by Val Fassnight | Apr 30, 2021 | Uncategorized
2021 Romance Through the Ages Contest for Historical Romance
Sponsored by Hearts Through History
Entry Fee: $20 for HHRW members/$25 for non-members.
Entry Open: April 1, 2021 – May 31, 2021
- Unpublished authors may enter any category.
- Published authors may enter any category in which they’re not published, or in which they’ve not been contracted for publication or self-published within the past five years.
Entry: First 15 pages (and optional two-page synopsis)
We still need first round judges! To volunteer to be a first round judge: RTTA First Round Judge Sign-Up
Top Prize $50 cash for all first place winners. Winners and Finalists will be announced in the RWR.
Historical Works of Erotica and of Novella length will be accepted in all categories.
FMI, visit https://www.heartsthroughhistory.com/rtta-contest/ or contact RTTA Contest Coordinator, Aubrey Wynne rtta@…
2021 Romance through the Ages Final Judges
- Ancient/Medieval/Renaissance: Violetta Rand, Dragonblade Publishing
- Georgian/Regency/Victorian: Erin Molta, Entangled
- Colonial/Western/Civil War: Debby Gilbert, Soulmate Publishing
- Post Victorian/World War II: Nancy Schumacher, Melange Books LLC
- Modern History: Amy Stapp, Wolfson Literary Agency
- Time-Travel/Historical Paranormal: Deb Werkman, Casablanca/Sourcebooks
- YA Historical: Laura Rennert, Andrea Brown Literary Agency
- Legends Award: Jennie Conway, St. Martin’s Press
by Val Fassnight | Apr 27, 2021 | Uncategorized
Hearts Through History members have an exciting new perk to membership! Critique groups have started with divisions for Ancient/Medieval, Regency/Victorian, and more. Contact President Claudine Gandolfi for more information on how to join!
Don’t know how to be a good critique partner? There are lots of resources out there. Take a look at these links below. Read up, join the crowd of historical romance critiquers and help our members succeed!
The Writer’s Loft: Critique Guidelines
How to Write a Critique at Creative Writing Now
Critique Partnerships: Tips and Techniques at Romance Writers on the Journey
Happy Critiquing!
by Val Fassnight | Apr 14, 2021 | Uncategorized
Do you write full-time or part-time?
Alas, part-time. I honestly don’t think I could handle it full time without heavy discipline.
What’s the hardest part of writing?
Discipline! Lol! I’m a plontser, so sometimes I know what I’m doing, sometimes I don’t. I could use a dedicated personal space that is not my bed for writing. Someday I’ll have that…
What’s your favorite historical movie?
De-Lovely (I adore Cole Porter’s music), Chaplin with Robert Downey Jr, San Francisco with Jeanette McDonald and Clark Gable, Hypatia with Rachel Weisz, Quigley Down Under with Tom Selleck, any Sherlock Holmes, oh! And Tombstone! The Sharpe’s series with Sean Bean.
Who’s your favorite historical figure?
Alexander the Great tops the list. Beau Brummell. Any of Henry VIII’s wives and children. I’m a Tudor nut. They are such trainwrecks.
If you could meet anyone in history, who would it be?
Alexander of course. Doc Holliday and Bat Masterson. The Shawnee war chief/diplomat Tecumseh. The Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein. The last is random, I know, but he’s a fascinating man if you know the stories.
If you could time travel, what era would you visit?
Ancient Egypt. Dodge City at the height of the cattle trail era, 1870s. Anytime Renaissance Italy.
What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?
Read what you want to write and write what you want to read.
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
Very young. I don’t remember a time I wasn’t making up stories in some fashion or form, to be honest. Mom learned quick to always have pens or pencils and paper handy for me, otherwise I was digging in her purse for an old envelope. That did happen once.
Are there specific books or authors who have influenced you as a writer?
Julia Quinn, early Stephanie Laurens, Mary Renault, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Homer, Amanda Quick, Emma Merritt (my first romance read was Emma & I still have the book!), historian Alison Weir, Stephen Fry, so so SO many authors!
Give us a brief rundown of your process. Are you a plotter, a pantser, or somewhere in the middle?
I’m a bit of both, depending on my enthusiasm and the muse. I usually see the characters first, then they start to coalesce into something. One series the whole thing came from the death of a historical figure. I created a bad guy organization from it and things exploded from there. Five books and some short stories.
