One of the most difficult tasks an author of historical western romance has is shutting down their modern brain and encompassing the hardships and developments of the past. When the idea for this post first came to me, I was in the middle of finishing my current work-in-progress. So, I tapped a few friends for their thoughts on the content.
Here are the top five historical issues most writers struggle with:
- Language. Dang gum it. It’s not easy setting aside everyday words that might not have been used in 1888. I can’t count on both hands the number of times I/we have been called on a word or phrase we used. My favorite comment is… “that word wasn’t recognized in the dictionary until 1902.” As politely as possible, we explain that while it wasn’t “recognized” it had to have been used at least for a decade or two before it’s even considered worthy of the dictionary. Inclusion is quicker now but, back in the late 1800s/early 1900s, it often took 10-15 years, or notoriety, to achieve recognition. Realizing how foreign some of the old words are, one of my favorite things to do is put together word games matching the old-fashioned saying to the meaning. I’ve used the games many times during author/reader parties. One of my favorite resources is this site: https://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-slang/
- Transportation. Readers wouldn’t believe the number of times we check train routes, connecting transportation, and schedules. While fleeing her cheating fiancé, my heroine can get from Philadelphia to Saint Louis to Denver on the same route. Yet, Bozeman, MT is out of the question without one stagecoach ride, followed by a northern-routed train. It’s often a well-woven jigsaw puzzle to get your characters from Point A to Point B. My saved historical research sites are filled with links to transportation schedules. One of the most interesting facts about train travel in the late 1800s is that on November 18, 1883, at exactly, American and Canadian railroads begin using four continental time zones to end the confusion of dealing with thousands of local times. The bold move was emblematic of the power shared by the railroad companies.
- Plumbing. I was surprised how of the other authors hated writing about plumbing. It was definitely in my top five. In my Land Run book, Lily’s Luck (2022), I made a big deal of my heroine’s particulars for her outdoor privy. Indoor plumbing, even crudely done, was out of the question for a young couple building their home on newly claimed land. However, my feisty heroine wasn’t going to be satisfied with a hole in ground. For the most part, I stick to time periods where I can give my characters indoor plumbing, with boilers fired by wood to heat their bathwater. Only as they travel across the land in wagon trains, or on land runs, must they avail themselves of outdoor facilities.
- Communication. Written communication is tricky. How long can it take for the mail-order bride letters to get from Gold Rush California back to proper Boston as our miner hero searches for a bride? As part of a multi-author series based on heroines who quilt, I’ve written books for three straight years, and set all three in the same town in Oregon. My heroine’s father is the town’s postmaster, so I did my due diligence on when and how their postal services came to be. Trickier even than the intricacy of the mail is the cost of sending a telegram… assuming the remote western town even has the necessary capability. At one point the cost was as high as two-bits a word. Needless to say, telegrams were only used in the most important of situations. The job of a telegraph operator was so vital there were schools and even so-named colleges to teach the skill of operating the equipment.
- Faith. Not as complex as some of the other issues, incorporating one’s faith, and the faith of their characters, into a story can be challenging depending on when and where your story is set. While the majority of inspirational historical romances are Christian based, there is a fine line to acknowledge and celebrate the inclusion of all religions. Most authors, while acknowledging other beliefs, will center their book and characters solely on what they know and practice rather than run the risk of insulting readers of other religions/faith systems.
While these aren’t the only challenges, they made the most Top 5 lists of the ten or so authors I’d queried.
Writing, for me at least, is a joy. Creating strong, yet vulnerable, characters challenges both my emotions and my skill. It keeps my senior brain active. I admit, I laugh (a little) when I see all these advertisements for games (like mahjong) and spelling/word association touted to help ward of loss of memory and strengthen brainpower. You want to strengthen brainpower? Try researching and writing a book. It doesn’t have to be a romance, but putting thoughts to paper can be cathartic in a way that beats Wordle hands down.
In my April 3rd release, The Bride Who Keeps Running Away, I utilized a number of my train schedules, a couple of stage routes, and both mail and telegraph communications to get my heroine from Philadelphia to the small town of Union Flat, Washington Territory. You can bet, my three-time runaway bride led the Pinkerton detective hero on a merry chase.
