Here’s an excerpt from an interesting article by Julie Bosman, “Loved His New Novel, and What a Bibliography,” in today’s New York Times about the practice of including bibligraphies in novels: “It’s terribly off-putting,” said James Wood, the literary critic for The New Republic. “It would be very odd if Thomas Hardy had put at …
Today a fellow by the deceptively friendly name of “Bob” left me a one-star review on my Amazon page. In a nutshell, Bob thought there were too many characters, too many facts, not enough action, and not enough descriptions of medieval castles and homes. Bob, bless his heart, is entitled to his opinion, and I …
Different Strokes for Different Folks, and How Many Folks Would You Like? Read More »
Over the weekend, J. Peder Zane, the book columnist in the Raleigh, North Carolina, News & Observer, had this to say about the topic of accuracy in historical fiction (here’s a link to the entire column): “Of course, “The Da Vinci Code” is a novel. But it raises the question of what responsibility works of …
Historical Accuracy, An Esoteric Reference to Dickens, and an Invite Read More »
Promotional bit first: My first book signing will be at Brightleaf Books in Smithfield, North Carolina, on Friday, June 23! (Time to be arranged.) This gives me two months to perfect a signature that actually looks like “Susan Higginbotham” instead of the mark of a highly dysfunctional two-year-old, so please come to admire my handiwork. …
I’m still reeling from the news that I hit it big in the North Carolina State Lottery. Now, of course, I will be able to achieve my longtime goal of writing full-time, not to mention having an office with real walls to do so in. While I’m waiting for the contractors to show up to …
Finished reading Katherine Howard, a 1969 novel by Jessica Smith, yesterday. Like the other historical novels I’ve read about this foolish but intriguing young queen, it was somewhat disappointing, though I admittedly didn’t have huge hopes for it. Though the author often commented that Katherine was a featherhead, she didn’t come up with any motivation …
Nonhistorical and Historical Characters: Should They Mingle? Read More »
Both on this blog and on other sites I’ve visited, the question of historical accuracy in historical fiction has come up. As I said in one of my earlier blog posts, I think it’s the reader’s ultimate responsibility to check the accuracy of what he reads. Historical fiction, after all, is exactly that–fiction. By saying …
A series of rules for writing various sorts of historical fiction has been circulating in the blogsphere. Here’s a link to the original list, created by Alan Fisk and posted on Sarah Cuthbertson’s blog: Sarah’s Bookarama: The All-Purpose Rules for Writing Historical Fiction/Writing Ripping Yarns The list is quite amusing, as are some of the …
I posed this question on a group I belong to, but got no response, so I thought I’d post it here in hopes of getting one. There are many novels featuring characters who first appeared in classic novels. Jane Austen’s works, particularly Pride and Prejudice, seem to have spawned the most progeny. John Updike tried …