by Kristin Holt | Sep 3, 2017 | Articles
Would frontiersmen actually pool their financial resources to bring potential brides west? Would they trust one of their own to go East to find brides for them all? One county in Dakota Territory did just that in 1885. A California newspaper, The Petaluma Courier announced the plan.
The circumstances immediately brought to mind the premise behind my series, Prosperity’s Mail-Order Brides. Books 2 and 3 are in the queue (with titles!), and all have fancy new covers.
by Kristin Holt | Jul 13, 2015 | Articles
I share a full scene that didn’t make it into the finished novel: The Bride Lottery. I’ll explain why this scene was cut from the final version during editing.
by Kristin Holt | Jul 10, 2015 | Articles
Question: How do authors determine where to begin the story?
Answer: I imagine in a group of five authors, you’d obtain at least 2 different answers. How’s that for ambiguous?
Every writer has developed their own methods that work for them. We’re all different, as unique as our fingerprints. My method of ensuring my books start at the right place may be quite different from someone else’s methods and that’s perfectly OK. My answer to this question: “As late as possible.”
This means I skip as much back story as possible– details that don’t really matter for the crux of the story yet it still makes sense. We dive right into action. It’s the latest possible moment when that “something” happens and everything changes.
Inside, I share a full, polished opening scene (not published in The Bride Lottery), deleted when I realized in the final drafts that the story was beginning too early.
by Kristin Holt | Jun 7, 2015 | Articles
The years 2015 and early 2016 showed a remarkable upsurge of SERIAL novels. SERIES have been around a long while in book format (and readers of western historical romance consistently ask for “related books”, e.g., tell us so-and-so’s story!). By comparing serials to TV episodes (and a year’s worth of a show), mentioning cliffhangers, installments, and various types of fiction, I ask: what is your preference–Series or Serials?
by Kristin Holt | May 24, 2015 | Articles
READERS ASK: how much research does it take to produce an historical romance?
MY ANSWER: it depends on many aspects.
It depends on how much the author already knows about the setting, the era, the political climate, well-known (at least to those versed in history) events that coincide with the book’s time line.