Here’s a bit about the book:
Lenora (Leni) Pennington really hopes her third attempt at getting married will be different.
First betrothed at the age of sixteen to a man twice her age, she ran away the night before her arranged marriage and sought refuge with her maternal grandmother. Her second engagement wasn’t any better. Believing her intended chose her as his future wife on his own, she was shocked when she overheard her father and her fiancé talking about the value of their business merger, so she went on the run again.
Now, just hours short of walking down the aisle to marry her mail-order husband, a young man she admires, Leni discovers her groom in a compromising position with her best friend. Humiliated, she’s out the door and miles away before anyone realizes she’s gone. This time, however, Leni’s father is not willing to put up with what he considers spoiled and childish behavior. At the urging of his solicitor, he hires a Pinkerton’s detective to track his daughter down and bring her home.
Jackson (Jake) Taylor has been working for the Pinkerton Agency for the past six years. His area of expertise is private protection, be it a person or a train car filled with gold and cash. When he’s tasked with finding a runaway heiress, he’s tempted to refuse the assignment. His boss convinces him it’ll be a nice break from being shot at from time to time. After all, how difficult can it be to track down a spoiled young woman and deliver her back to her doting father?
Given he’s matching wits with an expert at running away, Miss Lenora Pennington might be more than he bargained for. In more ways than one.
You can find Leni and Jake’s adventure here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DQP2ZJHW?tag=pettpist-20
As always, it’s been fun visiting today. I hope to come back again soon. In the meantime, here’s some information about me, along with my social media links.
What are some things you’ve read in historical romance that presented real challenges to the characters? Nancy will give away two ebook copies of The Bride Who Keeps Running Away to be drawn from those who comment.
NANCY FRASER is a bestselling and award-winning author who can’t seem to decide which romance genre suits her best. So, she writes them all. Her preferred genres are sweet western historical and sweet small-town contemporary. However, she has been known to dabble in the most unusual settings. When not writing (which is almost never), Nancy dotes on her five wonderful grandchildren and looks forward to traveling and reading when time permits. Nancy lives in Atlantic Canada where she enjoys the relaxed pace and colorful people.
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/~/e/B09FTH655Z?tag=pettpist-20
Bookbub: http://bookbub.com/profile/nancy-fraser
Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/nancywritessweet.bsky.social
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7206382.Nancy_Fraser
Newsletter Sign Up: http://eepurl.com/bxkKvD
Love your research and your book sounds wonderful.
I love when the characters are opposites and have to get along. Sometimes, one is not familiar with the other’s lifestyle and amenities or everyday items, so the fish out of water is fun to play out.
Thank you. It was fun to write b/c I’m a big fan of brides who don’t just “accept” their circumstances.
Being a product of modern suburbia, I’m often puzzled or confused with the how to’s of transportation (or off put, as when thinking about getting sooty riding a coal fired train). It’s still fun to imagine how life was and immerse oneself in book characters’ lives. Who else cut their historical fiction eyeteeth on Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House book series in elementary school?
Thanks for running the giveaway.
You’re welcome. I, too, read the Little House books. I think they’re probably what hooked me on western historicals.
Getting from the house to the outhouse in 6 to 10 feet of snow or to the barn where extra food was stored. Most famers at times didn’t even have money for rope during the winter. That would be a challenge.
Right up until I was five or six, my great aunt still used an outhouse. We were visiting one summer and, for a city girl who’d never seen an outhouse, it was quite the experience. Especially when I was chased by a turkey intent on biting my behind.
I find new things can be challenging to accept. such as inventions.
If you’ve never seen it, the television show Murdoch Mysteries is set in the late 1800s through 1910. The hero is a police detective in Toronto, Canada. He’s also an amateur inventor. A lot of the guest characters are introduced as real-life inventors. It’s a fun show to watch and see how things change with each invention.
