By Cassandra Samuels
When a spark of an idea comes to life there are certain aspects a story must have. Characters, of course, and a setting. It's the old question - Whose story is it and where is it set? Obviously, there are other elements that also need to be added but these two are my launching pad.
At the end of this month - pre orders available now - my 3rd book with Dragonblade will be published. Most of my stories are set in England as I write Regency Historical Romance, but this idea hit me different. In book two the catalyst of the story is that Captain Markham, friend of the hero, had lost his finger and presumably his life and therefore the hero became the guardian of the captain's ward.
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In book 3 we find out what happened to Captain Markham. He went to Spain on a mission and went missing. At this time Spain was still rebuilding after the Napoleonic wars where Napoleon's brother Joseph Bonaparte had taken the throne of Spain, by tricking the Spanish King into abdicating leaving the Spanish people feeling betrayed by their allies the French. England came to Spain's defense, even though they had been enemies on and off for centuries, and together the English and the Spanish ousted Joseph, installing the Spanish King, Ferdinand VII back on the throne.
In the aftermath of all of this is when Once Upon a Reckless Rogue is set. I fell in love with the country, the customs, the food and the language. Through the power of the internet I was able to virtually travel around various towns where my book was set and see for myself how it might have been during the Regency period. It is a definite on my bucket list now that is for sure.
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| Not quite the right era but you can see the use of the traditional Mantilla |
The heroine of my story, Elena is the daughter of a doctor and through him learned about medicine and also herbal healing, using ingredients that grew locally and what could be sourced from Spain's colonies. I loved learning all about herbal medicine, that the Spanish got married in Black wedding dresses, not virginal white. That the Spanish national flower is the red carnation which represents romance, passion and emotions. How perfect is that? Will I write another book set in Spain? I hope so, if the right characters and story come along how could I not?
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| Carnation. Photo by Stanley Vaughn on Unsplash |
Have you ever read a book and just wanted to visit that place immediately?
LOVE TO LOVE: Seeing my books in print
LOVE TO LAUGH: Silly Instagram reels - usually containing dogs, cats and toddlers
LOVE TO LEARN: About other countries and cultures.