Can you tell us a bit about your journey to publication?
I’ve only been published twice. Once was a book review in a college journal and the other a short story in an anthology with some local Kansas City authors after a drunken brainstorm session at a writing retreat.
Tell us about your latest release and what’s coming next for you.
No releases but a lot of hope! I am working on self-pubbing a short story that I hope to have out by the end of April 2021!
Please include author website, and a few images (book covers, author photos, etc.), social media links.
authorfassnight on Twitter
Val Fassnight on Facebook
The first in my series is on Wattpad, though I’m not consistent in updating recently.
by Val Fassnight | Apr 4, 2021 | Uncategorized
Hello Hearts Through History members, today I’m talking with HTH member Laura Jack. Could you tell us a little bit about yourself and what you’ve been working on?
Do you write full-time or part-time?
Less than part time right now. Ugh the seasonal depression coupled with Covid19 burnout.
What’s the hardest part of writing?
It’s turning out to be revising.
What’s your favorite historical movie?
That’s a tough one. I can and do watch every version of Pride and Prejudice over and over again. King Arthur (2004), Queen Margot (1994), All the versions of Little Women, all of the Shakespeare moves that Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh did when they were together.
Who’s your favorite historical figure?
Hands down it’s Boudica. That’s another historical movie that I watch a lot. The PBS version (2003).
If you could meet anyone in history, who would it be?
Hmm. Today Mary Wollstonecraft, tomorrow who knows. No, Princess Margaret of Denmark who married King James III of Scotland. I need to talk to her about a few things.
If you could time travel what era would you visit?
I’d have to go to Scotland and stay with my ancestors, anywhere from 9th century to 16th century but with indoor plumbing.
What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?
To date it’s been do your revision in stages – go over once for plot, once for characters and once for place.
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
Probably 2nd grade and if I can go back in time, after Scotland, I’d go back and leave notes for myself to keep writing.
Are there specific books or authors who have influenced you as a writer?
I think Janet Daily was my first romance author and she’s meshed in with Arthur C Clarke, Tolkien, Diana Gabaldon to name a few. Scifi, fantasy and romance are always on my nightstand.
Give us a brief rundown of your process. Are you a plotter, a pantser, or somewhere in the middle?
I’m becoming much more of a plotter. I don’t seem to have any trouble writing but when I read it back there’s no plot! Hence working much more on plotting these days.
by Val Fassnight | Mar 27, 2021 | Uncategorized
Do you write full-time or part-time?
- I feel like it’s full time, but it’s really part time b/c I work.
What’s the hardest part of writing?
- Writing, actually writing is the hardest part. Then research, lol. But sitting down and not being distracted is the hard part.
What’s your favorite historical movie?
- Really it’s hard, but Sense & Sensibility is my current favor for the past few years.
Who’s your favorite historical figure?
- Hmmm, That’s a hard one right now. I find someone new all the time. I’ve always loved Harriet Tubman, Duchess of Devonshire, it depends on the day or if I learn something new.
If you could meet anyone in history, who would it be?
- Not to be too deep, but I would meet my grand parents and great grand parents. I would love to know how they survived slavery and the south. It seems like such a hard thing to overcome and live through to me. Me who lives this rather cushy life.
If you could time travel, what era would you visit?
- Well, I would love to go to the Regency or 1920s prohibition!
What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?
- The best I’ve ever received was from my annoying husband. I was crying that I want to be a writer and he said: ‘You want to be a writer than just write.’ I glared at him and then just wrote.
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
- It really goes back to like 5th grade and I wrote an essay on my elderly father. I got on the news and I just loved telling the story of my life and how people always thought he was my grandpa and he wasn’t. hahaha
Are there specific books or authors who have influenced you as a writer?
- Although I haven’t read him often, just one book really. Reading James Baldwin made me want to write. It made me want to be a great writer.
Give us a brief rundown of your process. Are you a plotter, a pantser, or somewhere in the middle?
- I’m a whole mess! Basically, I’m in between. I’ll write a summary, then get to an outline, get to about chapter 15 of outline, abandon it and start writing. Then start filing in the outline as I go. Change the summary here and there.
Can you tell us a bit about your journey to publication?
