Napoleon, food, REST, ideas in the shower and love! A collection of ideas on ideas!

Do you truly rest on Sundays?

I do give it a go. I cook. I sit and stare into space, usually on my patio when the sun is shining. But often, I get my best rest in the shower!

My life is driven by research and writing with deadlines ever present in my thinking. So my shower is an intriguing break from it all.

But my characters follow me in there.

You see, I have my next novel to plan so love is on my mind.

Who are these people? What is the heroine's challenge? His? How do they intersect to become a functioning unit for ever and ever? (And there they are—in my shower! I am naked. They are not yet fully formed so it is rather okay.)

My current series, SCARLETT AFFAIRS, addresses the conflict between France from the peace of Amiens in 1802 when Napoleon was one of three Consuls to the Second Restoration in 1816, after he had lost, gone to St. Helena, and the Allies occupied France.

I do take one issue, one tidbit of history and build around it the attempts of France to rule the world—and British and Allied attempts to defeat that.

But ideas come slowly...and when light bulbs go off, the result is a Happy Camper. Me!

Rest ensures I come up with good stuff. But REST is tough to find when you are driven to have that plot right now, please!

REST is a wonderful book which has been my friend for years after hubbie gave it to me for Christmas. Full of stories of writers, inventors and government officials and more who took time to allow their brains to think of nothing. And yet, what they discovered were the answers to their challenges!

Today's bon bon: What's factual in this newest novel of mine, aka GUY IN TUB!

Available now at https://amzn.to/3bc6ri3

🍒Authors of historical romances have a duty, I believe, to make their stories as factual as possible. This is not to say we must make our flights of fancy read like history books! But to take advantage of those records which come to light with increasing frequency, we can create stories that thrill as well as educate.

Here in THE LYON'S SHARE, I was able to convey quite a few bits of reality.

First, our hero was a cavalry officer who was promoted through the ranks by his continued actions in the Napoleonic Wars. 

He had quite a few friends who were wounded or killed. One of those wounded was a friend of his who lost the use of both legs when his horse fell on him.

Because of this the friend was sent home, unable to serve. But he also received a compensation for the loss of use of both legs. The amount was not much. But it did allow the man and his wife to continue to live, but alas, not in any luxury. And because the man gave up his commission, he did not receive any severence pay nor continuing pay for what we would call disability.

Thus, the man's widow did live in poverty. As many other widows did.

Another feature of THE LYON'S SHARE is the detail of the purchase of a special marriage license. These could be purchased from Doctor's Commons in London if the buyer had the fee, and the names and dates of birth of those to be wed. By using a license such as this, couples could be married before noon in any facility including a home and not necessarily a church.