bird registration is open for the HNSA 2017 Conference. You will receive 15% off the full price for our weekend programme. The same discount also applies for tickets to our opening reception. HURRY – we have released 10 more early bird weekend tickets so there now are only 12 early bird tickets available. Registration will end once these are sold. There are only 3 early bird reception tickets available.

This celebration of the historical fiction genre will showcase over 60 speakers discussing inspiration, writing craft, research, publishing pathways and personal histories. Among the many acclaimed historical novelists participating are Kerry Greenwood, Kate Forsyth, Deborah Challinor, Lucy Treloar, Sophie Masson, Sulari Gentill, Robert Gott and Arnold Zable. The HNSA’s speakers’ list is available on the HNSA website.

Visit our website to buy your tickets!

Subscribe to our newsletter for interviews, reviews and news.

Learn about our sponsorship opportunities.

Let’s make a noise about historical fiction!

Friday, April 28, 2017

Interview with Wendy J Dunn

Today it's a pleasure to welcome Wendy J. Dunn to the HNSA blog. Wendy is an Australian writer who has been obsessed by Anne Boleyn and Tudor History since she was ten-years-old. She is the author of three historical novels: Dear Heart, How Like You This?, the winner of the 2003 Glyph Fiction Award and 2004 runner up in the Eric Hoffer Award for Commercial Fiction, The Light in the Labyrinth, her first young adult novel, and Falling Pomegranate Seeds: The Duty of Daughters.

Wendy gained her Doctorate of Philosophy (Writing) from Swinburne University in 2014 and she is the Co-Senior Editor of Backstory and Other Terrain at Swinburne University of Technology.

You can find out more about Wendy on her website and contact her via Facebook or Goodreads.

What is the inspiration for your current book?

The current book I am writing now? That’s actually the sequel, or perhaps the second novel (I really can’t say yet!), of Falling Pomegranate Seeds: The Duty of Daughters, the first novel of my Katherine of Aragon story.

Falling Pomegranate Seeds: The Duty of Daughters was published in August, 2016, and the overall inspiration for this work and my current WIP is what inspires all my writing – a passion to tell ‘herstory’, the stories of women so often neglected or forgotten by history. Historical women offer me a historical feminist standpoint to engage with as a writer through my own feminist standpoint, a standpoint I use to make sense of the master narratives of my world. Milan Kundera writes: ‘Only a literary work that reveals an unknown fragment of human existence has a reason for being. To be a writer does not mean to preach a truth; it means to discover a truth’ (cited by Carlisle 1985, np.). Thus, while I write fiction, I see my works as a way for me (and hopefully my reader) to deepen my understanding of humanity and also build a bridge of empathy between my story and my reader.

Is there a particular theme you are exploring in this book?

The inspirational lives of Tudor women and how these women navigated their harsh, patriarchal world.

Which period of history particularly interests you? Why?

Tudor history speaks to me. Sometimes I wonder if I had a past life then or it’s part of my DNA; strangely, researching my family tree revealed my ancestors had connections with both the Boleyn and Wyatt families in the 16th century.

I fell in love with the Tudors in my childhood – thanks to my father. He was English, and had a great love of history. Dad gifted me with his love of history, and story-telling. At ten, the same time I discovered Elizabeth I, I decided my father was Henry VIII – reincarnated. He not only had a temper of Tudor proportions but a love of food more suited to a Renaissance king. He also wielded a mean axe when he ‘beheaded’ the chook for the family’s Sunday lunch. Dad never hid the fact that his only son was of far more value to him than his three daughters; this also made me empathize with Elizabeth. As a child and teenager, I held onto her story of survival. I believed if she could win through to victory, so could I. And, of course, learning about Elizabeth I led me to learn about her mother, Anne Boleyn. The rest, as they say, is history.

What resources do you use to research your book?

I research through my need to know answers. I once heard the wonderful Sophie Masson say (at our first HNSA conference in Sydney) that writers are lifelong learners, and I utterly agree with her. I am committed to learning about life and our human existence – and I do that through writing. I love research. I am forever buying books to add to my research book shelves. I have also self-funded research trips to places where my historical characters actually lived, and died. I travelled to Spain after I wrote the first draft of Falling Pomegranate Seeds. Researching Katherine of Aragon’s childhood made me fall in love with the descriptions of the royal homes she would have known in her mother’s kingdom as a girl. Walking in Katherine’s footsteps, deepened my ability to imagine her life in Spain.