I love when authors do their research and get things as accurate as possible but it does bother me when they use modern phrases that their characters would never use at that time period. I love seeing the challenges that the female characters encounter while trying to make it in a male-dominated world.
I think we’ve all been guilty of the phrase thing from time to time. Like modern words, sometimes it’s difficult to pinpoint their actual origins. I was surprised by the number of words added in the 1920s. That decade alone nearly double the size of the dictionary.
I think transportation would be one. If you needed to escape a bad situation, you could not jump into a car. Money would be the other. Women would be dependent on men.
I try to make my heroines able to rely on their own funds, whether inherited or earned. However, sometimes, you need that extra challenge as part of your plot. I do love to play with transportation, as I did with this book. My heroine led quite the path getting to her end result.
I think bathroom facilities would be one and then of course transportation.
Karijean, it’s one of the least talked about challenges. I’ve read books where nobody went to the bathroom throughout the entire story, likely b/c it wasn’t a subject the author wanted to deal with. I think that’s why, in my land rush book, I made a big deal of the outdoor privy. I figured, it’s a bodily function and needed a fun twist.
Transportation would be the biggest thing I would think. I read this blurb to my hubby and he even thought this book sounds exciting. Looking forward to reading it.
Barbara, thank you. I like to think of it as comedic romp. While my heroine criss-crosses the countryside, I did put my hero on his majestic horse for part of the chase. Please let me know how you liked the book.
I think a mail order bride arriving at her destination only to find the man she intended to marry had died or had got cold feet and left the area, would be a big challenge.
Connie, ten other authors and I did just that with our Rejected Mail-Order bride series last year. It was a big hit. This year we’re doing Rejected Mail-Order Grooms. The series just started earlier this month. If you’re interested in checking it out, just search Rejected Mail-Order Bride Series on Amazon.
I think doing laundry would be a challenge.
Not just a challenge, but physically taxing. My mother and my aunt used a washboard even after they got wringer washers. Yes, I’m old. I remember skinning my knuckles on those washboards more than once. Nothing says sore shoulders like hanging wet quilts on the line.
Good morning! Gracious, so many challenges back in the day! Many have mentioned the outhouse. I would have to agree! One trip with my grandmother and my small children was to visit the old Homeplace in Georgia. My 6 year old son couldn’t wrap his head around his Mema(my mother) going to the bathroom in the old outhouse! He stuck his head in there and said,”Mema went to the bathroom in there?!?” My grandmother laughed and laughed. His little curious mind did ask more questions!
Thank you for the research Nancy! I have enjoyed a few of your books. I do have Lilly in my queue to read! I need to finish that series.
Best wishes!
Tracy, yes. The Quilt Brides is one of my favorites. Enjoy.
I shared my outhouse story in a comment above, complete with the turkey chasing me around the yard. Such a cute story about your son. And, yes, they are curious.
Nancy, welcome back! I love your post. I have to research a lot of things in my historical westerns. Adding those little details makes the story come alive. I hope I’m never accused of a crime because my stored history of the things I research will have lawyers scratching their heads. And I’m sure yours also has a lot on various subjects. Enjoy your visit.
Thank you Linda. Yes, my research history is varied. In my May book, my heroine is a genius with a photographic memory. It irks her parents but impresses the hero (of course).
Thank you for having me here today and allowing me to share some news about my latest sweet western historical.
I’ll be in and out all day to check for more comments. Best of luck to everyone in the drawing.
I noticed that a lot of times they had problems with occupation like finding a job for a women.
Yes, if you weren’t a teacher or a dressmaker, jobs were limited. It wasn’t until the late 1880s that women doctors came west with regular frequency.
The Maharaja’s Daughters by Celest Barclay and the rest of the series was quite interesting.
Daisy Landish’s The Lady Collection. Each book is a quick read usually 6 chapters and I think 21 books total.
Forging Her Path by Jean L Kuhnke is a wonderful story.
The there’s Jane Eyre. I’d always wanted to read it but didn’t until last year.
poverty
Agreed. Poverty was a challenge that affected all other facets of their lives.
Written in Secret by Crystal Caudill is a historical read that presents challenges