A Love for American Historical Romance: A Guest Post by Holly Bush
I confess, I’m a complete sucker for a Regency romance. Give me a duke, a marriage of convenience, or a governess to lover trope, with all the accompanying bothersome rules of behavior, and I will happily wrap up in a quilt with a cup of tea for the next hour or six.
But as a writer, I’ve discovered my passion for romance and for history is deeply rooted in the American story. Not only did this country, and its citizenry, weather a revolution, settle a dangerous land and the disagreements with its natives, and clash in a civil war, it came out the other side as one union. Every settler who built a cabin at the edge of the wilderness and every immigrant who landed here, bore witness to a fresh world of new possibilities and ideas. And so, the U.S. surpassed other nations with its ability to create and invent for medicine and science, and for the world of commerce. These conflicts and creations can always be reduced to individual Americans and how they triumphed or were defeated.
My stories are about everyday Americans, about their hopes, and loves, and tragedies, and how national events touched their lives during the transformative years post-Civil War to the late 1800’s. I’ve found other American historical romance writers to follow such as Donna Thorland, who brings the Revolution alive, Pamela Clare, writing heroes from pre-Revolutionary Colonial America, Piper Huguley and her stories of African American heroes, and Joanna Shupe, who helped me discover turn of the century tycoons. Take a break from the Brits, and discover a few heroes and heroines on our side of the pond.
My newest series, The Gentrys of Paradise, begins with a prequel novella, Into the Evermore, where we meet Eleanor and Beauregard Gentry, and learn how their horse breeding business began. The first novel in the series, For the Brave, releases May 16th and is the story of Eleanor and Beauregard’s youngest son, Matthew Gentry.
Holly makes her home with her husband, one happy Labrador Retriever, and two difficult cats in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Connect with Holly at www.hollybushbooks.com, on Twitter @hollybushbooks, and on Facebook at Holly Bush. She loves to hear from her readers!
Thanks Holly! I really liked your last series and I’m going start on your newest soon. My first love are European historicals but historical Westerns are a close second–stemming from an unholy fascination with the likes of the Little House and Caddie Woodlawn books. Really great, newer Westerns are hard to find, though, especially because I also like the little details that many “window dressing” books leave out, like the ins and outs of cooking and cleaning.
I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the Crawfords, Peg, and I hope you enjoy the Gentrys. Bonanza started it for me, Gunsmoke, too. I’m certain I’m dating myself! The last good western for me was Open Range. I’m a complete sucker for Kevin Costner and the story was wonderful. Glad you stopped by!
I too love historicals set in the Americas and am always on the lookout for new ones. Sara Donati, Jo Goodman, Maggie Osborne, and Pamela Morsi are some of my favorite authors.
Maggie Osborne totally and completely hooked me years ago. Her book Silver Lining is still in my top ten all time list. I haven’t read Pamela Morsi, shame on me! I downloaded Into the Wilderness recently but I’ve got to save it until I’m done writing my next book – I just can’t read what I write when I’m writing. Very sad because it looks fabulous. Thanks for stopping by!
I wish that more American writers of historical romance would write American historical romance. There are so many aspects of America’s history that, as an Australian, I know little about, and I love learning new things whilst reading an enjoyable fictional story. I have a degree in European history and literature and the inaccuracies and modern Americanisms that pepper so many mass market European historical romances drive me mad.
Don’t they always start creative writing courses with the advice to “write about what you know”? I’ve read plenty of European historicals which seem like the writers don’t have a sufficient feel for the time period but maybe they write them because they’re more fashionable right now. There used to be much more diversity in historical romance and I miss that.
There’s a few of us out here! Just not too many.
Unfortunately or fortunately, my writing schedule gets blown up when I start researching. I was on the phone for hours with a wonderful woman from the Boston Historical Society a few years ago when I was writing my last series. She still emails me when she finds something interesting! Glad to meet you!
Really nice blog, and I do agree that American history offers so many potential stories. It’s also still underutilized in the world of romance writing. Also, as a horse owner and rider, I am drawn to stories that feature horses and horse breeding. I will definitely be interested in reading this series.
I was so fortunate that I had a high school friend who has spent a lifetime raising and breeding horses. We reconnected on FB and she led me, painfully, for her I think, through what I needed to know and understand about horse breeding in the 1800s. They were invaluable lessons for me. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you like the books!
“settle a dangerous land and the disagreements with its natives”
Yeah, the “natives'” opposition to their genocide was sure a humdinger of a disagreement!
You’re absolutely right!