- I started working on The Bachelor Duke Novel way back in 2019, thinking I can write a Regency because I love them all so much. I was working always diligently when I found a premade cover made by my now cover designer, Holly of The Swoonies. I purchased that with only 10x chapters written. With my cover picked I kept writing and gathered my team of friends and fellow writers, hired me an editor who happened to be in my RWA chapter and published July 29th! I’ve been doing all my own marketing, and everything, getting myself in FB groups. It’s a fulltime job to publish, and market yourself but I’m aggressive by nature! I never give up or I try not too.
Tell us about your latest release and what’s coming next for you.
- The Bachelor Duke follows The Duke of Karrington, Remington Warren and his pursuit of one Lady Olivia St. John. What’s next is I’m currently working on the audiobook of The Bachelor Duke and Writing book 2 in the series: Ruined by The Bachelor Marquess.
Please include author website, and a few images (book covers, author photos, etc.), social media links.
Follow Cecilia Rene
☆Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3a5umLb
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by Val Fassnight | Mar 16, 2021 | Uncategorized
What’s the hardest part of writing?
Since my kids started homeschooling? Finding a quiet moment during the day to collect my thoughts is probably the hardest thing about writing. Seriously, though, the most difficult thing is revising. Revisions are where the magic really happens.
What’s your favorite historical movie?
Hoodlum. It’s a dramatization of the real-life mob wars between Black numbers runner, Bumpy Johnson and Jewish mobster Dutch Schultz.
Often when history glamorizes organized crime, they only focus on those with European backgrounds. We have a lot of documented history in popular culture where Italian and Jewish mobsters are concerned. Hoodlum was the first time I realized Black people ran equally successful organizations as well and their stories were commingled with the more infamous mobsters like Lucky Luciano and Al Capone.
Who’s your favorite historical figure?
Madam CJ Walker. She was the first self-made female millionaire.
If you could meet anyone in history, who would it be?
Jesus, Harriet Jacobs, and Michael Jackson.
If you could time travel, what era would you visit?
Oftentimes, when we’re taught Black history, only the struggle is ever highlighted. The struggle is important, but so are the triumphs. So if I could travel back in time, it would be to witness one of the greatest triumphs in Black history in ancient Egypt. I’d love to see what was called Ancient Nubia or Kush and witness the reign of the Black Pharaohs in the 25th Dynasty of Egypt.
What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?
Put your butt in a chair and your hands on a keyboard. Nothing gets published if you don’t actually sit down and write. It’s the only thing that keeps me consistently productive.
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I was sixteen. It was immediately after I read my first romance, which was a Harlequin Presents.
Are there specific books or authors who have influenced you as a writer?
Sandra Kitt, Rochelle Alers, Francis Ray, and Brenda Jackson we’re the first authors I read who wrote romances featuring Black characters. Before them, there was little to no representation in romance. As a result, at sixteen, when I first started reading in the genre, I didn’t really know romances could feature people of color. Fortunately, now, we’re slowly seeing more diverse voices enter the industry.
The person I think had the most direct impact on my writing is Zane. Her stories were a celebration of feminine sexuality that made me want to write characters who were living their best lives while embracing their sexuality too.
Give us a brief rundown of your process. Are you a plotter, a pantser, or somewhere in the middle?
I write two hours a day five days week. This is my job, so productivity isn’t optional for me. The best way to get the work done and keep the pressure off is to keep to my writing schedule as best I can.
I’m naturally a panster. But when you’re trying to sell a story on spec, that doesn’t really work. Since editors want synopses, I had to learn to outline enough to get a deal.
Can you tell us a bit about your journey to publication?
It was all over the place. I started by self-publishing with no experience whatsoever in how publishing worked at all. I do not recommend that. Don’t be like me. Be better than me. Learn the industry first. It will save you so much heartache.
From there, I published with a few small presses for a few years until I partnered with my Agent, Latoya Smith, and started publishing traditionally. I currently have books scheduled to release with Sourcebooks Casablanca, Harlequin Desire, and St Martin’s Press.
Tell us about your latest release and what’s coming next for you.
My latest release is Jackson, the first book in my Restoration Ranch series from Sourcebooks Casablanca. It comes out on February 23rd. Jackson is an opposites attract contemporary with suspense elements that features a city-slicking lady lawyer and the grumpy Texas Ranger who can’t get enough of her, even though she gets on his last nerve. The sequel, Colton, follows this summer. After that, my first Harlequin Desire (title TBD) releases in October.
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Author LaQuette
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New Release “Jackson”