But while research informs my writing, I write fiction. Research ignites my imagination. My writing philosophy is very aligned to Margaret Atwood. Like her, I don’t change solid facts, but if history leaves it unexplained, then my imagination is free to invent. While this is a writing technique common to many historical writers, I think it is relevant to reclaiming the untold stories of women from history. Research helps me build up character profiles of my historical people, but it is my imagination which opens the door to make them, I hope, live and breathe on the pages of my novels.

What is more important to you: historical authenticity or accuracy?

I take great pride in my research – and all my fiction births from this research. However, story is the beating heart of all fiction work. I believe writers write fiction because they have a story to tell; historical fiction challenges writers to construct stories through a context not their own. All through writing my first draft I am committed to research, simply because the writing of historical fiction will always lead me to more questions that cry out for answers. Research, deepening my well of knowledge, is then necessary to achieve a fictional work that will hopefully allow my reader to see my imaginings of another time and place. I try hard as a historical fiction writer to build a believable historical world and also do no harm, and that means thorough research to gain a strong sense of “who, what, and why.” Once I “know” my historical personages, my imagination takes over and writing begins. But it comes from a place of truth. I could never write something I couldn’t believe – and that belief comes from my research.

Which character in your current book is your favourite? Why?

Oh – that is a hard one. I want to say my point of view character, Maria de Salinas, one of Katherine of Aragon’s closest friends, but she wants me to say Katherine of Aragon… Maria loves Katherine – and it is a love driving my new work. Smile – the thing is, writers spend so much time with their characters they begin to feel very close to us and very real…

Are you a ‘plotter’ or a ‘pantser’? How long does it generally take you to write a book?

I used to be a pantser, but doing my PhD and having too many serious deadlines to meet changed that. I also realised plotting out my work before I started was a way to keep me on track. But I love the unexpected journeys that often happen when you write a novel, which means I am very willing to throw all my plotting to the wind if my characters take their story in unplanned directions.

Writing The Light in the Labyrinth showed me I can write a novel to publishable standard in two years. But I also work as a writing tutor at Swinburne University. Teaching is my other great passion, and that keeps me very busy during the year – and slows down writing my own work.

Which authors have influenced you?

Mary Renault, Winston Graham, Rosemary Sutcliff, Elizabeth Goudge, Robert Graves – gosh, really, the list goes on and on…

What advice would you give an aspiring author?

Persevere, persevere, and persevere. Believe in yourself. Feed your muse by reading good books. Join or begin a writing group. Enter writing contests; learn to love using your red pen. And don’t forget family and friends!

Thanks for sharing your journey with us, Wendy.

Dońa Beatriz Galindo.

Respected scholar.

Tutor to royalty.

Friend and advisor to Queen Isabel of Castile.

Beatriz is an uneasy witness to the Holy War of Queen Isabel and her husband, Ferdinand, King of Aragon. A Holy War seeing the Moors pushed out of territories ruled by them for centuries.

The road for women is a hard one. Beatriz must tutor the queen’s youngest child, Catalina, and equip her for a very different future life. She must teach her how to survive exile, an existence outside the protection of her mother. She must prepare Catalina to be England's queen.

A tale of mothers and daughters, power, intrigue, death, love, and redemption. In the end, Falling Pomegranate Seeds sings a song of friendship and life.

Falling Pomegranate Seeds is available for purchase here.

HNSA 2017 Conference

The HNSA 2017 Conference in Melbourne is being held on 8-10 September 2017 at Swinburne University, Hawthorn.

Early bird registration provides 15% off the full price for our weekend programme. The same discount also applies for tickets to our opening reception.

HURRY –THE EARLY BIRD TICKET ALLOCATION WILL CLOSE BEFORE JUNE.

Wendy J Dunn will be appearing in the following panel in Session Five on Saturday 9 September at 11.15-12.15 pm.

How To Transmute Research into Compelling Historical Fiction

A passion for research doesn’t always translate into creating compelling fiction. Gillian Polack discusses the challenges of converting historical facts into page turning novels with Wendy J Dunn, Barbara Gaskell Denvil, Stephane Smee and Rachel Le Rossignol.

Wendy will also be chairing 'The Lie of History' panel in our free extended academic programme with Glenice Whitting, Gillian Polack, Diane Murray and Cheryl Hayden. Admission is open to all but bookings are essential due to limited seating.

HNSA 2017 is a celebration of the historical fiction genre that showcases over 60 speakers discussing inspiration, writing craft, research, publishing pathways and personal histories. Among the many acclaimed historical novelists participating are Kerry Greenwood, Kate Forsyth, Deborah Challinor, Lucy Treloar, Sophie Masson, Sulari Gentill, Robert Gott and Arnold Zable. The HNSA’s speakers’ list is available on the HNSA website.